Vengeance in The Count of Monte Cristo

It is believed by many that it is human nature to deem themselves to be a 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 justice from himself. Akin to many of Alexandre Dumas’ other masterpieces, “The Count of Monte Cristo” is a dramatic tale of mystery and intrigue that paints a dazzling, dueling, exuberant vision of the Napoleonic era in France. In this thrilling adventure, Edmond Dantès is toiling with the endeavor of attaining ultimate revenge, after being punished by his enemies and thrown into a secret dungeon in the Chateau d’If. He reluctantly learns that his long intolerable years in captivity, miraculous escape and carefully wrought revenge are all merely vital parts in his journey of awakening to the notion that there is no such thing as happiness or unhappiness, there is merely the comparison between the two. Ultimately, the irony that Dumas is presenting through this novel suggests that the inability to attain happiness through the hypocrisy that is revenge is because one is really avenging their own self. This becomes evident through his dramatic transformations from a naïve, young sailor, to a cold, cynical mastermind of vengeance, and finally to a remorseful, humble man who is simply content.

The Count of Monte Cristo is a book written by Alexandre Dumas that shows the limits of justice in human society, the power of perseverance and the influence of vengeance. Edmond Dantes was betrayed by his friends and sent to prison for treason, which he was framed of doing. While he was in prison, a priest named Abbe Faria mentored Edmond and taught him several different languages, politics and economics. He eventually escaped prison posing himself as a dead body to be tossed out into the sea, found a great fortune, and served personal vengeance to his hostile betrayers. From a sailor to a wealthy Count, this story shows how injustice can bring good things, and the lawbreakers will not live without any consequences.

Though he may seem acquitted and amiable, Gerard de Villefort can be dangerous and even murderous. Gerard has done numerous things in his life to corroborate his sinfulness, including the assayed murder of his son, Andrea, by burying him alive when he was a newborn. Gerard is also one of the three main conspirators in the Count's arrest and imprisonment; it is he who is the most measurable of the three. The Count, Edmond Dantes, was an innocent man about to be married, before Gerard’s conception between right and wrong was twisted by the name of his father in a letter. Also, Gerard forces his wife to commit suicide; even though he had had many faults of his own.

The Count of Monte Cristo while taking revenge on the four people that he has sworn vengeance, never directly harms the individuals that he takes revenge on. All his revenge is taken through his state of being an agent of Providence that he has set for himself and that he believes he has. The count explains his position of Providence in a dialogue with Villefort in saying “But Satan bowed his head and sighed. ‘You are mistaken,’ he said, ‘Providence does exist, but it is invisible...All I can do for you is to make you one of the agents of Providence.’ I made the bargain with him...” (Dumas 231). With the count having the idea of being an agent of Providence and having an almost unlimited fortune to do with what he pleases, he set up everything that was needed to ruin the lives of his victims without having to physically do anything. This is shown by the count getting Benedetto out of jail to be used against his Villefort. With Villefort being Benedetto’s father the count saw a great opportunity to ruin Villefort’s credibility as a trustworthy man of...

There are many ways to express an opinion: paintings, poems, sculptures, speeches, etc. Alexandre Dumas chose to express his opinions over vengeance through his book, The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas clearly believes that vengeance is not the answer for those who have wrong you in times past. This is shown is his book when the Count of Monte Cristo’s plot for revenge on those who sent him to jail for 14 years goes to far and kills an innocent person. Although at the beginning of the book, when the Count explains to young Albert and his friend, Franz, that he would fight a duel for something simple, but for someone that caused him horrible suffering, he would inflict suffering just as horrible. He justifies his statement with, “‘An eye

Vengeance is the act of taking revenge for a past wrong. In the Crucible, Thomas Putnam and Abigail Williams both took advantage of circumstances to carry out vengeance against different people.

"The Count of Monte Cristo" is a movie that has piracy, Napoleon in exile, betrayal, prison, secret messages, escape tunnels, comic relief, a treasure map, and sweet revenge, and brings it in at under two hours, with performances by good actors who are well known in the acting community. Jim Caviezel stars, as Edmund Dantes, a very poor second mate on a supply ship owned by his best friend, Fernand Mondego (played by Guy Pearce) and his family. This film is based in France during 1815 before Napoleon returns from exile to invade Europe. This Action, Adventure, and Drama film will keep you on the edge of your seats as you go through all the mixed emotions of Edmund Dantes. The film is directed by Kevin Reynolds who has also directed movies such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Waterworld and most recently on the History Channel, Hatfields and McCoys. It’s strange with this director that we don’t see Kevin Costner in this film, but I’m glad they kept him out. Jim Caviezel does a great job with his role.

Alexandre Dumas is the author of the adventurous love story The Count of Monte Cristo, used both internal and external conflicts along with imagery. These literary elements enhanced the theme that revenge can drive a man to do the unthinkable. Dumas used these elements to tell the story of France’s history. His bestselling novels are not deep but have spectacular adventure, action, and larger-than-life-characters.

Revenge is best served cold or so says the well-known expression. This idea of revenge that they seek is usually to restore a balance and take an “eye for an eye” as the bible says. Revenge, if by chance everyone were in Plato’s perfect utopia, would be in a perfect form, where justice and revenge would be one, and the coined phrase an “eye for an eye” would be taken literally. By taking an eye for and eye, and punishing those who did wrong equally as they did wrong, there is justice. However, this revenge sometimes goes to far and is consequently not justice. 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 is discussed in. 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.

"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.