Human Nature In Victor Hugo's Les Miserables

I believe that human beings are basically good. When they are first born and grow up as babies and toddlers, humans are innocent. However, with the effects of outside experiences and social expectations, human beings can be prone to evil. Humans want to be recognized within society and this can be seen in the movie, “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. Due to the social environment that Tom Ripley lives in, he feels the need to fit in and be wealthy like the people around him. This causes him to seek for ways, whether the action is moral or immoral, to attain a higher social status.

Furthermore, another character that proves that Victor Hugo is trying to say that human nature is basically good is Javert. On page 336 it states, “Javert felt that something horrible was penetrating his soul, admiration for a convict. Repose first for a galley slave can that be possible? He shuddered at it yet could not shake it off… Javert bent his head and looked. All was black. He could distinguish nothing. He heard a frothing sound; but he did not see the river…”. This quote by Victor Hugo emphasizes on this unusual emotion of goodness arousing within Javert. It’s revealing a transformation of Javert’s character from a hardened law worshipper directly to someone feeling for a convict. Javert is seen gaining his conscious and eventually

Society tends to misjudge people base on their appearances instead of their personality. This can be seen in the play Cyrano De Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. In which Roxane represents that vile aspect of society. Roxane is attracted to Christian based on his looks, and under minds Cyrano because of his appearance. Society misjudgment of people cause oppression on an individual and it is from oppression and misjudgment f character that causes self consciousness to be born. Cyrano exhibits this self consciousness by helping Christian. Such oppression or self conscious aids to form magnificent characteristics attributes such as the ones portrayed by Cyrano throughout the novel. After all of its societies misjudgment that causes Cyrano to be

Through the representation of politics, one can gain insight as the how they highlight the best or worst of human nature. The Crucible a play by Arthur Miller, is an allegory for the Cold War politics and examines the tensions that occur between one 's perception of what is moral according to human nature when constrained by a theocratic society. Fahrenheit 451 a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury, shows how oppressive governments can never succeed in trying to force conformity in one 's human nature. The Lottery is a dystopian shirt story, by Shirley Jackson and demonstrates conformity and rebellion, and how overpowering a community can be against an individual.

All humans have different morals that change based on their environment and circumstance. Jean Valjean, in the novel Les Miserables(1961), changes from someone with confused morals to a man with more morals than most whom with respect learns to love and share.

Victor Hugo’s works discuss many themes; forgiveness and compassion, justice, and the need for political change, among many others, and much of the time, adhering to these themes take precedence over obeying the law. Hugo was elected to the Parliament in 1848 as a conservative, yet when he started making progressive speeches, was forced to break with the conservatives. It was when Napoleon III came into power that Hugo stood up for his views, declaring Napoleon III a traitor to France, and was exiled from France for nineteen years for this. Hugo’s sense of morality defied law; he refused to obey and paid the price for it. Hugo continued to publish novels and anti-Napoleon III material while he was in exile in Guernsey. Some of Hugo’s most powerful

Dualism exists in human nature. Voltaire, an Enlightenment writer explores the tendency of humans to seek out good, but also the acts of evil that continue to happen. Voltaire catalogs a diverse cast of flawed characters in his signature satire Candide. Many of these characters contrast other characters in different aspects. These character foils highlight the weaknesses and limited strengths of its counterpart. These flaws are inevitably a human characteristic that corrupt humanity but also essential in development. By intertwining vice and virtue within characters, Voltaire intones that humans are all intrinsically flawed, but the distinction between the antagonistic dichotomy of evil and good is ambiguous.

As the era of literature slowly declines, the expert critiques and praise for literature are lost. Previously, novels were bursting at the seams with metaphors, symbolism, and themes. In current times, “novels” are simply short stories that have been elaborated on with basic plot elements that attempt to make the story more interesting. Instead of having expert critical analysis written about them, they will, most likely, never see that, as recent novels have nothing to analyze. Even books are beginning to collect dust, hidden away and forgotten, attributing to the rise of companies such as Spark Notes. An author deserves to have his work praised, no matter how meager and the masses should have the right to embrace it or to reject it. As

Some people will do anything for those they love, no matter what the cost. In literature, this act of sacrifice is often exaggerated and glorified. Almost every novel contains some example of sacrifice, a giving up of something dear and precious without thought of material repayment. Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables, is no exception. It is, in fact, full to overflowing of sacrifice between its different characters. Two such characters are Eponine and Jean Valjean, who each sacrifice an extraordinary amount to other characters.

The author thinks human nature is uncooperative and irrationally destructive. I do not agree with that statement. Human nature essentially good. No one is born evil. Even though there is a lot of evil across the globe, there is more good. For every one bad deed, there are a hundred good deeds. God will put you on the right path.

"True redemption is when guilt leads to good" (Khaled Hosseini). Not one person on earth is completely free from wrongs. Humans have lapses in judgement that can hurt them and others. Some people believe you can be redeemed and can put your wrongs behind you, these people are kind and generous. Others believe you have one chance to get it right, these people are often angry and judgmental. There are also those who believe that someone can't be redeemed, but begin to realize that people can change. By looking at the Bishop, Javert, and Jean Valjean and their actions it becomes clear that Les Miserables is a book about redemption coming to those who did wrongs in their past and the behaviors of those who believe and don't believe.

There are always two sides to every coin. For example, without evil, there can be no good. Is being a good person all about the things one does or is it about the reason one does the things they do? There 's good and bad in everyone. Humanity isn 't perfect, and our lives are so complex. In the film titled Nightcrawler, Louis Bloom shows viewers first-hand what it is like to be a journalist in the fast pace city of Los Angeles. Throughout the film, Louis attempts to manipulate the other characters and uses their weakness against them to get whatever he desires. Even though a person may be considered as a bad person they still could possibly commit actions that a good person normally world and vice-versa. For many people, it may be easy for them to characterize Louis as a bad person, due to the choices and decisions he makes through the movie. After watching the film several times, I am still pondering over what exactly it means to be a bad or good person. Everyone makes mistakes; it is inevitable. But the thing that separates a good person from a bad person is that a good person learns from those mistakes and never repeats those same mistakes again. Making mistakes is part of what makes us human. They not only help one learn from our experiences, but they also help shape one into the individual they would like to become. A good person is comfortable with both their strengths and weaknesses, treat others with respect, and are aware that their inner intentions are truly what

In his novel, Les Miserables, Victor Hugo identifies the principle social evils of French society through the actions and qualities of his characters. By depicting each of his characters’ struggles through destitute and oppressed measures, Hugo is able to identify the social errors of 19th century France. The fact that characters such as Valjean, Javert, Fantine, and Cosette, attempt to rise above poverty and redeem themselves indicate that such inequalities did, and still do, exist to this day. Through the use of feminist ideals and the criminal injustice system, Hugo attacks the principle social evils that each of his characters face in Les Miserables.

By setting aside all the facts, Rousseau creates a state of nature that proves man to be naturally free and good. Once Rousseau sets aside the facts he creates a story that shows man should be “discontented with your present state, for reasons that herald even greater discontent for your unhappy Posterity, you might perhaps wish to be able to go backwards” (133). This is true because man is free. Rousseau starts by “stripping this being, so constituted, of all the supernatural gifts he may have received, and of all the artificial faculties he could only have acquired by prolonged progress” (134). Man in his beginning is unsophisticated and irrational nothing more than “an animal “(134). But, in nature man has no authorities. In nature “men, dispersed among them [other animals], observe, imitate their industry, and so raise themselves to the level of the Beasts’ instinct, with this advantage that each species has but its own instinct, while man perhaps having none that belong to him, appropriates them all, feeds indifferently on most of the various foods” (134-135). Men learn from other animals and imitate their moves but are forced to

Throughout Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, the character Jean Valjean, the Patron-Minette, and Gavroche have a lot in common. What defines them as people, though, are their actions in life and the actions of others. Hugo emphasizes how the lack of those things (education and kindness) leads to criminal ways and an ungratified way of life. No one has shown them affection or kindness which leads them to believe society is mean and they develop hatred towards it. Not one of them were educated, which leads to ignorance and a lack of opportunities in life, which leads to crime in the long run.