Les Miserables: Journal Entries

" The holy work of god has to be attended to and if we are crushed and humbled to the very dust, as also laughing stocks to all who know us, we must be faithful and look for rest and peace only in heaven"

“At that moment, when the world around him melted away, when he stood alone like a star in the heavens, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of icy despair, but he was more firmly himself than ever.” (Chapter 4, Page 41, Paragraph 2)

He would continually say in his diary that he felt the Lord. Then the next day he said that he did not feel the presence of the Lord. Overall he would say that he longed to grow closer and closer to the Lord.

The speaker questions God’s ability to forgive all the sins of human beings. He praises god in the highest and believes that he has many sins that need forgiven. The speaker try’s to be the best thing he can be but he still sins greatly and asks that god to forgive him for that. He believes it is almost impossible not to sin for everyone. Thus, he asks since god has so many people to forgive, will he have time to forgive him. The speaker want to get into heaven thus he begs god to forgive him for all his sins so he will not be stuck in limbo or hell. The speaker believes if he reaches out to god for forgiveness, his son will save him and he will fear no

“Now he, too, felt belatedly for once in his life that strongest and strangest of passions; he suffered from it, suffered pitifully, and yet he was blessed, and yet he was in

Through the use of hopeful repetition, Jonathon Edwards conveys to the readers optimistic thoughts the shows us how God upkeeps. . Edwards stresses the fact that God wants us to be on the right path of life “restrains” (3) from sending us into hell as in giving us a second chance. Edwards uses the word “restraint” to show how God is on our side and he expects great thing out of us, the loving side of God. Furthermore, Edwards uses the word “promise” (5) multiple times to show the readers that God is not just making a promise to let everyone into heaven. Trying to convey the theme of devoting oneself to Christ, Edwards uses the phrase “God made no promise to keep any natural man out of hell one moment” (5) as a reference that only true Christians will get into Heaven. This pressures the unconverted because it makes them think, “Should I convert so I can get into Heaven?” With this thought process in mind, Edwards also exclaims that God’s wrath is “eternal and everlasting” (10). This means that people cannot just call themselves Christians and get into Heaven. They have to show God that they

To him the reality was of life lay in external things, whereas for me the only reality was of the spirit - of mind. (Page 114)

“.. I who have never known tears. I wept in deliverance and in pity for all mankind” (98) As Equality 7-2521, moved on to being an individual, he explains his happiness how he now knows that his uniqueness is valued and wanted, that he can raise his kids to be themselves and only themselves.

“But he had began, suddenly, to feel happy. He began to call happy times. He remembered his parents and his sister. He remembered his friends, Asher and Fiona. He remembered the Giver.” pg 177

“It was a glorious resurrection, from the tomb of slavery to the heaven of freedom.”This quote explains that the existing hope of being free if it is accomplished can be the difference between heaven and hell, the next quote can relate as he is in a dark moment in his life. “I was now left to my fate. I was all alone, and within the walls of prison. But a few days before, I was full of hope.”This quotes shows the darkness he feels as he is beginning to lose the hope he once had before, he felt as if he’d never be a free man.

In the middle of the book, Jean Valjean has saved a young girl named Cosette and raised her as his daughter after her mother died. These actions also have a redeeming effect on Jean Valjean, as he put his promise to the girl’s mother before his own safety and escaped from another bout in prison to find the young girl. Jean Valjean does not think this redeems him, however. He is very suspicious and changes their names to hide from the law enforcement. He also became very suspicious and cagey when a young man, Marius, became interested in Cosette. In Marius’s words, he “ began to be less punctual, and did not bring ‘his daughter’ every day” (168). After some time, he and Cosette move away so Marius cannot find them. Jean Valjean thinks he is

The book begins with the convict, Jean Valjean, being released from a French Prison. He has served nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread and subsequent escape attempts. He is set free, but only with his identification papers yellow. This marks him as criminal, and now in the new town, no one is willing to house him. In despair, Jean Valjean goes to the bishop M. Myriel. The kind man allows him to stay, but Jean Valjean repays him by stealing the bishop’s silverware then running for it.

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

The Marquis de Sade was a controversial writer from the Enlightenment period. His works were highly controversial at the time although he did acquire some sort of a cult following. The Marquis de Sade uses a variety of techniques in his writing to great effect. The passage being analysed is an extract from The Philosophy of the Bedroom published in 1795.

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.