AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
KRISTOFORUS HANDRIANUS SANAM
Student Number: 064214014
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
KRISTOFORUS HANDRIANUS SANAM
Student Number: 064214014
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iv
“Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself.
Do not be disturbed because of your imperfections, and
always rise up bravely from a fall. Daily make a new
beginning; there is no better means of progress in the
spiritual life than to be continually beginning afresh, and
never to think that we have done enough”
v
vi
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Kristoforus Handrianus Sanam
Nomor Mahasiswa : 064214014
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharna karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
THE MOTIVATION IN COMMITING REVENGE AS REVEALED IN DANTES’ THREE CHARACTERS SEEN IN ALEXANDER DUMAS’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan. Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain, untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 1 Mei 2011
Yang Menyatakan
vii
given me the strength, courage and patience during this thesis writing. I realize
that His eternal blessing is a miracle in my life.
My deepest gratitude goes to my whole family, both my mother side
and my father side, usi-son, nao-feto, ole-tata. Especially I thank my beloved
parents, my three lovely sisters, my two adopted sisters and my little niece. They
have supported me with prayer and attention days and nights.
I give my thanks from the bottom of my heart to Drs. Hirmawan
Wijanarka, M.Hum., my advisor who has guided me patiently. His advice and
suggestions are truly helpful in finishing this thesis writing. My thanks also goes
to Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum., my co-advisor, who has given a good advice.
I give my thanks to all of the lecturers and staff of the Department of English
Letters. They have taught me many things.
I express my thanks to my brothers and sisters who study in Jogja,
John Manhitu, Djuniuk Laka, Esri Laka, Fin, Rilus, Chiko, Mia, Sari. I give my
thanks to all of my friends, everywhere they are, my friends of English Letter ’06,
my friends of After 20 football team, my friends who work as teachers in BEC, all
GANDROENGERS (Gandroeng Choir), my KKN mates and PML mates. Thank
you for the nice time we shared together. I could not mention their names but I
owe them gratitude. Their presence is a gift from which I learnt many things about
friendship and togetherness.
viii
1. Theory of Character and Characterization ... 12
2. Theory of Motivation ... 16
A.The Characterization of Edmond Dantes ... 27
1. The Characterization of Edmond Dantes before the Accusation ... 27
2. The Characterization of Edmond Dantes after the Accusation ... 35
B.The Characterization of Dantes’ Three Disguising Characters ... 41
1. Abbe Busoni ... 43
ix
3. The Count of Monte Cristo ... 54
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ... 64
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 68
APPENDIX ... 71
x
Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis discusses the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The focus of discussion is on the motivation of Edmond Dantes as the main character in committing revenge. His motivation is revealed through his three disguising characters. Dantes’ disguising characters are Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore and The Count of Monte Cristo.
In order to focus on the study, there are three objectives of the study to discuss. Firstly, the writer describes the characterization of Edmond Dantes before and after the accusation. Secondly, the discussion deals with the characterization of Dantes’s three disguising characters. Lastly, the study reveals the motivation of Edmond Dantes and his three disguising characters in committing revenge. His character changes, both physiques and behaviors during his disguise, help him to plot the series of revenge.
This study is conducted using library research method. It means that the sources are taken from books, journals and written sources from the internet. These sources are aimed to provide basic study on the novel and the author. They also provide theories for this research. Psychological approach is used to support this study because Edmond Dantes’ behavior changes relates to psychological matter.
xi
Alexander Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. Pokok pembahasan adalah motivasi Edmond Dantes sebagai tokoh utama dalam melakukan balas dendam. Motivasinya tersingkap lewat tiga tokoh penyamarannya. Tokoh-tokoh tersebut adalah Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore dan The Count of Monte Cristo.
Agar tetap fokus pada pembahasan, ada tiga rumusan masalah yang akan dikaji. Pertama, penulis secara khusus menggambarkan penokohan Edmond Dantes sebelum dan sesudah tuduhan. Kedua, pembahasan berkaitan dengan penokohan tiga tokoh penyamaran Dantes. Terakhir pembahasan menyingkap motivasi Dantes dan tiga tokoh penyamarannya dalam melakukan balas dendam. Perubahan karakternya baik fisik maupun perilaku selama penyamarannya membantu dia dalam melakukan balas dendam.
Studi ini dibahas dengan menggunakan metode studi pustaka. Maksudnya bahwa sumber-sumber diambil dari buku, journal dan berbagai sumber tertulis dari internet. Sumber-sumber ini dimaksudkan untuk mendapatkan kajian pokok tentang novel dan penulisnya. Sumber-sumber ini juga manyajikan teori-teori untuk studi ini. Pendekatan psikologi digunakan untuk mendukung studi ini karena perubahan perilaku Edmond Dantes berkaitan dengan masalah psikologi.
1 A. Background of the Study
A statement about literature comes from Wellek and Warren in their
book Theory of Literature (1985: 10). They state, “Literature is not philosophical
knowledge translated into imagery and verse, but literature expresses a general
attitude toward life.” Furthermore, they say, “Literature represent life and life is a
large measure, a social reality, even though the natural world and the inner of
subjective word of individual have also been object of literary imitation” (1985:
56).
Wellek and Warren underline human’s life as an important topic which is
usually presented in novels or other works of literature. It means that human’s life
and attitude always become good topics to be discussed deeply. Novels or other
kinds of literature always arouse reader’s imagination to make interpretations and
critics toward these aspects. Human’s life can cover the past life, present or
imagination about the future. Human’s attitude can refer to characteristics shown
in the work of literature.
Hudson says in his book An Introduction to the Study of Literature “A
great book is born of the brain and heart of its author; he has put himself into its
pages; they partake of his life and are instinct with his individuality” (1958: 15).
Hudson states a simple understanding that the work of literature is born from a
deep reflection of the author. The author involves himself into human life’s
From this simple understanding, it is certain that the works of literature
come from the reflection of human’s life experiences. Therefore, the works of
literature, such as novel, drama and poetry are different from many other writings
either in the forms or in the contents. ‘Other writings’ refers to nonfiction books
(philosophies, sciences, and culture), opinions, journals or criticisms of the works
of literature. Besides, the works of literature are also different one another. Novels
are distinct from poems and drama in forms and contents and vice versa.
Nevertheless, they have the same characteristic as works of literature which can
raise readers’ imagination.
The Count of Monte Cristo is a novel that shares many aspects related to
human’s life. It comes from a deep reflection of a French writer, Alexander
Dumas. He had partaken himself into human’s experiences and tried to reflect it in
a form of story. Undoubtedly, he shares many aspects which can arouse readers’
imagination.
Actually, this novel was first written as a series story and published in a
French magazine named Journal des débats. This series story later was extracted
into the form of novel. “The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) first serialized in the
weekly Journal des débats was also a huge literary and financial success for
Dumas Père” (http://www.online-literature.com/dumas/cristo/html). This
quotation also shows how this story received good impression in that era. Not
only did the book success but also Alex Dumas as the writer gained much
impression because of this novels. He successfully gained enough financial
Dumas’ The count of Monte Cristo is an influential adventure story, and
this story is of course different from his other adventure stories such as The Three
Musketeers and The man in the Iron Mask. In this novel, the author presents the
action of Edmond Dantes as the main character who develops with three
disguising characters. Those characters are Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore and The
Count of Monte Cristo. Each character is characterized differently although they
are the same man, Edmond Dantes. There are some similarities in characteristics,
but basically, there are also some differences especially in physical appearance
and motive of revenge.
These three disguising characters are of course presented on purpose.
Edmond Dantes uses these characters to achieve his main motivation. Gerring and
Zimbardo in their book Psychology and Life state a simple understanding of
motivation. “Motivation is the process of starting, directing and maintaining
physical and psychological activities toward a certain goal” (2002: 364).
Gerring and Zimbardo underline that motivation is the basic, which
becomes the reason to do something. They mean that to reach a certain purpose,
people usually have motivation, which urges them to star and act both physically
and psychologically. Undoubtedly, Edmond Dantes’ motivation using these three
characters is to commit ‘revenge’.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, revenge is a prominent topic which arouses
readers’ mind. In this story, it seems that the author brings out revenge as an
important matter revealed in the main character’s action. “The word "vengeance"
of his former prison mate and a few pirates, Dantes uses his newfound fortune to
eradicate his enemies” (http://www.online-literature.com/dumas/cristo/html).
Dantes’ revenge is quite strong. He thinks nothing except to make his
enemies, the people who had caused his misery, feel the same pain. To achieve
this aim, he disguises in three different characters which help him to achieve his
revenge. He starts from seeking the information, maintaining the process until
executes his enemies.
Edmond Dantes’ disguising is the process to maintain his revenge.
Throughout these characters, he seeks and gathers information about his enemies
as much as possible and finally he achieves his motivation of revenge. His
motivation of revenge is stated in the following quotation.
“To seek justice for the three men who so selfishly stole 14 years of his life, Edmund Dantes uses deception to emotionally and financially destroy his foes. The Count of Monte Cristo operates very much like the Russian mafia; if a wrongful act is committed, the wrong-doer's entire family and fortune is extinguished before his or her very eyes” (http://www.online-literature.com/dumas/cristo/html).
His motivation is ‘to find justice and declare punishment on his enemies’.
Justice he achieves is the truth of his guiltless. He proofs that he is not guilty as
accused. He makes his enemies confess their faults and confess that Dantes is not
guilty. During his disguising, Dantes also implicitly restores his good name as a
good man with good manner. He does not only disguise to punish his enemies, but
he also makes some kindness such as help Monsieur Morrel, his former boss,
from bankruptcy and Bertuccio from his imprisonment.
Another motivation of his revenge is to punish his enemies. He makes his
the right justice as well. He thinks that justice is only done when he can revenge
his enemies who had trapped him with the false accusation. Even he said, “Human
justice is sadly lacking in consolation; it can only shed blood in exchange for
blood” (Dumas, 1997: 115). This quotation shows how Dantes’ vengeance is quite
strong. He commits his own justice, which means blood changes to blood. When
people do something wrong which causes much misery, then they must pay back
what they have done.
Since Edmond Dantes plots revenge using three different characters, in
which each of them has their own motive, it is close to the topic of this research
‘The Motivation In Committing Revenge as Revealed in Dantes’ Three Characters
Seen in Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo.’ Throughout this research,
the writer will find out what motivation and jobs revealed by Dantes’ three
disguising characters. The writer will provide many proofs about motivation
behind his revenge.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to focus on the topic, thus the writer provides some problems to
discuss deeply. The problems are stated in questions that will lead the writer
directly to the main analysis. The problems are namely:
1. How is Dantes characterized in the story?
2. How are Dantes’ three disguising characters described in the story?
3. How do Dantes’ three disguising characters reveal his motivation in
C. Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is obviously to answer the formulated problems.
The first problem guides the writer to find out Edmond Dantes’ characterization.
The writer will provide evidences as well how he is described in the novel The
Count of Monte Cristo.
The second problem formulation will cover Dantes’ three disguising
characters. The writer will focus specifically to the characterization of these three
characters. The third problem deals with the topic discussed in this research. In
this part, the writer will provide the proofs and answers of the third problem
formulation. The writer will find out the motivation of these characters, why the
main character uses them differently. Besides, the writer also will give proof on
how Dantes’ three characters reveal his motivation in committing revenge.
D. Definition of Terms
Since this research explicitly explores the stated problems, thus the writer
will explain some terms related to the topic. It is purposed to avoid
misunderstandings and misinterpretations. In order to make them clear and
comprehensible, the related terms will be explained based on sources. Those terms
are Motivation, Revenge and Character.
1. Motivation
Gerring and Zimbardo in their book Psychology and Life describe,
“Motivation is the process of starting, directing and maintaining physical
2. Revenge
Linda Ross Meyer in her review on Ayyildis and Hine’s book states,
“Revenge is a necessary part of maintaining norms, and the
reinterpretation of criminal wrongs as wrongs to the victim”
(http://www.citeulike.org/user/puslit/article/4853048).
3. Character
M. H. Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms states, “characters
are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are
interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and
emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue and by
what they do-the action” (1993: 23).
8
In this chapter, the writer will deal with the three important parts. They
are review of related studies, review of related theories and theoretical framework.
Firstly, review of related studies will discuss the previous analysis on the same
book, Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, but on the different topic.
This part also will cover the discussion on the same topic with this research,
including review on Alexander Dumas as the author of The Count of Monte
Cristo. Secondly, review of related theories discuses some related theories used in
this research. Thirdly, theoretical framework explains how the theories in this
research support the analysis in Chapter IV.
A. Review of Related Studies
A work of literature is said to have quality when it gets more criticisms.
It means that a criticism whether it is an agreement or disagreement can help both
the authors and readers to understand more about a work of literature. Criticism
can be a good discussion or information, which explicitly reveals the main ideas
of the author, so that readers with no confusion can easily obtain and understand
that work of literature.
There are some criticisms directed to Alexander Dumas and his novel
The Count of Monte Cristo as a work of literature.
The Man in the Iron Mask. Although on the surface, much of Dumas's writing is simple adventure; most of Dumas's works have deeper meanings. These meanings include man's relationship to God and one another, man's sinful nature and greed, and man's ability to forgive and be forgiven. Dumas will go down in history as the most famous French novelist of his era and perhaps of all time (http://www.novelguide.com/thecountofmontecristo/biography.html).
Dumas’ novels are commonly well known as the works of adventure
such as The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask. These novels
describe about French Revolution at that time. He also talks about the way people
earn a living, which people compete to gain power and wealth even in the impolite
ways. He shares about people’s relationship in society at that time, the
relationship between people and government. He shares about the vertical
relationship as well between God and human being.
Another comment on Dumas comes from Kuiper.
Alexander Dumas is “One of the most prolific and the most popular French authors of the 19th century. Without ever attaining indisputable literary merit, Dumas succeeded in gaining a great reputation first as a dramatist and then as a historical novelist. He was the father of dramatist and novelist” (Kuiper, 1995: 354-355).
Kuiper expresses his admiration for Dumas as a most influential French
author at 19th century. Firstly, Kuiper admits that Dumas produced good works of literature, which must be appreciated. Secondly, he agrees to name Dumas as a
dramatist and novelist, who always related his works with history of French
Revolution. Dumas explicitly described human being in their social life, which
were always influenced by their natural greediness of financial needs and power.
H.W Fowler and F.G Fowler in the book “The Concise Oxford
“Alexander Dumas as prolific writer of Greek parentage, now mainly remembered
for his novels, but whose dramas played an important past in French Romantic
movement” (1972:151).
Fowler and Fowler, with no doubt, equalize Dumas with writers of Greek
parentage. Undoubtedly, many Greek scientists were well known around the
world with their ideas and inventions of sciences and many branches of
philosophical studies. Therefore, Dumas was regarded with the same title as one
of the influential writers who will be remembered around the world.
Dumas' books were also an influence on countless authors around the world, including Mark Twain, who emulated Dumas' brand of fiction in The Prince and the Pauper and japed at it in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. More than 130 years after the author's death, phrases such as "One for all and all for one" are still almost universally understood and recognized from his stories of the Musketeers (http://www.answers.com/topic/alexandre-dumas).
Alex Dumas is so well known around the world. Nowadays, people are
surely familiar with his influential phrases ‘One for all and all for one’. He also
gained much impression from other famous writers such as Mark twain. Dumas’
adventure novels inspired Mark Twain’s novels such as The Prince and the
Pauper and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These two books of course have
the same characteristic with Dumas’ book, which share about ‘adventure’.
Some criticisms are also directed to Alex Dumas’ The Count of Monte
Cristo. One criticism comes from Marc Auge which quoted by Simona Mitroiu.
(the count of Monte-Cristo) will never return (http://international-journal-of-axiology.net/articole/nr9/art9).
Mitroiu shows the idea of Marc Auge that The Count of Monte Cristo is
an unforgettable memory, which will be remembered by the main character to
revenge his enemies. Therefore, the comeback of the character is considered as a
renewal of the past memory.
Another analysis comes from Surono in his undergraduate thesis entitle
‘Moral Lesson Reflected in Edmond Dantes’ Character Development In
Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo’. Surono explores the moral values
seen in The Count of Monte Cristo. Throughout the character development of the
main character, Edmond Dantes, Surono finally finds out that revenge is not
always valued as a good reason in solving problems especially based on the
Christian morality or Christian values. Therefore, at the end of his revenge,
Edmond Dantes feels regret about what he had done toward his enemies (2003:
50).
The criticisms and analysis above of course discuss the same writer,
Alexander Dumas and his novel The Count of Monte Cristo, but those criticisms
are of course different with this research. This research will focus on the finding
of the motivation of the main character’s action to plot revenge. The writer will
B. Review of Related Theories
There are some related theories, which will be reviewed in this part.
These theories are aimed to give much understanding about the topic formulated
in the problem formulation.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
Character and characterization are two sides that cannot be separated.
Both of them have the relation which character refers to the role of a person in
the story, while characterization refers to the description of the characters in the
story.
a. Character
M.H. Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms states,
“characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are
interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and
emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue and by what
they do-the action” (1993: 23).
Abrams states clearly that characters in a work of literature such as
dramas or novels are usually persons who are presented by the author with certain
moral values, dispositions and emotions. These qualities are of course expressed
throughout their dialogue and action in the story.
Holman in his book A Handbook to Literature gives the same comment
about character. He says,
busybody, a glutton, a fop, bumpkin, a garrulous old man, a happy milkmaid, etc (1986: 81).
Holman strengthens Abrams idea that character is a person who always
has some definite qualities. Those qualities can be categorized into bad or good
characters.
Another definition comes from Rohrberger and Woods in their book
Reading and Writing about Literature. “A narrative, of course, is a story, and
stories involve person, called character.” Therefore, they add, “characters must
be credible, that is, readers must accept them as believable people” (1971: 20).
Rohrberger and Woods still give the same opinion about the existence of
character in a story. They underline that characters are more or less can evoke
readers as if they are real in the real life. More, they say, “characters have
particular personalities and physical attributes that distinguish them from other
characters” (1971: 20). They mean that characters must be different one another,
either in behaviors or in physical appearances in which readers can easily
recognize them.
It is therefore literally impossible for any dramatically imagined character to lack all determinants of human status and identity. He or she must have those minimal features – notably embodiment and gender – without which, as Parmenides might have said, a person cannot be conceived or spoken of (Blondell, 2003: 54).
Blondell expresses the same opinion about the nature of character, which
he or she must have a minimal feature, physic or another attitude that can be
identified by readers. Without these features, characters cannot be imagined by
b. Characterization
Characterization is the way an author creates or describes characters in
detail, about what they do and what they talk. Rohrberger and Woods states “The
process by which an author creates a character is called characterization” (1971:
20). Holman in A Handbook to Literature conveys a statement. “In fiction, the
author reveals the characters of imaginary persons. The creation of these
imaginary person so that they exist for the reader as lifelike is called
characterization” (1986: 81).
Since the characterization describes about what they do and what they
tell, Abrams elaborates two methods about characterization. The two methods are
showing and telling.
In showing (the dramatic method), the author presents the characters talking and acting and leaves the reader to infer what motives and dispositions lie behind what they say and do. In telling, the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe and often to evaluate the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters (Abrams, 1993: 24).
Abrams means that in showing or dramatic method, the author shows the
characters’ physical action including their conversation. In this method, the
readers participate actively to find motives and dispositions of the characters in
what they do and what they speak. While in telling, the author describes the
characters directly and clearly. The readers need not to participate to find what
behind the characters’ action and their physical appearances because the author
has described them specifically.
Specifically, Murphy (1972: 161 -173) conveys nine methods in which
a. Personal Description
The author describes the appearance of a character in details such as the
face, the skin color, the hair, etc.
b. Character as seen by others
The author describes the character of the person through the other’s eyes
and opinion. There the opinion may come from people around the person
about his personality which can also determine his characteristics.
c. Speech
The author gives the readers some clue about the character through what
the character says.
d. Past Life
In certain events of the character’s past life, the readers will know the
characteristic of him/her. Here we learn that a character’s past experiences,
particularly those which are really meaningful can cause several effects to
the person’s future life even may change his character.
e. Conversation of others
Through the conversations done by other people, the readers will know
what they say about the character.
f. Reactions
The readers will know what kind of person the character is by seeing how
he/she reacts to various situations in the story. The readers here can
g. Direct Comment
The author gives direct comment to the character. However, the author
will not give lots of direct comment otherwise the novel will be
uninteresting to deeply read.
h. Thoughts
The author directly gives what a person is thinking about. By knowing
what in the character’s mind, the readers will know his characteristic.
i. Mannerism
The author creates the character’s behaviors where each and every one of
the behaviors will show the characteristic of the character. A person’s
habits of idiosyncrasies may also tell us something about someone’s
characteristic.
Murphy (1972:161) also adds that characterization is the presentation of
the characters’ personalities including their attitudes, appearance, motives, and
actions, which are created to be life like.
2. Theory of Motivation
Shamir states a theory of motivation as quoted by Perry “Motivation can
be self-expressive. Behavior is not goal directed or purposive, but rather is
expressive of feelings and self-concept” (Perry, 2000: 6). Shamir underlines
motivation as a part of human’s behavior to express feeling toward a certain
experience in society. In order to strengthen this theory, Perry quotes another
theory from Knoke and Wright-Isack (1982) “Motivation is the process effective
context” (Perry, 2000: 6). These two authors support Shamir’s theory, which
emphasizes motivation as behavior to express feeling or emotional responds
toward a certain situation.
Adair defines another theory of motivation in his book Leadership and
Motivation, “A man, woman or child is motivated when he or she wants to do
something. Motivation covers all the reasons which cause a person to act,
including negative ones like fear along with the more positive motives, such as
money, promotion or recognition” (2006: 89). Adair points out that motivation is
the basic reason of people to do something or act negatively or positively.
Schutz et al. equalize motivation with goal concept in Urdan and
Karabenick’s book. They say, “Our assumption is that human activities (e.g.
behaviors, thoughts, etc.) are intentional and directed toward something. For us,
that ‘something’ is the goals, values and beliefs that people attempt to attain and
maintain” (Urdan and Karabenick, 2010: 44). Schuts et al. mean that motivation is
expressed through certain behaviors and thoughts, which are directed toward the
goals. Motivation also can be directed toward certain values and beliefs.
Karen Huffman et al. note an important notion that motivation refers to
some factors within an individual (such as needs, desires and interests) that
activate, maintain and direct behavior toward a goal. Furthermore, they state that
motivation is closely related to emotion which is valued as effective responses
that result from psychological arousal, thoughts and beliefs, subjective evaluation
and bodily expression. Motivation energizes and directs behavior, emotion is the
3. Review of Revenge and Punishment
The word revenge can be interpreted into various meanings based on the
context. In football context the word revenge can be interpret as to win back the
match.
This example is of course different from the context in this research. The
word revenge in this context refers to vengeance, which means ‘paying back’
miseries that someone has made to the victim. Linda Ross Meyer in her review
on Ayyildis and Hine’s book states, “Revenge is a necessary part of maintaining
norms, and the reinterpretation of criminal wrongs as wrongs to the victim”
(http://www.citeulike.org/user/puslit/article/4853048). In the following quotation,
Meyer stresses revenge as a part of norm that should be constructed in order to
sentence the wrong person as the wrong one who has made a misery toward the
victim.
Solomon notes his perspective that “revenge plays on three metaphors:
debt, balance, and pollution. The debt metaphor requires a “paying back” of like
for like, the balance metaphor a “felt need to put the world back into balance,” and
the pollution metaphor a “cleansing” (Solomon, 1999: 141).
Solomon underlines the three things that can be understood from
revenge. Those are debt, balance and pollution. Debt refers to paying back
something that someone has made. Balance refers to normalizing the situation that
has been harmed by someone. Pollution can refer to cleansing. Someone who
always inhibits another person to do something is considered as pollution, which
Solomon states another idea. He emphasizes vengeance as “a socially
constructed emotion that can be cultivated to contain not only its own limits but a
full appreciation of the general good and the law as well” (Salomon, 1999: 144).
Solomon gives a positive perception on revenge as well. He means that revenge is
a part of emotion constructed normally in the social life, therefore it can be
cultivated well to give the good result and law protection for the victim.
However, the word revenge commonly hints a negative perception
referring to punishment. In this research, revenge can be understood as a kind of
punishment from the main character’s action. But since the main character’s
action is the result of emotional arousal, therefore, his action can be just as the
right solution to end his troubles.
The retributivism theory notes an interesting point of view on
punishment. “Retributivism generally holds that the reason to punish is
desert-wrongdoing merits punishment, and punishing a wrongdoer is good, irrespective
of any consequences of punishing that wrongdoer” (Barnes, 1999: 9).
Smith defines punishment as same as reward. Reward is recompensing or
repaying, returning good for good received. Punishment is also recompensing or
repaying, though in a different manner; it is returning evil for evil that has been
done. Furthermore, he says what most immediately and directly prompts us to
punish someone is resentment (2010: 36).
This statement stresses resentment as the basic influence to arouse the
punishment. Resentment forces someone not only to be punished in formal
particular injuries that he or she did to the victim. It means that if a person causes
a misery and makes us to hate or dislike him, resentment leads us to take a
malicious pleasure or rejoice on his or her misfortune and distress. Smith adds that
if the resentment does not lead someone to the more tragic punishment such as
killing, more or less he or she will be adequately justice to be the instrument of
unintentional distress (Smith, 2010: 37).
Smith notes clearly that someone who had made miseries for someone
else should be punished with the same thing he or she did for the victim.
Therefore, this kind of punishment is considered as the good solution. And for
Dantes, this kind of punishment is absolutely considered as the right fairness.
“Punishment is a necessary evil, but we should inflict and support it with
regret and without any sense of having embarked on a righteous moral crusade”
(Murphy, 1987: 518). Murphy states another positive argument. He suggests that
punishment is a necessary in human being life, but it should not be always valued
as the right moral action. And therefore, people should feel regret after
committing the punishment.
4. Theory of Justice
There are many concepts of justice. David Schmidtz in his review of
John Rawls theory says, “It seems natural to think of the concept of justice as
distinct from the various conceptions of justice and as being specified by the role
which these different sets of principles, these different conceptions, have in
This quotation means that justice can be understood from different
concept or different context. John Rawls in his book A Theory of Justice (1971: 7)
firstly states,
Many different kinds of things are said to be just and unjust: not only laws, institutions, and social systems, but also particular actions of many kinds, including decisions, judgments, and imputations. We also call the attitudes and dispositions of persons, and persons themselves, just and unjust.
Rawls explains that justice has wide concept in social life not only in
law, institution and social system, but also in other aspects such as in
decision-making, judgment, including personal behavior. Therefore, justice must be
understood according to the context or the background where justice is
constructed. Justice in law is certainly different from either justice in institutions,
such as politic and economic, or justice in social system or justice in the personal
behavior.
Since justice has different context, Schmidtz emphasizes, “To argue
about justice is to argue about what people are due” (2006: 8). Schmidtz explicitly
argues that when people talk about justice, people talk about the reason why
people commit ‘something’ which is valued as justice. The reason is of course to
find the truth.
Another notion of justice comes from Linda Ross Meyer, “Justice is the
search for a perfectly rational, perfectly fair, perfectly meaningful universe”
(http://www.citeulike.org/user/puslit/article/4853048). Meyer also has another
be explained rationally, the searching of fairness and the searching of the meaning
of life in the universe.
C. Theoretical Framework
Undoubtedly, reviews of theories above are the basic understanding of
this research. Theories of character and characterization are needed because in the
first and the second part, the writer deals with the description of the main
character, Edmond Dantes and his three disguising characters in the novel The
Count of Monte Cristo. These theories will help the writer to understand the
concept of character and characterization in the novel.
The other theories such as theories of motivation and review of revenge
are aimed to answer the third problem formulation. Since the writer deals with the
main character’s motivation in committing revenge, these theories are needed to
provide the basic understanding of these concepts. Theories of justice and
punishment are aimed to give strong understanding of the Dantes’ motivation in
committing revenge. His motivation is to find justice and punish his enemies
23 A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is absolutely the novel The Count of Monte
Cristo written by Alexander Dumas - a French author. This novel was firstly
written on 1844 and published in 1846. This novel was actually published as
series story in French weekly journal named Journal des débats. Therefore, the
original of this novel was written in French language. Around 1847, this novel
was translated into English. It gained much impression because of its amazing
story.
The novel used in this research is the new English edition published by
Wordsworth Ltd in 1997. This novel contains 440 pages and consists of 73
chapters.
The Count of Monte Cristo is a story of an innocent young man named
Edmond Dantes who trapped into false accusation. As the result, he was sent into
jail and got imprison for about 14 years. Edmond Dantes, the main character, was
actually a fine and kind man. He got success as a captain of Pharaon ship. He also
married a beautiful girl named Mercedes.
Throughout these successes, Edmond Dantes became an important man,
but this fame did not stay long. This fame brought him into trouble. Some people,
which Dantes called them as friends, are burnt with jealousy. Then these people
During his imprisonment, Dantes changed significantly. He was a bit
going mad and trying to suicide. Fortunately, he did not. He was burnt with anger
and hatred. When he escaped from the jail, he plotted revenge toward his enemies,
the people who have trapped him with the fake letter. Without mercy, he made
these people to feel the same pain he did. He wanted these people to pay back the
misery they have done to him. Although, he did not kill them by his own hand,
but his action made these people lived in misery and some committed suicide.
Dantes assumed that his action was the way of justice.
B. Approach of the Study
This research will deal with psychological approach. This approach is
more suitable applied in this research because the writer will analyze the
motivation of the main character, Edmond Dantes, using three disguising
characters in plotting revenge. Actually, his main motivation is to revenge, but his
three characters give clue as well about his motivation in plotting revenge.
Since the writer deals with the main character changes both physical and
psychological and these changes also influence his motivation, psychological
approach is more appropriate to be applied in the analysis. “A psychological
approach is an approach that applies principles of modern psychology to
characters or situation within a literary work or to the person who wrote that
work” (Leary, 1976: 57).
Leary means that psychological approach can be applied to the characters
author. But in this research, the psychological approach will be applied to the
main character’s changes and his emotional behavior. His rapid transformation
from a good man into a bad man is an interesting point, which will be analyzed
deeply using psychological approach.
C. Method of the Study
In this research, the writer uses library research as the method of the
study. It means that both primary data and secondary data in this research is taken
from written sources. The primary data is The Count of Monte Cristo, the novel
which is used as the main data to do the research. The secondary data are books or
various sources from articles and internet which can provide much information or
studies on the primary data. Secondary date also cover criticisms and related
theories used in this research.
In order to do the analysis properly, the writer took some steps. Firstly,
the writer read the novel The Count of Monte Cristo several times so that the
writer can understand it deeply. Throughout reading, the writer also can make
some important notes, determine the appropriate topic and formulate problems to
discuss.
Secondly, the writer read and chose some suitable studies on the author,
Alexander Dumas, and his work The Count of Monte Cristo. The writer also read
and quoted some related theories such as theories of character and
Thirdly, the writer applied the theories and approach in the analysis.
Theories and approach, which have been chosen, are applied rightly accordance
with the formulated problems. In this step, the problem formulation will be
answered using theories which have been reviewed previously.
Lastly, the writer drew a conclusion after doing the analysis. In the part
of analysis, the writer answered the formulated problems, therefore, the last part to
27
In this part, the writer deals with the analysis of the work of the literature
and the answer of the formulated problems. The first part deals with the
description of the characterization of Edmond Dantes before and after the
accusation. The second part covers the characterization of Dantes’ three
disguising characters. And the last part deals with the motivation in committing
revenge revealed through Dantes’ three disguising characters.
A. The Characterization of Edmond Dantes
The characterization discussed in this part will cover Edmond Dantes’
life before and after the accusation. The writer tries to differentiate Dantes’
characterization before and after the accusation.
1. The Characterization of Edmond Dantes before the Accusation
The main character of Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo is Edmond
Dantes. As depicted by Rohrberger and Woods, “Characters have particular
personalities and physical attributes that distinguish them from other characters”
(1971: 20). In this novel, Dantes is presented dominantly and described differently
from the other characters. He is different both physiques and personality.
Dantes is presented realistically. Dumas presents this character as if he
lives and experiences all of these happenings. Holman states, “In fiction, the
imaginary person so that they exist for the reader as lifelike is called
characterization” (1986: 81).
As same with Holman, Murphy mentions nine ways to recognize a
character but not all of them are used in this part. There are some methods which
can describe Dantes’ characterization such as personal description, speech,
conversation of others, reaction, direct comment and mannerism.
Physically, Edmond Dantes is described as a young man in age of
nineteen. He has an ideal and perfect posture. He has a good and proportional
body. Dumas describes him as a tall and slender man. He has good and vigilant
black eyes. He has good black hair. He has rapid gesture as well. These are
described by the author in the following quotation.
He was a tall, slender young man, no more than twenty years old, with dark eyes, and hair as black as ebony…...
A young man who with vigilant eyes and rapid gesture…. (p. 1) “I’m only nineteen, as I’ve told you, and I know very little” (p. 21)
Before the accusation, Dantes is described as a man with good
personality. His good personality is shown in some characteristics. Firstly, Dantes
is described as a hard worker. He works in a ship named Pharaon. He works
seriously. There is no clear definition about his position in the ship, especially
before the death of Captain Leclere. He is just mentioned as one of the ship crews.
When he takes Captain Leclere’s position, he still shows this characteristic. He
works seriously and helps the crews to load the cargo. The following quotation
shows how serious he is to work.
“Dantes,” said Morrel, turning toward the young man, “come here, please.”
“Excuse me sir, I’ll be with you in a moment,” said Dantes. Then, turning to the crew, he called out, “Let go!” The anchor dropped immediately and the chain rattled noisily (p. 3).
This characteristic can be understood from his economic background.
Dantes comes from a poor family. He just lives with his father who has become
old. Besides, his father always gets drunk. He borrows money more often,
therefore they lives in debts. This situation of course forces Dantes to work hard
not only for his own sake but also for his father. The following quotation
implicitly shows how Dantes has to work hardly to pay their debts.
“But-but I gave you two hundred French when I left three months ago,” stammered Dantes.
“Yes, that’s true, Edmond, but you forget a little debt you owe to our neighbor Caderousse (p. 7).
Dantes is a hard worker therefore this characteristic describes him further
as a responsible man. He is responsible not only to command but also to work
with the other crews. Besides, his great responsibility has been shown through his
success to bring back Pharaon ship safely including the cargos. He reports
everything responsibly as a captain who appointed by the dying Captain Leclere.
“A great misfortune, Monsieur Morrel!” replied the young man. “We lost our brave Captain Leclere off Civitavecchia.”
“What about the cargo?” asked the shipowner eagerly. “It arrived safely…(p. 1).
Another characteristic of Dantes is bravery. Dantes is so young but he
has done a hard and challenging job. He has a new duty to stir the ship he works
temporary Captain of Pharaon ship. Fortunately, his good physique supports him
to take this duty.
“As soon as the captain was dead he took command…” “He’s a young and he has no doubt about anything” (p. 2).
This quotation implicitly shows characteristics of young Dantes as a
brave man. He encourages himself to take Captain Leclere’s position. He knows
that to be a captain is not easy, but his bravery forces him to go on Leclere’s
command. His bravery is also shown when he had to stop over the Isle of Alba.
This island is known as the land of traitors but Dantes is not afraid of them.
Above all, Edmond Dantes has the quality of a loyal man. Dantes is so
loyal that he did a job as asked by Captain Leclere to stop in an island named the
Isle of Alba. The stopping was to deliver a package for someone there who he did
not know exactly. As a loyal man, Dantes of course did not fear of the danger
which may happen. The evidence here shows how Dantes did his duty asked by
Captain Leclere.
“I wanted to ask you why you stopped at the Isle of Alba.”
“It was to carry out an order from Captain Leclere. As he was dying, he gave me a package to deliver into the Marshal Bertrand there…” (p. 3).
“You were quite right to follow Captain Leclere‘s instructions and stop at the Isle of Alba, although you might get into trouble if it became known that you gave the marshal a package and spoke to the emperor” (p. 3).
This quotation indicates how dangerous the Isle of Alba is. As stated before that,
this island is named as the place of traitors, therefore anyone who goes there is
suspected as a traitor. As a loyal man, Dantes must do his job without doubt about
Dantes’ loyalty is continued when he did a sacred job asked by Captain
Leclere. Although, he just arrived in Marseille, met his beloved father and
Mercedes, Dantes continued his trip to Paris immediately. He had to deliver
Leclere’s last request.
His loyalty to Leclere can be valued as a kind of responsibility as well.
He does not want to disappoint Leclere who had trusted him. Although he had
died, Dantes does this duty to honor the Captain Leclere as well. The quotation
below shows Dantes’ willingness to go on his unfinished duty.
“I must go to Paris….”
Our poor Captain Leclere asked me to do something for him there. As you can understand, it’s a sacred duty. But don’t worry, I’ll come straight back” (p. 14).
Basically, Dantes is a kind man. He is dominantly described as an
innocent and good man with good manner. This behavior is seen through his
conversation, the way he speaks to others clearly describes his good manner.
When the ship arrived home, Monsieur Morrel came to meet him. Dantes
explained humbly to the ship owner about their misfortune during their sailing.
Dantes explained humbly about the death of Captain Leclere. Another matter was
about their stopping over the Isle of Alba. The following conversation is one the
proofs showing Dantes’ good manner. The way he utters Morrel’s name implicitly
reflects his humble and good manner.
“A great misfortune, Monsieur Morrel!” replied the young man. “We lost our brave Captain Leclere off Civitavecchia…...”
One way of understanding characters as stated by Murphy is through
other characters’ opinion. The description of Dantes’ good personality can be seen
through other characters’ statements. Monsieur Morrel states directly that Dantes
is a fine man in every way. “Good, good, Dantes! I see you’re a fine man in every
way” (p. 6). Morrel states this openly to Dantes after he heard the good
explanation from Dantes. Morrel sees how Dantes speaks so humbly and full of
respect.
Not only to Monsieur Morrel as his boss does Dantes show his good
manner he also shows this good behavior to his friends, the people who will
betray him. He speaks to them as usual. As a good man, of course, Dantes has no
hatred. He treats them kindly as friends. His kindness and good manner toward his
friends here can be understood as a great patience.
Dantes’ good manner is shown to Danglars not only as a friend but also
as a partner in the Pharaon ship. Danglars is one of the influential people in the
ship which he respects kindly. Although, Dantes has ever quarreled with him, he
never shows his hatred to Danglars. Even, Dantes gives a positive comment on
Danglars to Monsieur Morrel. Here are some evidences that provide proof about
his kindness to Danglars.
“And now, if you’d like to come aboard, Monsieur Morrel’ said Dantes, seeing shipowner’s impatience, “you can talk to your purser, Monsieur Danglars, who’s just coming out of his cabin. He can give you all information you want” (p. 2).
Dantes has another friend named Caderousse. He is Dantes’ neighbor
who always does favor on Dantes and his father. Caderousse lends them some
money. However he is not a patient man. During Dantes’ voyage, Caderousse
always presses Dantes’ father for payment. Nevertheless, as his father tells him,
Dantes keeps showing his good manner. He respects Caderousse as a good man
who had done favor on them. He does not show hatred at all on Caderousse. He
welcomed him humbly in his house.
“Just the same, though, he’s a neighbor who once did us a favor, so he’s welcome here…” (p. 7).
“Even when we no longer owe them money, we still owe them gratitude” (p. 8).
Dantes’ good behavior is also shown to Fernand when Dantes met him in
Mercedes’ house. His good manner to Fernand is a kind of patience. Although,
Fernand hates him obviously, Dantes keeps trying to respect him. Fernand is
Mercedes’ cousin therefore he has to respect and love him as he does to Mercedes.
Since Mercedes is Dantes fiancée, so Fernand belonged to his friend. Dantes has
no hatred on him. The way Dantes shows his good manner can be seen in the
conversation between Mercedes and Dantes and through the author description.
“He’ll be you friend, Edmond, because he’s my friend. He’s my cousin Fernand…”
“Ah, yes!” said Edmond. Keeping Mercedes’ hand clasped in his, he held out his other hand to Fernand. But Fernand remained as motionless and silent as a statue (p. 11).
Dantes’ kindness and good manner are of course shown to his beloved
father. His kindness toward his father can be valued as a kind of responsibility and
duty which he must do first than anything. It is a natural consequence which a son
only lives with his father, therefore, he has a great responsibility to make his
father happy. Dantes guarantees his father sincerely with a lot of money. Dantes
expects that with this money, he would not borrow money anymore. The
quotation below can describe Dantes’ responsibility to comfort his father.
“Yes, I’m here now, with a good future before me and a little money already. Here, father, take this and send for some things right away.” He emptied the content of his pockets onto the table: a dozen pieces of gold, five or six five-French coins and some small change.
The old man’s face brightened. “Whose is that?” he asked. “It’s mine-yours-ours. Take it and buy provisions. And don’t worry: tomorrow there will be more…. (p. 7)
Dantes also has Mercedes, whom he loves deeply. His kindness and good
manner on her can be defined as a great fidelity. Although he goes everywhere
and leaves her for a long time, he always remembers Mercedes as his beloved
fiancée. When he arrived in Marseille, he told Monsieur Morrel to visit some
people whom he loved much. Those people are of course his father and Mercedes.
His father is number one, then Mercedes. This evidence shows how Dantes truly
loves Mercedes.
“Please excuse me, Monsieur Morrel, but I think I owe my first visit to my father. …
“Excuse me again, Monsieur Morrel, but after that first visit there’s another one that’s equally important to me” (p. 4).
Edmond and Mercedes fell into each other’s arms. At first, they saw nothing around them; their overwhelming happiness isolated them from rest of the world” (p. 6).
The description of Dantes’ kindness and good manner above also reflects
his calmness. He is a calm man. His calmness means that Dantes is not easy
anxious with his surroundings. Although, he knows that some people envy and
and Mercedes for a long time. It seems that he is always accustomed to facing the
similar situation before so that he stays calm. An interesting quotation from the
novel can describe Dantes’ calmness.
His whole manner gave evidence of that calmness and resolution peculiar to those who have been accustomed to facing danger ever since their childhood (p. 1).
These all are the description of Dantes’ characterization. Shortly, before
the accusation, Edmond Dantes is described as a hard worker, responsible man,
brave man and a loyal man. He is also described as a fine young man with good
manner. He is so calm and full of patience. He hates no one. He respects
everybody, not only people whom he loves, but also his boss and his friends who
will trap him. Because of this good personality, Dantes is said as a man with good
fortune. He is lucky to be a captain in age of nineteen and marry a beautiful
woman. These two things are the reasons which envy his friends, Danglars,
Fernand and Caderousse. Here is the quotation which Dantes is reminded about
his good fortune.
“You’re about to become a captain at age of nineteen and you’re about to marry a beautiful woman who loves you, which is a rare stroke of good luck on this earth. Either of these two things may have made certain people envious of you” (p. 22).
2. The Characterization of Edmond Dantes after the Accusation
Since Dantes’ changes in personality are the result of the wrong
accusation, the characterization after the accusation covers his life during the
imprisonment. In this part, theory of character and characterization are still
From what Dantes said and what he did, the readers can imagine his personality
changes after the accusation.
The story describes clearly that Dantes absolutely does not know the
reason why he is arrested. Unexpectedly, Dantes is caught and arrested when he
was celebrating his wedding reception. This happening absolutely shocks Dantes
and many people who join the party. Of course, Mercedes and Dantes’ father are
also shocked. Soon Dantes is brought to the Public Prosecutor.
“Edmond Dantes, you are under arrest.”
“Under arrest!”Cried Dantes, turning pale. “But why?” (p. 16)
This quotation shows the moment when Dantes was arrested. It is
described in the story that he is arrested because of the letter sent by his friends,
Danglars, Fernand and Caderousse. They make a fake letter containing an
accusation. The letter simply states that Dantes is one of the traitors belonging to
Bonapartist. This letter is sent to the State Prosecutor. Dantes is caught and sent in
to jail immediately.
In the prison, Dantes’ behaviors change slowly both negatively and
positively. Dantes is described differently with some changes. Negatively, Dantes
becomes a bad temper man. His emotion is uncontrolled. He easily gets angry.
Dantes has the nature of calmness and patience, but the situation he was now
facing caused his uncontrolled emotion.
His uncontrolled emotion can be understood from the moment he is
arrested. As stated previously that Dantes is arrested during his wedding reception
which his happiness is broken in a sudden. At that moment, he assures Mercedes
situation happened. He is sent into jail and never goes back to Mercedes. He never
goes back to his happiness, his job and his honor. He loses Mercedes and his
future.
The following quotation describes how Dantes wants to send a letter for
Mercedes to tell her about his condition and his troubles in the jail as well.
However, the jailer rejects his willing to send a letter for Mercedes. This situation
which arouses Dantes’ anger and he utters threatening words.
“Listen, then: if you refuse to deliver a letter to Mercedes, or at least let her know I’m here, someday I’ll be hiding behind the door when you come in, and I’ll break open your head with this stool….” (p. 28). the door of the cell was opened and he entered, mumbling to himself, “He’s right: they have to put madmen with madman” (p. 29).
Dantes’ uncontrolled emotion is also aroused after Abbe Faria, his jail
mate, solves the problem he face. Abbe Faria finds the answer of his problem. He
finds who are behind all of his miseries and the reasons why they plot the wrong
accusation. Faria magnificently finds the correlation between his success and the
people who has plotted the accusation. Faria finds out that his disappearance must
be useful for some people. The following quotation is the process which Farria
finally solved Dantes’s problem.
Faria remained silent, lost in thought. After a time he said, “There is a maxim of jurisprudence which says, ‘if you wish to discover the guilty person, first find out to whom the crime might be useful (p. 45).
Faria is helpful of course but on the other hand, he arouses Dantes’
emotion immediately on those people. Soon Dantes is burnt with anger and
hatred. More negatively, his mind and heart are filled with vengeance as well.
calm and patient but Dantes now is fully changed by the situation and problem he
face. This quotation describes how Dantes gets angry after hearing Faria’s
explanation.
“He uttered a cry and reeled like a drunken man for a moment, then he rushed into the passage leading back to his own cell, crying out as he left…”
“Faria looked at him steadfastly and said, “I regret having helped you clarify your past and having told you what I did. Because I’ve instilled in your heart a feeling that wasn’t there before: vengeance” (p. 48).
Another negative behavior appears on Dantes is losing hope and
self-confidence. In the prison, he is described as a weak person who loses hope and
confidence easily. Living in jail does not only make him frustrated but also makes
him lose hope easily. He seems lose both hope to live and faith to God. He is not
strong enough to bear his life in the prison. Days and nights are passed in the
narrow and dirty jail which makes him to doubt about his existence. He cries and
roares in every late night. He even dashes himself against the wall. He wants to
commit suicide to end his life directly.
This behavior is of course another unusual behavior of Dantes who used
to be a strong man in both physic and mental. He used to be calm and patient to
face any situation but living in jail made him to end his life soon. The quotation
below explains his frustration which he wants to commit suicide.
Finally his pride collapsed and he begun to pray, not yet to God, but to men…
He roared blasphemies which made his jailer recoil in horror, and dashed himself furiously against the wall of his prison… (p. 34).
The thought that death brings release from suffering led him to the idea of suicide….
As stated previously that living in jail does not only change Dantes
negatively but also positively. There are some positive aspects which Dantes
should be proud of. In the prison, positively Dantes is described as a sociable
man. He easily makes friend with a stranger named Abbe Faria. Abbe Faria is an
Italian priest who is also arrested with no apparent reasons.
Actually, their meeting occurs accidentally. Dantes sat sadly in his cell
and suddenly he heard a scratching noise across the wall. The sound was
continuously louder. He thought that someone tried to escape from the prison.
Dantes then tried to find where that sound came from. He finally found Abbe
Faria, the person who scratched the wall. This quotation depicts how Dantes first
heard the scratching sound and found Faria.
He heard a regular scratching sound which might be coming from a large claw…(p. 35-36).
A moment later, Dantes heard the sound of a mass of stones…
Then he saw a head emerge through his hole, and soon a man had climbed up out of it and into his cell (p. 40).
This quotation gives the clue that their meeting happens in the right
moment and the right time. Before their meeting, Dantes lived alone in a separated
cell. He almost committed suicide there, but Faria appeared which seemed to give
him a new hope to live more. He seemed getting back his self-confidence and he
gradually regained his power and rehabilitated his life. Faria’s appearance inspired
him to think brightly about the future.
Dantes threw his arms around his new friend for whom he had waited so long and impatiently...(p. 40).
This quotation directly means that Dantes misses someone. He misses a
