Les Miserable: The Real French Revolution

We have seen vast amounts of movies that have been made about revolutions against groups of people. Les Miserable, one of the most notable and recognized musicals of our time is set during the French Revolution. Unfortunately, we see images that tend to glorify the act of revolting against something and while movies like Les Miserable are entertaining, they tend to be lacking in the true facts department. The real French Revolution was horribly bloody and got way out of hand. The original intent was admirable, but starting an event set into motion a chain of events that no one intended to happen. History has shown us that while revolting has managed to help in many instances, it can also have major unforeseen consequences.
One instance of people revolting against the injustices being thrust upon them is the Boston Tea Party. At that time America was still under British rule and was putting in place fairly heavy taxes or “taxation without representation”. The items that were taxed ranged from paints to sugar and, of course, tea (Encyclopedia Britannica). To …show more content…
The French Revolution began because the citizens of France were fed up with their current king and queen. Who wouldn’t have been? They felt what they were doing was right and probably the only way to get their opinions heard and something done about them. The French had just seen what America had accomplished by revolting against the British and decided to follow in their footsteps (U.S. Department of State: Office of the Historian). It didn’t happen quite like it did in America though. Yes, there was a war, but what happened in France seemed to be far more shocking and especially bloody. During the period of time known as “The Reign of Terror”, about 40,000 citizens were executed by guillotine (Fact Monster). But the people of France felt that what they were experiencing was wrong, so they decided to do something about