Victor Hugo: A Dude Who Wrote Books
Who was the most important writer of France in the nineteenth century? Who was the leader of the Romantic Movement, a playwright, a poet, and the author of novels among the most incredible in existence, such as Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame? None other than Victor Hugo, who was also a political thinker, a painter and an architect. When asked whom Victor Hugo is, most people would probably ask, “Who’s that?” or respond by saying, “A dude who wrote books.” It is quite unfortunate that one of the most talented authors has become so lost in our modern world. Perhaps awareness can be spread and the ideas in his works can be considered by our modern society.
Victor Hugo contributed to society through words. His many works, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables address the problems of society and human nature. By pinpointing these issues, he spread awareness and helped to eliminate some ignorance in the minds of the people around the world. Also, although the French king disapproved his beliefs about the government, he still pursued his ideas and spread them. ”A few days later, when he asked for his Government pension to be discontinued, he was marking the transferal of the artist’s allegiance from the traditional patron, the King, to a more volatile but potentially a more lucrative sponsor, the people. ” (Robb, 178) He decided to make his writing appeal to the people instead of the government. As a response, Hugo and his family were exiled and many of his novels were banned. However, his novels and ideas continued to spread regardless of the bans. One of his greatest contributions was, however, was the spread of Romanticism. This literary movement wa...
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... Victor Hugo was not afraid to go against the authority and write what he wanted. I, however, will not go against law. One thing to take into consideration is that in Hugo’s time at France, it could be truthfully said that the laws were not anywhere near as fair or reasonable as the laws we have now in the United States. So, I also do what I believe is right, which is important to me.
Victor Hugo was a brilliant man. He is best known for his epic novels, but he was also a great poet. As a leader of Romanticism, he spread many revolutionary ideas in literature. Ford Madox Ford said, “If there were a being higher than God, one would have to say that it was Victor Hugo.” If enough people read his literature, perhaps we can reverse the tide and he would be known as a little more than “A dude who wrote books.”
Source:
Victor Hugo: A Biography, by Graham Robb
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