Les Miserables is a story filled with emotion and characters that are very real. They deal with every day emotions that cause them to make choices. These choices have effects on the characters paths in life. As they make decisions and live with their choices they are often left at the feet of a higher law. They are judged on the basis of mercy and justice on a regular basis. In this essay we are going to explore what justice and mercy are as it applies to people’s choices and actions during life in the story and why mercy is often considered the higher law because of its appeal to love.
Justice is unchanging and impartial. It is neither fair nor unfair. It applies to all people equally and demands payment. It defines that there is a consequence
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The reason why mercy prevails is because of the emotions that fuel the two. Justice occurs when someone is forced to do something by a greater law. That greater law demands payment for something that has been done by something or someone. Justice is considered fair. There is nothing wrong with it. When something either good or bad is done it is rewarded with a pre-determined result. People know when they are committing an action there is going to be a certain outcome. This is acceptable and often demanded. It happens often whether you want it to or not. However mercy requires forgiveness. It requires action. The person who is extending mercy must feel love towards the person being judged. They do not have to reward the intended target with mercy. They could fulfill justice and take out whatever punishment is deemed fit and still be in the right. However when they sacrifice themselves to benefit someone who has done them wrong this is where true selfness and kindness set in. They have risen above what is required of them, to benefit someone else. One example of this in the story occurs after Valjean has set Javert free. Javert later captures Valjean. As he is going to take him to prison, Valjean asked for one last request, which Javert grants. That wish is for Valjean to go back to his house one last time so that he may say good-bye to Cosette and put a few things in order. Valjean
Just Mercy touches on the idea of racial inequality and profiling the modern day american justice system by bringing us to a variety of cases that demonstrated this injustice. Bryan Stevenson also referenced an experience he personally had where he was being targeted by authorities for no good reason other than racial profiling. This theme of racial injustice and profiling connects Just Mercy to To Kill a Mockingbird. This idea is brought upon in To Kill a Mockingbird with Tom Robinson’s court case in which he is accused of committing rape. Many people judged Atticus Finch for defending Tom, not because of the allegations of committing rape, but rather the fact that he was defending a black man. Further proving the point that the contents in To Kill a Mockingbird can still be valuable today.
In light of the most recent election results I find myself worrying about the countless social and economic injustices that will perpetuate to occur in our country. I dwell on our history, of how our social welfare system created and continues to reinforce discrimination, privilege and oppression. How did we end up like this and where is that “American dream” promised to those within our boarders? Literary works $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin and Luke Shaefer, Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Marc Lamont Hill, and Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy: A story of justice and redemption, seek to describe how social injustices and economic issues manifest
The novel, Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson is an incredible read. In this book, Mr.
In Harper Lee’s fictional novel To Kill A Mockingbird, an African American field hand is falsely accused of raping a white women. Set in the 1930’s in the small town of Monroeville Alabama, Addicus Finch an even handed white attorney tries to shed a light on the injustice of this innocent black man’s conviction. Atticus feels that the justice system should be color blind, and he defends Tom as an innocent man, not a man of color.
The Lais of Marie de France is a compilation of short stories that delineate situations where love is just. Love is presented as a complex emotion and is portrayed as positive, while at other times, it is portrayed as negative. The author varies on whether or not love is favorable as is expressed by the outcomes of the characters in the story, such as lovers dying or being banished from the city. To demonstrate, the author weaves stories that exhibit binaries of love. Two distinct types of love are described: selfish and selfless. Love is selfish when a person leaves their current partner for another due to covetous reasons. Contrarily, selfless love occurs when a lover leaves to be in a superior relationship. The stark contrast between the types of love can be analyzed to derive a universal truth about love.
As one grows older, certain trends begin to appear that are difficult not to notice. Naivety begins to fade and the harsh realities people are faced with every day present themselves. These realities shape how people perceive and treat others. A certain theme, or rather lack of theme, that is extremely pertinent in today’s society is the notion of humanity. Humanity is defined, by Merriam-Webster, as the quality or state of being humane or having a compassionate disposition. Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson, is a book that perfectly embodies the theme of humanity. In this book, the reader follows the author throughout his journey from an idealistic, young lawyer to a revered attorney in his quest for justice for those deemed unfavorable by our
Zechariah 7:9-10, “Execute true justice, show kindness and mercy to each other. And do not oppress the widow or orphan, the sojourner or poor. And do not plot evil against each other, says the Lord.” This is true justice. God calls us on this earth to love, care, show kindness and mercy to one another. As i saw on a picture with a little boy holding up a sign saying “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace.” It is impossible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people. That is why we cannot rely upon the silenced to tell us they are suffering and at any given point we the people have the power to say: this is not how the story is going to end. That is exactly why Jesus Christ died for us, he knew we were going to fail, mess up, and he knew you were going to be messy and screw up often but thats the point of the cross! The point of the cross is to show this mighty picture of God’s love and mercy for us. Its also the picture we have of just how far Jesus will go because he loves us. As you take steps little by little, bit by bit, from family to family, we will see so many opportunities to do good on so many levels that it will be overwhelming. Jesus showed us true justice by dying on the cross for us, now its time to not just stop the fighting and arguing around the world but execute true justice through love. Additionally, through this it will explain how the United Nations is one of the best organizations to execute justice around the world, BRIC nations is the second most important area to promote justice and finally the Globalized world is the least best tool to promote justice around the world.
I will be graduating with my Associate Degree in Liberal Arts specializing in Health Science and will be continuing on the with my education in a Nursing program at Harrisburg Area Community College. Many of the morals and ethics that I have towards my field of study and the career path I have chosen correlate well with the College’s Core Values of Mercy. The College’s Core Values of Mercy are Mercy, Service, Hospitality, and Justice. In the healthcare field all these core values are at the fore front of our careers and are used every day with every patient and their families. Even now I incorporate these core values into my life because I work as an Emergency Medical Technician back home and I use these values to make all my decisions
In this paper I will be examining the argument that is presented in the Battin reading regarding mercy, autonomy, and justice and how those three concepts apply to euthanasia. The reading is broken down into three sections, and I will be arguing against the sense of autonomy under certain circumstances.
Justice is when everyone receives what they need. As a general rule, people come from different social backgrounds. Therefore, nothing is fair from the beginning of one's existence. To Kill A Mockingbird has a lot to say about justice and the lack thereof. Tom Robinson is an honest, noble man who has the misfortune of being born black in Alabama. He is nothing but kind to Mayella Ewell, but she turns on him to hide her own guilt. Despite being clearly innocent, Tom is condemned because he has "the unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman." Nothing about Tom's story is just. The same thing happens in our everyday lives. A police officer can choke a man to death and walk away scot free. Our time and the time of To Kill A Mockingbird are not as
In the movie Les Miserables, the characters Jean Valjean and Javert illustrate the relationship between just and unjust laws by demonstrating the results of an unjust law. For example, when Jean Valjean steals a single loaf of bread to feed his starving nephew, he is punished with nineteen years as a prisoner. Even after nineteen years, Jean Valjean is released on parole and is unable to work. This is an example of an unjust law because Valjean committed a very small crime, yet he is punished extremely harshly and treated without mercy. The quote, “justice without mercy is cruelty,” is demonstrated throughout Jean Valjean’s life because he is severely and cruelly punished for a crime that saved his nephew’s life. If the judge had seen that
In the novel, Jean Valjean has the opportunity to kill Javert. He has every reason to kill Javert, because Javert has hunted Jean in his relentless pursuit of justice. Instead, he redeems him from death, and sets him free.
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.
Justice is a very interesting concept. As an idea it is often very difficult to define because justice is often perceived differently by each individual to whom it is applied. Even today, there are many definitions by which it operates. Each of these different definitions has been informed to some degree by the work of either Rousseau, Hume, or Kant. Each philosopher took a vastly different stance on what constituted justice and the manner in which justice functioned in society. Rousseau believed very simply that justice was reflective of the common will. Hume believed that justice was little more than an “artificial virtue” and only
In Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, redemption is shown through several characters and several means such as physical redemption, mental redemption, or a mixture of both. A parallel in redemption occurred in my life when I was 8 years old and saved from drowning.