Elise Hawkins

Miss Moser
ELA 10H P.2
6 December 2016

The Count of Monte Cristo Socratic Seminar

2)

The two characters that exemplify true love in this story are the Count and

Mercedes. At the beginning of the story, they started out as lovers and they were
engaged, but after Edmond had been put in prison he'd become extremely cold and
calculating and very hard to love. Mercedes didn't know this at first and after she
found out, she didn't love the Count like she used to. However, she still loved the
Edmond she remembered and waited for. The Count had become so different than
his old self that it was hard for Mercedes to accept the fact that he was the Edmond
she used to love. And even though the Count had become numb to all emotions, he
still had his weakness which was Mercedes. He was willing to give up his own life for
her happiness. What I've loved most after you, Mercedes, is myself; that is my
dignity and that strength which made me superior to other men. That strength was
my life; you've broken it with a word so I must die (Dumas 378). Throughout the
book, Monte Cristo has mentioned several times that the only thing that can stop
him from his revenge is death and that he values his life more than anything else.
But after seeing how much pain losing her son would cause Mercedes, he's given it
up without very much of a second thought. So, even though the Count and

Mercedes may not be lovers, they still care about each other more deeply than most
husbands and wives in this book.
4)

The cruelest character in The Count of Monte Cristo is Benedetto. Even from a

young age he was extremely cruel for no reason to people who had been nothing
but kind to him. When Bertuccio was in his teens he had begun stealing from his
adopted parents until Assunta, Bertuccios sister-in-law, hid their money from him.
He responded by coming later that night with his friends, determined to find the
money. Two of the young men held Assunta while the other one locked the doors
and windows. Then, smothering her shrieks of terror, they began to hold her feet
over the fire to make her tell them where her treasure was hidden. But her clothes
caught fire in the struggle and they let go of her in order not to be burned
themselves. She was found the next morning, half burned but still breathing. The
cupboard had been broken open and the money was gone. As for Benedetto, he left
Rogliano and never came back; I havent seen or heard of him since then (Dumas
197). We learn later that he was sent to prison along with Caderousse but they
escaped with the Counts assistance. Even after all of that, Benedetto was just as
cruel if not crueler. Because Caderousse failed to either rob the Count or killed him,
Benedetto stabbed him out of anger.
6)

The driving motives for Caderousse, Danglars, and Fernand that put Edmond

in jail is simply the fact that they were jealous. Both Caderousse and Danglars were
greed and mad that Edmond had become so successful suddenly while they were
still poor. Fernand was in love with Edmonds fiance and was angry because she
had turned him down several times because of Edmond. Fernand isnt the only
one to be annoyed by Dantes bad luck. No, thats true, and I might almost say
that it will bring him bad luck. It doesnt matter, though; in the meantime, at least,

hell marry the beautiful Mercedes. Danglars looked scrutinizingly at Fernand, on

whom Caderousses words fell like drops of molten lead. When will the wedding
be? he asked. Oh, it hasnt taken place yet! muttered Fernand. No, but it will,
said Caderousse, just as surely as Dantes will be made captain of the Pharaon. Isnt
that right, Danglars? Danglars started at this unexpected thrust and turned to look
at Caderousse in order to see if it had been premeditated. But he saw nothing but
envy on his drunken face (Dumas 15). All three of them couldnt stand Edmonds
success and decided to take it into their hands to ruin his life. As for Villefort, his
original intent was not to harm Dantes. He had nothing against him, in fact we learn
that he initially takes a liking to Dantes until he learns that the letter involves his
father. The information in that letter would have ruined his reputation which meant
more to Villefort than his honesty. So, he decided the only way to save his own
reputation was to ruin Edmonds.
7)

What Edmond Dantes had learned from his long life of revenge can be

summarized in the last portion of the letter that the Count wrote to Maximilien
Morrel before he left France. It says, Tell the angel who will watch over your life to
pray now and then for a man who, like Satan, believed himself for an instant to be
equal to God, but who realized in all humility that supreme power and wisdom are
in the hands of God alone. As for you, Maximilien, here is the secret of my conduct
toward you: there is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world: there is only
the comparison of one state with another. Only a man who has felt ultimate despair
is capable of feeling ultimate bliss. It is necessary to have wished for death,
Maximilien, in order to know how good it is to live. Live, then, and be happy,
beloved children of my heart, and never forget that, until the day God deigns to
reveal the future to man, the sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these

two words: Wait and hope. Your friend, EDMOND DANTES. Count of Monte Cristo
(Dumas 531). Just like the count said, you must experience one extreme to enjoy
the other. The Count went through a time where he believed he could be God and
punish those people who put him in jail, however it was necessary for him to feel
this in order to be so humble at the end to know that even he is subject to Gods will
and that judgement of how to punish those men should be left to God.
8)

By the end of The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond has reached his goal of

punishing those people who were responsible for putting him in jail. He has ruined
every single one of their lives to the extent that he believes is fitting punishment for
their actions. Caderousse ends up dead because of his greed, Danglars loses his
family, reputation, fortune, and dignity, Fernand commits suicide because the count
ruins his honor and reputation when he reveals that Fernand sold Ali Pashas family
into slavery, and Villefort goes mad trying to fix the things he had done wrong.
However, the Count is still not happy by the end of it all. During his mission to get
revenge, he had also harmed many innocent people and he felt extremely guilty for
what he had done. You have nothing more to do here? asked Maximilien. No,
replied Monte Cristo. And God grant that I havent done too much already!
(Dumas 487). He had ruined Mercedess life and left her with an even more broken
heart than he found her with and during his revenge, an innocent child died. All of
this makes the Count wonder if his plans were worth the price that innocent people
had to pay and seeing what happened to these two people, along with a
combination of other things, humbled the Count and ended his search for revenge.
10)

Maximilien Morrel and Valentine de Villefort were the happiest people at the

end of The Count of Monte Cristo because just like the count had planned, they had
both been pushed to their lowest points because of being separated from each

other that they can then feel ultimate bliss now that theyve been reunited. We
first see Valentine pushed to her lowest point when she has to face the fact that her
father is going to force her to marry Albert de Morcerf and that shell never get to
be with the man she loves, Maximilien. Later on, we see Maximilien at his lowest
point when he believes Valentine is dead. What if I am going to kill myself? cried
Maximilien, abandoning his pretense of calm. Who will have the courage to prevent
me? When I say, All my hopes are ruined, my heart is broken, my life is ended and
theres nothing around me but mourning and dismay, who will answer, Youre
wrong? Would you have the courage to say that, count? (Dumas 446) At the end
of the book, the couple can finally have that ultimate bliss because of the sadness
they went through. They find their happiness when the count finally reunites them
and leaves them with everything he owned so that they can live well for the rest of
their life together.
12)

The lesson the count learns from his experience is that there is neither

happiness nor unhappiness in this world: there is only the comparison of one state
with another. This theme was carried throughout the whole book because when
Edmond first returned from prison, he found all of his enemies in successful
positions where they were very happy (with the exception of Caderousse). He used
this to his advantage because their punishments were that much worse because
they had experienced that high point in their lives. But for the count, death is not
enough of a punishment. Its an easy escape from the punishment that is deserved.
Listen, said the count, his face taking on an expression of hatred, if a man has
tortured and killed your father, your mother, your sweetheart, in short, one of those
beings who leave an eternal emptiness and a perpetually bleeding wound when
they are torn from your heart, do you think society has given you sufficient

reparation because the blade of the guillotine has passed between the murderers
trapezius and his occipital bone, because the man who made you undergo long
years of mental and emotional suffering has undergone a few seconds of physical
pain? (Dumas 138) The count believes that since he went through 14 long years of
both physical, emotional, and mental pain in prison, his enemies dont deserve to
die as their punishmentthey must suffer like he did.
13)

The socioeconomic status of the characters in this story played a huge role

on what motives each character had. For example, at the beginning of the story
Caderousse and Danglars are jealous on Edmond purely because he has more
money than them and has promise for his future. The most prominent example, in
my opinion, is Madam Danglars and her lover Lucien Debray. Debray only loves
Madam Danglars because she is rich and gives her allowance to him. After Danglars
loses his fortune, Debray wants nothing to do with Madam Danglars anymore. Our
accounts, from the beginning of our partnership till yesterday, show a profit of two
million four hundred thousand francs for each of us. Your money is here now
(Dumas 457). When Madam Danglars goes to Debray for emotional support and
advice after her husband leaves her, Debray simply deals with her as he would a
business partner. He lists all of their profits made during their partnership, gives
her the money he owes her, and cuts off their relationship because she has nothing
left to give him.
14)

The character Id like to eat dinner with is Abbe Faria because I think he

would be a very interesting person to learn from. Edmond talked about how he was
educated in math, physics, history, and several languages. I sometimes struggle
with physics could always use a tutor like Abbe Faria. Hes patient, kind, and a good
teacher according to Edmond. Id also like to ask him what he thought about how

Edmond turned out and if he regretted teaching everything he knows so Edmond

would be well equipped for his revenge.