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Themes around victor hugo life and work and why
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I found the book Les Miserables, written by Victor Hugo, to be an all around enjoyable story. The way Hugo arranged and worded his sentences were very clever. Because of these sentences, during the slow or boring parts, I remained interested. However, many parts of the book I found to be confusing. Hugo did not seem to give much information or background about why the characters did what they did. One of the most puzzling parts in Les Miserables was Javert's stubborness to capture Jean Valjean and put him back in prison. I did not understand why they insisted on imprisoning Jean Valjean even though he was not a threat and had done nothing wrong after he had already served his time for stealing. As a matter of fact, I believe he was turned into a good man. He deserved to be thanked. He did many good deeds and helped many people. I did not understand why he deserved to go back to jail. Another confusing part of the story was Javert's death. I did not understand why he decided to kill himself. I thought that the reason he allowed Jean Valjean to be free was because Valjean did not kill him. I thought that Javert should be proud to be such a good person, returning a favor. I simply did not understand why he was upset enough to take his own life. The only other part of the book I did not find amusing was when Hugo began describing Marius and his life. THe sudden change made the story seem slow and boring, as if it were starting all over again. It was also confusing because I did not understand why this information was being put into the story until Hugo brought Jean Valjean and Cosette back into the story. Despite these slow and confusing parts, the book was extremely amusing and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed the little bits of wisdom pointed out. For example "SHe would have softened a heart of granite; but you cannot soften a heart of wood." I found this remark to be true. SOme people cannot be changed. Another quote I liked was "THere are instincts for all the crises of life." No particular reason, it just caught my attention during the story.
The protagonist, Meursault, was interesting character. His ideas and beliefs seem to point to a time when there is no hope to be had. Although he is able to accept the fact that everyone dies and in so doing realizes that you can live better. He lives a controlled life in which he takes responsibility for all of his actions. This is a direct reflect of Camus personal beliefs about absurdism.
There are certain groups of people that cause these events to happen. Because of them, there are people living in denial and people that are being ostracized every day. They do this because they are afraid that if they do not go along with what the majority does, their will be reprisal. Everyone wants to believe that people are basically good at nature. But with the events that occurred in the film, it is easy to see that people are easily influenced and would rather go along with the group than stand out and make a difference.
In 1941, two brothers sat in court smashing their heads on the desks until they bled, barking like dogs, and crying sporadically. They weren’t insane, but that was exactly what the men wanted the jury to think. Anthony and William Esposito were being charged for robbing a payroll truck and shooting someone in the process. The jury was still skeptical until, ten months before the sentence, the Esposito brothers began to refuse any and all food they were offered. Almost a year later, the men were taken, in their almost dead state, to the electric chair and were executed. This is only one of the many examples of the insanity defense being abused. In this case, the criminals did not succeed in getting out of punishment, but there have been many successful cases that are being questioned too late. Although the insanity plea is important to those who have medical record of a psychological disorder, our “perfect” law needs to fine-tune the defense to prevent people from using it to escape going to jail or being executed.
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...
that she no longer has life or energy. She looks like as if she is
Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth. “Seeking a Drinking Age Debate.” University Business 11.10 (2008): 53-4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.
Ihara Saikaku’s Life of a Sensuous Woman written in the 17th century and Mary Woolstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman written in the 18th century are powerful literary works that advocated feminism during the time when women were oppressed members of our societies. These two works have a century old age difference and the authors of both works have made a distinctive attempt to shed a light towards the issues that nobody considered significant during that time. Despite these differences between the two texts, they both skillfully manage to present revolutionary ways women can liberate themselves from oppression laden upon them by the society since the beginning of humanity.
Blau, GL, H McGinley, and R Pasewark. “ Understanding the Use of the Insanity Defense. ”Journal of Clinical Psychology 49.3 (1993): 435-440. MEDLINE. 10 May. 2014.
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.
I believe that the defendant suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder. It is most likely that Mr. Wertz suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This disorder is generally associated with (i) direct exposure to an actual or threatened death, serious injury, or
Winslade, William J, Ph.D, and Judith Wilson Ross, The Insanity Plea: The Users & Abusers of the Insanity Defense, New York
“It is precisely of him that I wished to speak. Dispose of me as you please; but help me first to carry him home. I only ask that of you.” Upon examination of Les Miserables, it is clearly evident that the elements of Forgiveness, Self – Sacrifice, and Courage are only a few of the main themes Hugo wanted to develop.
D’Artagnan goes to France to become a Musketeer. But on his way he gets into a
The Phantom of the Opera directed by Joel Schumacher is the 2004 adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical of the same name. The Phantom of the Opera stars Gerard Butler as the Phantom, Emmy Rossum as Christine Daaé, and Patrick Wilson as Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, who are embroiled in a love triangle. The film was met with generally mixed and negative reviews: Schumacher’s use of mise-en-scène, cinematography and editing, as well as symbolism contributes to the production of The Phantom of the Opera.
Camus writes in a simple, direct, and uncomplicated style. The choice of language serves well to convey the thoughts of Meursault. The story is told in the first person and traces the development of the narrator's attitude toward himself and the rest of the world. Through this sort of simple grammatical structure, Camus gives the reader the opportunity to become part of the awareness of Meursault. In Part I, what Meursault decides to mention are just concrete facts. He describes objects and people, but makes no attempt to analyze them. Since he makes no effort to analyze things around him, that job is given to the reader. The reader therefore creates his own meaning for Meursault's actions. When he is forced to confront his past and reflect on his experiences, he attempts to understand the reasons for existence. At first, Meursault makes references to his inability to understand what's happening around him, but often what he tells us seems the result of his own indifference or detachment. He is frequently inattentive to his surroundings. His mind wanders in the middle of conversations. Rarely does he make judgments or express opinions about what he or other characters are doing. Meursault walks through life largely unaware of the effect of his actions on others.