Is Javert A Villain?

Good and evil is more commonly seen in Jekyll and Hyde. Duality is implied on appearance and personality in the book. “I see you feel as I do,” said Mr. Enfield. “Yes, it’s a bad story. For my man was a fellow that nobody could have to do with, a really damnable man; and the person that drew the cheque is the very pink of the proprieties, celebrated too, and (what makes it worse) one of your fellows who do what they call good. Blackmail I suppose; an honest man paying through the nose for some of the capers of his youth. Black Mail House is what I call the place with the door, in consequence. Though even that, you know, is far from explaining all,” he added, and with the words

The inspector is presented as unusual by his personality, conduct and expressed views. Throughout the act, Priestley makes the Inspector say and do things that an audience would not expect of a conventional policeman.

Joshua Goodnight Johnny tremain Essay 2/17/17 How did Johnny change throughout the novel? Well there were actually three ways that he was believed to have changed in the book. Johnny first started out as a very rude person. He would pick on the other apprentices. He was always rude to this girl who liked him so dearly.

In the play 'An Inspector Calls', many contrasts and paradox's are present and at the centre of them all is the character known as Inspector Goole. However, the inspector is not any ordinary inspector. I believe that the inspector is used as a device by Priestley to explore the wider themes of the play and to depict other characters true personalities. This essay will explore some of the techniques Priestley presents the inspector in An Inspector Calls.

The definition of evil is profoundly immoral and malevolent and is harmful or tending to harm. The most evil character between General Zaroff and Montresor according to the definition of evil is Montresor. Montresor is the most evil character because he plays a cruel joke, he has a moral compass and chooses to ignore it, and kills one of his friends.

Good versus Evil is an important concept. Evil sometimes overcomes our good but never exceeds good. The difference between evil and good is that good is an ability to have empathy and compassion towards other people. Evil is people who are selfish, self-absorbed and don’t have empathy towards others. Literature plays a vital role in developing concepts of good and evil and effectively portrays the morals of its time period. In the novels Dracula and The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the authors explore the human nature of good and evil in men from different perspectives of Dracula, Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll.

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

In the novel evil is portrayed by Mr. Hyde and as the novel progresses evil begins to gain more power over good, Mr. Hyde begins to take over Dr. Jekyll and becomes more dominant. Jekyll is beginning to lose control and his evil side is taking over:

Evil, like many other things we humans take as absolutes, is ultimately a matter of perspective. President Barack Obama once said “...evil is senseless. It’s beyond reason”. Senselessness immorality often coincide in topics surrounding evil. However, as many philosophers and political thinkers alike question, “what defines morality”? A Nihilist may think that “all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated”, nor would one have “ [any] purpose, other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy” (Pratt). Grendel has a nihilistic epiphany early in his life, when he narrates “I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears” (Garder 21-22). Grendel also performs a plethora of destructive acts in the novel,

The bond between good and evil is a very prominent theme in Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr, Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” The two characters are united into one human being, but contrast each other enormously. Although Dr. Jekyll represents the good, and Mr. Hyde represents the evil, both characters prove to have the other characteristics as well. Dr. Jekyll wants more than anything to separate the bond between good and evil, and performs experiments to obtain this goal. This results in the character Mr. Hyde who is filled with evil intentions. The narrator shows the evil of Dr. Hyde, “All human beings, as we meet them, commingled out of good and evil:

Though an argument can be made that an action’s results, or consequences, not motives, determine a man’s guilt, Wieland can still be shown guilty. In describing how he murdered Catharine, Wieland says, “‘Thrice I slackened my grip, and life kept its hold, though in the midst of pangs. Her eye-balls started from their sockets. Grimness and distortion took place of all that used to bewitch me into transport…’”, thus showing that Catharine’s brutal murder one of the consequences of Wieland following the voice’s instruction (195). Later, when Clara, Wieland’s sister, wants to visit Wieland, her uncle says, “‘…your brother’s frenzy is stupendous and frightful. The soul that formerly actuated his frame has disappeared….A fury that is rapacious of blood that lifts his strength to almost above that of mortals, that bends all his energies to the destruction of whatever was once dear to him, possesses him wholly.” This quote makes clear the unstable state of Wieland, yet another result of his

Javert’s ideas were overturned. (pg 530/531)” Javert depicts his thoughts as a “rebellion” because they are going against his lifelong beliefs and it begins to “irritate him”. He knows that having one distinct outcome for anyone who has committed a crime would be the easy way out of things, but he is unable to control himself from now thinking that there is more than one right answer. He had always believed that strict “authority” and giving people “sentences” was the right call for every case he had, but now these phrases show less of an impact due to his “overturned” ideas.

1. I define villainy as an act of breaking a law, manipulating laws created, or causing harm for self-serving purposes. Evil is lacking morals or lacking a sense of meaning behind doing something corrupt. Villainy can be diagnosed or treated, evil cannot be changed. Evil lacks morals and is a permanent absence of intention.

In Les Miserables, Javert abused his power by putting Jean Valjean through everything he put him through. Javert used his powers to constantly try and get Jean Valjean locked away and in trouble and all because he personally hated Jean because in his eyes a crime is a crime no matter who commits it. I think Jean is a decent person because he used his powers one time for good when he stood up for fantine when someone threw snowballs at her. Javert did not know that was Jean Valjean at the time because Jean was known as Monsieur Madeleine. Jean made a new name for himself and even became mayor and nobody had no idea he was a convict

A force of good is necessary to counterbalance evil to create at least a sense of justice in the world. Hercule Poirot provides the simple counterpoint for the evil of all the murders committed throughout Agatha Christie's series. Although it is the way Poirot makes a living as an inspector, he is genuinely concerned about unearthing the truth and helping the victims and their families find closure. Ancillary characters, like Kenneth in Evil Under the Sun, do not necessarily represent the force of good so much as they are neutral players.