Book Report on The Count of Monte Cristo学生姓名袁守业专业英语班级学号121011102学院外国语学院About the authorAlexandre Dumas(1802-1870), distinguished with his son, also known as Alexandre Dumas, père, was a French famous romantic writer. Many of his historical novels of high adventure, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years Afters The Vicomte de Bragelonne etc left readers a deep impression. There is no doubt that he is a prolific writer ,including plays and magazine articles, he published works totaled more than 100,000 pages. He is regarded as the king of popular novel. In 2002, his grave was moved to Pantheon where buried the most influential French great man for the world.About Dumas’birth, I think it’s a bittersweet. His family are French nobleman, but his grandmother was a black slave whose family name is “Dumas”. So Dumas has a quarter of black bloods which made him subject to discrimination in all of his whole life.After his fame, he became very luxurious. He spent nearly two 200,000 francs building a new gothic Monte Cristo castle where entertaining friends and mistresses, and he also called himself “The Count of Monte Cristo”. Spending money like water makes him gradually get lots of debts. In his old ages, he was very poor and he auctioned off his castle to fulfill debts. His last mistress was a American actress who died in acting accidental, it made Dumas very sad and after buried her, he came to his son’s home, then he said “ I came here to waiting for death ”. Half month later, he died at the age of sixty eight.About Dumas’ novel, there are two typical features. The first one is that his novels always chose a real historical event as background. Dumas once said: “what is history ? It is the nail that used to hang novels.”So his novels was always called historical adventurous novel. The second is the complex exciting arrangement of the plot which is the soul and the charm of Dumas’ novels.About the storyThe story of The Count of Monte Cristo can be divided into two parts in my opinion.The first part: The Count of Monte Cristo begins with the arrival of a ship in Marseilles, France, a young sailor named Edmond Dantes came out and he ispromised to be the captain by the owner Morrel because the original captain is death. During the sailing, their captain falls ill. They stopped for help at a nearby island, which happens to be where Napoleon Bonaparte is in hiding. Bonaparte pulls aside Edmond and asks him to deliver an "innocent letter" to an old friend in Marseilles, France. Edmond agrees, as that is the price for the use of Napoleon's physician. But there are two people, M.Danglars, who is jealous of Dantes ’ trust of Morrel, and the another one is the cousin of Dantes’fiancee, Fernand, who loves Dantes’fiancee Mercedes. They set Dantes to prison during the Dantes and Mercedes’ wedding. The procurator, Villefort, who's father is the man Edmond was to deliver the letter to, thrown him into The Chateau D'if. After six years of imprisonment in the Chateau D'if, Dantes is on the verge of suicide when he befriends the The Mad Priest Faria, a fellow prisoner whom he hears trying to tunnel his way to freedom. Over the course of the next eight years, Faria comes to give Dantes an extensive education in language, culture, and science. He also explains to Dantes how Danglars, Fernand, and Villefort would each have had their own reasons for wanting Dantes in prison. Knowing himself to be close to death, Faria tells Dantes the location of a treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. Finally, Dantes escaped and found the treasure. Returning to Marseilles, Dantes learns that his father died of starvation during his imprisonment, but before embarking on his efforts for revenge, he first helps several people who were kind to him before his imprisonment. He helped Morrel’family and send Caderoussea a diamond in return. Then Dantes throw away all warm sentiments from his heart and became The Count of Monte Cristo and dedicate himself to revenge.The second part: Returning as the rich Count of Monte Cristo, Dantes takes revenge on the three men responsible for his unjust imprisonment: Fernand, now Count Morcerf and Mercedes' husband; Danglers, now a baron and a wealthy banker; and Villefort, now procureur--all of whom now lived in Paris. After a series of schemes, he finally successfully revenged to the three people. Fernand, suicide with extreme fear and despair; Villefort, his wife and son’s death drive him to mad. But in the process of revenging Danglers, some innocent people died unexpectedly which makes The Count of Monte Cristo feels guilty, and also makes him change his mind that leaving Danglers alive.The Reason Why I Read the BookIn my middle-school time, my Chinese teacher asked me to read some foreignworld famous books. I respected her and then I went to book store. I remembered that I bought two books Father Goriot by Balzac and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. But I failed in reading the whole book. It’s too boring and I can’t understand why they are talking with each other in a strange way at that time. And after a period of time ,when my teacher asked me about her homework (reading some foreign books) , I admitted that I can’t stand those boring foreign books, it’s a torment for me. Then, I still remembered what she said then “So, you should go to find some Dumas’books and take a look”. It was the first time that I have heard Dumas’ book, I began to read The Three Musketeers which was very exciting and I felt my heart beating with the main character D'Artagnan. And I became a fan of Dumas.About this book report, I hesitate for a long time because although The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book, it is not written by a English-speaker writer after all. But finally I made up my mind because I really like this book and I really want to say something about it, That’s why I choose this book to read, to be honest, I began to read The Count of Monte Cristo in Chinese before. Lately, I tried my best to finish the English version.Some features of The Count of Monte CristoComplex plot settingThe most typical feature of the book is the artful winding plot. Edmond Dantes should have had a glorious future--to be a caption of a ship, with his fiancee to marry him soon. But under the surface on happiness,there was a conspiracy.A man called Fernand who also wanted to marry Mercedes designed a trap for Dantes with another man called Danglars wanting to become the caption instead of Dantes. Later, Villefort became the judge in the trial. As the case relates to his personal interest by chance, Dantès was thrown into the prison though he had done nothing wrong. Behind this conflicts, we found that Dumas’excellent talent of plot setting. Actually the plots was full of coincidences, if Dantes’case didn’t meet Villefort, he would be released at once, if he didn't meet Faria in the prison, he would never know the truth of all, and he would never become The Count of Monte Cristo. But these “ if ” s didn't seem forced and unnatural. This is what the perfect plot setting is.The change of characters’ personalityAt the beginning of story , Dantes is a 19-years-old big boy who didn't have much social experiences, just like a contemporary college student. We can see a simple, brave, optimistic sailor, and he treat everyone that he meet enthusiastically. There is a typical conversation showed his young and pure mind in chapter one. When the owner told him “ you did very right, Dantes, to follow Captain Leclere's(original captain) instructions, and touch at Elba, although if it were known that you had conveyed a packet to the marshal, and had conversed with the emperor, it might bring you into trouble.”“How could that bring me into trouble, sir? ” asked Dantes; "for I did not even know of what I was the bearer; and the emperor merely made such inquiries as he would of the first comer. But, pardon me, here are the health officers and the customs inspectors coming alongside.”And then, Dantes walk away and forget it completely. The background of The Count of Monte Cristo is during the period of The Bourbon Restoration, at that time politics is sensitive. But Dantes didn't realized what he had get from Elba would change his life at allThe growth of a hero must experienced most unbelievable pain and despair. Dantes is no exception. He was set to prison when he was 19 years old, and escaped from prison when he was 33 years old. Fourteen-years darkest life is enough for the change of Dantes. His personality changed from “ I love everyone ” to “ I love ones who loves me，I hate ones who hates me.” He thanked the people who helped him or his father sincerely selflessly, and punished the people who do hurt him and his father cruel and coldly. The count does not kill his enemies directly. He brilliantly uses their vices and weaknesses against them. The hatred made him became crafty, negative and cold--blooded. Caderousse's basic greed is turned against him, while Danglars loses the only thing that means everything for him. Fernand is deprived of the one thing that he had never earned his honor. After his revenge of Villefort, his mind changed again, he began to think if he is right when he faced the bodies of Villefort. It is the main cause that makes him finally forgave Danglars.The whole change of The Count give readers a true comprehensive deep impression of Dantes’ life. Not only the Dantes has changed, but also the other people changed a lot. Fernand, one of manly negative character in the book also changed in particular. He has been transformed "from the brave and honest Spaniard with a sharp sense of honour . . . to the Parisian aristocrat whose life seems to have been dedicated to a series of betrayals.”Which shows that There is never anything honest orhonorable about Fernand. Another obvious change of figure is Dantes’Ex-girlfriend Mercedes, on the beginning of the story, she is just a adolescent girl in a quiet and sleeping fishing village, waiting for her lover Dantes sailors sailing back, waiting for a beautiful wedding. But after many years, that beautiful pure happy girl has replaced to a respected kindly melancholy mother. It brings reader a huge visual impact and a keenly sadness.The most impressive partIn the end of the book The Count left and said:“ There is neither happiness nor misery in the world, there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living. Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words, Wait and hope.”This part gives me a deep impression not only because it is the ending of a fantastic story, but also it conclude a philosophy meaning. The one who didn't experienced happiness would never know the feeling of misery, the one who didn't experienced misery would never know the feeling of happiness. Fortunately or .unfortunately, Dantes experienced both of them. What he said tells us a principle: never give up. When we lost in a time of tribulation, do not be dejected, to believe that light, I believe a comeback; When we were unfairly treated, do not complain, just accept it, to believe that Heaven is there, sooner or later, will be the final judge. If wealthy people without hope, in addition to the rest of the stink of money can only be a tragedy, but even if we have nothing, as long as there is hope, then people will be hard to beat.Some disadvantages of booksDumas is not perfect, there are some limitations existed in his mind. One is the persistence of revenge. Revenge is the core and the clue of the whole book，and it seems right in the book. But is revenge really a right way to save Dantes? The answer is surely “ no ”. From the book we can also find the same answer--Does Dantes feel happy during the process of revenge？No, he is not happy, he keeps living under a pressure, living in a dark world. At the final quarter of story. The plot against Villefort is so complicated that even Monte Cristo loses control of it, resulting in doubt foreign to his nature and remorse that he will not outlive. He even can’t face Haidee’s love to him until all of his revenges are over. It was the time when he really feel happy and satisfied since he became the Count of Monte Cristo.Another typical limited feature is advocating “money is everything”. What is the basic of Dantes’revenge? It is Money, come from Abbe Faria. All of his plans of revenge built with money. And the whole book seems give us a idea that if you have money,you could do everything you want, even change illegality to legality, change injustice to justice. It reflect a worship of money, Many literary critics think it as the worst theme of the book. But in my opinions, I think it’s just a way that Dumas used to develop the plots in this book, after all this is a romantic novel.What I have learned From the bookFirstly, I think I know the revenge is not a good way to save yourself. Dantes was happy when he is a sailor, but he became unhappy when he is The Count although he succeed in making revenge to his enemies. When the revenge is over, he forgave one of his enemy, the Dantes came back again with his happiness. So from this part, we know that when you meet misery, revenge could not beat it, only forgiveness could. Martin Luther King have ever said the same truth in the textbook: “For though violence you may murder a murderer but you can't murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that.” Revenge can built another revenge, only forgiveness can kill it justlike darkness can create darkness, only light can put it out.It was the reason why I insist on abolition of the death penalty after reading the book. Death penalty is a kind of revenge actually. When the murder was sentenced to death, it gives the relatives of victim some comfort which is so small compared with the pains they have suffered, but it gives the relatives of murder a misery which is too big to accept. So the death penalty should be abolished for it can't comfort the pain but makes more.About the endingThe story begins with the arrival of Dantes ,ends with Dantes’ left with his lover. I think it also showed us a important truth: The end is another beginning.What kind of life would Dantes chose after that? In my opinions, maybe being a sailor is the best chose, but the sailing is not for any company, but for himself, for Haidee. They left together, and I’m sure they will be married because at the end of book, after all the revenge, Haidee have clearly claimed her mind: being with Dantes or death, which deeply moved Dantes. I’m so happy that he found his true love finally. But the happiest thing is that he get freedom again, a real freedom since being imprisoned, a freedom to do what he want to do; a freedom to go where he want to go;a freedom to chose a kind of life; a freedom to began with another romantic exciting wonderful adventure.成绩: 评语：。