Extended Essays 2021

alone. The stronger Grey King wants to kill Lamora. To potentially manage to win the duel by taking the Grey King’s life Lamora concocts a strategy involving Jean Tannen in which he states to the Grey King that he “doesn’t need to beat [the Grey King]” (517) he just needs to wait until “Jean shows up” (517). Aware that Jean’s presence would result in his demise the Grey King “became truly desperate” (517). Using this despair, Lamora yells “[t]here he is” (517), buying him enough time to land a fatal blow, ending the King’s life. Lamora mentioned to Tannen that he had made “great use of [Tannen’s] reputation” (519). Lynch’s choice in the expression “use” exemplifies Lamora’s God-like power to take life. In suggesting this (through the use of Judeo- Christian tropes), Lynch enables the reader to justify Lamora’s actions, moreover, causing the reader to feel pleasure during violent acts, like the death of the Grey King. The power to take life is solely in the hands of God. Thus, when Dumas and Lynch give this power to Dantès and Lamora a connection between these characters and God is made. With this connection, the reader can feel guiltless pleasure when the protagonists excite violence. Ultimately, in The Count of Monte Cristo , Dumas rejects Dantès' relation to God through the overestimation of the elixir’s power as the novel concludes. In doing so the author the readers' support for Dantès' violent acts. This however is not replicated in The Lies of Locke Lamora and readers still feel pleasure in acts of violence partaken by Lamora.

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