Essay on Les Miserables: Redemption by the Divine

Soon after the main character Jean Valjean is released from prison, he steals silver candlesticks. He is caught, but the Bishop makes the selfless decision to forgive Valjean. He gives the candlesticks to him, and wants him to live a better life. “The bishop approached him and said, in a low voice, 'Do not forget, ever, that you have promised me to use this silver to become an honest man.' Jean Valjean, who had no recollection of any such promise, stood dumbfounded.” The bishop then stated, “Jean Valjean, my brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I withdraw it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God!” In Les Miserables, we see the results of the Bishop choosing to be selfless, and forgiving Jean

I hadn’t realized Johnny had been right behind me all the way.”(91) Ponyboy realizes when they are running into the church to save the schoolchildren that Johnny is right behind him. I think what motivated Johnny to come in inside the church was not only because he felt guilty, just like Ponyboy, but he felt something inside of him that said he had to clean up the mess he made by just going into the church and try to save as many lives as possible. Also, Johnny didn’t want Ponyboy to go in alone, because Johnny was responsible for the fire as well. Adding on to this, Johnny doesn’t run into the church to get a title of a “hero,” he does it because he doesn’t want to get into a bigger mess, so he feels like he should risk his own life and save the children because he started this in the first

I agree with the statement that in the novel Les Miserables, the author Victor Hugo is trying to say that human nature is basically good. In the most basic sense, the definition of good trying to do the right thing, even if there are negative consequences. It often means having to sacrifice and give up something to do the right thing. Throughout the book, many characters sacrifice their happiness and morals in order to do what they believe is the right and fair thing. Even when faced with serious consequences for being honest, characters more often than not still choose to do the right thing. Some may argue that Victor Hugo is saying that human nature is basically evil because some characters commit evil actions. However, in most cases, characters don’t always have evil intentions, their execution is just poor and makes them seem evil. Everyone thinks of themselves as a hero, almost everything a character does is because that’s what they believe is the right thing to do. Whether or not it really is could be up for debate but for the most part, most characters don’t have evil intentions and attempt to usually do the right thing. Victor Hugo is saying that as a whole, human nature is inherently good.

Sacrifice is seen throughout the Les Miserables, because it is a prominent part of human living. Sacrifice is greater in those who have less. Hugo conveys sacrifice through the characters Jean Valjean and Fantine, showing how they sacrificed in order to gain a better life, self-forgiveness

Voltaire does this by presenting to the reader fleeting examples of religion in a pure form but ensuring that it does not reappear. For instance in Chapter 3, the reader meets L’Anabaptiste Jacques, who shows Candide kindness and compassion that L’Orateur, who punishes Candide for ‘believing that Pope is the antichrist,’ does not. He dies in Chapter 4 and, while Pangloss and Le Baron de Thunder-ten-tronckh are miraculously resurrected, L’Anabaptiste Jacques is not. Similarly, Voltaire presents religion in its ideal form through Eldorado. During Candide’s visit there, he finds that there are no priests, and his reaction of, ‘Quoi! vous n'avez point de moines… qui disputent, qui gouvernent, qui cabalent, et qui font brûler les gens qui ne sont pas de leur avis?’ (page 42-3) is almost comical. As the sage replies that each man is a priest, implying that every person in Eldorado has an individual connection with God, the comedy in Candide’s interpretation further highlights his naivety. Here, it could be said that this is a more positive form disillusion as Candide learns of a way of religion purer than the one he has known and readily accepted. However, the fact that he abandons Eldorado in pursuit of Cunégonde, combined with the idea that he will not be able to return there demonstrates that he, or any other people on earth for that matter, does not have the spiritual strength to practice it himself. The purity of religion in Eldorado also serves as the criticism of the attitudes of the armies at war in Chapter 3; Gaillard writes, ‘La leçon se dégage toute seule de chaque chapître. Au lieu de prier la divinité qu’elle les délivre du mal… que les humains… regardent en faces les horreurs qu’ils s’infligent et qu’ils en tirent les conséquences. Hommes, délivrez-vous du mal, aidez-vous

     In the beginning of the novel, immediately there is a clear difference between Owen and Johnny. There is the field of academics; Owen is the head of his class while he helps John not to fail in his studies. There is Owen, very sure of his belief system and Johnny, very doubtful and unsure about his beliefs or feelings towards’ god.

Jean-Baptiste Moliere, who was originally named Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, was one of the greatest and well-known comic dramatists. He was known as one of the greatest and famous comic writers mainly because his works challenged the imprudence of trusting reason for different life events. One of Moliere’s most famous works includes Tartuffe primarily for the amount of controversy it sparked related to satire. Tartuffe is a play that tells about a man named Orgon, who is a wealthy family man, who takes a stranger into his home named Tartuffe. He later indeed is discovered to be a religious hypocrite. He doesn't have any morals or indeed values religion. Tartuffe simply used religion as a disguise to manipulate people and do his crimes. He pretends to be extremely religious, but from his actions and behavior, it goes entirely against the morals of religion. For example, when Tartuffe sees Dorine in Act 3, Scene 2, he tells her:

Social norms guide people to what is expected in an average joe, which means that someone normal would perhaps intervene in a fight or have grief over a death of a loved one, but that wasn’t Meursault, Meursault wasn’t ordinary. It is evident that Meursault would not participate in this game that is subtly shown throughout The Stranger. This game is supposed to engulf people into following the same actions as a normal society member, identical to a ducking imprinting to its mother. This is elaborated when the magistrate went “…asking me if I believed in God. I said no. He sat down indignantly. He said it was impossible; all men believe in God” and although it isn’t exactly a social normality to believe in God, to the magistrate is was but Meursault nonchalantly disagreed, causing him to become an outsider (Camus 69). Though Meursault may seem ordinary he

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.

Jean-Baptitste Poquelin Moliere’s Tartuffe, is undoubtedly a satirical comedy. In Moliere’s description of a satire, he was very direct as to the function and objectives of one are. The function is to correct men’s vices, using satire to ridicule them and expose them to public laughter (Moliere, p.14). Although this satire is making fun of many things in the church and organized religion, which is not the only objective Moliere had in mind. Tartuffe has many themes that reoccur through out the play. The time period, in which this play was written, was known as the Age of Reason. One of the main ideas and attitudes during this time was, reason must always control passion. Due to this

In the eyes of Valjean he is a kind, caring, and forgiving man. He has repented for his sins and changed his life. He is the epitome of change and reform. I chooses to live in a Valjean world because I believe in second chances and starting over. It is one of the pillars that makes life worth living. Imagine if we were never given a second chance at something, no do-overs, no starting over. All there is, is a lifetime of mistakes and heartache. That does not seem like a pleasant world to live in, yet some people think like that. I personally choose to forgive and forget, it makes life much more pleasurable to live in if there are no grudges being

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.

Generally, authors compose books that go along with the morals of the audience. So many stories are written today with the typical love story, girl falls in love with guy or vice versa. Others are action packed with a climax and a predictable ending. Victor Hugo took a different stance while writing his book Les Miserables. Hugo's idea of action is presented through Jean Valjean who is held in prison for four years because he stole a loaf of bread. He includes unique love stories unlike the typical ones that we read about. Hugo's main purpose is to challenge people to consider their morals on forgiveness and love.

Religious institutions are integrated into the human condition as they provide guidelines on how to live. Father Paneloux represents the institution of the church throughout the novel and reverberates themes of Christianity. In his second sermon to the people of Oran, he feels states “we must believe everything or deny everything. And who among you…would dare to deny everything?” forcing the people to make a decision about their religious views (Camus, 224). The institution, in this case, the Christian church, gives direction to Paneloux by forcing him to hold steadfast to Christianity. His principles guide him through his pain and help him process powerful emotions that would otherwise be too agonizing. He must hold onto faith in order to survive this tragic event.