Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo questions the success of revenge, and illustrates the joy of letting go While in
pnson, a bloodthirsty lust for revenge consumes Edmund Dantes and represses his faith, love, and all the other positive ideals he
once treasured, leaving him With only a cold, black heart. Only until Dantes releases his hatred and embraces the love and wealth
surrounding him can he reclaim his time spent in Chateau D'If
By the time Edmund Dantes escapes from pnson, he can no longer see the positive aspects of his present or future His hunger
for vengeance, the news of his father's suicide, and Mercedes' mamage, blind him Dantes tums his back on divine justice decides
to act as "the hand of God" himself, despite pleas of reconsideration from his fnends Once he retneves the nches Abbe Fana
bequeaths him and transforms into the Count of Monte Cnsto, the trap is set. His initial plan, transfer all the pain he endured in
Chateau D'If to his conspirators, works well in the beginning He systematically entraps each betrayer, and soon only his Brutus and
Cassius, Femand and Mercedes, remain However just before he sets the final phase of his plan into motion, Mercedes comes to
him, proves her undying devotion, and begs for forgiveness A night of passion opens Dantes' black heatl to the light of love and
allows him to renounce his quest for justice for the first time since his impnsonment
Dumas' The Count of Monte Cnsto demonstrates the limits of human-delivered justice through the pursuits of Edmund Dantes Only
until Dantes releases his desire for vengeance and the self-proclaimed title of "the hand of God" can he embrace the goodness and
love he stifles dunng his impnsonment
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