Your past always comes back to haunt you. Every human life is shaped either for the better or worse because of the past. In Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, one character in particular is running from his past. By doing so, a bigger mess is made. You can run from your past, but you can't run forever.
Jean Valjean spent 19 years in captivity for stealing a loaf of bread. After he is released, he has a self discovery. He decides to reinvent himself; to leave his past behind to start fresh. But it is what he forgets to do that creates a domino effect. He does not show for his parole hearing. From then on, he is on the run.
His past shows up in his new life unexpectedly. Throughout the rest of the novel, Valjean is trying to escape the man, Javert, …show more content…
It showed him that although he is a convict, he can still lead a "normal" life. On the other hand, he shouldn't have kept trying to flee his former life. Valjean did confess to Javert that he was the man he was seeking, but took the escape route out after he was arrested. He was never very ready to come to terms with his history until his death drew nearer.
You can never avoid the demons of your past. Valjean's past demons changed his attitude of the future. He worked himself up the social ladder considerably and became a mayor. He took in a dying woman's child to raise as his own. Cosette became a part of him. But by doing so, she was open to the punishment of his past as well. If he had been taken back to prison, she would have lost her father figure. With them being so close, she would have no one to turn to. He was all she knew.
Each choice we make constructs a different path in life. What would have become of Jean Valjean if he had gone to his parole hearing? Would he still be the man he ended up becoming? We have to ask ourselves what was the best course of action for him. He ran from his past and in turn his past caught up to him, but while he was on the run, he found his purpose; his past influenced and drove him to become a "better"
Jean Valjean spent 19 years in captivity for stealing a loaf of bread. After he is released, he has a self discovery. He decides to reinvent himself; to leave his past behind to start fresh. But it is what he forgets to do that creates a domino effect. He does not show for his parole hearing. From then on, he is on the run.
His past shows up in his new life unexpectedly. Throughout the rest of the novel, Valjean is trying to escape the man, Javert, …show more content…
It showed him that although he is a convict, he can still lead a "normal" life. On the other hand, he shouldn't have kept trying to flee his former life. Valjean did confess to Javert that he was the man he was seeking, but took the escape route out after he was arrested. He was never very ready to come to terms with his history until his death drew nearer.
You can never avoid the demons of your past. Valjean's past demons changed his attitude of the future. He worked himself up the social ladder considerably and became a mayor. He took in a dying woman's child to raise as his own. Cosette became a part of him. But by doing so, she was open to the punishment of his past as well. If he had been taken back to prison, she would have lost her father figure. With them being so close, she would have no one to turn to. He was all she knew.
Each choice we make constructs a different path in life. What would have become of Jean Valjean if he had gone to his parole hearing? Would he still be the man he ended up becoming? We have to ask ourselves what was the best course of action for him. He ran from his past and in turn his past caught up to him, but while he was on the run, he found his purpose; his past influenced and drove him to become a "better"