The Count of Monte Cristo - Essay Example

The three form the antagonists in the story and plot against Dantes so he would lose what he has. Accordingly, Dantes was arrested for treason and consequently sent to prison for the rest of his life. Although he did not have any political stand, Dantes was unfortunately acting as a courier as a favor to his deceased captain and had in possession a letter from Napoleon. Moreover, the recipient of the letter was the father of the deputy public prosecutor and the latter did not want the public to know about his father’s misconduct.

In jail, Dantes meets and befriend a priest who teaches him a lot of things – academic and about life in general. The priest, Abbe Faria, also tells him of a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. Dantes eventually escapes by hiding inside the deceased Faria’s shroud and swims to freedom when the jailers throw out what they thought was the priest’s body in the sea. Dantes uses the knowledge and the money he got from Faria to reinvent himself in order to get his revenge against the people who had made his life miserable.

Throughout the beginning of the story, Dantes manifests a person who does not think ill of people. This was evident when, upon questioning from Morrel, he still had good words to say about Dangler even if he knew Dangler did not like him. (Dumas) When he found out the Cardousse had left his father to starve to death by making his father pay Dantes’ entire debt, Dantes still managed to welcome Cardousse into their home. (Dumas) He values his relationship with his father. When he found him starving, he immediately gave him gold to buy whatever he needed. (Dumas) Dantes was also someone who initially believed in hope and God.

In prison, while struggling to make sense of what had happened to his life, he was still optimistic that God would pull him through the circumstances. This was especially clear when he continued waiting for the governor’s decision to release him from jail and kept making rationalizations when the decision seemed to take longer than he expected. (Dumas) Initially, Edmond Dantes was convinced that he was just a victim of fate. From the innocent and simple-minded man that he was, however, he turned into a vengeful and cunning person once he discovered the reason for all the misfortune he had gotten.

The priest Faria regretted telling Dantes how the latter ended up in jail. (Dumas 186) He knew that once Dantes found out about the truth, the latter would be filled with so much anger and passion to get back at those who took his life away. Because of his quest for revenge, Edmond Dantes mastered the art of lying like those who betrayed him. In the course of the story, he pretends to be someone else three times, initially, in order to save his boss, Morrel, and finally as the sophisticated Count of Monte Cristo.

In the midst of executing his plans against Fernand and the rest, Dantes realizes that he has deeply hurt innocent people in the process and that he is not God who can control and foresee the effects of his actions. (Dumas 610) In an attempt to mitigate all the wrongdoing he believes he has committed, he helps Maximilian appreciate the latter’s love for Valentine by letting Maximilian believe Valentine was dead. (Dumas) The story of Edmond Dantes can be likened to the life of tennis superstar Andre Agassi.

Although the themes present in the novel by Dumas do not