The power of redemption is able to break the characters within the novel free from the chains of their past actions and shatter their perceptions of the world. On Fantine, the power of forgiveness, embodied and exemplified through JVJ, allowed her to hope for a better future. Fantine had been condemned to a life of pain and suffering with guilt eating away at her after abandoning her child, “she reached the lowest of the low on the totem pole of life and is guilty of terrible sins”(63, photocopy). However after meeting Jean Valjean and seeing the effect that redemption can have on an individual, Fantine became liberated from her guilt and began to grasp onto the idea of rising above and moving on despite the constant degrading and demeaning done by society. …show more content…
It is your soul that I am buying for you… and I give it to God!”(33). This act and the power of forgiveness is the what catalyzed and drove Jean Valjean’s transformation from cruel and bitter to benevolent, virtuous, and selfless; moreover, impacting the way he acted towards the poor and needy, and changing his mindset for the rest of his life. For Javert, forgiveness shatters his perception of the world viewable only as black and white and where justice is when people get what they deserve in the name of the law, an idea of rigid and severe retribution. Hugo through his many examples of the power of forgiveness is poignantly portraying how mercy can transform an individual regardless of their societal ranking. Jean Valjean would have been wrong in not forgiving Javert, for the actions of the Bishop show, that an individual should show forgiveness to others no matter the actions of their past, for the true significance of forgiveness is to spark transformation in
Simon Wiesenthal’s book The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness spoke to me about the question of forgiveness and repentance. Simon Wiesenthal was a Holocaust prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. He experienced many brutal and uneasy experiences that no human being should experience in their lifetime and bear to live with it. Death, suffering, and despair were common to Simon Wiesenthal that he questioned his own religious faith because he asks why would his God allow the Holocaust happen to his people to be slaughter and not do anything to save them. During Simon Wiesenthal time as a Jewish Holocaust, Simon was invited to a military hospital where a dying Nazi SS officer wanted to have a conversation. The Nazi SS officer told Simon his story of his life and confesses to Simon of his horrific war crimes. Ultimately, the SS officer wanted forgiveness for what he done to Simon’s Jewish people. Simon Wiesenthal could not respond to his request, because he did not know what to do with a war criminal that participate in mass genocide to Simon’s people. Simon Wiesenthal lives throughout his life on asking the same crucial question, “What would I have done?” (Wiesenthal 98). If the readers would be on the exact situation as Simon was
Forgiveness is not an action that should be taken for granted. Nor should it be easily accepted without a second thought. It was strong of Simon to refuse to give Karl an answer to his request. “Possibly, there are circumstances in which forgiving is a temptation, a promise of relief that might be morally dubious. Indeed, the refusal to forgive may represent the more demanding moral accomplishment” (Brudholm 2). Simon did not give into the temptation to give a dying man the easy answer he sought and say that he forgave him without thinking it over. Karl assumed that he would be forgiven, even though he did not express much remorse about what he had done. Because he did not automatically tell Karl that he forgave him, Simon never had ...
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...
Guilt is a result of sin, and sin is a result of misaction. In the novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, goes on a journey to redeem himself for his sins. When Amir was 12, he witnessed his best friend, Hassan, get raped in an alley. Instead of standing up for his friend, Amir ran away in selfishness and cowardice. The guilt of his choice plagues Amir for the rest of his life, until one day, he gets a call from an old uncle, who tells him that “there is a way to be good again.” (2) The Kite Runner follows Amir on his odyssey to redeem himself for his hurtful actions. Through this journey, Khaled Hosseini delivers the message that sins and guilt can always be atoned for.
It is the year 2000, in Kabul, Afghanistan where the Taliban just took over, enforcing the rule that all women must stay inside or be accompanied by a man or boy. Deborah Ellis wanted to write a story about how one family stuck together to endure the toughest of times. Even when they have different points of views.
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...
People need redemption from our continual sin, otherwise, we just wallow in the shallowness of that aspect of our lives. Sin stays with an individual and effects the way their lives are lived. Unless they confront their past the sin will always be present. For example, Khaled Hossei’s , The Kite Runner explains how Amir- one of the main characters in the novel redeems himself because he undergoes strong guilt from his past sins. By examining Amir’s sins in his childhood, in his teenage years and in adulthood, his attainment of atonement is revealed. Particularly Amir atones for his past sins of being an eyewitness of Hassan rape who is his most loyal and devoted servant. He is influenced by this moment because he realizes that Hassan always
Hugo’s social commentary focuses on three main concepts that he believes must be reformed in the French society: criminal justice, education and the treatment of women. By showing the unreasonable punishments both Valjean and Fantine shows how the social structure has turned innocent and good people into criminals.
As humans, we are entitled to making mistakes in our lives, but by forgiving one free himself from anger. Marianne Williamson wrote this about forgiveness: “ Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” In the book The Glass Castle undergoes many difficult circumstances in which the act of forgiveness is the only way to be at peace with her family, but more importantly herself. But the real question is does she truly forgive them. Jeanette’s ability to constantly forgive her parents enabled her to have a positive attitude because the negativity was released when
...st in his desperate plea for forgiveness. Therefore, the narrator should allow Karl his temporary forgiveness until God and the ones sinned upon can make their personal decision of whether his sins are indeed justifiable. Forgiveness is crucial for a clear conscience and peace of mind for the both of them. However, all of this is arguable by the fact today’s experiences are incomparable to those of Hitler’s times. One cannot begin to place one in each other’s shoes and know exactly how to respond to the events happening. One can only guess how they would respond but until they are in that moment, all plausible reasoning can change. Nevertheless, forgiveness continues to be an aspect of everyday life in every century.
It's what one does in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future. As said by William Shakespeare " Time yet serves, wherein you may redeem your tarnished honors, and restore yourself into the good thought of the world again" Redemption gives a soul motivation to be better and sew relationships. This research paper intends to write about the same by proving how the protagonists redeemed themselves, thereby creating new relationships.
In his novel, Les Miserables, author Victor Hugo makes a strong statement about society being the cause for evil in man. Les Miserables is based on a poor man, Jean Valjean, who was arrested for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving baby. Valjean is sentenced to 20 years for his crime, and, when he is released, he is shunned for his past, which he has more than paid for. Society turns him out at every turn for his past crime, and will hear no excuses for his deed. With this scenario, Hugo shows the cruelty of a “civilized” world that would cause a man to suffer unending prejudice for stealing a single loaf of bread to feed a small child.
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.
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” Martin Luther King. The concept of forgiveness comes easily to some people but hard for others. It is a choice that every human being is faced with in one’s lifetime. Forgiveness is a deep-rooted emotion that controls the process of forgiving or being forgiven. Forgiveness requires compassion and a caring heart; it is truly a selfless act. There are many views and effects when discussing the topic of forgiveness, some of these include, the religious views as well as the positive and negative effects of forgiveness.
Justice is unattainable for men. It is simply not in our nature. We don’t even deserve pure justice. The funny thing is we think not only do we deserve justice but we own it. It is believed that it is okay to get your hands dirty when you are getting justice. It is not that way. Justice is beautiful and pure and basically anything, even the slightest but off is simply not justice. That right there is what I am trying to prove in this essay. Justice does not belong to us. We don’t deserve it. There is no way to provide justice without harming innocent people along the way. We get too caught up in our own heads and nothing else matters. We hurt so many people along the way. It’s almost like sinning to become holy. It does not work like that and there is no other way to do it. God is the only one that can provide justice without hurting anyone else. When we try it gets messy and personal. Justice is blind and we are unable to close our eyes. Think about it. Have you ever tried to get justice before? It turns into revenge. People try to give others back what they have felt but you simply can’t. You can’t measure suffering and pain. How do you know how much you received in relation to what you give? The point is you don’t. You never know how much something will impact someone or who is connected to who. Everyone is connected as if we are in some sort of messed up chain. If you break a link the chain is broken. Once the chain is broken you can’t fix it. There is no going back. As stated before justice doesn’t belong to us. This is no different in Count of the Monte Cristo. Our book starts with Edmond Dantès being thrown in jail thanks to Villefort, Fernand and Danglars. The entire book is about him getting revenge/providing justice on t...