Les Misérables

The struggle between good and evil is a powerful theme in the book. The most prominent example of this is Valjean's battle to transform from an immoral, miserable convict to a truly good man. The candlesticks are a very powerful symbol of love, that drives Valjean through his transformation. Misery is represented at the very beginning of the book, with the imagery of the protagonist and his interactions and dialogue with other characters. He has just gotten out of prison and is looking for…

But let me begin with some basic history. Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men? It is the music of the people who will never be slaves again! Does this sound familiar? Yes, it is from the movie that is a global sensation: Les Miserables. The movie, is a depiction of the French Revolution, and that is where we shall begin our understanding of France. The revolution of France, was a time of political and social upheaval. The revolution overthrew the monarchy, and established…

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…

Keishera Aldonza Culture Partners: The Interview with the Albanian I first met Enea almost by accident. It was the night of the first fire alarm at Roberts Hall. The steam pipes had burst and the basement became overwhelmed with steam, forcing Enea upstairs and into my common area. He was alone and I felt particularly sociable that night. He introduced himself as Alec, which I learned later was his “Americanized” name, and I introduced myself and my friends. Our friendship stuck and he even…

Jean Valjean, nearly fifty, experiences more in his lifetime than the average man. By Victor Hugo affirming Valjean's age to only around fifty suggests to the reader that Valjean's life-changing experiences are not yet complete. Because he is younger than the reader expects, Valjean's physique resides along with his age helping him in various scenarios. Over the course of a year, Valjean's body ages to his actual age of eighty years; his strength vamooses him as he prepares for his demise.…

The Love Triangle of the French Revolution In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, the book and the movie adaptation, a struggle for love exists between three characters. Two women pursue Marius Pontmercy throughout the story: Eponine and Cosette. Whereas Eponine and Marius seem to know each other well in the movie, Cosette and Marius believe they’re in love after simply looking at one another. Marius is presented with a choice, and he picks Cosette. However, Marius should have decided to pursue a…

Lastly, the Bishop of D provides forgiveness in Jean Valjean's life and in return Jean Valjean keeps his promise of being an “honest man” (51) in the back of his mind whenever he is doing something that could contradict the Bishop of D wise words. Jean Valjean was wandering as a convict through France and had no hopes of finding somebody to accept a convict, surprised the Bishop excepted him, using his convict way he had stolen the candlesticks that were in the Bishop of D’s house. Shortly,…

Keishera Aldonza Culture Partners: The Interview with the Albanian I first met Enea almost by accident. It was the night of the first fire alarm at Roberts Hall. The steam pipes had burst and the basement became overwhelmed with steam, forcing Enea upstairs and into my common area. He was alone and I felt particularly sociable that night. He introduced himself as Alec, which I learned later was his “Americanized” name, and I introduced myself and my friends. Our friendship stuck and he even…

cries died away into the mist, without even awakening an echo. . . . [H]is knees suddenly bent under him as if an invisible power suddenly overwhelmed him with the weight of his bad conscience; he fell exhausted . . . and cried out, “I’m such a miserable man!” This part of the novel is an early turning point in which Jean Valjean goes from a criminal to an honest man. I wondered what made Jean Valjean turn into the same evil that turned him hardened and empty to then steal money from an innocent…

Kill em with Kindness “If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes a sacrifice.” (Unknown) Sacrifice was not a strange action to the characters of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. This novel emphasized the sacrifices each individual made for their own future as well as the future of the country. While Eponine had some of the most selfless actions in the movie, it can easily overshadow the sacrifices of other characters. Beyond Eponine, there were characters such as Jean…