How Society Effects Human Nature (examples from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables)
In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo portrays human nature in a neutral state. Humans are born with neither good nor bad instincts, but rather society affects our actions and thoughts. Hugo portrays the neutral state of mind through Jean Valjean and Cosette. The two extremes of good and evil are represented through Thenardier and the bishop. Good and evil coexists in the society and affects Valjean and Cosette. It is the two extremes of good and evil that dictate the lives of Valjean and Cosette. The bishop represents charity and love. Everything he's ever had, he gave to charity. When the bishop first met Valjean, he said, "You need not tell me who you are. This is not my house; it is the house of Christ. It does not ask any comer whether he has a name, but whether he has an affliction. You are suffering; you are hungry and thirsty; be welcome. And do not thank me; do not tell me that I take you into my house..... whatever is here is yours." (pg. 15-16) The bishop didn't look at him as a convict; he looked at him as a fellow brother. Later, when the bishop found out that Valjean stole his silver, he wasn't mad, but offered all of his silver to Valjean saying, "Don't forget that you promised me to
Jean Valjean was affected by society in many ways. Valjean was poor and needed to feed his family, so he stole a loaf of bread. Consequently, he was sentenced to five years in jail. Trying to escape, Valjean's sentence was lengthened to nineteen years. The harsh treatment that Valjean received from prison corrupted the goodness inside of him and turned him into a bad person. If he wasn't poor, he wouldn't have had to steal. As a result, society beat down on him. Jean Valjean struggled to survive, living in poverty. When he got out of prison, he walked twelve leagues from Toulon (page 13) to Paris, but the people refused to give him a room. Valjean went to all the Inns, but everyone, knowing that he was an ex-convict, refused him. After time, society changed Valjean's human nature. He became good with the help of the bishop. At first, Valjean thought he would always be looked upon as a convict, so he was bad and stole. Valjean described himself as "less than a dog" (pg. 9; 1961 ver.) His last criminal deed was when he stole the coin from little Gervais (pg. 31). When Valjean became M. Madeleine and M. Leblanc, he was good and gave lots of charity. The bishop gave Valjean a sense of hope. H
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 807
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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