Les Miserables Research Paper

People change. Sometimes they change for good and sometimes the bad. It is an everyday thing. People can change by a simple act of kindness. In the book Les Miserables, Jean Valjean is arrested and put into jail for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family. After being released from prison and breaking parole, Valjean is having a hard time finding a place to stay. Since his papers said that he was a criminal, he was denied a place to stay. He finally stopped at a Bishop’s house where he took him in and fed Valjean and gave him a bed to sleep in. In the middle of the night, Valjean stole all the Bishop’s silver, but he forgot the expensive silver candlesticks. Later that morning, the police brought Valjean to the Bishop’s house, saying that Valjean stole all of the Bishop’s silver. The Bishop replies saying that he gave him the silver, but forgot the expensive candlesticks. After the Bishop gave

There were two young children trapped in the house. Valjean used his humanitarian instincts and ran into the burning house and saved them. The town citizens were so grateful for Valjean that they did not check Valjean’s papers and had assumed that he was not a criminal. Later on, Jean Valjean became a more established, prolific person in the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer. He became a laborer and worked himself up higher in power and eventually he became very wealthy. Since he was very well liked and received awards from the king, Valjean became mayor under the king’s command even though he tried to turn it down. While Valjean was mayor, a man by the name of Fauchelvent was being crushed under a wagon. Valjean rushed to the man and quickly saved him. Fauchelvent then thanked Valjean for saving his life. Both these events demonstrate how Jean Valjean puts himself in front of others who are in need. These events also show that Valjean cares about the well being of his