Imagine a world where you had to earn your place in society. You had limited resources and the rest of the world looked you down upon. There was no respect, no dignity, just survival. Poverty, sickness, pangs of hunger, and death of loved ones were all you knew. While the people suffered greatly, the upper class had an abundance of resources and was sapping the life out of the lower class. This world spoken of was not fiction, but reality for those in the era of the French Revolution, and in this case, Jean Valjean. Although he lived this harsh life described and was in imprisoned for 19 years, it is indisputable that Jean Valjean is a man of grace; in the sense that he forgave Fantine for all the wrong and mistakes she has done, his adoptive
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At age 19, Cosette desired to explore the outside world and leave the safe haven she was raised in. Valjean was quite doubtful at first, knowing that Javert was searching for him and he was a convict. Cosette pleaded her father to let her go outside the wall she was confined in, but Valjean declined. He was only convinced after Cosette informed him that she didn’t feel like she belonged at the church school, and the only thing she wanted was to be happy, which could only be attained by leaving the school. Another of the many times grace to Cosette was shown was when Valjean, presumably, allowed Cosette to meet up with Marius for the last time prior to moving to London. When it became clear to Valjean that Cosette truly loved Marius, he gave her permission to see him for the last time. This shows understanding and grace from Valjean’s part. Many may think that for an overprotective father, letting his daughter meet up with her love one last time contains plenty of grace. Nevertheless, Valjean still went across the city to bring Marius, who was shot and by then severely injured, to Cosette for the sole purpose of them getting married, looking after each other, and being happy. This is an immense action of grace. Not only does it show that Valjean now approves of Cosette …show more content…
Javert was shown grace to multitudinous times, yet three times is the total number of times Valjean spared his life. The first sign of grace in a life or death situation happened when Fantine was dying of tuberculosis and shock because of a lie Javert told her. When Fantine finally died, Valjean was enraged, blaming Javert for killing her; they got into a physical fight involving Valjean banging Javert’s head forcefully against a wall until he fell unconscious and bled. Considering his strength after 19 years of prison, Valjean could have easily killed Javert, yet he decided not to. The second time was during the Revolution, when Javert was caught and tied to a pole in a house belonging to those who supported the Republic. The people guarding the prisoners offered Valjean a gun to kill Javert, yet again, Valjean declined. The final and most crucial act of grace in the story was when the people who guarded the prisoners asked Valjean to take Javert outside and kill him because they had no more space. Valjean obliged to releasing Javert from his pole and taking him outside. Once they were in an empty alley, Valjean pointed the gun to Javert, but then raised it to the sky, firing it and saying “You’re dead, Javert”. This symbolizes Valjean finalizing the cat and mouse chase between him and Javert through another way than
At age 19, Cosette desired to explore the outside world and leave the safe haven she was raised in. Valjean was quite doubtful at first, knowing that Javert was searching for him and he was a convict. Cosette pleaded her father to let her go outside the wall she was confined in, but Valjean declined. He was only convinced after Cosette informed him that she didn’t feel like she belonged at the church school, and the only thing she wanted was to be happy, which could only be attained by leaving the school. Another of the many times grace to Cosette was shown was when Valjean, presumably, allowed Cosette to meet up with Marius for the last time prior to moving to London. When it became clear to Valjean that Cosette truly loved Marius, he gave her permission to see him for the last time. This shows understanding and grace from Valjean’s part. Many may think that for an overprotective father, letting his daughter meet up with her love one last time contains plenty of grace. Nevertheless, Valjean still went across the city to bring Marius, who was shot and by then severely injured, to Cosette for the sole purpose of them getting married, looking after each other, and being happy. This is an immense action of grace. Not only does it show that Valjean now approves of Cosette …show more content…
Javert was shown grace to multitudinous times, yet three times is the total number of times Valjean spared his life. The first sign of grace in a life or death situation happened when Fantine was dying of tuberculosis and shock because of a lie Javert told her. When Fantine finally died, Valjean was enraged, blaming Javert for killing her; they got into a physical fight involving Valjean banging Javert’s head forcefully against a wall until he fell unconscious and bled. Considering his strength after 19 years of prison, Valjean could have easily killed Javert, yet he decided not to. The second time was during the Revolution, when Javert was caught and tied to a pole in a house belonging to those who supported the Republic. The people guarding the prisoners offered Valjean a gun to kill Javert, yet again, Valjean declined. The final and most crucial act of grace in the story was when the people who guarded the prisoners asked Valjean to take Javert outside and kill him because they had no more space. Valjean obliged to releasing Javert from his pole and taking him outside. Once they were in an empty alley, Valjean pointed the gun to Javert, but then raised it to the sky, firing it and saying “You’re dead, Javert”. This symbolizes Valjean finalizing the cat and mouse chase between him and Javert through another way than