Nov. 16: The Count of Monte Cristo

Minutes: 45

Pages: 70

Summary: Monte Cristo now engages in a clever, complex ruse to win the good graces of the Danglars and Villefort families; He instructs his mute servant to purchase Danglars’s two most beautiful horses for twice their price, knowing that these horses actually belong to Madame Danglars. With these two horses attached to his coach, Monte Cristo then visits Danglars at home in order to open an unlimited credit account with him, an act that astonishes and humbles Danglars, who is now a banker. Madame Danglars is told that her horses have been sold, and she sees them attached to Monte Cristo’s carriage. She becomes enraged with her husband for selling them. Monte Cristo excuses himself from the scene. Later that evening, Monte Cristo, in a gallant gesture, returns the horses as a gift.

Reflection: If it wasn't evident before, Dantes' transformation into the Count is incredible. Monte Cristo and Dantes are different enough to be different people.

Nov. 13: The Count of Monte Cristo

Minutes: 45

Pages: 70

Summary: Franz and Morcef, while at the inn, hear a story from the inn keeper. It is one of a criminal named Vampa, but Franz and Morcef are skeptcal. The inn keeper begins on a tale of Vampa's origins in order to convince them: Vampa was a shepherd who fell in love with a shepherdess named Teresa, and, due to odd circumstances, harbored a criminal named Cucumetto despite there being a bounty on the man's head. Later, there was party and Teresa desired a costume of one of the patrons, so Vampa burned down their house and took it in the panic. After this, a man named Sinbad the Sailor asked him for directions and, when he gave it to him, was re-payed with 2 small jewels. When he arrived to bring Teresa her costume, he found her being kidnapped, so Vampa killed the man, only later realizing that it was Cucumetto. So, donning Cucumetto's clothes, he demands to be made leader of what were once Cucumetto's bandit's.

Reflection: As the reader it is always interesting to learn something about a character when the people that are hearing it don't discern it's meaning. Knowing more than the characters in a book is quite interesting.

Nov. 11: The Count of Monte Cristo

Minutes: 45

Pages: 70

Summary: Ten years later, Baron Franz d’Epinay visits Monte Cristo and discovers that there are men there under the employ of Sinbad the Sailor (Dantes), and Franz is invited to Sinbad's "palace" where he is astonished by the magnificent decor, food, and treasure there; all the while, Dantes' is sharing with him hallucinogenic drugs and Franz has a trip. He wakes up the next morning and can't find the entrance to the palace despite his best efforts and wonders if the man, who expounded on his philanthropic jouneys, was even real as he heads to Rome to meet Viscount Albert de Morcerf, (the son of Fernand Mondego, who is now known as the Count de Morcerf) who is a friend of his, and they plan on attending a carnival but arrive late and they can't secure a couch which is required to enjoy the festival, so they stay at an inn.

Reflection: Dantes' philanthropy, and his skillful employment of drugs, are evidence of his amazingly eccentric and brilliant nature. His grotto, his apparently endless skill set, and the fact that he has a dumb (tongueless) servant solidify his place in the history of books as one of the most fantastic and developed character ever.

Nov. 9: The Count of Monte Cristo

Minutes: 45

Pages: 70

Summary: Still as the Rep, he heads to Morrel and Sons to "collect the debt" which, for the first time in his life Morrel is unable to pay, but this is followed by worse news: the ship that would bring the cargo and earn him the money he needed had just gone down. Dantes hears all this and extends the time for collection by 3 months and pulls Morrel's daughter Julie aside and makes her promise to follow any instructions she receives from a man calling himself “Sinbad the Sailor". Three months later, in the nick of time (Morrel was planing n taking his life to avoid the embarrassment of not being able to pay the debt) Julie bursts in with a bag that has all of his debt notes marked as "paid" and a diamond marked as Julie's dowry. They hear an uproar outside as a ship, identical to the one that sank, arrives in port bearing the same cargo as the original, this all while a mysterious yacht leaves the harbor.

Reflection: Dantes' money has given him the desire to be as selfless as possible, helping those who need it and the like, except in one regard: His revenge. No doubt it is of no comparison the joy giving brings to the hatred for the men that ruined his life. This consuming need for vengeance will undoubtedly ruin his life.

Nov. 6: The Count of Monte Cristo

Minutes: 45

Pages: 70

Summary: Next, as the Thomas and French rep, he heads to the Chateau D'if under the guise of purchasing all stock in Morrel and Sons, the company of his former captain, from the head of the prison at full price, and while there he claims he was a former student of Faria to gain access to his file, but actually he checks his own file and he pockets the letter of accusation written by Danglars and delivered by Fernand, and confirms the fact that Villefort ordered him locked away for life.

Reflection: To Be Continued...

Nov. 4: The Count of Monte Cristo

Minutes: 45

Pages: 70

Summary: Dantes, now with tremendous wealth, takes on 3 alter egos to successfully carry out his mission; First, an Abbe Bussoni, Second, a representative of the investment firm Thomas and French, and Third as "Sinbad the Sailor". "Bussoni" visits Caderousse, the third man that was involved in the plot against Dantes, under the guise of carrying out Dantes' final wishes. He learns about what became of Danglers, Fernand, and Mercedes, and Caderousse reveals that they hd schemed agianst him, solidifying what Faria had said.

Reflection: I'm going to continue this on another log

Oct. 30: The Count of Monte Cristo

Minutes: 45

Pages: 70

Summary: He manages to cut himself free and makes his way for an island, from which he gains passage on a smuggler ship. He befriends the crew and bides his time for his chance to visit the island of Monte Cristo, the location of the treasure. When the ship lands there, he feigns injury and tells them to return in a week. He finds the treasure due to his incredible ingenuity and it is even grander than he had imagined; he fills his pockets and after being picked up by the smugglers and reaching a port, purchases one ship and crew for a friend (Jacapo), on the condition that he sail to Marseilles and get news of Louis Dantes (his father) and Mercedes and return to Monte Cristo, and a yacht for himself with a secret compartment which he fills with treasure after returning to the island. When Jacapo meets him there, he informs Dantes that Louis Dantes is dead and Mercedes has disappeared. Dantes barely contains his emotion and sails for Marseilles.

Reflection: His imprisonment is portrayed as death by Dumas, whereas his escape is portrayed as a rebirth or resurrection. And the topic of hope is touched when Dantes contemplates the treasure's reality and how the hope for it was keeping him going.