Les Misérables, By Victor Hugo

810 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: English essay on les miserables of victor hugo

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy." One challenge that has measured men for centuries is the struggle of poverty. The gap between rich and poor is an important issue in all time periods, but it is especially present in 19th century France. In Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, a few of the characters experience an impoverished lifestyle and it dramatically changes how their characters are shaped. Through actions of Gavroche, Marius, and Monsieur Thenardier, Victor Hugo shows that different moral values change the way people deal with and work to survive poverty.
Gavroche demonstrates that a positive character and strongly valuing freedom can lead one …show more content…

Even during the time when he is only part of the lower middle class, Monsieur Thenardier commits crimes and deceives others because he is materialistic and values money above honesty. He demonstrates this by stealing from soldiers of Napoleon that had been killed during the Battle of Waterloo. Thenardier not only steals, but when caught stealing from a soldier, he lies saying that he was saving the soldier’s life. This already shows a low level of integrity and morality, but his values become even more immoral when he becomes impoverished. When he comes across Jean Valjean, whom he thinks is extremely wealthy, he captures him and plots to steal from him as well as “‘execute him’”. At this point, Thenardier is so poor and in deep debt from gambling, so he is extremely desperate for money. A stronger man with higher moral convictions would turn to labor and hard work, but because of Thenardier’s character, he becomes a criminal. Poverty accentuates Monsieur Thenardier’s traits of dishonestly and criminality because he lacks strong

Show More
Related

  • The Village Of Cannibals Analysis

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although the hands of up to 200 people carried out the murder, the event was an isolated act of violence that Corbin argues was a political act rather than just a criminal act. The role of local rumors created by the rural bourgeoisie who were attempting to maintain certain rights resulted in the peasantry gaining a strong anti-nobility ideology. These rumors, paired with the peasantry’s fierce loyalty towards their emperor, caused the peasantry of Hautefaye to attempt to murder a politically outspoken noble in order to take their future into their own hands. Corbin suggests that what makes the murder of Monéy distinguishable from other acts of violence, was that the event was past the French period where such violence was common, as well as it was unusual for the crime to take place at the time of day that it did. Ultimately, the amount of heavy issues weighing on the minds of the peasantry at a time when France was in such turmoil, it’s logical that a surge of violence occurred within the town of

    Read More

  • Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    The scientific and technological advancements of the early 20th century entered people’s daily lives with the intention of bringing the whole of humanity into a brighter, more modern era. However, the darker side of such immense achievement was the increasing encroachment on the previously untouched natural world. Many great minds grew weary of such advances and conveyed their apprehension through the popular literature of the time. The pivotal novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy explores the impact that industrialists with access to technology had on the pastoral countryside and lower classes. Conan Doyle expands on this message in his novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, by examining how the well-educated elite began using science to their advantage, threatening nature in the process. While each novel warns against abusing available technologies, the authors differ in how they believe nature will eventually respond and have incited a debate that has lasted well into the 21st century.

    Read More

  • Differing Class Perceptions: A Comparative Study on Nietzsche and Marx

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    The corruption that had been happening in France for centuries was soon discovered by the lower class. One of the ways that slave-mastery class knows how to protect themselves is by creating chaos and protesting against their masters. Nietzsche goes on to say that “by means of which a select class of beings may be able to elevate themselves to their higher duties, and in general to a higher existence: like those sun-seeking climbing plants in Java.” In another words, a human being must not become a slave of their sentimental and knowledge values, but he/she must always challenge themselves to become better and achieve greatness. It is believed that the lower class did come together and challenged their selves against their masters in order to make France a better place. They challenged their masters in order to have a better life

    Read More

  • The Stranger Injustice Analysis

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since he cares little for the affairs of the world, claiming they do not mean anything, then justice—a major concern of the world—also means nothing to him. His actions both before and after his decision to kill a man without provocation demonstrate his apathetic view of the world, and his indifference to justice. Therefore Meursault’s search for justice, culminated by the court’s decision to execute him, remains an example to all of the inability of society to instill justice in criminals. Meursault’s perpetual refusal to acquire a sense of morality and emotion instigates skepticism in all who learn of his story of society’s true ability to instill justice in the

    Read More

  • The Czechoslovakian Man and Meursault in The Stranger, by Albert Camus

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    Firstly, Camus juxtaposes the stories of Meursault and the Czechoslovakian man to create a presage of the denouement of Meursault. The Czechoslovakian man undergoes major life changes, and this ultimately leads to his demise. He goes to make a better life for himself, and he returns to his village with riches in wealth and in family. Unrecognizable to them, the Czechoslovakian man returns to his mother and sister, and he decides to play a simple joke “of taking a room” and “he had shown off his money” (80). This trick ends when “during the night his mother and sister had beaten him to death…in order to rob him” (80). The Czechoslovakian man’s newfound courage results in obstinacy. Contrastingly, until Meursault commits his crime of murder, his life appears nearly painfully simple. ...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Valjean And Fantine

    305 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rousseau and Marx: Property and Inequality

    1831 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau hypothesizes the natural state of man to understand where inequality commenced. To analyze the nature of man, Rousseau “strip[ped] that being, thus constituted, of all the supernatural gifts he could have received, and of all the artificial faculties he could have acquired only through a lengthy process,” so that all that was left was man without any knowledge or understanding of society or the precursors that led to it (Rousseau 47). In doing so, Rousseau saw that man was not cunning and devious as he is in society today, but rather an “animal less strong than some, less agile than others, but all in all, the most advantageously organized of all” (47). Rousseau finds that man leads a simple life in the sense that “the only goods he knows in the un...

    Read More

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

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Social Injustice in France

    1613 Words  | 4 Pages

    Social injustice had always been an uncorrected shortcoming for France from the early 19th century to the present. While the social injustice that appeared in the form of French religious persecution was much more visible during the early 19th century than in the reasonably tolerant 21st century, as seen in the contrasting cases of the Anti-Sacrilege Act in 1825 and the About-Picard Law in 2001, social injustice was a ubiquitous presence in many religious institutions of France. In a different degree of paramountcy, the social injustice manifested in the style of French political inequalities remains to be a perennial prejudice against the “forgotten man”, one clear-cut case being the anti-Semitic and espionage controversy of the Dreyfus Affair in the modern 20th century. In the same way, the social injustice seen in the economic discrimination in France was so prominent that literary works such as Les Miserables by eminent novelist Victor Hugo and its more modern philosophical counterpart, La Misère Du Monde by prominent French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu continually emphasized on the French economic inequalities between the inferior social classes and bourgeois-esque citizens. While religious persecution in France was more visible in the 1800s than that of recent times, the social injustice seen in the case of political inequalities and economic discriminations remained more or less the same throughout the 19th and 21st centuries.

    Read More

  • Ways of Seeing by John Berger

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    The lower status contradicts, the slaves to the wealthy and royalty, all delineate the role of the people present in the society and their everyday life. In the images, the poor and the slaves are depicted with little to no possessions, looking tired and over-worked. Through their everyday labor, they must survive as a less fortunate person. In contrast to the images of the poor, the wealthy display their prosperity and possessions, which they own which ranges from animals such as horses, to ornaments of precious treasures of gold, jewels, and even exquisite dresses, garments, robes and gowns.... ...

    Read More

  • The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Three Musketeers is about 4 heroes who save the day. They are successful in defeating the evil because of the heroic deeds of d'Artagnan.

    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 French Revolution and Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities

    1486 Words  | 3 Pages

    Long ago in France, there were three types of people. There lived the poor people whom lived off of their land and the business of other people, which created the bottom of the social classes. There lived the rich people whom lived off of themselves and their businesses that they owned, which granted them noble power. Finally, there lived the royalties: King, Queen, and their people. These people belonged to their explicit social classes in France, which is the basis of the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Dickens uses these classes in his story to express the French Revolution and show how the poor were mistreated by the rich, and how the royalties were the most corrupt of the land. The French Revolution was the turning point of France at the time, which turned the entire basis of France’s monarchy around thanks to the classes of France banding together to stop the King. The social classes of France comprised the Revolution that turned France around and became a more civilized and fair society, and this is quite evident in Charles Dickens’s novel A Tale of Two Cities.

    Read More

  • How Does Les Miserables Change

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, Jean Valjean is an ex-convict that lived a life full of hatred and deception. His crime was the act of stealing food and was sentenced to time in prison. He also, stole from Myriel a priest, and was set free because he “promised to become a new man” (Hugo). From that day forward Valjean had moved on from his old life and set forward to a new one full of better decisions and opportunities. As time passed, Valjean had evolved into an extraordinary individual and had become mayor of Vigau.

    Read More

  • The Industrial Revolution And The Development Of Sociology

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the start of the revolution, in 1789, France’s class system changed dramatically (Giddens, 2014). Aristocrats lost wealth and status, while those who were at the bottom of the social ladder, rose in positions. The rise of sociology involved the unorthodox views regarding society and man which were once relevant during the Enlightenment (Nisbet, 2014). Medievalism in France during the eighteenth century was still prevalent in its “legal structures, powerful guilds, in its communes, in the Church, in universities, and in the patriarchal family” (Nisbet, 2014). Philosophers of that time’s had an objective to attempt to eliminate the natural law theory of society (Nisbet, 2014). The preferred outcome was a coherent order in which the mobility of individuals would be unrestricted by the autonomous state (French Revolution). According to Karl Marx, economic status is extremely important for social change. The peasants felt the excess decadence of the ancient regime was at the expense of their basic standards of living, thus fuelling Marx’s idea of class based revolutions and the transition of society (Katz, 2014). This can be observed, for example, in novels such as Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a novel that had a role for mobilizing the attitudes of the

    Read More

More about Les Misérables, By Victor Hugo

Open Document