Les Miserable Quotes

. Valjean was sentenced to four years in prison, for attempting to steal a loaf of bread; the loaf of bread was not for himself but for his dearest sister and her seven kids. When Valjean was in jail, he attempted to escape prison four different times, which extended his sentence to 19 years in prison. Since Jean Valjean had served 19 years, he had time to learn how to read and write, he also had all the time to work out and get strong. As the years went by, Jean Valjean had served his sentence, when he was released his whole life was changed when, he was gave a yellow slip which stated Valjean was an ex-convict. From that day forward Valjean had to struggle and think how he could become an honest man. Jean one day came across the house of

The protagonist’s transformation begins when the bishop recognizes Jean Valjean’s human soul that is capable of goodness. When he is put out into the streets, Valjean goes from place to place being rejected for being a convict until he meets the bishop who sees him as a common person, “That men saw his mask, but the bishop saw his face”(75). Even though people might be good, they don’t always see someone’s true soul. The bishop’s simple act of kindness and deeper understanding

He asked them to “be rich without concern,” (Hugo 397). Next, he gave his two precious candlesticks to Cosette. Lastly, Jean asked to be “buried in the most convenient piece of group under a stone to mark the spot... No name on the stone,” (Hugo 398). Jean Valjean was a humble man and he did not ask much of Cosette and

What is equally absurd is that Meursault remains passive and detached over the course of a year of interrogations, and despite the pessimistic nature of his situation, he is able to feel a sense of comfort and belonging within the system trying to condemn him. Ironically, those witness testimonies that sought to free him prove to be the most damaging, and the religious people who surround him and purport to love all men unconditionally persecute him for his lack of belief. Everyone is astonished that Meursault has no emotions about the murder --no sense of remorse or desire to repent. Most men in his position find

Throughout the entire musical, Javert has never wavered from the law. He thinks the law is just and right and there is no mercy for those who break the law. Javert only sees right and wrong, he has no sympathy for convicts and does what he must to remain just. Javert believes that he is doing the will of God by justifying his actions to what he believes is right. Javert dedicates himself to find Valjean and imprison him yet again. He is conflicted because Jean Valjean let him go free when he had the chance to kill him and Javert thinks that there is no room on this world for the both it is either Valjean or Javert.

Also, for example, the forgiveness shown by the Bishop rubs off on Valjean when he has a chance to execute Javert at the barricade. All Valjean wanted was to be left alone in peace. This changes Javert’s opinion of Valjean immensely. Valjean has released his past and is a brand new person. When Javert ultimately captures Valjean he sets him free.

This one event demonstrates the relationship of Valjean and Javert throughout the movie. Valjean stealing and not obeying the law puts a bad impression on Javert because he is the one obeying what the law says. Javert is unsatisfied with Valjean being able to walk away as a

Even when he is accepted with open arms by the bishop, Jean Valjean finds it difficult to drop the label that had been drilled into him for nineteen years, prompting him to steal from the bishop. However, it is not until the bishop offers mercy to Jean Valjean that he begins to mature and question the labels assigned to him. The bishop had been the first to see Jean Valjean as anything but a convict, and in turn, Jean Valjean began to see himself as something else as well. From the first few chapters of Les Miserables, Jean Valjean undergoes a massive transformation of self, and simply for overlooking a label. This small act of kindness was a pivotal event, and without such, the rest of the story would have ceased to exist.

O.J. Urmson would describe the bishop as doing ’his duty in contexts in which fear would lead most men not to do it, and does so without effort” (Pojman, p. 417). The bishop took in the criminal when no one else would, even the site of Valjean made people afraid. According to Aristotle and his theory of means, Jean Valjean can see the bishop as saintly and his sister and housekeeper can see the bishop as foolhardy. Yet it is difficult to not see that Hugo is making a point to show the bishop as a saintly figure, one to demonstrate to Jean that there is good within and evil acts are not the only option for the ex-convict.

Javert is the opposite of Valjean, and relies heavily on the legality side. In the

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.

A single quiet splash heard by no one signaled the end of Javert, a man of the law in Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables. He chases after Jean Valjean for years without rest or relenting, simply because Valjean broke parole. Given an opportunity to capture him, Javert would show no hesitation or mercy to the man who stole a loaf of bread. His resolve in this goal is shattered when Valjean, given the chance to the man pursuing him, instead saves Javert’s life. The conflicting examples of a galley slave and a holy man confound Javert’s biases. Valjean’s actions caused him to struggle internally, and eventually led him to give up on the world that he no longer understands and commits suicide. Rather than fight through the sudden change in his life, Javert succumbed to the struggle. Javert should have endured his moral dilemma rather than end his life.

One may think that he went in jail for it and that he paid his due to the society. I believe there is more than that in this cover story. When this magazine is deciding to put Bertrand Cantat on his cover, I see it as a symbol of the oppression that men still have over women. This oppression is here physical abuse but also I see oppression in the way the information is treated. The semantic the journalist used translated a sort of understanding and compassion for his act. I believe that there is a cultural piece that needed to be added to that. It is very French this notion of passion. A passionate crime can in a way be explained and understood in France. He loved her so much that he could not let her go so he killed her. Out of passion comes compassion for what is in reality a murder. Because of that mentality, the murderer can still be perceived as a doomed hero. This is also removing from him the responsibility of his act. It is not he anymore who killed but his passion for her. In addition, it portrays the women as some sort of property, she belonged to him.

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.

The tone of Les Miserables changes throughout the book, it starts our very dim. In the beginning after Jean Valjean is set free from the galleys, he is not allowed a room in the Inn. He showed his yellow card and was immediately denied a room. “‘I am at an inn. I am hungry, and I shall stay.’ The host bent his ear ,