The Count of Monte Cristo Literary Analysis Essay Samples

How come The Count of Monte Cristo So Compelling?

The Count of Monte Cristo is really a story of vengeance that arguably started and defined its own subgenre. After the novel was released, its narrative was imitated to varying examples of similarity and success. One particular example is Ben-Hur. Considering how the horror genre only started rolling after the arrival of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, you will notice the similarity with The Count of Monte Cristo.

Alexandre Dumas created a timeless classic because of the nature of the story, and it manages to stay relevant even today. Based on the author himself, the whole revenge plot sprung from a real-life story circa 1807. This isn't surprising, since most people have discovered themselves wanting for revenge, and this type of story handles our basic instincts and human nature as a whole. This type of plot transcends time and in addition has something to offer to everyone.

The writer cleverly centers attention on a protagonist with exaggerated qualities. That he performs extraordinary feats, and readers subconsciously project onto him their very own ideal self. The Count excels in everything, be it love, vengeance, tenacity, intelligence, or wealth, and he is armed with the energy of anonymity, not unlike the modern superheroes (Modrzejewska 23-25). But he's facing a dilemma alone: the vengeance that will come in aspects both positive and negative. As fulfilling as it might be, it could leave an individual empty and desolate. The pendulum of his mind swings from the idea of himself being the “tool of God” to seeing revenge as an obsession that forces him to waste his time on bringing misfortune to the planet. It would just take certain will power to stop at the right time and go back to a normal life.

This novel first came out as a regularly published series, and once it had been finished, it had been published as a full-fledged book. A good move because of its time, this contributed to the novel’s popularity. Essentially, this created an effect much like a modern TELEVISION series, giving the readers the breathing room for discussing and speculating concerning the events ahead while looking forward to the future installments.

Works Cited

Modrzejewska, Krystyna. La Condition Masculine Dans La littérature française. Wydawn. Uniwersytetu Opolskiego, 2005.
Wallace, Lew. Lew Wallace: an Autobiography. Charleston, South Carolina: Nabu Press, 1906.

The Count of Monte Cristo Essay: Edmond Dantès’s Transformation

In 1844, Alexandre Dumas created a masterpiece of world literature: The Count of Monte Cristo. Even though the novel is recognized as an adventure, the author was able to develop a decent psychological portrait of the key character by having an increased give attention to the theme of transformation. The novel remains topical even now, because it is always exciting to observe the evolution means of an individual. This essay relates to the analysis of Edmond Dantes’s transformation from a naive man to an aristocratic count directed at tracing all his changes, figuring out possible causes and results.

To start with, it would be appropriate to give the meaning of transformation, as it shows the relevance of the style to the method under consideration. In line with the Oxford English Dictionary, “transformation” makes reference to “the action of changing in form, shape, or appearance; metamorphosis. ” In the essay, transformation is understood to be the development of the smoothness.

In the beginning of the novel, Dantes appears as a young, naive, ingenuous man, head over heels in love, with rosy dreams and expectations. Actually, it's his artless mind which can be blamed for many his trials and tribulations. He can even be considered as a weak person. While incarcerated, that he loses hope and decides to commit suicide. With a fortunate accident, however , that he meets still another prisoner named Abbé Faria, and that is where Edmond’s road to becoming the count of Monte Cristo begins. We define it as the first stage of transformation, where the truth is the trigger. As Faria helps Dantes to know the reason behind his imprisonment, the realization to be betrayed by his friends and being fully a victim of fraud wakes him as much as reality. It's obvious that changes are inevitable under such circumstances, because we always learn a lesson from a down economy in our lives. At that moment the soul of the character hardens, and that he decides to take vengeance. His hatred becomes an engine for the want to live. Though hatred is just a destructive emotion, it is great for surviving in prison. Faria passes most of the knowledge that he possesses to Dantes. Communication with the old man affects not just his mind but also his character. Consequently, he becomes smarter, more flexible, and develops awareness of detail.

After Faria’s death, Edmond escapes the prison in a body bag. That action may be thought to be an allusion to a Virgilian journey to another world. “At this moment, Dantès felt himself being thrown into a huge void, flying through the air such as for instance a wounded bird, then falling, falling, in a terrifying descent that froze his heart … it did actually him that the fall lasted a century” (Dumas 186). This really is evidence of his symbolic death. From that moment, Edmond Dantes even as we know him no longer exists. He becomes free and acquires the ability to be whoever that he wants; you will find no more walls around him, no restrictions, no boundaries. And that he indulges in trying on different masks, which represent different features of his personality.

Naming himself Sinbad the Sailor, he reveals his courage, leadership skills, and desire to have adventures. That he develops that image following the discovery of the treasures of Monte Cristo, etc this stage his transformations are influenced by money. It provides him with confidence and power, and he feels more influential and manages to unite smugglers and gain authority among Italian gangsters. Surviving in such conditions makes Dantes inventive and cunning, as those characteristics are crucial while dealing with untrustworthy people. Also, traveling to different countries and dealing with plenty of new people broadens horizons, enhances communication skills, and develops the capability to see things in people.

Most of these skills that he uses successfully, disguising as a priest and a bank agent to fulfill his plan for revenge. And all his masks, in the end, merge into one well-developed personality that scarcely resembles the naive person he was once before most of the misfortunes that he faced. Driven by a slakeless vengeance, that he follows the master plan he elaborated paying no attention to how high the cost may be. The Count of Monte Cristo appears to be an unmerciful, provident man who does never discard his aims or alter his mind. Bringing his plan in to action, that he transforms not just himself but in addition the environment.

The count converts everything around him in to a theater: all his enemies are now only puppets in his hands, and he's in control of each of their actions, their lives of the master. That he finds pleasure in having fun with his offenders’ lives. By changing masks, playing different roles, and setting up various situations, that he fulfills the role of trickster. Also, playing the master, that he sees himself as the Divine Hand, usually the one whose mission is to bring justice to the world. Now we approach the last stage of Dantes’s transformation. The commitment of revenge, eventually, opens his eyes to how many lives taken unnecessarily, and he understands the devastating and blinding power of hatred. The person that we see at the end just isn't the count of Monte Cristo; it's definitely somebody else. That person realizes that he is standing in the beginning of his path to develop into a man of wisdom. That he leaves yesteryear behind and embarks on the new journey to himself.

The transformation of Edmond Dantes is a symbol of the evolution of each and every person, because it shows all the various changes that happen all through life. Examining this character, it is apparent that the method of transformation has no end, because the more we live, the more we learn and evolve.

Works Cited

Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. The Gutenberg, 2002.
“Transformation.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2018, www.oed.com.