We are always told to never judge a book by its cover because we never know what is truthfully inside those pages and what excitement is held within. Whether the rising action be slow or quick, the climax must always be the same; exciting, heartwrenching, or suspenseful. There were many climaxes in Alexandre Dumas’s book The Count of Monte Cristo that could cause the reader to feel intimately with the characters and feed our hunger of anticipation for more and it is these things that make the book appealing to the reader. Such as the time Mercedes recognized Dantes, when Valentine and Maximilien dramatically plan an escape for the sake of their marriage, and when a secret witness comes to stand at Fernand’s informal trial, all made the story more appealing in the eyes of the reader.
We begin with Mercedes de Morcerf recognizing Dantes. “She was pale [...] when Monte Cristo turned to look at her [...]” at their first meeting (147). Things didn't fare any better for the Count for “he was even paler than Mercedes”, this foreshadowed that they both seemed to recognize each other, or at least, they found one another familiar (148). “How old would you say he is?” Mercedes asked her son after the Count’s departure listening attentively “attaching great importance to this question” (148). It becomes a tad obvious that she wants to be certain that it may or may not be Dantes. Despite her son’s answer of the Count being in his thirties she still expressed doubt. In fact, “the countess made a movement of terror” when “Franz claimed the count was a man who had come back from the next world” (149). This possibly stirred up more questions and suspicions within Mercedes. This climax can be considered appealing because it creates suspense. It mak...
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... dramatic way to get back at Fernand who so wronged Dantes and it was a perfect manner of retribution, not only for himself but for Haydee as well.
Through these mini climaxes in the story, Mercedes recognizing Dantes, Valentine and Maximilien’s plan, and Fernand’s prosecution makes readers crave for more. It appeals to their humanity, feelings, and need for dramatic spazzes within such a story filled with betrayal and riveting content. This most likely appeals to aspiring writers as it shows us how to create compelling stories, on-edge climaxes, proper detail, and expert foreshadowing. I personally found these three climaxes appealing because of the suspense factor and interesting use of foreshadowing. I know I was moved to the edge of my seat by the author’s writing style and certainly hope others can be moved by Dumas’s work as well.
It is my intention to compare the book, Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos, to its modern movie version, Cruel Intentions starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. I intend to examine how the original French text was modified in reference to plot, character, morals/values, and themes. I also plan to discuss how these transformations change the meaning of the story and reflect different cultural/historical contexts. There are some major differences between these two works, if only because of when they were written.
The Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920’s San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett’s literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery.
	The story of Edmond Dantes starts out as him being a sailor, aboard the Pharaon; he’s soon to become captain of the ship. Monsieur Morrel is the name of the owner of the Pharaon and a great friend of Dantes. He treats Edmond with great respect. There’s also a little special lady in Dantes life, the beautiful and wonderful Mercedes. A dream job and a dream wife, who could possibly want more?
As the era of literature slowly declines, the expert critiques and praise for literature are lost. Previously, novels were bursting at the seams with metaphors, symbolism, and themes. In current times, “novels” are simply short stories that have been elaborated on with basic plot elements that attempt to make the story more interesting. Instead of having expert critical analysis written about them, they will, most likely, never see that, as recent novels have nothing to analyze. Even books are beginning to collect dust, hidden away and forgotten, attributing to the rise of companies such as Spark Notes. An author deserves to have his work praised, no matter how meager and the masses should have the right to embrace it or to reject it. As much of this has already been considered, concerning Les Misérables, the purpose of this paper is to compare, contrast, and evaluate Victor Hugo’s use of themes and characterization in his novel, Les Misérables.
In “The Count Of Monte Cristo”Edmond Dantes benefited from the intelligence that the abbe taught him in jail. Dante figures out that Caderousse, Danglars, and Fernand were plotting against him with some of the abbe’s help.This critical thinking late helps Dante escape.
This scene is created by many directors in a variety of interpretations depicting highly exciting and suspenseful actions. The original text when it was written would have had a similar effect on the reading and literary public as merely decades before poems were the only base for exhilarating writing and the power and popularity of the novel was only now emerging and a novel such of this was of immense importance to the literary world and still is.
In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is set in Puritan New England during the 17th century. The scene in which the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale joins Hester and Pearl on the platform to showcase his sin is one which exemplifies Dimmesdale’s acceptance of his actions. Up until this point in the novel, Dimmesdale had hidden the fact that he had engaged in a sexual affair with Hester, a married woman. During the scene, Dimmesdale, distraught with guilt after seven years of living in secret shame, joins Hester in public to show his actions publicly. He then, being riddled with sickness, dies in contentment. Having finally accepted his actions, Dimmesdale can die without the torturous guilt of living a lie. Dimmesdale’s confession and ensuing downfall show that accepting the consequences of one’s own actions is the only way to truly achieve fulfillment and satisfaction in life, where as hiding one’s actions results in inner torture.
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a cult classic. And with good reason. Anyone who simply believes that the title of this book just signifies that the protagonist wears a scarlet “A” on her dress in punishment of her adultery is ignorant. Obviously this paper would not be required if such were true. Instead, The Scarlet Letter is extremely ambiguous. One can argue that the scarlet letter is a character itself. I intend to flesh this out in literary, historic, and symbolic terms.
During the first few chapters, the reader begins to examine the plot, absorb the characters lives and take in the setting. One would never guess what terrible tragic events would occur as each page is turned and more information is gathered. As the reader continues, each page dramatically changes the plot. Othello and Gatsby both commence as outsiders, unaware of their surroundings. Disorder initiates when other characters begin to take action, influencing madness, eventually leading to the climax, where everything turns into turmoil. In the end, consequence leads to every character’s boundless downfall.
...it up to each reader to draw their own conclusions and search their own feelings. At the false climax, the reader was surprised to learn that the quite, well-liked, polite, little convent girl was colored. Now the reader had to evaluate how the forces within their society might have driven such an innocent to commit suicide.
When a person becomes trapped in a situation that stems from an individual with greater authority, being manipulative can be a very promising method to escape. The Thousand and One Nights does a very good job of being a good example of someone in this situation that uses stories within a story to capture encapsulate the attention of the reader. Despite the many little stories that go into the text, the main story behind it all is about a king named King Shahrayar and how he goes insane after catching his wife having sexual relations with a slave. After he sees this happen, he realizes that he can never trust any woman again and none of them are trustworthy. By expressing his views on women, he decides to marry a different woman every night, then the next morning have them killed by beheading. This is an ongoing event that brings death to most of the women in the village. Soon after, the king’s Vizier’s daughter, Shahrazad, came up with a brilliant idea that will end up saving her fellow countrywomen and hopefully keep the king from murdering so many innocent people. Her method behind all this is by telling the kind a different story every night that leaves him on a cliffhanger, making him curious enough to keep her alive for another day to continue her story. Shahrazad keeps herself spared from the king because of her cunning, and compassionate personality.
"The Count of Monte Cristo" is a book which contains few characters but many identities. Edmond Dantes if not the main character, than one of the main characters kind of has a reality dysfunctional problem. In the book, Edmond Dantes creates various identities to fulfill his missions(fantasies). One of the few characters that Edmond Dantes transformed into was Sinbad the Sailor.
Many poems depict a wondrous world filled with happiness and blind love. However in If, E.E. cummings characterizes the hardships of life as what makes it beautiful. Cummings establishes that our luck and the good things that happen to people does not m
The story unfolds in the form of letters written between the principal characters, giving it a unique literary texture. By using this style, de Laclos is able to give the reader a shockingly intimate look at these people as they divulge their most intimate secrets and bring to fruition their sinister plans.
Two of the best things in the world, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Harry Potter,” have a good deal in common. Other than the vast amount of space reserved in my brain for storing quotes and random facts from these two stories, both tales share many similar objects, plot devices, character attributes, and themes. Even though Python's “Holy Grail” is an exact historical representation of the Arthurian Grail legend, some might argue that the “Harry Potter” story is more reflective of the actual ancient texts than the 1974 film.