The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

Available at Better World Books

Rich says:

The Count Of Monty Cristo is a book about betrayal and revenge. The author of this book is Alexandre Dumas and he wrote this book in 1845. The story is set in Paris-France.

          Edmund Dantes was a first mate on the ship Faron and his employer was Monseur Morrel. He was also about to be promoted because the Faron's captain died at sea. Edmund had a good relation ship with his dad, Edmund was the most important thing in his dad's life. His dad was also poor, so Edmund gave his dad money. He also had a Fiance named Mercedes, and they were very happy to get married because Edmund had been out to sea for weeks. When he got back, he got engaged and was getting married the day he went to prison

Three men wanted what Edmund had. Danglers wanted his job, Fernand wanted his wife, Cadarousse wanted his money. Before Edmund returned, the captain of the Faron died, and before he died, he wanted Edmund to finish sending the letters the captain had, one of these was from Napoleon to a man named Nortier. Danglers, Fernand and Cadarousse created a letter accusing Edmund for working with Napoleon. This sent Edmund to court. His lawyer was an man named Villafort, and his dad just happened to be named Nortier. Villefort burned the letter that would have proved Edmund innocent, so that his dad wouldn't go to jail. Edmund was in prison for 10 years.

          While Edmund was in jail, he tried to kill himself by beating his head aginst the wall non stop, untill he decided to give up. One night, he heard a chissle on one of his jail walls for an hour, then it stoped. This continued for days on end, and he decided that it was a prison mate trying to get out of jail. The next day, he broke his bowl, and took the handle of it before the guards game, the guards cleaned up the mess, and after the guards left, he started to dig in the same wall that his prison mate was. Later, he found out his prison mate was a old man, named Abbe Faria. Him and the Abbe became freinds, and the Abbe adopted Edmund as his son. The Abbe was very smart, so he taught Edmund diffrent laungages, how to read and write them, and advanced math. One day, the Abbe told Edmund about the Abbe's fortune, millions and millions of dollars, but the Abbe was imprisoned wrongly just like Edmund was before he could make any use of it. The Abbe told Edmund how to find it if Edmund ever got out. One day, the Abbe died. They wrapped the Abbe in a cloth bag, Edmund took the Abbe to his bed, and closed himself in the cloth wrap instead. He assumed they would bury him, and he could dig his way out afterwards. They tied a cannon ball to his legs, and sunk him into the bottom of the ocean. Edmund escaped, and got to an island.

After Prison 

          After prison, Edmund joined a crew of bandits, since he was a good navagator, they let him join. On his adventures with the bandits, he talked them into going to the island of Monty Cristo, where the Abbe's treasure was. He went, and dug up what would be his future. He stuffed his pockets with all of the gold and diamonds he could. He went back to Paris where he awarded his former employer, with a purse full of money. He also awarded the evil with his vengence. He destroyed every one of their lives. He exposed a crime Villefort had commeted, driving him insane. He tricked Cadarousse's former prisonmate to kill him. He tricked Danglars into making a bad investment, leading him to lose his bank. He exposed a crime Fernad commeted, putting him in prison and losing his rank in the army. He did all of this in the name of God.

          I thought this book was a very good story, but it took FOREVER to read because of all of the detail. I also thought the characters and Edmunds plans to get the 4 consperators was very well planed out. The moral of the story is revenge is never worth it. I thought 7/10.

Brennan says:

The Count of Monte Cristo is a book about betrayal and revenge. The author is Alexander Dumas, and the story is set in France. The year was 1845.

Edmund Dantes is a first mate on a ship he had a fiancé Mercedes that he was going to Marie tomorrow, and a father that was poor and Edmund loved dearly. The captain of the ship died and Edmund got a promotion to be the captain. Edmund was making a lot of money and was getting rich. He gave his dad money.

Even though things were great now there was a conspiracy against Edmund. Danglers, the leader of the conspiracy who wanted his job, Fernand, who wanted Edmund’s fiancé, Cadarousse, who was drunk and wanted his money, Villefort, which was not actually part of the conspiracy but did do something. He is a Public Defender who was the one that was supposed to defend Edmund but threw the evidence that would have proved Edmund not guilty into a fire to keep his dad safe and declared Edmund guilty. All of this resulted in Edmund going to jail.

When Edmund was in jail he almost went insane. Then he met the Abe Faria who taught Edmund a lot of things and helped him figure out who got him in jail. Then they figured out how to escape, but then Abe got sick then told Edmund that he had a lot of money on an island. Edmund remembered the guards talking about how Abe said he had a bunch of money that he could pay to get out and that he was insane and after a while he died. Edmund escaped jail and found the money!!! A team of bandits found him and helped him but Edmund didn’t tell them about the treasure.

After he found the treasure he went back to France and he could not be recognized by anyone but Mercedes because of his age. He called himself The Count Of Monte Cristo. He met a young man named Albert Mondego that he got to trust him. He got to do business and associate with Fernand Mondego, Danglers, Cadarousse, and Villefort. He helped the people that tried to get him out of jail and did other good stuff. Then he made the four that put him in jail suffer one by one. While he was he was helping two young people named Valentine and Maxamillion and when he got revenge on the last one he realized he had gone too far. He helped Valentine and Maxamillion and got them back together. Then the count got married to Hayde, a slave he rescued.

 

I like this book because the plot was well set up and had a lot of surprises and it keeps you listening and wanting more. The moral of the story is revenge isn’t good, just try to live a good life.

Dad says:

My dad insisted that we boys watch certain movies growing up - High Noon, The Magnificent Seven, Patton, and specifically the Richard Chamberlain/Tony Curtis version of The Count of Monte Cristo. It is to this insistence I owe my love of classic literature, because after seeing (and loving) the movie, I soon bought an abridged version of the book, which led to similar versions of novels by Verne, Dickens, Stevenson, Twain, and many others in the same series. Needless to say I've also sat through several other film versions of Monte Cristo and dad was right - you simply can't beat the Chamberlain/Curtis version from the 70's.

          It was a great joy to read the unabridged version to the boys. Though a bit heavy with French geography and military history at points, just like me, they were sucked into the story. The plight of Edmund Dantes, and more importantly, his reaction to his misfortune, are not only a sad lesson of life's harshness at the hands of ambitious men, but a cautionary tale about the personal price of revenge - a lesson that has served me well in several real life situations. I'm glad it was instilled in me at a young age. 

          As an adult, this re-read left me fascinated with Dumas' clever use of symbolism throughout, and amused at his tongue-in-cheek mocking of post-Napoleonic upper-class French society. The metaphorical death and resurrection of Dantes' in the Chateau D'If was lost on me as a thirteen year old, but it seems to me now that Dumas' was speaking to the larger issue of the re-creation many people pursue in their thirties - a desire to do and be something different from the labels and relationships that defines them in their twenties. Dantes' is indeed transformed from lowly sailor into a new creation that anyone would envy - a man of reputation, wealth, education, and worldly knowledge and wisdom. 

          Ultimately, it is Dumas' portrayal of The Count's great power that the reader envies most, however unrealistic or unlikely his path to the money that affords it. Who hasn't fantasized about wreaking vengeance on those who malign us, or rewarding richly those who have encouraged and supported us during trying times? I take almost as much joy in seeing Msr. Morrell come into good fortune at The Count's hand as I do seeing Vilefort finally get his elaborately designed comeuppance. Dumas' offers the reader an opportunity to live vicariously through The Count, and that, I suppose, is the book's greatest offering.