I.

Three
Musketeers

Settings
The story takes place in the seventeenth century. The French King at
this time was the great Louis XIII, and he dominated the second first half
of the century. Also, the story takes place during the famous French
Revolution. DArtagnan comes from a little town on the outskirts of
France called Gascony.
The settings of The Three Musketeers are on commonplaces in Paris.
For instance, the various apartments around Paris or inns in the

CARANDANG, GABRIEL NATHANIEL S. | |

- DILIGENCE

TEACHER ARLENE ADRIANO | | MARCH 7, 2016 | | PROJECT IN

ENGLISH
countryside of France were mentioned in the book. However, it also

features unusual places in Paris like when the Milady is taken prisoner by
Lord de Winter, she is conveyed to a castle overlooking a steep cliff.

II.

Characters

D'Artagnan : He is a young, impoverished Gascon nobleman who

comes to make his fortune in Paris. He is brave, noble, ambitious,
crafty, and intelligent.

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Athos : He stands as a father figure to d'Artagnan. He is older

than his comrades, although still a young man.

Aramis: He is a handsome young man, quiet and somewhat

foppish. He constantly protests that he is only temporarily in the
Musketeers, and that any day now he will return to the Church to
pursue his true calling.

Porthos : He is extremely vain, and enjoys outfitting himself

handsomely; but for all that, he is a valiant fighter and a
courageous friend.

Lady de Winter: She is a mysterious, beautiful, dangerous, and

ultimately evil Cardinalist agent.

Madame Bonacieux : She is loyal to the Queen through and

through.

King Louis XIII: He is a petulant and petty person, and those

around him who are most successful are those who have learned to
manipulate his pettiness.

Cardinal Richelieu: He is the most powerful and important man in

France. He is furiously self-absorbed, but also an extremely
effective leader of the state.

Queen Anne : Her loyalties are divided between her Spanish

heritage, her position as Queen of France, and her love for George
Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham.

III. Summary
The novel starts in France, where a young man from Gascony
named DArtagnan roams around Paris with only three gifts from his
father: fifteen crowns, a horse, and a letter of introduction to M. de
Trville, who is a Very Important Person since he commands the Kings
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Musketeers. DArtagnan dreams to be part of the Musketeer someday,

but he doesnt have much going for him except for his training as a
gentleman, which means, effectively, that he can handle a sword and be
polite about it. On the later part of the novel, the Cardinal was
introduced. He is a powerful man who is even more powerful than the
King. He is still angry that Anne burned his declarations of love some
time back, wants her to get in trouble with her husband. He knows,
through his spies, that Anne gave the diamonds to Buckingham.
Afterwards, Madame Bonacieux was also introduced. She promises that
she will find someone to help the Queen regain the diamond studs in
time for the ball. This someone turns out to be DArtagnan, whos just
tripping all over himself to get in her good graces. He takes his buddies
Athos, Porthos, and Aramis to England to retrieve the studs, but one by
one each of them is detained on the road. DArtagnan makes it to London
alone and meets with the Duke. He finds the studs, but two are missing.
To solve the problem, the Duke has two new ones whipped up and blocks
any ship from leaving England to ensure that the missing studs dont
make it to Paris. This, of course, means that hes declared war on France,
but obviously the honor of his beloved is much more important.
DArtagnan makes it back to Paris in time to save the Queen. As the
friends head back to war, the Cardinal requests to see DArtagnan. Even
though DArtagnan is afraid hell be sentenced to death, he bravely
heads to the meeting. He confesses to the Cardinal that Milady is dead,
but since the Cardinal was only going to kill DArtagnan as a favor to
Milady, he changes his mind and gives DArtagnan a commission as a
lieutenant in the Musketeers. DArtagnan is overcome and protests that
one of his friends should take it. He offers it to them each in turn, but
they refuse. Athos doesnt want it, Aramis is going to become a priest,
and Porthos is going to marry a rich woman. Monsieur Bonacieux
disappears under mysterious circumstances, and there the novel ends.

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IV. Plots
1st Plot: The Introduction
DArtagnan arrives in Paris with almost no money, hoping to become a
Musketeer. A penniless youth arrives in the city who has a lot of pride and
mad sword fighting skills, so lets see how he makes out in the
sophisticated world of 17th Century Paris.

2nd Plot: The Conflict

The Queen needs her diamond studs back. Queen Anne is desperate to
retrieve her diamond studs from her lover, the Duke of Buckingham,
since her husband the King wants to see her wear them at the upcoming
ball. Unfortunately, Queen Anne has no one she can trust.

3rd Plot: The Climax

DArtagnan tricks Milady. She swears his death. Milady is furious and tries
to kill DArtagnan. This qualifies as the climax of the novel because it is
at this point in the storyline that Milady is revealed as the primary
antagonist our heroes have to worry about.

4th Plot: The Suspense

The Milady has escaped her prison. Milady has demonstrated the extent
of her evil power, and our heroes wait anxiously hoping that they can
stop her in time. Although Lord de Winter locks her up, she is not
powerless. She successfully seduces her jailer, (John Felton), convinces
him of her innocence, and arranges for him to murder the Duke of
Buckingham. However, Milady was executed at the end of the novel.

5th Plot: The Conclusion

DArtagnan is promoted to lieutenant in the Musketeers. All the loose
ends are wrapped up. Porthos gets married, Athos continues to serve in
the Musketeers until he inherits some land, and Aramis enters the
priesthood. DArtagnan makes a new friend, and Monsieur Bonacieux
disappears.
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V.

Reaction
Upon reading the fun yet chilling novel of Alexandre Dumas, the

Three Musketeers, I recognized that this novel successfully depicts what

it is like to be a soldier. This novel has some difficult words to understand
that is why I have to use my dictionary to understand them but I know
that the message is very clear. That is to be a better warrior for yourself
and for your nation. I have a dream of becoming a brave soldier someday
that is why, whenever there is a chance, I ask my mother to buy be
sword toy so that I could play with it with my little brother, Samuel, and
pretend that we are soldiers. Each plot of this childrens book was crafted
in a way that I would be curious to what would happen next in way that
I would be wanting more. I am joyful while reading this book because it is
easy understand and comprehend. Moreover, the book was spot-on in
projecting the values and ethics needed to be a respectable soldier. Also,
I learned that you do not have to be rich to be a gentleman as manners
maketh a man. To sum it all up, this book had made my perspective on
the way things work optimistic. I could not help but to laugh at those
funny and light scenes of the book and to feel sad on the other. Also, this
book, the Three Musketeers, did not fail to present the strong and brave
soldiers in the possible ways yet it also did not falter to show its
characters as real human beings who have flaws. Furthermore, I
considered this childrens book as an abiding masterpiece that every
generation could relate into. Even if this book is abridged and was
summarized for us to understand it, it did not fail to show what love and
heroism is on different aspects.

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VI. Answer the following questions

1st Question: What is the best part of the story?
In my opinion, the happy ending of the story is the best part of this
book. After the evil Milady was executed, it was when DArtagnan
became the lieutenant of the Musketeers. Also, when Porthos was
married is also a good ending for this book. Moreover, when Aramis
finally had his dream come true. That is, to be in the priesthood.

2nd Question: How did the book made you feel?

At first, I had a hard time understanding this book even if it is
summarized because it has difficult terminologies I just cant simple
understand immediately without using the dictionary. Thank goodness for
the context clues of each sentences and I finally decipher what the
supposedly meaning of those difficult words are. The book made me
generally happy because of its storyline.

3rd Question: What new things did you learn from the book?
First, I learned how to decipher a meaning of a difficult term with the
provided context clues in each sentences. Second, like what I have
mentioned before, I learned that one does not have to be rich or
handsome or famous in order to become a gentle and respectable
warrior. When one has the passion to do something, do not give up and
do it. Lastly, it is never too late to change to become a better person, just
like what DArtagnan did.

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