The Count of Monte Cristo

1. The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexander Dumas About the Author Thinking about Themes Discussions, Journal Prompts, and Literary Analysis

2. Alexander Dumas 1802-1870

3. Early Life • Alexander Dumas was born July 1802 near the city of Paris.

4. His Family • His grandfather was a French Nobleman (a marquis) • He settled in Saint-Domingue which is now part of Haiti and later married Marie-Cessette, a slave

5. His Family • Marie had a son named Thomas, but she died when he was just a child.

6. Father • Alexander’s father joined Napoleon’s army and eventually became a general. • He died in 1806

7. Early adulthood • He moved backed to Paris and settled there when he was 25. • He led a life of excess and adventure, which was reflected in his novels.

8. Excessiveness • He had many mistresses which led to an illegitimate son who was named Alexander Dumas Fils. • He never accepted his father’s lifestyle.

9. Problems • His excessive and expensive lifestyle left him in constant debt. • At one time he married one of his mistresses who was an actress. But he left her after he spent all her money!

10. His career • As a writer, Dumas became more famous for his plays than his novels

11. His Works • He is considered the most prolific French writer of his time, writing 255 books and countless plays and short stories. He is said to be one of the biggest influences in historical fiction, although he manipulated history to fit his plots.

12. Racism • Although of mixed race, he supposedly encountered little racism. • His books were very popular among 19th century African-Americans. In fact, the novel was looked at as a parable of emancipation for the wrongly imprisoned.

13. The end of his life • At the age of 68, he died of a stroke. • Some believe that his excess lifestyle contributed to his death.

14. His Legacy • He is not only the author of The Count of Monte Cristo, but also The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask.

15. The Count of Monte Cristo • This is a novel and film of adventure, action and romance. • It was originally published as a serial.

16. The Count of Monte Cristo in film • The point of view of the film is the 3rd person observer. • It focuses on the actions and the behaviors of the characters rather than the psychology of their actions.

17. The Count of Monte Cristo • The story takes place immediately following the fall of Napoleon’s Empire. • The majority of the story is set in and around Paris, but travels to Elba and Rome.

18. Themes • Some of the themes include betrayal, revenge, identity, and devotion/loyalty. We’re going to take a more concentrated look at themes in the 2nd half of our PowerPoint

19. Name discovery • DO NOW: With several classmates, identify the primary conflict faced by the protagonist. Who or what is the enemy of the protagonist, and what makes the struggle between the protagonist and enemy so compelling? Present your ideas to the class, and compare your responses with those of other classmates.

20. POST IN LITERATURE SECTION OF NOTEBOOK • JOURNAL PROMPT #1 - In what ways is the Count of Monte Cristo a precursor of the modern day superhero? • JOURNAL PROMPT #2 - What's the difference between Edmond's ambition and that of Danglars and Fernand? • JOURNAL PROMPT #3 - Is ambition really the right word to describe Edmond's ten years of planning? Is there a stronger, more accurate word out there somewhere?

21. THEMES Revenge -Spent 14 yrs in prison plotting revenge on his enemies. • “I regret now,” said he, “having helped you in your late inquiries, or having given you the information I did.”“Why so?” inquired Dantès.“Because it has instilled a new passion in your heart―that of vengeance.” (58) Betrayal • Dantès was betrayed by his “friends” Caderousse, Fernand, and Danglars • Villefort promised to let Dantès go free. Identity • Dantès creates various identities to fulfill his missions. Devotion/Loyalty • Jacopo → helps Dantès after escaping prison • Morrel → tried to get Dantès out of prison • Mercédès → devoted and still loves Dantès

22. Think/pair/share •  Using Albert, Valentine, and Edouard, how does Monte Cristo's theory of "the sins of the fathers must be visited upon subsequent generations" undergo a dramatic reversal? • In what ways does Dantes develop a God complex? How does he supplant himself as the giver of punishment and reward? Where and how does he begin to question his ambition?

23. Think/pair/share • Write a character analysis of Edmond Dantes. What makes him “tick” as a person? Is he worthy of the relatively happy ending? How does he change and grow during the novel and what is the impetus of these changes? •  Using Monte Cristo's concept that great suffering requires prolonged punishment rather than instantaneous death, discuss the justice of the punishment that he inflicts on each of his enemies. How is the punishment of his enemies related to their deepest ambitions?

24. Conflicts and Challenges. Man vs. Society – Dantès against his enemies (Caderousse, Fernand, Danglars, and Villefort) Man vs. Himself – Dantès mentality and emotions → urge to get revenge Person vs. Person- Wrongfully imprisoned in the Chateau d'If Villefort and Madame Danglars → Benedetto Maximilien and Valentine's “death”

25. No one can have it all; eventually something will happen to spoil such happiness. You and a partner will work together to find evidence in the text that supports this theme. Be sure to cite the passage(s), and provide strong commentary that supports your thoughts.

26. Out of every bad situation, a bit of good emerges. • When all is said and done, Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo, is a story of transformation—the transformation of young, naïve, exuberant Edmond Dantes into the cold, vengeful, and maybe even mad, Count of Monte Cristo. The first half of the novel shows us the beginnings of this transformation, as Edmond is whisked away from a life of success and happiness to be thrown, seemingly for eternity, into the bowels of the dreaded Chateau D’If. When circumstances allow for Edmond to take the place of his dead friend, the Abbe Faria, and be hurled into the ocean from the roof of the prison, though, Edmond is granted a new lease on life, and with the Monte Cristo treasure at his disposal, an opportunity to destroy those who would have destroyed him. Dantes’s plunge into the ocean then, may be the key turning point in the novel and can be read symbolically as a re-baptism or re-birth, in which our main character is able to tear away the shroud of death, wash away his old self, and become a new man with a new purpose. It is certainly a moment worthy of any careful reader’s exacting attention. With that in mind, your task is as follows…

27. Retell -Edmond Dantes’s fall from the roof of the Chateau D’If, from the moment in which he is flung from the roof to the moment he rises out of the ocean, free of the shroud and the cannon ball, from Dantes’s first-person perspective. In doing so, your goal is: • To describe as vividly as possible, what this experience must have been like for Dantes—what must it feel like to fall, blind, into the ocean from high above; to struggle to free oneself from inside a sack while being pulled to one’s death at the bottom of the ocean; to have to hack away at a sack and a rope while also holding one’s breath? This will give you an opportunity to continue to practice your skills in vivid, concrete writing. While this moment, in actuality, probably took all of forty-five seconds, from beginning to end, I would like you to take your reader through it moment by moment, heartbeat by heartbeat. • To take your reader into the mind of Edmond Dantes, to show the reader that you are beginning to understand this character and how important this moment is as part of his journey from being Edmond Dantes to being the Count of Monte Cristo. What goes through Edmond’s mind as he struggles to stay alive? Does he have any visions? Does he see or even speak to people from his past? Does he pray or converse with God—or the Devil? They say that when a person is experiencing a traumatic moment, time slows down, and your entire life flashes before your eyes. How might this hold true in Edmond’s case? Ideally, what you should be striving for here is a balanced representation of what this moment must have been like for Edmond both physically and mentally.

28. Revenge gives the avenger a sense of peace…or does it?. Listed below are a number of events from The Count of Monte Cristo that are a part of the second half of Edmond Dantes’s character arc. For each one you are to (a) reread the portions of the novel that deal with that event and (b) in the white space provided, explain why this particular event is important in terms of Edmond’s transformation over the course of the novel—what does he learn from this particular moment? How is he changed for having experienced it; how does this moment prepare him for the next moment on his character arc? You should be particularly concerned with the way, over the second half of the novel, that Edmond is caught between pursuing his long-planned-for vengeance against his enemies and his realization that his quest for vengeance may be destroying himself in the process. Each of your explanations should be a minimum of eight (8) sentences in length.Moment #1: The Count confronts Caderousse (pgs. 339-344) Moment #2: Mercedes begs for Albert’s life (pgs. 375-379)Moment #3: The Count confronts Fernand (pgs. 393-395)Moment #4Maximilien Morrel reveals to the Count that he loves Valentine (pgs. 400-402) Explanation:

29. One must experience the feeling of loss and devastation in order to appreciate fully the feeling of ultimate bliss. You and a partner will work together to find evidence in the text that supports this theme. Be sure to cite the passage(s), and provide strong commentary that supports your thoughts.

30. Money is the key to happiness. You and a partner will work together to find evidence in the text that supports this theme. Be sure to cite the passage(s), and provide strong commentary that supports your thoughts.

31. It is possible to fall in love more than once. The Count of Monte Cristo is a Romantic Hero because: - Wanderlust (desire to travel) - Introspection (looking within self) - Misanthropy (distrust/ hatred for humankind) - Regret of actions which leads to philanthropy (love of mankind in general) , which stops the character from ending tragically.

32. One can be several persons in one; in other words, a person can have very different personalities depending on the situation in which a person finds himself or herself. • Dantès → young naïve boy to a sophisticated gentleman (bildungsroman) • Different identities (Count of Monte Cristo, Sinbad the Sailor, Chief clerk of Thomson and French, and Abbé Busoni) • Mercédès and Fernand → poor to wealthy & back to poor • Baron Danglars → wealthy to poor

33. Literary Analysis—Drawing upon your knowledge of the novel, your essay will take a position on ONE of the following prompts: • Revenge: Was the Count of Monte Cristo justified in seeking revenge on his enemies? Give specific examples of the Count’s revenge, then, explain why the Count’s actions are (or are not) acceptable. • Suffering: How does suffering impact who a person becomes? Choose 3 characters and analyze how their own suffering (physical, emotional, or mental) impacts their personality throughout the novel. • Fate: How do certain characters follow their fate? How do other characters defy their fate? Analyze how Dantes AND 1 other characters handle their fate throughout the novel and what effect it ultimately has on them. • Duality: Is anything absolute or are there always at least two sides? Choose one character, event, or idea in the novel that can be looked at in more than one way. Give details from the novel that show the two sides of your character/event/idea; then explain which side seems more likely and why.

34. Literary Analysis—Drawing upon your knowledge of the novel, your essay will take a position on ONE of the following prompts: Your essay must be 2 pages in length and contain at least 6 pieces of textual evidence (quotations or examples) to support your analysis. Your ideas must be fully-developed and explained in precise and concise language. It will be typed MLA format and submitted to Turnitin.com. It will be graded according to the Cherry Hill Writing Rubric, which will be stapled on the bottom of your essay. Sandwiched in-between will be all your work leading up to your polished copy. I want to see pre-writing, drafting, editing, and revisions. Due date is…