An evil villain set on destruction. This is used to describe many antagonists; however, there is just one problem, no one can be a single-minded villain. They are just people and many may not be all that bad. From the opening pages of the book and the musical, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, the readers are introduced to Inspector Javert. He is portrayed as the antagonist for setting forth the law on a seeming less never ending pursuit of Jean Valjean. However, he is not the guy everyone makes him out to be. Javert went after Jean Valjean because of his past with his parents, causing him to be strict with the law that has left lasting psychological effects on his adulthood. Javert has had a rough past, being born in a jail to a thief and prostitute.
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He feels like “every man is born with sin, every man must choose his way.” (The Confrontation) Which in this case, he feels like he has chosen the path of righteousness, to defeat the evil that he was born into. It’s a choice that everyone makes, to be good or bad. Since he has clearly chosen the “right” path, he goes after those who continue down the road of sins. Being that he is a police officer, he wants to do his best in protecting the people of his community. His true self, “would have arrested his own father if he escaped from prison and turned his own mother in for breaking parole. And he would have done it with that sort of interior satisfaction that springs from virtue.” (Victor Hugo) The author gives an insight as to how pitiless he is. His cold-blooded self would have turned in his own parents because of the hatred he has towards them for being criminals. This hatred has caused Javert to have a weakened self-image in which he struggles with throughout the book. He believes that he deserves no mercy, so when Jean Valjean saves him from being killed his whole world shatters. He always believed that “once a criminal, always a criminal” that no one could ever change paths once they
He feels like “every man is born with sin, every man must choose his way.” (The Confrontation) Which in this case, he feels like he has chosen the path of righteousness, to defeat the evil that he was born into. It’s a choice that everyone makes, to be good or bad. Since he has clearly chosen the “right” path, he goes after those who continue down the road of sins. Being that he is a police officer, he wants to do his best in protecting the people of his community. His true self, “would have arrested his own father if he escaped from prison and turned his own mother in for breaking parole. And he would have done it with that sort of interior satisfaction that springs from virtue.” (Victor Hugo) The author gives an insight as to how pitiless he is. His cold-blooded self would have turned in his own parents because of the hatred he has towards them for being criminals. This hatred has caused Javert to have a weakened self-image in which he struggles with throughout the book. He believes that he deserves no mercy, so when Jean Valjean saves him from being killed his whole world shatters. He always believed that “once a criminal, always a criminal” that no one could ever change paths once they