Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Why did d'Artagnan travel to Paris?

D'Artagnan is a young man whose purpose in traveling to Paris is to make something of himself by becoming a musketeer. He is the son of a minor noble and, therefore, stands a good chance of being successful in life, but he is not nearly as important a person as he thinks he is. Throughout the novel, he tries to prove himself, and he manages to succeed in saving the queen's honor when the Musketeers with whom he is acquainted—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—cannot complete their mission. He and his friends also see to it that an assassin is brought to justice. His actions eventually pay off and he fulfills his dream when he is awarded the rank of Lieutenant of the King's Musketeers.


D'Artagnan has made the long journey from Gascony to Paris in order to join the elite corps of musketeers. His father has given him a letter of introduction to a Monsieur de Tréville, the captain of the musketeers. Tréville had once been the d'Artagnans' neighbor in Gascony. He's clearly a very important person, as he used to play with King Louis XIII when he was a boy. Although d'Artagnan the elder is a member of the nobility, he's only a minor noble, so he hopes that his son will be able to improve the family's fortunes by becoming a member of an elite guards regiment. It is his noble background that gives young d'Artagnan a somewhat exaggerated sense of his own importance, which is belied by the rather ridiculous yellow horse on which he sets out on his epic journey.

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