Upon reflecting over today’s incessantly changing society, it becomes apparent that society as a whole remains vastly different compared to previous centuries. However, in order to achieve that vital change, select individuals, figures of the unprecedented modification of character that parallels society’s diverse changes, must effectively model it. Therefore, change, as regarded in the general public today, remains an indigenous occurrence that serves as a paramount part of our lives. As an author during the nineteenth century in France, Victor Hugo portrayed the role of change and the transforming of individuals over time through his complex, thematic melodramas and served as one of the most regarded authors of the Romantic period. Especially during the revolution-filled later 1700s and early 1800s in France, change served as a major component of reconciling the burdens of the past and served as Hugo’s method of depicting the fundamental emotional development of characters. In his Romantic melodrama Les Misérables, Victor Hugo expresses numerous thematic implications of important changes the protagonist Jean Valjean experiences within French society through his detailed account of Valjean’s gradual moral and psychological transformation.
In order to guide us through Les Misérables, Hugo immediately introduces the initial Jean Valjean as an unchanged and hardened criminal who visits a religious man, conveying his encounter with the honorable bishop as the first phase of his spiritual transformation. Victor Hugo explicitly depicts Valjean as a “convict just from the galleys,” establishing the reason for the “yellow passport” that he must carry with him and serving as a symbolic barrier between him and the rest of society, marri...
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...as a kind of father to his adopted daughter Cosette.
As the result of numerous emotional renewals and the determination to lead a better life, Jean Valjean is able to change from a mentally hardened convict who detests society to a moral figure who strives to aid others. As Victor Hugo constantly implies throughout Les Misérables, it is very possible to alter the state of your life, employing Jean as the epitome of change and its implications. Thus, no matter what the circumstances may be, it is evident that one may rise above the setbacks in their life and transform the flaws and degradations that inadvertently burden one’s existence into a source of optimism and positive renewal. Change exists almost as a natural process ingrained into society, providing individuals with a chance to rectify the mistakes of the past regardless of social and emotional setbacks.
The Return of Martin Guerre, written by Natalie Zemon Davis, is the tale of a court case that takes place in sixteenth century France. Martin Guerre is a peasant who deserted his wife and family for many years. While Martin Guerre is gone, a man named Arnaud du Tilh arrives at Martin’s village and claims to be Martin Guerre. Bertrande, who is Guerre’s wife, Guerre’s sisters, and many of the villagers, accepts the imposter. After almost three years of being happily married, Bertrande takes the fraud to court under pressure of Pierre Guerre, her stepfather and Guerre’s brother. Arnaud du Tilh is almost declared innocent, but the real Martin Guerre appears in the courthouse. Throughout this tale, many factors of the peasant life are highlighted. The author gives a very effective and detailed insight to a peasant’s life during the time of Martin Guerre. Davis does a successful job of portraying the peasant lifestyle in sixteenth century France by accentuating the social, cultural, and judicial factors of everyday peasant life.
The Changeable nature of life affects us all somehow. Whether it be moving to a new city, having children, or losing people that we love, it can affect people in many different ways. For example, in the novel, the main character Taylor Greer changes her name from Marietta and moves...
Javert, born in jail, saw himself as an ostracized adolescent with but two paths open to him. He could choose either to be a policeman or a criminal. He chose to be on the right side of the law. Valjean, a peasant, spent time in jail as a young man and came out of it hating society. He believed himself to be apart from it, and chose to live in hatred and crime. Fortunately, the action of a kindly old bishop prevented him from wasting the rest of his life. Valjean switched to tread the path of life on a more morally upright road. He became mayor, protector of society.
Throughout a person’s life, he will go through many experiences that may change him from the person he used to be. Johnny has been abused and mistreated throughout his life. After the beating he got from the socs, Johnny was more anxious and frightened than ever. He would never get over that horrible experience. When describing Johnny, Ponyboy says, “If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you’ll have Johnny” (page 11). Nobody would ever expect a shy and nervous greasers to become a hero. Nevertheless, Johnny proved that to be wrong. When the church caught fire, Johnny and Ponyboy abruptly ran inside to rescue the little kids who were trapped. As Johnny was helping a kid to get out, a piece of timber fell on him. As a result, Johnny was in critical condition. At the hospital he told Ponyboy he didn’t want to die because he hadn’t lived yet. Johnny was terrified of dying. After the rumble, Ponyboy and Dally came back to the hospital, and Johnny died. A few weeks later, Ponyboy reads a letter that Johnny wrote him. In the letter Johnny explains how it was worth dying because the little kids were saved. They could live their lives. Johnny wrote, “Listen, I don’t mind dying now. It’s worth it. It’s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for” (page 178). Johnny was known as a hero. He went from being a shy, quiet boy who was mistreated to a hero who risked his life to save others. Although Johnny died, he was okay with the way he did. The theme of change is certainly shown in
To change is to become different, to progress, and to grow. In Louise Erdrich’s stories “Red Convertible” and “The Shawl” the idea of change is used as a catalyst to advance the stories in a new and interesting direction.
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 much of this has already been considered, concerning Les Misérables, the purpose of this paper is to compare, contrast, and evaluate Victor Hugo’s use of themes and characterization in his novel, Les Misérables.
For instance, Meursault develops the theme of absurdity in two different contexts namely figurative and literal level. On the symbolic level, he is concerned to death after being found guilty. This is a portrayal of the human condition who have to face the consequences after committing a crime more so, a capital offense like murder. On the other hand, literally of the action is seen when he describes the character of a revolt, freedom, and passion. Meursault is not moved by the expectations of the society and does what he feels is best for him. In many cases throughout the novel, he refused to abide by the customs of the society and instead resorted to smoking. Other things he did against the society expectations includes showing indifference during the vigil of his mother, going to the beach with Marie, and spending time with her immediately after his mother was buried as well as writing a letter for his friend, Raymond. His ability to exercise what he believes in and his freedom make it difficult for the society to impose on him some restrictions on his life. He is constant pursuance of pleasure and experiences makes it difficult for him to conform to the norms and values of the
Les Misérables (1862), a novel set in early nineteenth century France, presents a story of obsessions in honor, love, and duty, and through it redemption and salvation. It is the story of the poor Jean Valjean, condemned to an unfair amount of time in prison and a life on the run for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family. The kind act of forgiveness from a Bishop with whom Jean Valjean stays one night, changes the course in which he chooses to live his life. Under a different identity, he becomes wealthy from a business he starts and later is elected mayor of the small town of Montreuil. He falls madly in love with Fantine, one of the workers in his factory. Because Fantine, one of the very poorest and most pitiful residents of Montreuil, has a child born out of wedlock, Jean Valjean as the respected mayor must keep his love for her a secret. When Fantine dies unexpectedly, Jean Valjean vows he will raise her daughter Cosette, and shield her from all the evils in the world. Through all of this, Jean Valjean is being pursued by Javert, a policeman whose entire life has been dedicated to finding Jean Valjean. While running from Javert, Jean Valjean and Cosette find themselves in Paris in the middle of the 1832 Revolution. As Cosette matures, she falls in love with Marius, a young revolutionist. Despite the objections of Jean Valjean, Cosette continues to secretly visit Marius at night. During the revolution, Marius is injured badly and Jean Valjean, after finding a love note from Marius to Cosette, quickly comes to the rescue of the wounded gentleman. Eventually Jean Valjean and Marius' Grandfather consent to the wedding of Cosette and Marius. In this novel, "there is a point at which...
Albert Camus has his own toolbox of literary devices when it comes to accentuating the theme of The Stranger, one of them being his unique sense and use of secondary characters. Whether major or minor, every character in the book serves a purpose, and corroborates the theme in some form of fashion. Camus describes his secondary characters as foiling Meursault in one aspect or another, and thus, shining light on Meursault’s characteristics. Whether through close connections like familial relationships (Maman) and friendships (Salamano, Raymond, and Marie), or through bonds as distant as people he briefly converses with (Chaplain), or even so much as complete strangers (Perez and unidentified lady at the restaurant), characters that Meursault encounters foil and therefore, emphasize many aspects of his nature. Furthermore, because Meursault aptly embodies Camus’s ideology of Absurdism, emphasizing Meursault through secondary characteristics simply highlights Camus’ doctrine and theme of the book.
Is it possible to make vital life changes to become a better person at heart? Who’s the one that can help you? The only person that will get you up on your feet is yourself, and you have to believe deeply to make those changes. In this essay there are many main points that are being brought across to explain the problems and wisdom that arose from Baca’s life as an inmate. It talks about how he was grown up into an adult and the tragedies that he had to face in order to become one. Later I fallow steps that lead to the purpose and rhetorical appeals of Baca’s essay. The purpose dealt with the cause and effect piece and problem/ solution structure.
Several people in Jean Valjeans life allow him to rediscover the meaning of love. The good bishop is the one responsible for initiating this rediscovery. Jean Valjean's new life begins when the bishop utters the words, “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!” (30). This opens Jean Valjean to the good of the world and allows him to immerse himself in the love Cosette offers him, something he couldn't do without the help of the bishop. The bishop assists Jean Valjean in seeing that there are people who will help him despite his rocky background. This creates a reason for Jean Valjean to act on the experience to rebuild his life and become an honest man. This change of heart helps him feel the love that Cosette displays for him, which he has never known. He slowly begins to love and care f...
After finally recognizing a new world where the law doesn’t always comply to people’s morals, Javert is severely conflicted. The law was always the most sure thing in Javert’s life; the law was predictable and hardly ever changed. On the other hand, however, after Jean Valjean freed him from the barricade Javert recognizes a “tear” in the law. Javert sees an “unknown moral sun”, the sun that encompasses Jean Valjean’s morals. By putting his religion into the police, Javert has a moral dilemma when he finds a flaw in his “religion”. For Javert, if the law isn’t true, than what it? Crushed and conflicted, Javert jumps off the bridge and into the water, to escape from the world that he finally sees. After being freed by Jean Valjean, Javert finally faces the fact that the law is not an absolute right, and doesn’t arrest
Even during the time when he is only part of the lower middle class, Monsieur Thenardier commits crimes and deceives others because he is materialistic and values money above honesty. He demonstrates this by stealing from soldiers of Napoleon that had been killed during the Battle of Waterloo. Thenardier not only steals, but when caught stealing from a soldier, he lies saying that he was saving the soldier’s life. This already shows a low level of integrity and morality, but his values become even more immoral when he becomes impoverished. When he comes across Jean Valjean, whom he thinks is extremely wealthy, he captures him and plots to steal from him as well as “‘execute him’”.
The film Les Misérables, based upon Victor Hugo’s 1845 novel and directed by Tom Hooper, follows the life of Jean Valjean upon his release from prison and his attempt to live honourably in successive years. Valjean spends his life working his way out of poverty, dealing with many different social classes and ways of life during the French Revolution. The characters Javert, Fantine and the bishop all demonstrate different approaches to life; Javert focusing on enforcing the law, Fantine willing to do anything to support her child, and the bishop demonstrating generosity and forgiveness towards Valjean's wrongdoings. As Valjean encounters each character, he learns to accept differing mindsets, circumstances, dreams and desires. Through these encounters, Hugo’s underlying message and ideology remain the same. Compassion and empathy are essential for human fulfillment. Through the musical Les
Victor Hugo’s Les Misèrables is a classic novel that demonstrates how a child is unable to mature in darkness. In the book, Fantine, gets pregnant and is left alone with her child, Cosette. Fantine searches for a place where Cosette can stay while she goes out to work. When she finds the right house she leaves her child, little did Fantine know that Cosette was going to be mistreated and miserable. On Fantine’s death bed, she begs Jean Valjean to find and take care of her child. In Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misèrables, Cosette is a symbol of the child atrophy by darkness through her time spent with the Thènardiers, her transformation with Jean Valjean, and her flourishing into a young woman. Victor Hugo uses Cosette to represent the children of the time period and how they cannot grow without love and light.