The Count of Monte Cristo....

Ok,so my English assingment for the week is to read 11 chapters of The Count of Monte Cristo, write a little about the characters: sort of flesh them out; sort of use your imagination to write a little background on the characters.
And also,for chapters 1-6, describe,in one word,......the theme of the section of the book. Same goes for the next 5-6 chapters.

Ok, I am a pretty stupid kid,and am in need of help desperately.

I'm supposed to like write a journal if I notice some of the themes,motifs,symbols-whatever.

My reading comprehension is quite poor,and I may need some suggestions of anything.