Throughout Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables the main character, Jean Valjean went through multiple turning points. Jean Valjean was once an honest tree pruner, but was arrested for a stealing a loaf of bread. After serving nineteen years in prison, he became calloused and despises the world for what it did to him. He traveled to the mountain town of Dinge, where a virtuous bishop lived. Valjean attempted to stay in an inn, but is kicked out due to him being an ex-convict. Valjean stayed with the bishop, Myriel, but had mixed feelings with the thought of stealing from the kind man. Valjean even considered murdering the Bishop but fled with the silver into the night. Valjean is caught and returned to the bishop, however the result of the visit …show more content…
“’The blessings I have longed for during these years, the subject of my nightly dreams and prayers to heaven, has now been granted to me – perfect security! God has caused it to happen, and it is not for me oppose the will of God.’” (Hugo 213) But Valjean’s mind continued to swirl and in the end, he revealed who he was and was arrested. Valjean escaped and adopted the daughter of a woman named Fantine whom he made a promise to on her death bed to care for her daughter Cosette. After taking in Cosette, Valjean transformed again into a loving protector. “The bishop had taught him the meaning of virtue; Cosette had now taught him the meaning of love.” (Hugo 392) Valjean, however lost sight of what was right in a rage when Marius fell in love with Cosette. Valjean even celebrated the idea of Marius dying at the barricade. But Valjean saved Marius and even agreed to stay away from Cosette. However, she came to him whilst on his death bed with the candlestick lit beside him. Jean Valjean was the main character in Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Miserables, and he represents a great redemption through the virtue of the bishop and the love of
Both men become prisoners of the other at one time or another in the novel. Valjean becomes Javert’s prisoner in Paris. Then Javert becomes Valjean’s prisoner at the barricade in Rue de la Chanvrerie but is freed. Then when Javert catches Valjean by the sewers, he frees him in return.
because of both its truth and its presentation. Fay Weldon may as well have been
Jean Valjean understands the deep emotions felt when the desire to love others persists in one’s heart. Valjean originally felt this desire specifically within his own family. Though during his years in prison, he lost it. In striving to feed his starving family by stealing a loaf of bread, Valjean earned himself “nineteen years” in prison. “He entered in 1796 for having broken a pane of glass and taken a loaf of Bread” (Hugo 86) Valjean loved his family so dearly that he risked rotting in jail rather than seeing them starve. He demonstrates pure charity in this act, for no sane person, would risk his life for others, unless his motivations lie in love. Then love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7) Valjean perfectly demonstrates the infinite measures people will take out of l...
...'s anguishes with obsession, help him to more effectively relate his novel, Les Misérables, to the reader. In the book's ending, Jean Valjean dies knowing he is happy, content and prepared for his death. His adoration for Cosette has left her loving him and satisfied with the life he has helped her create. Before Jean Valjean dies, he says to Cosette and Marius, "I die happy. Let me put my hands upon you dear beloved heads" (399). Like Jean Valjean, Javert's obsessions rule his life, but with negative intentions rather than positive ones. Once Javert realizes his obsessions are nothing but empty promises, he too is empty and chooses to end his life. Three of the main characters of the story, find that their perseverance and obsession to have the life they wish for ends triumphantly.
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.
Jean-Baptiste Clamence, the novel's first-person narrator, explains his life and exile in Amsterdam to readers as if talking to someone at a bar. Jean-Baptiste's highly critical view of himself and life reflect a loss of faith in human nature and "justice." Camus' chosen profession for Jean-Baptiste, lawyer, brings attention to his narrator's views on justice and morality. Clamence is a former lawyer from Paris, living in personal exile due to self-hatred. In effect, Jean-Baptiste has sentenced himself to the worst fate he could imagine... isolation.
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...
The relationship shared by Pierre and Helene is best described as a lustful charade. It is no coincidence that Pierre, one of the most introspective characters in the novel, first marries a shallow, inwardly-ugly adulterer. His first recorded attitude towards Helene is one of admira...
Lasting from 1789 to 1799, the French Revolution led a major turning point in the history of France. Ten years were filled with bloodshed, war, and terror. One of the results of the revolution was the overthrow of the monarchy, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Marie Antoinette is considered the most infamous and despised person in French history; however, not many know her life story.
Choderlos de Laclos’s epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses is a complex novel filled with morally unsound characters. Even the more innocent characters, such as Cécile de Volanges, The Chevalier Danceny, and the chaste Madame de Tourvel, lose their sense of morality when they become pawns in Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont’s game of sexual domination and ruin. Several interesting relationships begin between the innocent and sadistic characters, but none of these relationships are as important as the one between Tourvel and Valmont.
Analysis of Movie Moulin Rouge In this essay I will be analyzing in depth four scenes from Baz Luhrmann's critically acclaimed Moulin Rouge that was released in 2000. I will be analyzing the opening sequence, the sequence in the Moulin Rouge itself, the two dancing sequences 'Like a Virgin' and 'Tango Roxanne' and the final scenes of the film. Throughout this essay I will be commenting on the filming techniques that Luhrmann uses and what affects these have on the audience, also I will be analyzing how the film is similar and different to typical Hollywood Musicals.
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.
This quote by Hugo deeply explains Fantine’s thirst for love and how she eventually gets swindled because of it. She was young and innocent and did not know better. This shows that love and compassion should guide one’s actions or else you will end up hurting someone who does not deserve it, like Tholomyes and
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
All humans have different morals that change based on their environment and circumstance. Jean Valjean, in the novel Les Miserables(1961), changes from someone with confused morals to a man with more morals than most whom with respect learns to love and share.