In the novel Les Miserables, Victor Hugo utilizes various redemptive acts to prove that redemption impacts both the redeemed and the redeemer.
The theme of redemption appears countless times in the novel to emphasize the freedom, relief, and healthy change that occurs when a person is redeemed. In the novel, Jean
Valjean redeems Javert by letting him go free from the barricade instead of killing him. Javert, the determined policeman who is out to get Jean Valjean becomes overwhelmed by the generosity that the ex-convict displayed to him. Javert's overwhelmed state of being is recognized when the conflicted man begins to struggle with the fact that he has started to admire a convict. Jean Valjean, the man who Javert has forced to live in hiding,
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It was playground time, and the happy surroundings suddenly vanished as Beth menacingly approached me. The grimace on the girl's face was the perfect representation of her feelings for me, utter hatred and contempt. As the tall, blonde girl moved closer at a stealthy pace I prepared myself for what was to come; the same phrase that Beth sneered at me every day on the playground at day care, "I don't like you, Graceanne!" Although Beth's hurtful remark had become extremely routine, my heart felt a sharp pain every time she approached me with that hateful grimace on her face. Usually I would ignore the hateful remark and walk away as if I had heard nothing, but today was a different day. A new day with redemption at the utmost center.
As Beth approached me and uttered the daily phrase "I don't like you, Graceanne" I immediately responded with words that made the grimace on Beth's face vanish forever, "I like you, Beth."
The redemption that Jean Valjean lavished upon Javert is extremely similar to the redemption that I gave to Beth. The hurtful remarks that Beth hit me with every day impacted
Beth is not the type to forgive and forget. She accuses Cal of being overprotective about
Once Breyer finished his education, he pursued a legal career. Breyer’s first job after school was being a clerk for Justice Arthur Goldberg of the Supreme Court (supremecourtreview.com). A law clerk is a person who assist the judge by doing research on issues and drafting opinions. While Breyer was a law clerk, he helped Justice Arthur Goldberg by drafting Goldberg’s opinion in the case of Griswold v. Connecticut (supremecourtreview.com). Breyer kept helping Justice Arthur Goldberg in way he can. After Breyer done his clerkship for the Supreme Court, he worked at the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust as an assistant (supremecourtreview.com). Some people in the law field becomes professors. After working at the U.S. Assistant
“Jean Valjean found himself in a sort of garden, very large and of a singular appearance; one of those gloomy gardens which seem made to be seen in the winter and at night”(Pages 120-121)
Javert's character at first seems stern and inflexible but he experiences change just like the other two characters. Throughout Les Mis Javert enforces the law without even thinking about the laws being just or moral themselves. When Javert arrest Fantine and Madeline, or Jean Valjean, tells him to let her go, Javert is confused and says, "I obey my duty. My duty requires that this woman spend six months in prison" (75). Javert's comment illustrates how he does not even care what would happen to Fantine's daughter if she went to prison, just that she be punished. Also Javert spends a lot of time chasing Valjean around even when he know that Valjean is taking care of Cosette and that if Valjean went to prison Cosette would have no one to take care of her. Javert begins to change after Jean Valjean shows him mercy that Javert never showed him. Javert is affected by this and later repays the favor. He does this when he finds Jean Valjean on the beach with Marius after Valjean saved Marius. Instead of immediately arresting Valjean he
“No one should speak to you that way,” Maison’s anger spread from Colleen to the Winchester brothers. They had enough rage in their frame for everyone that incurred their wrath, though it might not look like it.
Marijuana has been acclimated as a antecedent of anesthetic for centuries - a accepted alleviative bulb for the ancients. Even as technology became allotment of how we live, it was advised a applicable analysis for abounding ailments. However, in 1923, the Canadian government banned marijuana. Although marijuana cigarettes were bedeviled in 1932, nine years afterwards the law passed, it took fourteen years for the aboriginal allegation for marijuana ascendancy to be laid adjoin an individual.
I simply stood there and stared down at her for several long moments! My brain was spinning furiously trying to wrap itself around the implications of her words.
Author Gail Lynne Goodwin, once said that “True happiness comes from living life in harmony with all that is” (Goodwin). This message inspires humanity to live simply and peacefully. Similarly, Victor Hugo's Les Misérables enlightens its readers to be selfless, compassionate, and generous. Through his contrast of the values of Bishop Myriel, the Thenardiers, and Jean Valjean, Hugo compels a literate society to live a life of virtue and integrity not only for personal happiness but for the greater good of humanity.
The protagonist’s transformation begins when the bishop recognizes Jean Valjean’s human soul that is capable of goodness. When he is put out into the streets, Valjean goes from place to place being rejected for being a convict until he meets the bishop who sees him as a common person, “That men saw his mask, but the bishop saw his face”(75). Even though people might be good, they don’t always see someone’s true soul. The bishop’s simple act of kindness and deeper understanding
As he weeps, he releases all of his emotions and vows to live a better life than the life of treachery he is living in. His hopefulness shines through his grim situation. This confidence ultimately leads to small triumphs, such as the discovery of the convent. “The convent contributed, like Cosette, to confirm and complete, in Jean Valjean, the work of the bishop” (Hugo 129). To Valjean, the nunnery embodies all he has striven for in life, a innocuous and unobtrusive place that could provide happiness for his growing daughter, Cosette.
He even gave Valjean the two silver candlesticks he had not taken. When the police left, the Bishop explained his action, saying that with his act of kindness, he had bought Valjean’s soul for god and that Valjean must now live a life of good in return. Valjean was saved from his downward spiral of decay, showing the author Hugo’s high regard for some parts of the Church. However, Valjean continually tried to turn his life around, and although many times it seemed as if he had succeeded, his past and an ignorant society always caught up with him, forcing him to once again flee to rebuild his life.
The first theme in the novel is forgiveness. In the beginning of the book Jean Valjean stayed with the bishop who he ends up stealing his silver. Jean ends up getting caught by the cops for stealing the silver but when he is caught and brought back to the bishop he tells the cops that he gave Valjean the silver. The bishop tells John that he had bought his soul and gave it to God, so from that day on he must be good. Another example of forgiveness is at the end of the book. Javert finally has Valjean captured but instead of killing him he sets him free. By letting Valjean go Javert decides he must commit suicide due to him breaking the law that he loved so dearly. There are a few examples of forgiveness found in the book written by Victor Hugo.
A deer caught in the headlights. Isn’t that what they say? Her doe eyes looked straight in my own and I read her as easily as I could in any one of my magazines. Fear. Guilt. Shame. Anger? For the first time in days with her, I felt something other than annoyance and disgust with her. Regret. What was I going to do, apologize for something so plainly rude? I would look like a dumbass and I’d rather ripped my eyes out before I allowed that. This girl actually succeeded in making a fool of me and she
Javert has been tailing Jean Valjean ever since he left the galleys a free man. I found myself asking questions along the lines of “What does Javert do all day?” “Doesn’t this guy have anything else to do except chase a former convict all over France?” This frustrated me throughout the novel because instead of examining the problems with the prison system, we have people wasting years and lots of time and money pursing a convict that was unfairly sentenced in the first place for a petty crime, and ended up on “death row” for something that should have been a fine and maybe one year of jail time at the maximum. Javert sums this up in his dialogue with Valjean in the movie. “Now prisoner 24601, your time is up and your parole’s begun. You know what that means?” “Yes, it means I’m free.” “No. Follow to the letter your itinerary, this badge of shame you wear until you die. It warns that you’re a dangerous man.” (Les Miserables Movie-Musical). Javert has no clue that what he is working on is a total waste of
But I sat down, just like I always did. I placed on a mask of courage, though it was tough, and told the girl that that was wrong. I tried not to make her feel “sad”. But there is never a reason to cause others hate, even if one may be a victim of hate elsewhere.