help with Count of Monte Cristo

[xlilcurlyqx]

im doing a project on how in the count of monte cristo everything has a consequence.

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a good example of this from the book

I have a couple but im not sure if they are good enough. :)

[kiki1982]

Hello!

We would all be happy to help you (I'm sure I speak for everyone here), but you don't have to think we'll do the work for you. Why don't you post some of your examples here first? We'll comment on them and then you can comment back. It will help you to get more insight, also for the next assignment...

I would say: 'Bring it on, baby!' :p :D :lol:

[xlilcurlyqx]

haha ya I understand what your saying and don't worry i was not expecting to have you do the project for me :)

It's just hard to narrow it down to only a couple of examples because all the characters and consequences are intertwined and ya.\

What I was thinking about so far was How when the count was put in jail he decided to take revenge on those who betrayed him, and in doing that he ended up hurting not only those who betrayed him but also innocent people who were dragged down with them.

Then there is the good side of the count, and how he chose to help morrel and his son maximilian.

and thats about all i have so far :))

[kiki1982]

Well, let's have a think...

Start at the beginning: the letter. The captain gets sick, dies and makes Dantès promise he will deliver this letter to Elba. The poor boy wants to do his duty and doesn't realise what consequeces this will have. If there would have been another political situation (the reverse, Napoleon on the throne and not the king), or if he would have been helping the king in stead of Napoleon, he would have been awarded with the Légion d'Honeur or something...

About Morrel. He helps Morrel because he believes him to be the only one that really believed in his innocence. In spite of that Morrel's company is in great financial trouble, whereas the others (Morcerf/Mondego and Danglars, and Villefort) have done very well for themselves. He also gives Caderousse a second chance, believing that he was realy tricked into it by the others, who made him drunk. Later Caderousse will kill his wife for the money and he'll team up with Andrea Cavalcanti to break into a place, the same place the Count bought in Auteuil. He will be killed by his partner Cavacanti. In other words he was a lost soul and it's not surprising that he got drunk and agreed to cheat on his 'friend'.

At the end of the story even the Count's revenge has a consequence:
Lordoftheview and I don't realy agree on this one but I think that Edmond goes back to Mercédès, gives her his money he saved up for their marriage years ago, gives her the house he bought in Marseille where they would have lived if they would have been married etc. because he expects of her to take him back as she really loved him. She, on the other hand shows him the door, because she 'doesn't recognise her Edmond' anymore and also, she learned to 'love' Fernand. 'After all he had been her husband for 20 (?) years and he's the father of her son...' She tells him to learn to forgive. So the count leaves and goes to his former prison (Château d'If) to think. He goes to the cell of priest Faria and he buys this book Faria wrote from the prison guard, the prison now being a tourist attraction. He thinks about the past years of revenge and doubts whether he was right in taking revenge. He opens Faria's book and reads: 'Tu arracheras les dents du dragon, et tu fouleras aux pieds les lions, a dit le Seigneur.' (You will take out the teeth from the dragon, and you'll put the lions at your feet, the Lord has said.) So he decides that the revenge was just, but that he indeed needs to forgive in order to find peace for himsef... So in the end he fogives Danglars and takes his money so he can start again with the last 1000 francs (I believe)...

Did I put you on the right track? Just go through the story and ask yourself the question you need to answer. It'll be ok...

good luck!:) If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

[xlilcurlyqx]

Yes that did help and I learned some things I didn't know, that can tie it together.
We read the abridged version because some things were "innapropriate" for our school. :p

[kiki1982]

Inappropriate? What's inappropriate in that book, there is not even sex in it... :confused:

If you want to know anything more about it, let me know.

[xlilcurlyqx]

haha thats what I said. But I don't know my school is wierd about stuff like that maybe for swearing, affairs and stuff

[kiki1982]

What have you missed, then?
I don't believe in abridged versions as they clearly miss the point. I read it in french and there is no abridging involved...

You know that Valentine (Villefort's daughter has a relationship with Maximilien Morrel? She is supposed to marry France d'Epinay, son of the late general (?) d'Epinay. The marriage doesn't take place, as it is discovered that Villefort's father, Mr Noirtier de Villefort, member of the Bonapartist commitee, killed general d'Epinay who was a royalistic guy. He killed him in a duel. The killer was never found, but there is a letter concealed behind a painting. I can't remember why it came out. Something to do with the count... :D

There is something up with Cavalcanti. This one is great :D . The count buys a house and his servant Bertuccio gets nervous and tells him this story:
years ago he used to observe this couple, Mme de Nargonne (the mistress of the king ?) and this guy. She was pregnant and tucked away in the house at Auteuil, the guy comes to see her every night in the garden. At a certain time the child was born and, as it was 'dead', burried in the garden by the father. But Bertuccio is not sure and digs up the 'coffin' and finds a breathing baby. He takes him home and rases him with his sister. The child, being rebelious, leaves. Bertuccio recognises Andrea Cavalcanti as the boy he rased. He also recognises the house he bought in Auteuil as the same place where he discovered the baby. The guy who came to see the pregnant turns out to be Villefort and Danglars has married Mme de Nargonne in the mean time. It's great when the count tells all of them the story and Mme Danglars faints and Villefort gets extremely hot... :D
The count gives Cavalcanti a 'father' by paying an old guy called 'Cavalcanti' to pose as his father. He has lost his son and the (french) italian guy needs a father to be allowed in society. The count manages to get Danglars interested in Cavalcanti. Danglars falls for it and makes plans to marry his daughter Eugénie off to Cavalcanti. At the day if the marriage, when everyone (Danglars of course, Morcerf/Mondego) is there, the count informs the police about the fact that Cavalcanti is a criminal, at the moment they're about to sign the registre, the police comes in and arrests Cavalcanti. It all happens in the same way as 20 years earlier when the count, Edmond Dantès, himself was arrested at the day of his engagement, about to marry his girl Mercédès.

Morcerf betrayed the sultan Ali Pasha, whereupon the army killed him and took his daughter and wife to sell as slaves. The wife dies but the daughter lives. The count eventually buys her, Haydée, and frees her. Firstly there are stories about the case in the news paper 'from a trustable but anonymous source'. Then in the senate there follows the big climax and Haydée is put on the stand, prooving the story. After that Morcerf kills himself and Mercédès gives away all the money and withdraws herself in the house in Marseille. Young Albert signs up in the army.

There was earlier a little doubt about this: Lord Wilmore from Thompson&French in London is actually the Count aka Edmond Dantès aka Simbad le Marin, himself. The priest Busoni is also played by the count.

[kiki1982]

There are a few old threads that are interesting to look at. Just search the forum and the character name...

[xlilcurlyqx]

I knew about maximilian and valentine, and Franz and Nortier.

But they took out all the stuff about cavalcanti except that he was a criminal and almost married Danglars daughter.

I also knew about Haydee, but i did not know why villefort went crazy at the end, and was digging in the back yard. But now I understand thank you

[kiki1982]

Yes, of course, Cavalcanti was taken out because of his parents' situation...
Now I understand what was 'inappropriate'...