Valjean And Javert

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

"There are just laws and there are unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all... One who breaks an unjust law must do it openly, lovingly...I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law."

Valjean dies shortly after Marius and Cosette visit him to ask him to come back and live with them. Another example would be that of Gavroche and his supreme sacrifice. Gavroche is really Thenardier's son…. but he was thrown out as a little boy, because he wasn't bringing in any money. So Gavroche befriends the revolutionaries. During one of the battles, Gavroche goes out to pick the pockets of the dead soldiers for ammunition. The soldiers fighting the revolutionaries immediately open fire…but cannot

King categorizes law into two types: just and unjust. He describes a just law as a “man-made code” that falls in line with moral law while an unjust law is one that deviates from moral law. King claims that just laws can uplift people while unjust ones degrade them. In stating these ideas, King provides his audience with his own definition of what laws are and what they can do. The reader can now apply this definition to attain a better understanding of King’s ideology and better connect with King’s larger purpose of the letter. King also examines laws that in method are fair but in practice are oppressive. This helps make his definition be more complete by presenting a multitude of ways a law can be unjust. He shows that laws can be unjust in writing and in application. King explains his criteria for just and unjust laws in order to move his argument forward in answering the criticisms of his fellow clergymen.

Furthermore, King connects with his audience when he criticizes the unjust segregation laws. When accused of having a desire to break laws, King immediately disproves that theory by agreeing with their concern, and then discusses the difference between just and unjust laws. He quotes St. Thomas Aquinas faultlessly when he states his thoughts on law: "Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality" (222). He continues to say that a person has a "moral responsibility" (221) to refuse to comply with unjust laws, as well as having an obligation to obey just laws. His statement forces his readers to put themselves in his shoes and think of their moral responsibility to stand up against unjust laws regardless of

From the moment on he dedicated his life solely to her, to protecting her from the sorrows of poverty. From that moment he could no longer be Jean Valjean, or Monsieur Madeleine, he had to start his life over once again and Cosette was all he had in it. He sacrificed in order to gain self-approval and the ability to forgive himself.

His family life was traumatic, with his physically abusive father and verbally abusive mother. He had terrible role models who were criminals, hoods, and thieves. Even through all the gangs, blood, and violence Johnny still stood up for what was right. There are many examples of Johnny doing good even when his conditions were rough. Johnny performed a good deed by defending Cherry Valance from Dallas Winston’s chastising at a drive-in. Also, he saves Ponyboy from being drowned by Bob and his friends. Johnny is never mean, nor does he mistreat others. Johnny is indisputably a hero because he always tries to do good, even with his terrible

An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.? The Clergymen express great concern over King is willingness to break laws. King replies that this is an understandable concern since everyone follows the Supreme Court Decision of 1954 that states; public schools are not to be segregated. In other words King is saying the Supreme Court can hand down a just law and yet people do not obey it but yet they expect me to obey an unjust law. In Germany under Adolf Hitler every thing he did was ?legal? and the freedom fighters in Hungry did everything ?illegally?. Aiding a Jew under Hitler was considered ?illegal?. Because these things were legal did that make it right? No. Should people have obeyed these laws? No. These laws were made to suppress a group of people simple because of there religion. This is much like the segregation in the United States is it right because it is the law? No. Should these laws be followed? No.

King uses logos to expertly define just and unjust laws, he does so multiple time offering several explanations and examples. A just law, he points out, can be unjustly applied as well. King states that an unjust law is one that is enforced on a minority group and not the majority, one that the minority group had no ability to vote for or against, and a law that promotes segregation in it application. King insists that an individual has both a right and a responsibility to break unjust laws. King clarifies the distinction he is trying to make and reassures readers that he is not calling for people to defy the law. King explains how nonviolently protesting a law while accepting the penalty openly is actually expressing a high respect for the law while advocating for change. King backs up his distinction of just and unjust laws when he notes that the laws in Nazi Germany allowed for Jewish persecution, and he would have broken those laws to support the oppressed class had he lived

King and Fromm both have the same ideology that someone who breaks the law because their conscience tells them it is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of punishment in order to get the attention of the community over the injustice is in reality showing his highest respect for the law.

In Les Miserables and The Kite Runner a big theme is a feeling of illegitimacy. In Les Miserables Jean rescues Cosette from the Thenardiers and this creates a father daughter bond that neither one questions until Marius comes along. When Marius finds out Jean is an ex-convict his tries to separate Cosette and Jean, but still honors Jean’s request to keep this from Cosette, this is the first time that Jean really feels that he is not Cosette’s actual father and has no right to keep seeing her if it is against Marius’ wishes. This creates a rift between the two because Jean feels like an illegitimate father. Things are not fixed between the two until Marius figures out that Jean is not a murderer or a thief and he allows Cosette to go to Jean’s deathbed.

King believed that sometimes a law which was carefully debated, turns out not to promote justice at all, but to make life more difficult for people. He states, “sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application.” It

King used morality as a way to differentiate between just and unjust laws. For example, unjust law should go against your morals. King states, “An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral”(King, 5). Unjust laws make you feel bad morally, out of harmony.

“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” By Martin Luther King Jr. The unjust laws King was talking about is the Jim Crow Laws. Those laws segregated white folks from black. The laws had several foolish examples of how blacks slightly ruined white life's. The motto of the Jim Crow laws was, “Separate, but equal” However, everyone knew that nothing was equal about those kreul laws. In this essay, I will be discussing why the Jim Crow laws were not beneficial for anyone living through that terrible time.

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.