Vivtor Hugo's Les Miserables Essay

Everyone has been broken. Maybe some people still are and maybe others have been put back together by friends or loved ones. The fact still remains that everyone is or has been broken, and there is no way to stop that from happening. In Brian Selznick’s book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, he touches on this topic on nearly every page. Many - if not all - his characters are broken in some way or another.

It's a picture book, a graphic novel, a celebration of the early days of the cinema in particular Georges Méliès, the great silent filmmaker who created “A Trip to the Moon” in 1902. And in that tradition all in black and white. Georges Méliès was a French illusionist and filmmaker. later in life he lost all his fortune and his movie studio and make living as a sweets and toy salesman at a train station in Paris.

<br>First off, is the element of forgiveness. In a book of mistrust, poverty, and hate…forgiveness thrives in the world of Les Miserables. The first example of this was at the very beginning, when Jean Valjean stayed with the bishop. Valjean stole his silver…and ran off. He ends up being caught by police, but when the police questioned the bishop, he claimed to have given the silver to Valjean. Jean was confused…and the

In his novel Hugo addresses the need for social reform and change in the crumbling and corrupt streets of French society. He specifically emphasizes improvement in education, the justice system, and the attitude of society towards women, and their political impact on French culture. Hugo does this particularly through Fantine, a woman who resorts to prostitution after being dismissed from her job as a factory worker; in addition to the existence of her illegitimate daughter, Cosette, her blemished reputation disables her from working in another reputable place. Because of Fantine’s shortage of an education and of society’s negative view of women abused by noble men, she is representative of the social injustices against women during this time. She’s illustrative of the gulf in France’s hierarchical system. Her condemnation to a life as a prostitute after being used by an aristocratic man highlights the social shortcomings present in the nobility’s attitude towards the lower classes, which continued to suffer. The misfortune that falls on Jean Valjean, an innocent man who only stole bread to help his dying sister, also represents the crookedness of France’s justice system. Valjean is likened to a habitual criminal and thrown in jail for nineteen years, an absurd sentence for only a loaf of bread. What’s worse is that he’s

The extract is take from the novel Les miserables written by victor hugo in the nineteenth century. This was the time when art and literature was influenced by Romanticism movement. In this novel hugo has condemned the unjust class based structure of the nineteenth century France. This movement has an emphasis on individual’s freedom of thoughts and emotions from social conventions. They are more concerned with imagination rather than reason. The situation in this passage is idealized in literature of nineteenth century, however, real life aspect is quite differ from the imaginative world.

Throughout the story of the Les Miserables, the distribution of power varies throughout the different sections of the book and situations within them. Javert always has hold this sort of power over Jean Valjean for pretty much the whole story. In the beginning chapters, Jean was considered dangerous and a convict. Javert treats him like this for the rest of his life, no matter the good he does. Javert feels like it’s his duty to obey and enforce the law and he will go to whatever lengths to pursue that. “His mental attitude was compounded of two very simple principles, admirable in themselves but which, by carrying them to extremes, he made almost evil – respect for authority and hatred of revolt against it.” stated by Hugo to describe Javert’s black and white way of thinking. Jean lived in constant fear of Javert arresting him and taking him back to the galleys.

Thénardier, scavenging for valuables among the dead bodies, steals Marius's ring. Valjean escapes through the sewers carrying Marius, but is confronted by Javert at the end tunnel. Javert threatens to shoot Valjean if he doesn’t surrender, but Valjean just ignores him and leave. Unable to resolve his internal conflict between his civil responsibilities and morality, Javert commits suicide by jumping off a bridge into the Seine river.

Aristotle claims to be happy man must be virtuous. This virtue must be shown by action, something that Valjean fails to do in the beginning of his life. Despite being a good man, he can never seem to put his virtue into action. We see this first when he steals from the Bishop in the beginning of the story. After being released from prison, the Bishop is the only person to show Valjean kindness by taking him in. But Valjean has been so hardened by the world around him, he takes advantage of the Bishop’s kindness and tries to steal from him. It isn’t until the Bishop saves Valjean from going back to prison after he is caught that Valjean realizes the error in his ways uses the Bishop’s kindness to find a new purpose in life. This one act sets Valjean on the path of virtue, not just

In Les Miserables Jean Valjean was able to rise from a criminal to the mayor of a town by just working hard and being a good man. Jean came out of jail and decided to turn his life around for the better and to become a good man. Later Jean travels to a new city to start a new life. In his new

He saved his life from sin and gave it back to him. Valjean had been reformed, he no longer was the man the nineteen-years in prison had made him. He becomes successful and he becomes giving, but somehow Javert crawls his way back into Valjeans life. Javert’s new role as the chief inspector in Valjean’s town brings almost brings Valjean to his knees. Their encounters are short and brief yet Javert never forgot Valjean. His suspicions begin to grow about who this mayor really is. Javert speaks with Valjean saying, “Reform is a discarded fantasy” (IMBd, n.d. 1998). He is telling Valjean that once a criminal always a criminal. A wolf can dress in sheep’s clothing, but a wolf is still a wolf. Javert is speaking to Valjean at this point, not the man who everyone else thinks he is. Javet knows Mayor Madelien is Valjean and leaves him saying, “Those who follow the path of the righteous shall have their reward” (IMBd, n.d.). Javet knows so little, his narrow minded view doesn’t allow him to see more. He is so determined on what he sees as being right he cannot see the transformation that has taken place in Valjeans life. This again puts Valjean on the run, right back to where he began, and Javert will not rest, will not let it go. Justice must be met and Valjean must meet his maker. As the novel proceeds further Javert has Valjean cornered in alley. He

Marius learns to love the father he never knew and, through him, revolutionary France.14 But less fortunate characters suffer from a loss of identity that entails even age and gender. Without models, whether ethical or artistic, they merge into an amorphous conglomerate. Destitution provides a hideous version of nothingness.15

In Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo, Cosette's love redeemed Jean Valjean, the ex-convict and seemingly one of the worst in society, just as Harrison Clark redeemed me, a girl stuck in a bad rut.

In Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, a man named Jean Valjean is imprisoned for nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread. Though he goes in a good man, he comes out troubled, judged, and angry. The simple kindness and compassion showed to him by a bishop inspires him to change and rise above his past. Throughout his book, Victor Hugo uses metaphor, symbolism, and diction to emphasize the remarkably non-dualistic nature between the saint and the sinner, highlighting society’s divine obligation to treat one another with mercy and love. By using metaphor, symbolism, and diction, Hugo is able to shed light on a social issue of his day in a way that allows the reader relate to and understand a misunderstood class of society.

Despite the many clever choices Hugo makes, one should not read this book if he or she disapproves of romance stories due to the fact that the love triangle between Cosette, Eponine and Marius. This love triangle affects the events occurring in the story including Jean’s decision to save Marius at the barricade and Eponine's decision to save Marius’ life. Les Miserables has a deeper meaning behind the actual story itself. The theme Les Miserables is to love one another. This is clearly shown when the Bishop showed hospitality toward Jean when no one else wanted to help him.

"True redemption is when guilt leads to good" (Khaled Hosseini). Not one person on earth is completely free from wrongs. Humans have lapses in judgement that can hurt them and others. Some people believe you can be redeemed and can put your wrongs behind you, these people are kind and generous. Others believe you have one chance to get it right, these people are often angry and judgmental. There are also those who believe that someone can't be redeemed, but begin to realize that people can change. By looking at the Bishop, Javert, and Jean Valjean and their actions it becomes clear that Les Miserables is a book about redemption coming to those who did wrongs in their past and the behaviors of those who believe and don't believe.