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My summary of The Count of Monte Cristo: An Allegory

Posted by Marie on Thursday, June 28, 2012
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Fiction, Adventure; ISBN 0-553-21350-4; Bantam Classic, 1844.

The story is about a young Idealist who had been killed by the stalwarts of Society: Government, Finance/Industry, Military, and the Common People. (The fourth one, the Common People, didn't actually participated in the slaying of the Idealist, but then again, he did turn a blind eye on the entire thing so I guess he's guilty too.)

So down he went, the Idealist, into each circle of Dante's Inferno. Somewhere along the way, he met an old Rationalist, who arranged the means by which the Idealist came back to life. But the Idealist came back a twisted creature, an undead. He renamed himself Nihilist (and the Divine Providence), and swore revenge on the old stalwarts. So after much maneuvering, he tortured and killed his enemies by destroying what they treasure the most: the Military, by taking away his Honor; the Government, by taking away his Family; and Finance/Industry, by taking away his Money. (The fourth one, the Common People, had been screwed from the start by the Government, Military, and Finance/Industry, so there's nothing much to take away from him. Eventually he gets killed by his friend, the Common Criminal). Nihilist had also killed some innocent bystanders - Love, Trust, Free Will, and Youth - although he claims these were purely accidental (as the Divine Providence, he cannot make mistakes, right?).

In the end, everyone died or is left suffering. That is, all except Nihilist and his teenage love slave. Rich and contented, they sailed away into the sunset.

The End.

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