Prompt #3
Change can happen anywhere, to everyone whether it's big or small. But with change comes an outcome which can be good or bad. Le Misérables displays change in Jean Valjean and Javert physically, emotionally, and morally. Jean Valjean is a very important character who goes through so many changes. His moral character changes when he steals from the bishop and is taken back to him and the bishop forgives Valjean showing him compassion in a way that he has never received. When he emotionally changes it changes the way he feels about other people. After he steals from Petit Gervais, Valjean realizes his actions and cries for the first time in years.”He shed hot tears, he wept bitterly, with more weakness than a woman” pg 34. With that change he also changes physically because before people depicted him like “ a monster vomited ” pg 96. But when he turns into Monsieur Madeleine , he becomes a well rounded man.
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For awhile through the book he doesn’t change until the end. His moral character in the beginning is a law-abiding citizen who holds everyone else to his standards. “In his eyes theft, murder, all crimes, were only forms of rebellion.” pg 47. But that sort of changes in the end, because Jean Valjean spares his life Javert also spares his. This is where he emotionally changes and becomes conflicted , because his whole life he didn’t care about other people , just about the law. He had no mercy until he realized that he had been pursuing Jean Valjean to execution but he still spares Javert life. This is where he gets conflicted because he couldn’t decide what to do. In his thoughts, “ Give up Jean Valjean? That was wrong. Leave Jean Valjean free? That was wrong.”pg 464. But he ends up deciding to leave him
Leper's character development began to ascend in its climax when Leper became the first to enroll in the army. Him doing so reminded everyone of their similar fate and if they would enroll as well. Also, the fact that Leper "escaped" from the military due to mental instability didn't help either. When Gene met Leper at his home in Vermont there was a clear personality change as "He shrugged, a look of disgust with my question crossing his face. The careful politeness he had always had was gone."
In the playwright Hamlet by William Shakespeare, there are many characters that change throughout the play. For example, Hamlet is one of the characters who changed a lot throughout the play. Hamlet changes a lot because at first, Hamlet was depressed then became suicidal and in the end, Hamlet wanted revenge. However, Ophelia is also a character that changes throughout the play. In my opinion, I believe that Ophelia’s change throughout the play is the most important because Ophelia was obedient at first, then she became depressed and lastly, she became insane.
People change main characters in many books. Johnny Tremain is no exception. In Johnny's case it was the Lyte and the Lapham families. Both the Lapham family and the Lyte family probably did not mean to change Johnny, but they did. Johnny was orphaned after his mother died but was able to stay in the Lapham's house and to be an apprentice to Mr. Lapham, an elderly silver smith who educated Johnny in this art. He was always Mr. Lapham's favorite because Johnny was the finest apprentice out of the three that were there until Dove, one of the apprentices, passed Johnny a cracked crucible. Johnny's thumb then got grown into his palm when he healed. After the injury, Mr. Lapham and the whole family found Johnny useless and queer (because of his thumb). " `Don't touch me! Don't touch me with that dreadful hand!' Issanah squealed." After then Johnny grasped the fact that he went from the top to the bottom in a matter of days. It taught him that nothing is forever. Furthermore, Mrs. Lapham a widowed mother of four, was probably the cruelest Lapham of all, after he got crippled. She told him that he was only good for picking rags. She also virtually shooed Johnny out of the house. This made Johnny go find a better life outside of the Lapham's shop. It also taught him to be independent. There is usually more than one family that changes a dynamic character like Johnny. The Lyte family also helped Johnny in his transformation. The Lyte's are Johnny's rich relatives that claim they are not related to Johnny. Johnny has a silver cup to prove his relation, but the Lytes still deny any relation to Johnny and claim that he stole the cup from them. When Johnny was first looking for a job, he thought he could go to the Lytes and ask for some money.
...r has not done makes no essential difference at the end. The nurse at the funeral tells him, "if you walk too slowly, you'll get heat exhaustion, but if you walk too fast, then the cool air in church will give you a chill.” As he kills the Arab, he thinks, "Whether I fire or don't fire is irrelevant; the ending will be the same.” And at the trial, Meursault tells the prosecutor, "I have lived my life thus and did x, but if I had done y or z instead, it wouldn't have mattered.” And, ultimately, Meursault turns out to be correct; he discovers that when death approaches, all men are equal, no matter what their ages or previous lives. Meursault views death as an escape: you can't escape from it, but you can escape into it, and he prepares himself to do so, bit by bit. Each parellel incident is just one more winding round of the rope that will bind him completely.
...ay alter ther perseptions about a person without facts to back it up. Later in the book Javert would relize that his perseption about Jean were completely wrong as who he though was a lier and a criminal, he would find “ something horible was penitrating his soul, admeration for a convict.” It is here we see that Javert was blinded by his own hatred of Jean and dedication to the law. Unable to make sence of how a bad man in the eyes of the law could be good and admerible Javert ends up taking his own life. This would show how twisted perseption could become.
Plot: Within in the story, conflict is created by the characters dreams. Meursault dream in the begging of the story is that he has none. Which ultimately causes the conflict in the story. Since Meursault is emotionless and doesn’t know the difference between good and bad this creates conflict. In the story, Meursault quotes “Then I fired four times at the motionless body.” Since Meursault has no dreams, because he is emotionless, he doesn’t know the right between good and bad and we see this here. Meursault kills the Arab on the beach, which causes conflict because he is later sent to prison because of this. Camus purpose of giving Meursault no dreams, is to move the plot forward because if Meursault had dreams he would focus on them and
Since he cares little for the affairs of the world, claiming they do not mean anything, then justice—a major concern of the world—also means nothing to him. His actions both before and after his decision to kill a man without provocation demonstrate his apathetic view of the world, and his indifference to justice. Therefore Meursault’s search for justice, culminated by the court’s decision to execute him, remains an example to all of the inability of society to instill justice in criminals. Meursault’s perpetual refusal to acquire a sense of morality and emotion instigates skepticism in all who learn of his story of society’s true ability to instill justice in the
Hamlet’s character changes reflect on him about how wise he was at handling the whole situation. His character was so diverse, that every time we saw him it was like meeting a new character. Hamlet has many traits, and there is always more to Hamlet than anyone understands. Hamlet was a round and dynamic character throughout the play. Hamlet would not forget his father while all the others resumes their happy lives. Everyone understands Hamlet differently, and Hamlet himself saw the evil and corruption in human life. Claudius married Hamlet’s mother and Hamlet did not like the idea of his mother marrying so soon especially since it was to his uncle. He starts realizing the bad things that people do in their life, and how certain things don’t
In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo portrays human nature in a neutral state. Humans are born with neither good nor bad instincts, but rather society affects our actions and thoughts. Hugo portrays the neutral state of mind through Jean Valjean and Cosette. The two extremes of good and evil are represented through Thénardier and the bishop. Good and evil coexists in the society and affects Valjean and Cosette. It is the two extremes of good and evil that dictate the lives of Valjean and Cosette. The bishop represents charity and love. Everything he's ever had, he gave to charity. When the bishop first met Valjean, he said, "You need not tell me who you are. This is not my house; it is the house of Christ. It does not ask any comer whether he has a name, but whether he has an affliction. You are suffering; you are hungry and thirsty; be welcome. And do not thank me; do not tell me that I take you into my house..... whatever is here is yours." (pg. 15-16) The bishop didn't look at him as a convict; he looked at him as a fellow brother. Later, when the bishop found out that Valjean stole his silver, he wasn't mad, but offered all of his silver to Valjean saying, "Don't forget that you promised me to use this silver to become an honest man." Thénardier, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of the bishop. He represents the corruptive nature of society. He's the one that changes people for the bad. An example of how Thénardier represents greed and evil is how he...
9. Valjean’s punishment certainly did not fit his crime. Neither did Fantine deserve the treatment she received in his factory. Discuss Hugo’s purpose in using these situations in his social commentary.
“Let us watch the world burn,” said no one. In the history of the world, nobody has done anything just because they want to make the world worse. Yes, even Hitler thought he was doing the right thing when he was murdering millions of people for characteristics they could not help but have. So, with this in mind, why is Javert any different from us? In Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, Inspector Javert is the antagonist of Jean Valjean, a selfless and beloved man; he is constantly seen obsessing over catching Jean Valjean.
But in the novel, the main character, Meursault, does not show any emotion to his mother’s death. Meursault was not moral, but he was not immoral either. It is because he lacks any emotional feelings. He is detached from the world and he is seen by society as an outcast because of the way he acts. Meursault’s personality can be described as dull and boring.
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 bishop claimed that with the silver, he had purchased the convicts soul, and had given it to God, and from that day forward, Valjean must be a good man. Another example of forgiveness goes two ways. Javert, in his relentless pursuit of Valjean, is captured by revolutionaries. In reward for saving the lives of a few of these revolutionaries, Valjean asks for, and gets, permission to take Javert outside, and kill him. Once outside, a small monologue occurs…and Valjean releases Javert, and lets him go free. Valjean just wanted to be left alone in peace, and hoped this act of kindness would change Javert, and make him realize that Valjean was no longer the man he was. The second way…is that in the end, after Javert finally captures Valjean, he lets him go. Since Javert had broken the law… that he loved so dearly, he kills himself shortly thereafter, by jumping into a river.
It is true that Meursault was different from the rest of society. However, he changes throughout the trial and eventually becomes an existentialist hero. This is because he finds meaning in life. It is ironic, though, that he learns to appreciate life after his is effectively over. His apathetic approach to life is made clear from the first page: “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” This foreshadows his approach to everything else in the book. His indifference to Maman’s death contrast’s significantly to Salamano’s distress at losing his dog. Many of the characters in this book also function to highlight his qualities through contrast.
Valjean, upon leaving prison, quickly comes to realize that being empathetic is essential to his success. Valjean first learns this lesson when he steals silver from the bishop. When the police arrest Valjean and attempt to return the stolen silver, telling the bishop “[Valjean] had the nerve to say you gave him this”, the bishop immediately tells the police that Valjean “has spoken truly” (Hooper, Les Misérables). Although the bishop knows that Valjean has indeed committed the crime, he aids Valjean because he is empathetic to him and his situation. The compassion displayed by the bishop demonstrates his acceptance of others, such as Valjean, who are habituated to a different way of life, knowing only to steal when in need as they are incapable of finding any other source of income. The bishop’s compassionate and empathetic demonstration teaches Valjean the importance of accepting others, despite their differences, demonstrating Hugo’s message of empathy as essential for human