The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo is a very powerful book.

So powerful in fact, that was controversial when it was first

released. The Catholic church in France condemned it

because of its powerful message it presented the reader.

This theme was one of revenge and vengeance. Monte

Cristo had two goals- to reward those who were kind to

him and his aging father, and to punish those responsible for

his imprisonment and suffering. For the latter, he plans slow

and painful punishment. To have spent fourteen years barely

subsisting in a dungeon demands cruel and prolonged

castigation. Setting: The Count of Monte Cristo is set within

the nineteenth century of France in large and populous cities.

This was a time of great disruption. There was confusion all

over the land in regards to who led France, King Louis or

Napoleon. The citizens of France became divided by the

two ruling parties. Royalists and the Bonapartist cut at each

others throats in order to declare that their ruler was

supreme. This situation has a profound effect on the events

of the story. Dantes' enemies used the rivalry between the

two parties in order to convince the Royalists that Edmond

is a Bonapartist, therefore it is the basis for his arrest and

inevitable captivity in the Chateau D'If.. Basic Plot: The

Count of Monte Cristo is a story about a sailor, Edmond

Dantes, who was betrayed during the prime of his life and

career by the jealousy of his friends. His shipmate, Danglars,

coveted his designation as the captain of the mighty Pharon.

Ferdinand Mondego wished to wed Mercedes, who was

affianced to Edmond. Danglars and Ferdinand wrote a letter

accusing Edmond of carrying a letter from Elba to the

Bonapartist committee in Paris. Caderousse, a neighbor,

learned of the plot but kept silent. On his wedding day

Edmond was arrested and taken before a deputy named

Villefort, a political apostate, who, to protect himself, had

Edmond secretly imprisoned in the deepest dungeons of the

Chateau D'If. There Dantes' incarceration was secured by

the plotting of his enemies outside the prison, particularly

towards Villefort, who wished to cover up his own father's

connections with the Bonapartists. Dantes suffered for

fourteen grueling years. While in prison, he was determined

to escape and began digging a tunnel in hopes that it would

lead to freedom. During this exercise, he met an elderly

inmate named Abbe Faria whose attempt to dig his way to

his salvation had led him only to Edmond's cell. The two

meet daily and an incredible relationship flourished. The old

man taught Edmond history, mathematics, and languages. In

Edmond's fourteenth year, Faria became mortally ill. The

wise elder told Edmond where to find a massive buried

fortune. When Faria finally did die, his body was placed in a

burial sac. Edmond seized the opportunity of escaping and

replaced Faria's corpse with himself. Jailers threw the sack

into the sea which allowed Dantes to escape. He is rescued

by a passing ship which gives him a position on the boat.

After