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@graciegirl, glad you liked the book, I felt exactly the same way when I finished it. On another note, have you ever read Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini? Or The Mark of Zorro, by Johnston McCulley?
@R-J-Wordsmith No, I haven’t read either of those. Are they along the same lines as TCoMC?
@anyone-that-is-in-to-story-structure-and-has-read-CoMC
I’ve been trying to practice story structure by dissecting any story I come across, and I decided to try and break down CoMC. I’m having a bit of trouble though, and I figured if any of you enjoy studying structure we could look at CoMC collectively. (Oh, I’m using K. M. Weiland’s theory, btw.) I’m not that concerned with the Pinch Points, I just threw them in there to try ’em out. 😀
Inciting Event: Captain Leclére falls ill on board the Pharaon (?)
Key Event: Captain Leclére entrusts Edmond with the letter to Napoleon
First Plot Point: Edmond finds Abbé Faria’s treasure on Monte Cristo
First Pinch Point: Albert’s encounter with Luigi Vampa in Rome (?)
Midpoint: The dinner at Auteuil in the house where Benedetto was born.
Second Pinch Point: Monsieur and Madame de Saint-Méran die suddenly and Dr. d’Avrigny speaks to Villefort of his suspicions of poisoning. (?)
Third Plot Point: Fernand’s behavior towards Ali Pasha in Janina is addressed in the House and Albert challenges Edmond to a duel.
Climax: Benedetto at the Assizes (?)
Climatic Moment: ?????
As you can see, I’m not that sure of over half of them. In fact, the only one I’m fairly positive about is the Midpoint. And I am totally at a loss as to last third of the book. XD
Anyway, I’ve been playin’ around with this and I thought I’d run it by you all just to hear your thoughts. Sorta like asking for a grade on my homework. :p*is probably geeking out about something*
@graciegirl lol! You probably picked one of the hardest books in the world to analyze for story structure. First of all, it doesn’t follow a standard arc, and second, there are so many major events it’s hard not to get confused as to which ones are the major ones.
It’s been a couple years since I’ve read this, so I can’t comment much, but I think Edmond’s betrayal was the inciting event.
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@Daeus Just my luck to try and analyze one of the few books that doesn’t follow standard structure. 😆
I got to looking at it after I posted that and I got the idea that maybe each main group of characters (the Morcerfs, the Villeforts, etc.) have their own story arc with Edmond’s as a central pillar. There is definitely more than one person’s story going on. That might explain the plethora of major events.
Oh, yes, Edmond’s betrayal makes much more sense the more I think about it. ‘Cause the inciting event is supposed to set the ball rolling irrevocably, right? Things could still have worked out if Ed had been left alone to deliver the letter, but once he was taken to prison there was no turning back.
*is probably geeking out about something*
*closes eyes* Thanks for the spoilers…I have this book on hold at the library, you know… @graciegirl
Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.
@that_writer_girl_99 Woops! 😆 Sorry. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of plot twists and ‘shut the front door!’ moments beyond what I’ve mentioned. Although I guess the ending is gone-zo if you read that earlier post. 😳 Woops again.
Expect to find yourself humming, ‘It’s a Small World After All’ as you read along though. 😜 Fair warning….
*is probably geeking out about something*
@graciegirl Yep. 🙂 Another thing that came to me is that I think the key event is his commitment to vengeance.
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@graciegirl, in answer to your question: not exactly. Captain Blood set during a 1688 revolution in England. The doctor is mistaken for a rebel, shipped to a Caribbean island as a slave, and ends up becoming a pirate. Zorro is about a young Spanish blueblood, Don Diego Vega, who disguises himself as a masked bandit in order to help poor locals who are being oppressed by the government. Both are very good reads, and I believe Captain Blood can be gotten for free on Amazon Kindle.
@r-j-wordsmith I’ll have to check those out. Thanks for the recommendations!
*is probably geeking out about something*
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