Les Mis Final Essay
Anthony Hanahan
Mr. Scott
Sophomore English Honors 3
24 March 2012
The Turmoil of Neglect
A Chinese proverb once stated “[g]overn a family as you would cook a small fish - very gently.” A life without family allegiance may bring man down, but the way man treats this situation determines the outcome of their life. Many cases of child neglect occur each day and nothing is done to help these children. As a result, these children live their whole lives alone because they never had any family there for them. This is also shown in the novel Les Miserables through the characters Marius and Eponine. Hugo demonstrates the idea of neglect through the lack of family allegiance and shows how man can work through it. In Victor Hugo’s amaranthine classic, Les Miserables, neglect and the lack of family allegiance is portrayed as the undying force that causes man to resort to desperation to feel loved; throughout “Carnation girl, 14, found starved to 48 pounds” Mike Carter continuously advances the idea of the effects of child neglect in today’s contemporary life. We as a society need to allow more opportunities of love for neglected children; in Les Mis the quandary of neglect is resolved through finding the love of others. In Les Mis the first instance of neglect is with Marius.
Whilst dealing with being fatherless and shunned by his grandfather, Marius struggles to find love in his life. Marius is a young man who has lived most of his life with his grandfather, but as Marius ages his thoughts start to differ to those of his grandfather, Gillenormand’s. As a result, Marius becomes more hostile to Gillenormand, who eventually kicks Marius out. Marius is feeling neglect in this situation because the only family he has ever known no longer wants to see him. This feeling of neglect had Marius “ready to melt into tears. It seemed to him that he had just lost his soul” (Hugo 296). Here Marius is starting to understand the importance of family allegiance. The effects
Mr. Scott
Sophomore English Honors 3
24 March 2012
The Turmoil of Neglect
A Chinese proverb once stated “[g]overn a family as you would cook a small fish - very gently.” A life without family allegiance may bring man down, but the way man treats this situation determines the outcome of their life. Many cases of child neglect occur each day and nothing is done to help these children. As a result, these children live their whole lives alone because they never had any family there for them. This is also shown in the novel Les Miserables through the characters Marius and Eponine. Hugo demonstrates the idea of neglect through the lack of family allegiance and shows how man can work through it. In Victor Hugo’s amaranthine classic, Les Miserables, neglect and the lack of family allegiance is portrayed as the undying force that causes man to resort to desperation to feel loved; throughout “Carnation girl, 14, found starved to 48 pounds” Mike Carter continuously advances the idea of the effects of child neglect in today’s contemporary life. We as a society need to allow more opportunities of love for neglected children; in Les Mis the quandary of neglect is resolved through finding the love of others. In Les Mis the first instance of neglect is with Marius.
Whilst dealing with being fatherless and shunned by his grandfather, Marius struggles to find love in his life. Marius is a young man who has lived most of his life with his grandfather, but as Marius ages his thoughts start to differ to those of his grandfather, Gillenormand’s. As a result, Marius becomes more hostile to Gillenormand, who eventually kicks Marius out. Marius is feeling neglect in this situation because the only family he has ever known no longer wants to see him. This feeling of neglect had Marius “ready to melt into tears. It seemed to him that he had just lost his soul” (Hugo 296). Here Marius is starting to understand the importance of family allegiance. The effects