Count Of Monte Cristo Fate Vs. Free Will

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“The Count of Monte Cristo,” by Alexandre Dumas, was a book with many themes. Throughout the book Dumas displays these themes: the theme of revenge, theme of fate vs. free will, and the theme of hatred. The theme of revenge is, if not the most predominant, one of the most predominant themes throughout the novel. The Count of Monte Cristo, wronged by evil men, swears revenge on those who caused him to spend years of his life wrongfully in prison. During his years in prison, Edmond is fueled by his lust for revenge. And once he is out of prison his years of planning have made him patient enough to execute his plan for revenge perfectly. In the end after all his planning the count is left unfulfilled by his revenge, and all those years spent planning were wasted. The count should have forgiven instead of seeking revenge, and maybe he would have enjoyed his life more. Dumas showed the readers that forgiveness ultimately leaves one feeling more satisfied than revenge. The theme of fate vs. free will is dealt with mostly by the count, but also by others seeking to control the fate of themselves and those around them. The count thinks he is sent as an instrument of God, and the only reason he was freed from prison, was to give the men who wronged him their deserved fate. Even the count realizes he can’t control fate once an innocent boy is killed because of his actions. Mercedes is also, when talking to Edmond, talking about how fate has turned her old, and her lack of faith his why it did so. Edmond on the other hand held on to faith, and fate has rewarded him. Dumas shows the reader that fate is not possible to control. The Count of Monte Cristo obviously deals with Hatred the whole way through the novel. He is seen saying that he loves his neighbor as he is called to, but still hates certain people. This is not in anyway a biblically acceptable position to take. As
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