Historic Fiction Creation: Emulating the Count of Monte Cristo - Essay Example

number Publish Reflections on Historic Fiction Creation: Emulating the Count of Monte Cristo Over the years, the Count of Monte Cristo has grown into a classical example of historical fiction that has been likened in popularity to modern classics such as “Noah’s flood” (Dumas xxv). The story has had great appeal with readers during its day and in the current times. Dumas uncovers various parts of the human self and existence that will perhaps never fade from the domain of human tendencies. This emphasis on human fallacies and human behavior shown in The Count of Monte Cristo renders it alluring for audiences from all times. Overall the novel spans a number of themes including (but not limited to) hope, despair, justice, revenge, wrath, forgiveness, human fallacies and clemency. The story spins around the life of Edmond Dantes, starting out from the years of his youth and innocence and develops as Dantes’ life takes new turns. Dumas has chosen to start the story with feelings of hope and ambition, only to turn these feelings around as Dantes is conspired against. Eventually Dantes is sent to the Chateau d’Iif, a notorious prison that has the ability to break down even the most potent of men. The innocent Dantes is shown as trusting of his comrades but essentially he is betrayed by the very people that he chooses to trust. The image of an innocent Dantes is something that everyone in the audience can relate to. This is true since human beings have a tendency to associate themselves with innocence and to declare themselves absolvent under most circumstances. Typically, the average human being feels more sinned against than sinned by. This is something that people can associate with regardless of the age that they themselves belong to. Dumas has manipulated this aspect of human nature adeptly in order to make the story relevant to all kinds of audiences. This aspect has been replicated in order to produce wide appeal for the story being penned. Another notable aspect of Dumas’ work is the development of the plot once Dantes is inside the dreaded Chateau d’Iif. Dantes transforms from a God fearing Christian filled with hope for justice into a godless wretch who breeds nothing but hate and revenge. The actions carried out by Dantes such as his etching out the days in prison on the walls of his cell portray Dumas’ skill of involving the audience. Dantes etches days as long as he carries some hope of justice but he stops when he realizes that justice is not about to arrive. The overall creation of this sub climax inside the story signifies a strong technique used by Dumas – he uses outwards descriptions of characters and settings to portray changes that occur deep down inside human beings. This method of creating tension inside the story essentially points in one direction. Dantes has been shown by Dumas as a breeding ground of hate and revenge yet the reader is unwittingly enticed by Dantes. Portraying Dantes as being oppressed and helpless for so long allows Dumas to project Dantes as an angel compared to the people who have sinned him. This can be effectively manipulated into the plot of the proposed story to develop an analogous character. Even after Dantes meets up with Abbe Farria accidentally, the chief focus of Dantes is to extract revenge from his oppressors. In attempts to avenge crimes against himself and Mercedes, Dantes turns into the very thing that he hates – an oppressor. Another transformation in Dantes personality in this period is his method of thinking about things. Prison and confinement have effectively turned Dantes into a calculating and sly plotter. Dantes takes over ten years to go back to take revenge instead of plunging himself into Marseilles right after his escape. One possibility that might have confronted Dumas was to allow Dantes to return to Marseilles right after his escape to kill his oppressors. However, Dumas chose to elevate the climax and drama by allowing Dantes to take over a decade to transform into the Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas has effectively split Dantes’ personality into two different and recognizable sides – one side corresponds to the innocent Edmond while the other side corresponds to the crafty Count of Monte Cristo. Loss of innocence has been part of historical fiction such as in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray when Dorian changes into a hedonist (Wilde). However, virtuosos such as Wilde transformed their entire character into something new while Dumas preserves the framework of Edmond to encapsulate the Count of Monte Cristo inside the framework. The later turnaround by Dumas to declare the Count innocent at the end of the tale is justifiable in the mind of the reader since the reader has been accustomed to duality in Edmond’s personality from the very beginning. Dumas is simply exorcising the devil from inside Edmond even though he has destroyed several lives; innocent and sinners alike. In contrast, Wilde chooses to burn his devil at the stake when Dorian Gray is transformed to dust. The story being written will try to develop a similar duality in the main character to inspire the reader’s confidence in the character though the character is not projected to be as brutal. Given the wide array of characters that the modern reader has been exposed to, it remains to be seen if readers today would like to see the main character as being brutal at his personality’s nadir or more manipulative only. The descriptions of people and places presented by Dumas are another noteworthy aspect of this story. Historical fiction carries greater appeal with modern audiences since they offer the readers an opportunity to escape into an idyllic time when manners were as smooth as silk. The dialogues presented in The Count of Monte Cristo increase its wider appeal to the audiences since they present a differing method of communicating ideas. The current story will take onto similar form for dialogues in order to create wider appeal to the audiences. However, it remains to be seen if such a dialogue mechanism would be as effective as intended with the wider audience. The current readers are more used to simpler dialogues since they are easier to interpret and since modern novels use simpler dialogues. In terms of describing scenes, Dumas’ method of using detailed descriptions will be followed religiously since it allows the writer to capture and transmit the entire scenario and its depth with ease. Trying to squeeze scenario descriptions to introduce mystery is a modern innovation in stories. However, since a historical fiction story is being aimed at, it would be far more pertinent to use similar description methods. Moreover, characters would be described in great detail for every possible scene since it allows the writer another chance to enchant the audiences. In Dumas’ time, lavish clothes and pompous balls were common but this is not true in the lives of modern human beings. Modern readers are attracted to historical fiction since it presents images of a past that every reader wants to be a part of. The lavish descriptions of scenes and characters effectively allows the reader to become part of the scene by imagining themselves as some part of the scene being described. The current story will develop scenes by using detailed descriptions of both settings and characters for every possible scene. However, it remains to be seen what scenes readers would prefer to be a part of. The brutality portrayed in the story will entice audiences due to their curiosity but not because they want to be part of the situation. Audiences must be quizzed in order to decide which scenes need to described in more detail than others. Works Cited Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004. Print. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition. Belknap Press , 2011. Print. Read More