Les Miserables : A French Masterpiece

"It is precisely of him that I wished to speak. Dispose of me as you please; but help me first to carry him home. I only ask that of you." Upon examination of Les Miserables, it is clearly evident that the elements of Forgiveness, Self – Sacrifice, and Courage are only a few of the main themes Hugo wanted to develop.

Beauty and the Beast is a “Tale as old as time” or at least as old as 1740 which is when the first publication appeared (De Villeneuve). The original author, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, wrote 362 pages which Jeanne- Marie Leprince de Beaumont later abridged (De Villeneuve). Countless people know the general story of Beauty and the Beast: A beautiful girl saves her father by becoming a prisoner in an enchanted castle. She and the master, a hideous beast, become acquainted. The beast wants the girl to be content, even when her request is to leave, so he lets her go. When the girl returns, the beast is in grave danger. Tearfully the girl confesses her love for the beast, and he transforms into a handsome prince.

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.

Mise-en-scène is a French term meaning “put into the scene” or “onstage”. It refers to elements of a movie scene that are put in position before a film begins and are employed in certain ways once the filming does begin. For this investigation, I am going to show contrasts and similarities in reference to mise-en-scène and location, and what they add to a film using the Director; Danny Boyle, and his films, The Beach, 28 Days Later and 127 Hours.

Roxanne, a astronomer, visits a small town to study a newly found comic she might had discovered, there she meets C.D. “charles” bales the highly charismatic fireman whom she quickly befriends. C.D. seem to fall for roxanne rather quickly but know that roxanne doesn’t see him in that

Being a religious leader, one might expect him to be very black and white about good and evil, yet he is not (at least not in the way that one might expect). He has the authority to judge others but he leaves it to God. Instead of focusing on the duality of religion (righteousness and sin), he decides to focus on the non-dualistic side of religion: the people and their worth as individuals. This perspective was very different from the church of Hugo’s day. For this, he would get a lot of complaints and attacks from the Catholic church concerning Les Misérables, perhaps signifying the powerful influence of his choice in character.

My artifact for this paper is the book Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. This artifact is important because within the book there are stories of numerous characters that tell people how they should love their lives. Les Misérables and the key take away messages Hugo vividly describes through his character’s struggles and triumphs are all equipment for living. Specifically, Les Misérables teaches its readers about the need for equality within a society by exposing what it is like to live in an unjust society (the poor are the target of abuse and manipulation). Hugo attempts to teach the audience of the faults of having a society with an extreme hierarchy in an attempt to create better societies (hierarchy and inequalities lead to the poor being suppressed, famine, unhappy lives,

This inconsistent life had fractured his parent relationship which led to a divorce. Later in his life when Hugo was married to his first wife; she was led on by one of Hugo’s peers. Hugo did not stand for this betrayal, and found a new wife. When things were just starting to look up for this poet on while his daughter was on her honeymoon she drowned. He found out by reading it in the newspaper.

Victor Hugo was one of the most well know romanticism writers of all time. Men didn't really like him because he was arrogant but women liked him for abasing his pride before them; they

After any child is born, the parents hold them in their arms and stare at all their little features. The parents make a promise to them to do whatever it takes to protect them. Their little eyes looking into their parents, with an instant connection. In the book, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, displays the unconditional love parents should have for their children. Fantine makes sacrifice after sacrifice in order to try to provide a happy life for Cosette.

The film Amelie provides multiple examples of individuals sacrificing, and applying Campbell 's moral objective to their own lives. One of the people from the film that follow the objective is Dominique Bretodeau. When he was a young boy, he lost his treasure box. Directly after it was returned to him from a stranger, he began to tear up over the lost memories that the box contained. He then confides in people at the bar that he has not spoken to his daughter in years, and because of this does not know his grandson. This simple act of kindness was enough to make Bretodeau sacrifice his pride enough to reconcile with his daughter and grandson. He had no idea if his family was going to open their arms, or push him away for being away for so long. This failed to stop Bretodeau. This journey of becoming a hero was a spiritual one. Most of the conflict happened within his own heart. A small act of thoughtfulness helped a man choose to create a better life for him, and his estranged family.

The movie “Hugo” has many features that makes the movie so fun and interesting to watch. The director of this film is Martin Scorsese. This movie is also starring incredible actors Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Chloe Grace Moretz. This movie can be categorized into a number of genres. This movie includes some comedy, like when the inspector, Gustav, keeps tripping as he is chasing Hugo. There is also mystery, as there are various questions that need to be answered throughout the movie such as, What does Georges keep hidden in his wardrobe? Why does Isabelle have a key that fits Hugo’s automaton?, and What is the unhappy secret of Georges past? The audience for this film is family-oriented. It includes comedy, for children,

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.

By incorporating an accurate historical figure into his novel, Hugo highlights the idea that even in miserable conditions, life can be changed through perseverance and effort. In Les Misérables, Jean Valjean escapes his dark criminal past and uses his knowledge of industry to start a successful factory. Years later, he becomes the mayor and is "rumored to have 'immense' sums deposited with Laffitte, with the special condition that they were always at his immediate command" (Hugo 55). Hugo places Jacques Laffitte, a real banker from French history, into his novel to interact with the transformed Valjean. Laffitte, a successful banker and politician, rose

In Bleu, the director makes use of Julie’s grief to plunge her into a state of nothingness. She wants to feel nothing, remember nothing, do nothing, and love nothing. If anyone is to ask her what she wants to do, she will always reply “nothing”. This is best exemplified by her dialogue extracted from the film -