THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas

 

SYNOPSIS

In this book, one attitude that has been unexpected for me is when Mercedes told his son, Albert, her painful secret, in order to keep Albert and the count alive. I didn’t expect that the mother would act in that way, but it was true that it was the only possibility to save both of them. Furthermore, a surprising behavior is when Dantés escaped from prison by putting Father Faria’s body on the bed of his cell and laying down inside the sack on the old man’s bed. One idea that will remain fundamental in the future is love between people, that deep feeling that endures over time. Even after years of separation, if two people who loved each other meet again, that bond endures. This idea is vividly illustrated in the book with Dantès and Mercedes. Despite the years and circumstances that separated them, when they met again, the latent love between them is still perceived. Throughout the book, several passages can be observed in which a great description has been made. For instance, the author describes in detail the process of finding the treasure in Monte Cristo, the place where Father Faria told Dantés. “It was an exciting moment for Edmond when the ship arrived at Monte Cristo(…) He managed to shoot a goat and gave it to the sailors to cook over(…) It was full of shining gold coins, bright jewels and valuable silver - it was indeed treasure!” (pag 22-23). If I had the chance to interview the author of this reading, I would ask him if he would take revenge as the main character of the book has done against the people who have hurt him. I would answer that I would not take revenge, I would do whatever I have to find my fiancée. Besides that, I wonder if he will leave Mercedes or stay with her for the rest of his life. I think that the response will be that he would do what he feels in that right moment. If he still cares about her, he will stay and if not, he might leave.

PERSONAL OPINION

It has been a very interesting book, full of action, and it hooks you to keep reading easily. In some moments it is a bit confusing because of the amount of characters and the strange names they have, but writing down who is who on a piece of paper makes the reading much easier. As soon as the protagonist escapes from prison, he acts all the time with revenge on the three people who put him in jail. I think it is normal for Dantés to be angry but I would also say that if everyone acted with revenge because someone else had hurt them, the world would be even more chaotic than it is right now. Also, I would remark that in life we have to learn to forgive people and enjoy life. To sum up, I enjoyed reading it and I totally recommend it because I think that it is a very famous reading that everyone should read once in their life.

Review by Sara Elzaurdi Carrera