title

1016 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender role in literary

Title
Change is like death. They are both inevitable; there is no escaping either of them. This proves true in the novel Les Miserables. Jean Valjean and Fantine, two of the main characters, live life and find out it is not all fun and games. Poverty, bad government, and social condemnationn are attacking everyone not of the upper class in France. Society is degrading everyone for everything. Hugo’s novel Les Miserables is not useless because it shows the readers that change is everywhere and unavoidable. Through degradation and condemnation, Jean Valjean because a completely different creature who looses the morals he once held for himself. Deprived of the only three joys she has (her daughter Cosette, her hair, and her beautiful smile), Fantine becomes a wretched prositute from the caring, warm-hearted person she once is. However, even though Jean Valjean is so degraded by society, he was able to recover and turn his life around. Fantine was beginning to turn her life around as well, but she died before she has the chance to fully resurface from the hell she was living. Ultimately, the tales of the changes Jean Valjean and Fantine prove the usefulness of Hugo’s novel.
Jean Valjean, a man who is very harworking and has basic morals, is degraded through society and undergoes major changes that negatively affect him and his life. While trying to supoprt his sister and her seven children, “he earned in the pruning season eighteen sous a day; after that he hired out as a reaper, workman, teamster, or laborer. He did whatever he could find to do” (21). He tried his hardest to keep his family from starving. He worked hard, long, laborous days to meet ends meet, but in the long run he failed to do so. The beginning o...

... middle of paper ...

...ng and spit in his face” (72). Fantine has been so degraded and so starved that she spits in the mayors face. When Fantine first shows up in M________ sur m____, she would be so grateful and thankful towards Monsieur Madeleine since he owns the factory that allows her to live content life she does. However, through unforseen events, Fantine comes to have severe hatred towards this man because, to Fantine, he is the reason that she is now a prostitute. In reality, Madeleine did not know what had transpired between Fantine and the rest of the workers. The factory floor overseer is the one who fires Fantine, but she does not know that. All Fantine knows is that she is mad and has such a strong hatred for anyone that may be connected to her prostitution. Fantine’s degradation and ruin through starvation changes Fantine from woman with morals to a common hooker.

Show More
Related

  • Peasant Lifestyle In Davis´ The Return of Martin Guerre

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Why Thomas Hellier Was An Indentured Servant

    540 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas Hellier was a young Englishman who had unfortunately racked up a substantial amount of debt to the point he was forced to sell the clothes on his back. In dire need of money, Thomas Hellier decided that he had no other choice but to sell himself for servitude and signed a contract, binding himself as an indentured servant to a wealthy couple in Virginia. However, the position that Hellier was guarantee was, in fact, a lie, a cruel manipulation of the truth. After being sold, Hellier was forced into hard labor. He experienced day-to-day verbal abuse from his mistress as he worked. For those very reasons, Hellier was determined to escape from the plantation, a term he used “Hell upon Earth”, and from the clutches of

    Read More

  • The Grand Spirits of The Miserable Javert and Valjean

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Change In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Title

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many stories people read are written for the express purpose of entertainment and sometimes even to persuade, but few are written to teach a moral. The story “A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling From The Pockets” written by Kevin Brockmeier does just that. Although relatively short, the story is filled with words of wisdom and life lessons that are meant to instill a sense of selflessness. The story is about a man who finds God’s overcoat from which he finds prayers from the people he encounters. Kevin Brockmeier makes exceptional use of magic realism and symbolism to teach a moral lesson.

    Read More

  • Rise Above the Misery in Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

    1757 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Portrayal of Society in Of Mice and Men and The Outsider

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...g our way through life. Some people choose to go the other direction and are trying to ruin our society by becoming criminals and lead a life of violence. In the outsider Meursault and his friend got caught in a fight with a bunch of Arabs who wanted to kill Meursaults' friend and Meursault himself for being there, the best solution Meursault and his friend had was to come back another day and try to do the same to those Arabs. Unluckily Meursault got caught and had to pay for his crime which according to society was also not showing any remorse to his moms death (and other things that are described in the book). In the case of the book of mice and men Lenny gets picked on by the husband of the bosses daughter because the guy was clearly jealous of Lenny and needed to make an excuse for wanting to fight with him, but this happened simply because the guy disliked Lenny, also for the reason that Lenny was retarded.

    Read More

  • Dreadfulness of Modern Experience

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...rs and situations to help explain the societal issues surrounding the time period. The dreadfulness comes from the controversial issues and feelings these characters experience. These characters must overcome these dreadful experiences in order to change what society deems as acceptable in the future.

    Read More

  • moliere

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    Monsieur Jourdain helps Moliere get out of the prison. He is the best example of a person showing great enthusiasm that lead to misfortune events. Although married, Monsieur Jourdain wanted to get the attention of the widower Celimene. By this great affection, Jourdain becomes irrational and started believing his friend, Dorante, helping him to win Celimene’s affection. Monsieur Jourdain often lend Dorante plentiful of money. He even let Dorante deliver expensive gifts to Celimene, which she received not k...

    Read More

  • Les Liaisons Dangereuses

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    The protagonists, The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, consider it their life’s ambition to sadistically control and dominate those around them through sexual intrigue. These two villains are indeed locked in psychological combat to see who can actually ‘out-do’ the other in stalking, capturing and destroying the souls of others. Taking absolute pleasure in ripping any virtue from the hearts of their prey, Merteuil and Valmont wave their accomplishments in front of each other like spoils of war. The less the chance of surrender, the more relentless is the pursuit.

    Read More

  • Les Miserables, Theme (forgiveness, Self Sacrifice, And Courage)

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Non-conformity in The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, Medea, and The Stranger

    1788 Words  | 4 Pages

    The authors' relations to us on the characters' places in society help us to relate to and comprehend their actions. If Meursault hadn't been so detached from society, Noboru so discontented with society, and Medea so vengeful toward society, we wouldn't have half of the justification needed to understand the murders that took place in the works. Given the presented material about conformity, I conclude that the stories' plots indeed grow around the unique attributes of the non-conformers, and as result, spark the reader's imagination to the fullest.

    Read More

  • An Archetypal and Sociological Analysis of Les Miserables

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    In these short, desperate lines, viewers of the musical Les Misérables are shown the world of the beggars of Paris in 1832. The musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables has made an lasting impact on its followers since it’s opening nearly 30 years ago (Les Misérables: Creation of the Musical). By introducing music to an already remarkable story, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg reveal the social injustice of nineteenth century France to the modern world. In doing this, viewers are welcomed into the world created within the pages of Les Misérables. Bringing this story into the twenty-first century allows for comparison between today’s social injustices and those of 200 years ago. The characters created by Hugo provide a bridge between modern day and a time filled with pain and inequity, particularly for the poor. This is especially evident in the section of the novel centered on the young revolutionaries. Contrary to popular belief, Les Misérables does not chronicle the French Revolution of 1789, but rather the events leading up to the June Rebellion of 1832 (Gossard). Nineteenth century France was a period marked by “political and social unrest” (Les Misérables Historical Context). Laced throughout the novel is Hugo’s commentary on the actions and events of this period, although he is not blatant about his ideas. Through the use of archetypal symbols and characters as well as an emphasis on class conflict, Hugo develops themes of injustice and redemption in his novel Les Misérables.

    Read More

  • The Transformation of Jean Valjean Exemplified in Les Miserables

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cosette: The Child in Darkness

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about title

Open Document