Alexandre Dumas was a historical French novelist and a famous play writer of the eighteenth century romantic era. One of the novels Dumas is most famous for is “The Count of Monte Cristo” of 1844. It is a story about a poor sailor named Edmond Dantes who was cruelly framed for treason, deceived, and sent to prison for a long time. After he discovers how his fate has come to be, he devises a very clever plan to escape and get his revenge on all parties involved with his mistreatment. To this date, “The Count of Monte Cristo” is one of the most well-known tales regarding love and revenge. Is the price of revenge worth transforming into the very thing you despise?
The eighteenth century was all about romanticism. “Romanticism began in Germany and England then soon became adopted by France.”(Brians) Romanticism is the creative and intelligent movement that emphasizes and provokes imagination, emotions, and revolution against social thoughts. When you hear romanticism, immediately you think of being in love with another human being. “Romanticism has very little to do with things popularly thought of as “romantic,” although love may occasionally be the subject of Romantic art.” (Introductions)
The characters used by Dumas were key to the success of this novel because it allows the reader to visualize with wanting to revenge that character. This story is fictional, but can actually happen. It seems as if the author was influenced by his experiences through life. This novel is a perfect example of the ability of romantic novels to pull the reader in for a journey. This style of writing rejects the idea that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge and creates a sense of balance in concepts that the Enlig...
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...exoticism in Dantes longing to be free and in a place of great distance from the Chateau d'If.
Works Cited
Brians, Paul. "Romanticism". Washington State University, 2004. Web. 12 Dec 2012.
Hall, Karyn, Ph.D. “Pieces of Mind” Web. 15 Sep 2013
< http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pieces-mind/201309/revenge-will-you-feel-better>
"Introductions to Romanticism", A Guide to the Study of Literature, 2009. Landmarks of Literature: Brooklyn. Brooklyn College. Web. 12 Dec 2012.
Merriman, C. D. “Alexandre Dumas, Pere.” Web. 2008
Project Gutenberg's (eBook) The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
Release Date: November 8, 2008 [EBook #1184] [Last updated on October 26, 2012]
“Humble yourself or life will do it for you.” Having too much pride can cause karma to hit you very hard in life. The Count of Monte Cristo and Ozymandias are very common because they have very similar themes of being humble instead of having too much ego. In The Count of Monte Cristo Edmond Dantes, the main character, is in love with a beautiful young lady, Mercedes. His life is going very good to begin with anyway. He was promoted to captain of the Pharaon and was now making much more money than he used to be making. Although Edmond was a very happy and sympathetic person, some people were very envious of him. So Ferdinand, Danglars, and Caderousse, which were envious for very diverse reasons, decided to write a letter to the public prosecutor stating edmond’s visit to The Isle of Elba actually did indeed happen. The public prosecutor, Villefort, sees that the letter was intended to be
In the acclaimed novel, main character Edmond Dantès is consumed by the idea of getting revenge on every person who did him wrong. In the novel, Dantès is falsely accused of high treason by his former best friend, and is exiled to a secret prison where he is expected to spend the rest of his life. However, Dantès escapes and discovers a hidden treasure worth millions. Unfortunately this comes after thirteen years of pain and anguish in a brutal prison, he then vows to use his new-found wealth "for vengeance". Dantès then transforms himself into The Count Of Monte Cristo, an aristocrat that is possessed by revenge. The Count then becomes focused on revenge, "In order not to interfere with his freedom to take revenge, he never eats or drinks in his enemy's house." This quote shows just how much he thinks about revenge, so much so that it has became a part of his daily routines. Dantès is not afraid to take a life and holds nothing back when it comes to revenge, He even says "Beware, our revenge will be terrible when we take it." This identifying kindred ideals with Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. The two characters (though both noble) will stop at nothing until they get their revenge, the thought of revenge often becomes their will to live. Alexander Dumas wants us to know that revenge can affect even the most noble and merciful people, and although people may seek revenge they can still be good in their hearts. We see this at the end of the novel, where Dantès decides to put the rest of his wealth towards peace, no longer haunted by idea of
	Edmond Dantes imprisonment made a huge impact on his life. He spent 14 years in the dark and quiet Chateau d’If. During those 14 years he met a priest, Abbe Faria, which they met each other through a secret tunnel in which they both have created while in prison. An amazing transformation takes place in Edmond Dantes as he learns about his enemies and a large hidden treasure that contains a large sum of money. Abbe Faria is a very smart man, while in prison he taught Dantes many useful knowledge including the whereabouts of a large treasure located on the Isle of Monte Cristo.
It is believed by many that it is human nature to deem themselves to be tantamount to God. Such is the case when one decides to take revenge against those who wrong him. Though vengeance seems like the perfect way to achieve justice, a sense of equity, in actuality it is merely an unsatisfactory hypocritical action. This is the definitive realization of the protagonist, Edmond Dantès, in Alexandre Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo”. The protagonist comes to understand that after a lifetime of searching for justice, he really only yearns for justice from himself.
This notion of revenge and justice is often in literature, one of the better-known being the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Alexandre Dumas. However, literature is not the only time that revenge and justice are discussed. Works and Rules and real-life events that took place like the Bible, Hammurabi’s code, Twelve Tables, and others each have something different about the topic. More religious texts seem to forbid violence, while laws, such as the Hammurabi’s code, recommend revenge, but equal revenge. By judging from literature, it can be concluded that most authors have different opinions on the matter at hand, and revenge is sometimes justice, but usually not, and tends to lead to violence that was not intended.
Greed is blind. For Baron Danglars, an antagonist of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, his greed is generated by the overflow of his wealth and fortune. Although being wealthy has numerous benefits and can occasionally act as the key to a woman’s heart, whatever ascents must descend. The Baron’s greed manipulating him to fall into distorted information or traps exhibits that a passion for one’s fortune often prevents him from foreseeing the unexpected future.
Wolfson, Susan and Peter Manning (eds.). The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. Volume 2A. New York: Longman, 1999.
While getting inspiration for Monte Cristo, he heard a story about a man, which inspired the plot for his novel. Picaud, the man whom inspired the story, gained vengeance in a much more gruesome way than Dantes does. Picaud takes vengeance whereas Dantes is avenged. Justice is achieved because good is stronger than evil, not because of the Count’s power (Stowe 125). Perhaps this is Dumas’s opinion on vengeance. If it is well earned, then it will fall into the man’s hands rightfully (Maurois). Dumas’s inspiration for the novel also came from his personal life. His father was heavily mistreated, and as he watched helplessly for his whole childhood, it became important to him to avenge his father. Although people in his own life may not have wronged him as they did his father, he believes in revenge, and sought revenge through his literature (Maurois). Through the character of Edmond Dantes, Dumas portrayed his own desire to justify his father’s oppressors. In Maurois’s article, he speaks about this, saying, “He must have been sorely tempted to find compensation in fiction for the iniquities of the real world.” Perhaps he was afraid to vocalize his opinion publicly, so he decided on a more subtle route, which was to create a story that everyone could identify with. Writing Monte Cristo must have been closure for Dumas at the expense of his father. He sought vengeance in the form of literature
To understand how Romanticism changed the way society thought, you must first understand the meanings and reason behind the movement. The Romantic Movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was described as a movement in the history of culture, an aesthetic style, and an attitude of mind. (Fiero) Romanticism provided expression of their thoughts and ideas toward their own societies, which was in effect predominantly in Europe and in the United States. The movement was a reaction to the Enlightenment which provided strict ideology and rationalism. The Church had much to do with the Enlightenment seeing as if religion and the importance of God were incorporated into most aspects of their culture. Thus, Romanticism was a response to the Enlightenment Movement and their religious ideology.
As the many socio-political rebellions of the late eighteenth-century accepted new social orders and new ways of life and notion, so composers of the period broke new musical ground by attaching a new emotional depth to the preponderating classical forms. Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth-century, artists of all kinds became intent in declaring their subjective, personal emotions. "Romanticism" gained its name from the romances of medieval times, long poems describing stories of heroes and chivalry, of distant lands and far away places, and often of unattainable love. The romantic artists are the first in history to provide
"EThemes." Literature: Romanticism in American Literature -. University of Missouri, 24 Jan. 2011. Web. 05 May 2014.
The eighteenth century brought countless changes for it’s present and future generations. There was a movement in the arts and literature emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual known as Romantic Individualism. The eighteenth century was a time of enlightenment. Scientists and philosophers posed great challenges and beliefs. People were beginning to define their highest duties rather than their spiritual ones.
Romanticism started in the 18th century and was said to be influenced by the French and Industrial Revolution.
Romanticism was a reaction to the Enlightenment as a cultural movement, an aesthetic style, and an attitude of mind (210). Culturally, Romanticism freed people from the limitations and rules of the Enlightenment. The music of the Enlightenment was orderly and restrained, while the music of the Romantic period was emotional. As an aesthetic style, Romanticism was very imaginative while the art of the Enlightenment was realistic and ornate. The Romanticism as an attitude of mind was characterized by transcendental idealism, where experience was obtained through the gathering and processing of information. The idealism of the Enlightenment defined experience as something that was just gathered.
The time of Romanticism began in the late 18th century and ended around the mid 19th century. Just showing what the Romantic Movement is, it can be shown as a reaction against Neoclassicism.