The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame Analysis

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One genre has a captivating appeal to its audience, especially the youth and critics that read it. It keeps its audience thrilled, ready to turn the next page. This genre is definitely a classic, and these books wouldn’t be around if it hadn’t pleased many people. However, some classics can satisfy their audiences better than others. The Hunchback of Notre - Dame appeals to the youth of its generation and the critics of the next generation more than A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The enforcement of justice, imagination of supernatural powers, and connection to the book’s setting all appeal to the youth of all generations. The youth has always been taught by their parents or teachers that justice is essential and important. The …show more content…
188) and the man killed the deer “in sudden passion, and not for gain” (Pg.188). In addition, an unjust king was put on the throne. The narrator says that “the king’s judgements wrought frequent injustices...” (Pg. 280) The youth would be attracted to the interesting justice system that The Hunchback of Notre - Dame portrayed rather than the injustice that A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court showed. The imagination of super natural powers would definitely intrigue youth readers. Albert Einstein once said “ The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination” (brainyquote.com). The super natural powers that Victor Hugo describes in The Hunchback of Notre - Dame lets young readers to tap into their imaginative mind. Miracles are shown, as in the book, Gringoire says, “ Here the blind see, and the lame run.” (Page 78) Rabies could be cured with a few magical words. Hugo describes that the chant “Hax, pax, max” was “a remedy for the bite of rabid dogs.” (Page 277) In the book, sorcery and devils were common as Hugo writes “...there was probably a sorceress, perhaps the devil who had gotten involved.” (Page 341) Youth readers would be eager to flip the next …show more content…
The theme of a book is an important piece of information to a critic because it teaches a moral to the audience. In The Hunchback of Notre - Dame, appearance plays a big role in the book as it is the theme. This theme goes hand in hand with the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The thing is, mostly everyone judged Quasimodo by his appearance. People assumed that he was “bad because he was wild” and “wild because he was ugly.” (Page 149) The thing that people didn’t know was that Quasimodo had a good heart. In fact, Quasimodo saved Esmeralda when she was getting publicly abused. Esmeralda was thankful for Quasimodo but was still “horror-stricken” (Page 342) when she saw him. This theme would make the audience think twice before they judge someone from just their appearance. However, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, appearance is not a major issue in the book. Appearance doesn’t play a big role, as most of the characters that the protagonist encounters outside of the castle gates are poor. Mark Twain beautifully describes this scene by writing that the streets were “mere crooked alleys” and on streets, were “troops of dogs and nude children.” (Page 11) The protagonist also travels inside the palace gates. In contrast to the scene outside the palace gates, the protagonist encounters a “great paved court, with towers and turrets...” (Page 12) However,

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