Comparing Journeys of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Good

‘I almost regret having helped you in your researches and having told you what I did,’ he said… ‘Because I have instilled into your heart a feeling that previously held no place there--vengeance.’” (p.85) Here the Abbé Faria,

In both novels, Cristo and Lung are both faced with an ultimate question. For Wang Lung it is if he should sell his daughter to the rich man living on the other side of The Great Wall of China, and for the Count of Monte Cristo it is if he should escape from prison or not. For if he was found he would be executed and if he remained, he would probably die of misery in solitary confinement. Wang thought of his daughter’s future and imagined her living a life of wealth and richness, better than he could ever afford to give her. This is a crucial moment for his character because he believes that he truly needs the money for selling her, but on the other hand knows that because she is beautiful anything could happen to her. Eventually, he decides that he is not willing to sell his daughter and then later is grateful, because he soon has an enormous harvest and reaps in a lot of money. Dantès is also fortunate that he chose to escape, because he had indeed succeeded and was rid of the horrible life inside the Chateau d’If prison.

In The Good Earth, Wang Lung, a moderately poor farmer, seeks out to redeem his bride, a slave from The Great House of Hwang, to bring her back to his home. He has a baby boy and a wonderful harvest and can’t believe how such fortune from the gods has doted upon him. Then a drought sweeps the land and their family is forced to move down south to beg in the streets and work for their rare money and food. Wang then is reminded of his land at home so they depart from the south and return to what is left of their home. Wang Lung cultivates the land and eventually becomes rich and prosperous with a large family and a great sum of money. He then acquires a second wife, many servants, luxurious clothes and foods, and adds onto his home. Eventually, they are so thriving and successful that Wang purchases The Great House of Hwang and lives in that massive establishment as the most affluent man in town. After successfully marrying off his sons and daughter, he feels that his life is complete and is ready to die.

Faria then teaches him all the knowledge he knows and before he dies leaves Edmond with the promise that he must go find a hidden treasure on the Isle of Monte Cristo. Several years later Edmond has changed his name to the Count of Monte Cristo and has become very wealthy off of his new found fortune. He now seeks out to take revenge on those that had him arrested. Monte Cristo reveals his twisted feelings, that he has accumulated since his prison experience, toward human suffering to the reader when he has just showed Franz and Albert his window over looking an execution. “ ‘I will deprive you of seeing a man guillotined, but there is still the mazzolata, which is an extraordinary and interesting form of punishment when you see it for the first time, and even for the second time.’” (p.192) He tells of his fascination for this type of execution.

Things are quite different for The Count of Monte Cristo. He is well known throughout many societies, wealthy, but not arrogant as some. His faults nevertheless are vengeance and retaliation ever since brought upon by the Abbé Faria. The Count does succeed in his revenge and causes Monsieur Danglars to become bankrupt through faulty bank claims and by deceiving Baronne Danglars through faulty newspaper adds about stock trades, ultimately is the cause of Fernand Mondego to commit suicide after realizing that the Count is indeed his old rival Edmond Dantès, the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Méran, and Barrois to be poisoned resulting in death by the jealous Madame de Villefort, who wanted her son Edward to receive his grandfather’s inheritance. In the end, Dantès learns to love another, first by agreeing to help Maximilian Morrel in the pursuit of love by saving Valentine from her stepmother’s poison and second, publicly admits his admiration for Haydee. At first, Monte Cristo seems to care nothing at all for human su

Some topics in this essay:
Wang Lung, House Hwang, Edmond Dantès, Monte Cristo, Abbé Faria, Pear Blossom, Wang Lung’s, Abbé Borocia, Franz Albert, Saint-Méran Barrois, wang lung, monte cristo, count monte cristo, count monte, edmond dantès, house hwang, abbé faria, chateau d’if, learns love, monte cristo edmond, beg streets, o-lan’s pearls, edmond dantès begins, isle monte cristo, house count monte,