Les Miserables

906 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Themes of les miserables the musical

Victor Hugo made it so that the characters in Les Miserables progressed throughout the novel. The theme “progress” can be seen and used widely. Three main characters, Jean Valjean, Cossette, and Javert expressed positive and negative forms of growth.

Jean Valjean began the story as an ex-convict who was searching for food and shelter after working in the galleys for sixteen years. Unfortunately, he failed to receive compassion from any lodging, or home. While he was wandering through the streets after been rejected so many times, "he came to the prefecture then to the seminary. On passing by the cathedral square he shook his fist at the church" (22). Through this discrete action, it was clear how he had felt toward the church. The church, we learned was a representation of his resentment toward everyone and everything around him (due to his past experienced of suffering). After he found shelter within the Bishop’s lodging, he expressed his gratitude for excepting him, and began to tell stories of suffering in the past. Here, the reader would assume this encounter and expression would be the end of Jean Valjean’s criminal actions, as did the Bishop when he said, “you have left a place of suffering. But listen, there will be more joy in heaven over the tears of a repentant sinner…” (28). Valjean could have taken this as good advice, or a warning, but it didn’t stop him stealing the Bishop’s candlesticks later on. Predictably, Valjean is caught. He was brought to the...

Show More
Related

  • Discuss The Differences Between Lincoln And Seward

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    How does Seward expand the antislavery argument beyond the moral appeal of the abolitionist? acknowledging his argument and appreciating his position.

    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

  • Abraham Lincoln and the Kansas-Nebraska Act

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln’s original views on slavery were formed through the way he was raised and the American customs of the period. Throughout Lincoln’s influential years, slavery was a recognized and a legal institution in the United States of America. Even though Lincoln began his career by declaring that he was “anti-slavery,” he was not likely to agree to instant emancipation. However, although Lincoln did not begin as a radical anti-slavery Republican, he eventually issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves and in his last speech, even recommended extending voting to blacks. Although Lincoln’s feeling about blacks and slavery was quite constant over time, the evidence found between his debate with Stephen A. Douglas and his Gettysburg Address, proves that his political position and actions towards slavery have changed profoundly.

    Read More

  • Characteristics Of Skeletal Muscle

    1749 Words  | 4 Pages

    Muscle is a very specialized tissue that has both the ability to contract and the ability to conduct electrical impulses. Muscles are classified both structurally as either striated or smooth and functionally as either voluntary or involuntary and. Muscle cells (myocytes) are elongated and classified as either striated muscle cells or smooth muscle cells depending on the presence or absence of regularly repeated arrangements of myofibrillar contractile proteins called myofilaments.

    Read More

  • Schindlers List

    1739 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are certain groups of people that cause these events to happen. Because of them, there are people living in denial and people that are being ostracized every day. They do this because they are afraid that if they do not go along with what the majority does, their will be reprisal. Everyone wants to believe that people are basically good at nature. But with the events that occurred in the film, it is easy to see that people are easily influenced and would rather go along with the group than stand out and make a difference.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    There comes a time in the world where the outcome of certain events can cause a huge social change, one of those events is Hurricane Katrina. The events that took place prior to, during and after Katrina although impact only a few places physically it was left in the minds of everyone in the world. There were many actions that could have taken place to prevent the damage of such a catastrophic event, however nothing was done. Hurricane Katrina, a category 3 hurricane struck Louisiana and parts of the Mississippi. New Orleans in particular, due to various reasons received the most damage. Katrina first started off as a small hurricane formed in the Bahamas as it moved towards Louisiana and Mississippi it became a category 5, which is the strongest it can become, then decreased to category 3 once it finally struck. The storm caused an incredible amount of damage that Hurricane Katrina was noted as the most destructive and costly natural disaster in US history. The death toll was 1,836 people with 200 bodies left unclaimed as well as over 700 people unaccounted for. Hurricane Katrina was a source of social change as people have learned from the impact it had on the mind and body of the citizens of New Orleans, the mismanagement and lack of leadership the government showed, and the substantial immediate and long term economic damage it caused the country.

    Read More

  • The Triumph of Les Misérables

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The 9th Ward: The African American’s Struggle in The Wake of a Natural Disaster

    2069 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the wake of natural disasters, the minorities of America are down the pecking order in the government’s list of priorities. Specifically seen in the African-American people, the government fails to provide speedy response time, supplies and other aid, as well as providing substantial compensation for the families devastated by disasters, which could have been preventable or deterred from causing more havoc. In many cases, the African-American people were exposed to poor living conditions, living in undesirable areas, and a lack of wealth, education, and preventative warnings of oncoming disasters. This can be seen in the cases of the 1900 great hurricane of Galveston, Texas and the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave, but the greatest example of all is Hurricane Katrina of 2005, where the victims who were affected were disproportionally African-American.

    Read More

  • Anatomy Of A Muscle Cell

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    The last of the three groups of muscle fiber is cardiac muscle fiber. The cardiac muscle fibers have the same arrangement of actin and myosin and the same bands, zones, and Z-disks as skeletal muscle fibers. However, the ends of cardiac muscle fibers connect to adjacent fibers by irregular transverse thickenings of the sarcolemma called intercalated disks. These disks contain desmosomes, which hold the fibers together, and gap junctions, which allow muscle action potential to spread from one cardiac muscle to another.

    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

  • The Phantom of the Opera

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Phantom of the Opera is known as the most successful musical in history, but its age most clearly shows through some of the themes it displays. Most noticeable to me, is the fact that The Phantom of the Opera conforms to and supports traditional gender roles. This becomes evident after analyzing the characters and their interactions during the 25th anniversary production in London. As a whole, The Phantom of the Opera suggests that the ideal man is authoritative, powerful, decisive, and jealous, while the ideal woman is feminine, indecisive, and naïve.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina: Causes, Effects, and Aftermath

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    On early morning of August 29th, 2005 on the Gulf Shore near New Orleans, a devastating hurricane struck. It wrecked havoc, demolishing anything in its path. Leaving nothing but mounds of trash. The surviving people were forced to leave due to massive flooding and the destruction of their homes. New Orleans was not the only place hit by Katrina but it was one of the areas that was hit the hardest. Millions of people were affected by this tragedy and the cost range was up in the billions. Crime rates went up, no one had a place to stay and water was polluted. The damage done by Katrina affected New Orleans and the other areas hit years after it struck. Restoration for the areas hit was going to need support from all of America and support groups across the country. No one was ready for this tragedy or could ever predict the horrible outcome.

    Read More

  • Unnatural Disasters: Thinking about Natural Disasters in a Sociological Way

    1716 Words  | 4 Pages

    August 23rd, 2005; Hurricane Katrina, formed over the Bahamas, hitting landfall in Florida. By the 29th, on its third landfall it hit and devastated the city of New Orleans, becoming the deadliest hurricane of the 2005 season and, one of the five worst hurricanes to hit land in the history of the United States. Taking a look at the years leading to Katrina, preventative actions, racial and class inequalities and government, all of this could have been prevented. As presented in the newspaper article, An Autopsy of Katrina: Four Storms, Not Just One , we must ask ourselves, are “natural” disasters really natural or, are they a product of the people, who failed to take the necessary actions that needed to be taken?

    Read More

  • The Phantom of the Opera

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Phantom of the Opera directed by Joel Schumacher is the 2004 adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical of the same name. The Phantom of the Opera stars Gerard Butler as the Phantom, Emmy Rossum as Christine Daaé, and Patrick Wilson as Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, who are embroiled in a love triangle. The film was met with generally mixed and negative reviews: Schumacher’s use of mise-en-scène, cinematography and editing, as well as symbolism contributes to the production of The Phantom of the Opera.

    Read More

  • Stoicism In Hamlet

    206 Words  | 1 Pages

    This description of Hamlet moulds him into "a tragedy of a man who cannot make up his mind" and thus in his soliloquy acts as an oblique commentary on his relationship with his uncle, his newly formed opinion of his mother and the grief for his father which pervades his mind. The "degree of scepticism" which Hamlet approaches his environment with not only concerning in the world around him, although it is this world an "unweeded garden" which seems to cause him most strain (enough strain that he doesn't want to exist in it anymore). It is also however directed towards Claudius, "[Hamlet's] father's brother", who Hamlet actively attempts to alienate as foreign and as a traitor because Claudius embraces the marriage and dismisses the funeral. Claudius is more concerned with the new relation between his "sometime sister", "now queen" and himself, and unlike Hamlet who becomes a slave of his environment, Claudius embraces the events unfolding before him.

    Read More

More about Les Miserables

Open Document