Les Miserables
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. As the ill treatment continues, Valjean becomes more and more bitter toward society. He probably would have been pushed too far, and would have lashed out against his aggressors, if he had not been shown kindness by the church. Valjean was taken in by a kindly Bishop, who fed him and offered him a place to stay. Valjean, however, had already fallen partially from the light of reason and when all the others were asleep he stole the silver dinner ware and fled into the night. This act again can be blamed on society for Valjean, realizing that because of his criminal record he
As the story continues, Thenardier continues to appear and cause trouble for all around him. He organizes a small unsuccessful gang to murder Valjean. After their failing, Thenardier goes into hiding. He next appears in the sewers and charges Valjean, who is carrying a half dead Marius, to unlock the gate. Thenardier would surely have left them to die, however he did not recognize Valjean or Marius, both being covered in filth. Eventually, he did realize who he had seen and went immediately to Marius's house to make one final attempt to ruin Valjean. Fortunately, his plan back-fired and he only succeeded in improving Marius's opinion of Valjean. The Thenardiers next appear conning wealthy families into giving them money with letters of pity. One of their potential victims is Valjean, who had taken Cosette from them years ago. When he brings his donation, which the Thenardiers believe to be too paltry, they attack Valjean, until the police arrive and stop them. Unfortunately, Javert has recognized Valjean and he is once again forced to go into hiding to escape society's prejudices. Had he not been caught and returned to the Bishop, Valjean probably would have been forced into a life of corruption. However, to his surprise, the priest told the police he had made a present of the silver to Valjean. He even gave Valjean the two silver candlesticks he had not taken. When the police left, the Bishop
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jean Valjean, Cosette Eventually, Unfortunately Javert, Valjean Valjean, Hugo Thenardiers, Church Valjean, Les Miserables, Valjean Cosette, Valjean Marius, Bishop Valjean, loaf bread, bread feed, loaf bread feed, les miserables, single loaf bread, church valjean, society's corruption, society thenardiers, money cosette, stealing single, jean valjean, stealing single loaf, view society's,
Approximate Word count = 951
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
