The Count of Monte Cristo Review Sheet
Know the following:
The plot! You won’t be tested on every tiny detail, but you’ll need to know the story well
enough to answer questions and to write about it.
The characters: Study your character notes before the test and know who is who, what the
relationships are between characters, and key characterizations.
Symbols: We didn’t have time to cover this, so think about this on
your own. What might the red purse symbolize? How about the sea?
Think about Edmond’s swim away from the Chateau d’If. How about the
elixir/potion?
Background: Look over your notes on Alexandre Dumas, French
history, Romanticism, and the Romantic/Byronic hero.
Themes in the book: What do you think was the big idea about people/humanity that is
being expressed in this book? What in the text led you to that theme? Think about these big
ideas/motifs to help you:
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revenge
fate vs. free will
justice and judgment
transformation
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ambition
manipulation
hidden identity/masks
love vs. alienation/hatred
Other Materials: Be sure to review the other material we’ve studied this unit:
 Subject/Verb and
 Context Clues
Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
 Poetry
 Active/Passive Voice
 Integrating Quotations
 Fragments and Run-Ons
Vocabulary: We’ve studied 20 vocabulary words as we’ve read the book.
these words well:
 obsequious,
 usurp,

 imperious,
 maxim,

 formidable,
 precarious,
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 repugnance,
 alacrity,
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 sanguine,
 scrupulously,

 auspices,
 furtive,
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 recompense,
 languish,
Be sure you know
avaricious,
approbation,
pedantic,
phlegmatic,
filial,
cognizant,
Review Practice Questions:
Vocabulary
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: obsequious
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: imperious
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: furtive
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: repugnance
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: sanguine
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: filial
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: scrupulously
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: avaricious
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: maxim
Define the following vocabulary word and use it in a sentence: languish
The Book’s Background + Symbols:
Give three interesting facts about Alexandre Dumas, the author.
How could The Count of Monte Cristo be considered an example of Romanticism in literature?
How could the Count of Monte Cristo be considered a Byronic/Romantic hero?
What could the following item from the novel symbolize? Think about all the times it occurs in the novel
and what it is linked to. The Sea
What could the following item from the novel symbolize? The Red Silk Purse
What could the following item from the novel symbolize? The Elixir/ Potion
Character Analysis:
Evaluate Dumas’s view of human nature: does evil or goodness seem stronger?
How does the Count view himself as an agent of Providence (or, in other words, acting to bring about
God’s justice)?
Compare and contrast Edmond Dantes with the Count of Monte Cristo.
How is a particular, seemingly minor, character representative of an essential theme in The Count of
Monte Cristo, thus making that character integral to the story? Use evidence from the text to support
your answer.
The Count’s last words in the book are “wait and hope” (Dumas 441). Looking back over the entire
novel, what significance do these words have? Use at least 3 specific examples.
Think about how Edmond Dantes has changed over the course of the novel. Give specific evidence from
the text to support your answer.
Theme:
Analyze the author’s use of masks and appearances vs. reality in the novel.
Analyze the human desire for revenge as shown in the novel.
Analyze the individual’s quest for power in the novel.
Compare/contrast human justice with divine justice. Explain the significance.
Explain why the following theme is a possible theme for the novel using details from the novel to
support your answer. Human justice is limited, only God can really bring justice (keep in mind that the
Count begins to think of himself as God’s tool).
Explain why the following theme is a possible theme for the novel using details from the novel to
support your answer. Happiness is not a function of circumstance, but rather is a function of attitude
about circumstance.
Explain why the following theme is a possible theme for the novel using details from the novel to
support your answer. Love is what keeps people sane. A lack of love turns people into loners who are
alienated from society.
Characters:
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Madame
d’Villefort
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Luigi
Vampa
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Andrea
Cavalcanti
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Eugenie
Danglars
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Julie and
Emmanuel Morrel
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Abbe Faria
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Valentine
d’Villefort
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Albert
Morcerf
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Abbe
Busoni
Describe the following character and tell how he/she is significant to the story as a whole: Noirter
Plot:
Describe the revenge plot on Danglars.
Describe the revenge plot on Fernand.
Describe the revenge plot on Villefort.
What relationships survive the book? Which do not?
What innocent people get hurt in the process of the Count’s revenge?