The Locale of a Grieving Mind
“Men are all condemned to die with various reprieves” (16). In most novels, the setting serves as an environment that influences the plot of the novel. However, in Victor Hugo’s, The Last Day of a Condemned Man, the setting of the novel is a means of symbolically representing an abstract idea. Hugo utilizes the setting of the novel as an extended metaphor to represent the man’s condemned mind through the stages of grief. The start of the novel displays a confused, unreal atmosphere that the man has now found himself in. Hugo uses the first setting of the novel to completely immerse one into this metaphor instantaneously. He describes a trance like state, juxtaposing the man’s perception of a beautiful day to the harsh reality of the sentence which is about to come. Description of the setting such as, “Surrounded by the outer air and the sunshine, I could think of nothing but liberty; hope glowed within me, like the daylight without; and in …show more content…
It is a very important factor in developing and maintaining the metaphor to represent the man’s mind throughout the plot of the novel. Not only does it effectively represent his mind, it does so by causing the man to go through each of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, uncertainty, depression, and acceptance. After writing down all these thoughts his mind is developing into this novel, Hugo clearly portrays truly a man condemned to die by a mindset of grief.
The stages of grief are an effective tool employed by Hugo to portray a condemned state of mind by use of the setting. The metaphor for the abstract idea of the man’s mind gives new meaning to the use of the setting in a novel. Not only does it serve its normal purpose, but it also gives insight into the main character and helps emphasize the true meaning of being condemned. “I have but one thought, one conviction, one certainty: I am condemned to die!”
“Men are all condemned to die with various reprieves” (16). In most novels, the setting serves as an environment that influences the plot of the novel. However, in Victor Hugo’s, The Last Day of a Condemned Man, the setting of the novel is a means of symbolically representing an abstract idea. Hugo utilizes the setting of the novel as an extended metaphor to represent the man’s condemned mind through the stages of grief. The start of the novel displays a confused, unreal atmosphere that the man has now found himself in. Hugo uses the first setting of the novel to completely immerse one into this metaphor instantaneously. He describes a trance like state, juxtaposing the man’s perception of a beautiful day to the harsh reality of the sentence which is about to come. Description of the setting such as, “Surrounded by the outer air and the sunshine, I could think of nothing but liberty; hope glowed within me, like the daylight without; and in …show more content…
It is a very important factor in developing and maintaining the metaphor to represent the man’s mind throughout the plot of the novel. Not only does it effectively represent his mind, it does so by causing the man to go through each of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, uncertainty, depression, and acceptance. After writing down all these thoughts his mind is developing into this novel, Hugo clearly portrays truly a man condemned to die by a mindset of grief.
The stages of grief are an effective tool employed by Hugo to portray a condemned state of mind by use of the setting. The metaphor for the abstract idea of the man’s mind gives new meaning to the use of the setting in a novel. Not only does it serve its normal purpose, but it also gives insight into the main character and helps emphasize the true meaning of being condemned. “I have but one thought, one conviction, one certainty: I am condemned to die!”