One of the most favourite novels of Rizal was the Count of Monte Cristo which was authored by Alexander Dumas. This novel—which portrays the story of Edmond Dantes-- instilled his romantic cravings. Accordingly, the life of Edmond Dantes was a story of hope, vengeance, forgiveness, and mercy. This novel was an excellent example of pure wisdom and love. The theme of its story struck Rizal’s genius mind and unique character. The novel became a favourite reading material of the hero during his teenage years. On the other hand, I can say that this story of Edmond Dantes was truly one of a kind during the times of Alexander Dumas. The story would show us the evil side of human person-- selfishness and pride. In fact, the events in the story still exist during these times. One good example is the corruption and injustices happening in our country. To name a few: the case of Ampatuan Massacre which until now is still not resolved and the families of the unfortunate victims still not able to taste justice of the crime; and the unending corruption in the Philippines. Furthermore, we can also relate the theme of the story to each of us. The novel was an epic adventure of a human being’s nature and emotions. I can say that it is natural for us to feel angry to those who had wronged us. When we hold grudge to someone, we are compelled to take revenge in order to satisfy our feelings of anger. In fact, this kind of emotional adventure has already happened to me once then and I learned so much out from that experience. Surely, it had also happened to someone else on this planet and many lives are torn apart just because of the selfishness and pride of some people. However, when we surrender everything we feel to God and feeling all those emotions of anger without trying to change anything that has happened to us-- we will soon be enlightened and forgiveness will step our way. When everything is already enough and we feel that many people have been affected
