Preview

Les Miserables

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
688 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Les Miserables
Themes:
The Long-Term Effects of the French Revolution on French Society
In les Miserable, “Hugo traces the social impact of the numerous revolutions, insurrections, and executions that took place in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century France”(39). The writer sympathises with the people and the republican movements rather than the monarchy. In his novel he criticizes all of the regimes sense the French Revolution because it doesn’t deal fairly with the social injustice and there are to types of classes, poor and rich, but he was trying to show that all people are a like and trying to spread justice and forgiveness, while women were slaves in the hands of men and a tool to enjoy their desire. And the revolution was against the whole order of society. At the end he reminds us that people like Javert won’t vanish. And this is what happened in the Arabic version too, but the only difference here that it was against the British occupation. As Hamed did the same as Jean Valjain. There are no difference in the events between the film and the novel in this theme except what I’ve mentioned.
Motifs:
The dilemma of the orphans:
The spread of orphans and unusual family structures in les Miserable is the most obvious in the French society. As we can see characters like Valjain, Fantain and Cossette have been separated from their families for economical reasons like Cossette and political ones like Valjain. So they are not happy because they are not near their parents or live with them. And the same is with Samiha who her mother put grow up in another family just because she can’t raise her up according to her job circumstances.
Symbols:
Myriel’s Silver Candlesticks:
They are the most prominent symbol of compassion in Les Miserable and they shed a light that always brings love and hope. As Valjiean have started his life of love because of them and they helped him in helping people. At the beginning the writer used contrasts of light and darkness to show the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Throughout the blatantly depressing story of Les Miserables, Cosette’s life had some of the few blissful moments we see in the entire book. For example, when the protagonist Jean Valjean rescues Cosette or when she and Marius become married, we are reminded that not everything that happened to the characters was miserable. Cosette was the pride and joy of Jean Valjean’s life and the only thing he believed he did right was rescuing and parenting her. Her long golden hair, shined bright and reminded Jean Valjean, of Cosette’s mother Fantine and the hope he had of heaven. Cosette was also a sign of the hope for a better tomorrow. Whenever we see her, we cannot help but hope her and Marius will live happy lives together in the future despite the bitter endings of the other characters. A similar character, whose bright golden hair symbolizes the hope of a better tomorrow, is the revolutionist leader Enjolras, who wants nothing more than for every man to be free of inequality and surrounded by citizens with pride in their countries…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    les mis cosette

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Quote: “Something new was entering his soul. Jean Valjean had never loved anything… When he saw Cosette, when he had taken her, carried her away, and rescued her, he felt his heart moved. All that he had of feeling and affection was aroused and vehemently attracted towards this child” (123).…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The French Revolution is said to be one of the greatest revolutions in Western history. Indeed it was one of the first instances in History where the middle class protested against their government and actually won. Not only did they win, but they completely overthrew a monarchy and reformed their entire government. However, a similar revolution was taking place around the same time; this one with perhaps a more noble cause. In Haiti, slaves were also standing up to the leaders of their society and fighting for equal rights. While there are some major similarities and differences among these two revolts, the Haitian Revolution was more enlightened and fought for a more righteous cause.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the French Revolution, the commoners take revenge on the aristocrats. The commoners¡¦ revenge is apparent in the second half of the book. The Jacquerie is a major source of the revolutionary trouble. One of the first examples of this is when ¡§[t]he ch„^teau [is] left to itself to flame and burn¡¨ after being set on fire by the mender of roads, a second member of the Jacquerie, and two others (230). The commoners¡¦ revenge takes place throughout the book when aristocrats are…

    • 615 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Midsummer Nights Dream

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages

    At the Start of a Midsummer Night’s Dream the relationships between the lovers, Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius are very confusing. Hermia is being forced by her father, Egeus, to marry Demetrius which she doesn’t love but he loves her. Hermia loves Lysander and he loves her. Helena loves Demetrius In Act 3 scene 2 and nobody loves Helena. The relationships between the lovers change because Puck puts a love potion first, on Lysander’s eyes and then on Demetrius’s eyes so that the first person they saw when they woke up, they loved. So now both Demetrius and Lysander love Helena. Helena still loves Demetrius and, Hermia still loves Lysander. But now nobody loves Hermia.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Great Expectations

    • 5693 Words
    • 23 Pages

    9. Why did the first convict ask for a file? –He asked for a file so he could remove the iron on his 9. leg.…

    • 5693 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution Causes

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages

    France’s social structure was an aspect of society that majority of the French were greatly displeasured about. The social structure was very unbalanced during the Old Regime. The majority of the Third Estate third estate was going hungry and only as time went on poverty kept increasing. It was also clear that as time went on that the nobles and the clergy were only seeking more privileges than what they already had. As if the Third Estate couldn't have any more burdens put on their lives, there was also a food shortage occurring that would completely shock the whole nation. The harvest season the year before was so “disastrous” that it’s effects were greatly “felt” and because of that bread prices quickly rose (Price 77). When that occurred, the poverty stricken people had a difficult time trying to provide for themselves along with their families. This enraged the Third Estate because while they were suffering horribly, the First and Second estates were living luxuriously and were able to afford the sky rocketing food prices. From there, the angered civilians had enough reasons to act out and because of that they lashed out against the higher ups. "The third estate seemed intent not just on removing fiscal inequality, but on undermining the entire social order” (Price 60). The Third Estate felt very strong about how they have been mistreated…

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tale of Two Cities

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The suffering the low class people of France endured during the time of this story was more than unbearable. As Dickens describes “Far and wide, lay a ruined country, yielding nothing but desolation. Every green leaf, every blade of grass and blade of grain, was as shriveled and poor as the miserable people. Everything was bowed down, dejected, oppressed and broken.” (Charles Dickens 236) Their living conditions were remarkably small and dirty. France was a “crumbling tower of waste, mismanagement, extortion, debt, mortgage, oppression, hunger, nakedness and suffering.” (Dickens 130)…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Midsummer nights dream

    • 1662 Words
    • 7 Pages

    "There are some men who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us", (pg. 288). To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. You may categorize these distinct individuals under the column of people who we know as archetypes. Archetypes are people who are role models, leaders, captains, and the best at what they do. The archetype focused on in this novel is Atticus Finch, the archetypal lawyer who in incomparable to any other ordinary lawyer. The reason why Atticus is the archetypal lawyer is because he defends every innocent person with every effort he has, It is because out of all of the lawyers you may have heard of, none of them come close to the amount of respect and dignity Atticus treats everyone in the courthouse with, and lastly, as a lawyer, Atticus makes his decisions with and by the law no matter how difficult the situation is.…

    • 1662 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Les Miserables Essay

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “So long as the three problems of the age- the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night- are not solved… books like this cannot be useless,” (Hugo Preface). In his novel, Les Miserables, Victor Hugo illustrates these problems throughout the plot, adding to the public obsession over the book. Most went crazy over the light he shone on the struggles of France in the late 1800s, instead of the happy love stories many authors were writing about at that time. Through Les Miserables, Hugo ties the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, or the dwarfing of childhood into almost all of the characters introduced.…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    I agree with the statement, “In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo is trying to say that human nature is basically good”. Victor Hugo is doing this by having his book consist of many characters who symbolize human nature’s goodness within the story. This is because he creates goodness within the characters by making them be forgiving, thankful, become morally righteous, and possess good intentions towards helping others therefore, Hugo’s message is to tell people that human nature is good but society is what makes them sometimes posses a bad personality. Another way Hugo is saying that human nature is good is when he makes all the characters, which resemble human beings, forgive their antagonist, be compassionate, and become unselfish just like Jean Valjean and Javert did by both freeing each other. Human nature is not bad because in the book human beings do not let their id take complete control of their decision making instead they let their superego and ego take part in their decision making. Another reason why human nature is not bad is because people learn fear and hatred thus meaning that in the beginning they were good but toward the end they learned but not are bad just like some characters in the book. I agree with the statement, “In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo is trying to say that human nature is basically good”.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Les Miserables

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Four characters from the 1998 film Les Miserables are analyzed. Jean Valjean, Fantine, the Bishop, and Inspector Javert are the characters for this study. Each character’s moral decision making will be examined. Using the consequentialist and nonconsequentialist theories discussed in the book Ethics: Theory and Practice, a particular theory will be matched to each character with supporting details.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the 20th century musicals evolved, starting with Show Boat in 1927, with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Hammerstein later teamed up with Richard Rodgers, forming the iconic duo Rodgers and Hammerstein, and together they wrote Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, South Pacific and The King and I, along with many more. These shaped the way for playwrights and musicians like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who together wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, and The Phantom of the Opera, along with many others. Cats is based on the poems of T.S. Elliot, and therefore gets most of its lyrics from his poetry, and The Phantom of the Opera is currently the longest running show on…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Essay on Les Miserables

    • 2263 Words
    • 10 Pages

    When Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables first came out in 1862, people in Paris and elsewhere lined up to buy it. Although critics were less receptive, the novel was an instant popular success. The French word “misérables” means both poor wretches and scoundrels or villains. The novel offers a huge cast that includes both kinds of “misérables.” A product of France's most prominent Romantic writer, Les Misérables ranges far and wide. It paints a vivid picture of Paris's seamier side, discusses the causes and results of revolution, and includes discourses on topics ranging from the Battle of Waterloo to Parisian street slang. But the two central themes that dominate the novel are the moral redemption of its main character, Jean Valjean, an ex-convict, and the moral redemption of a nation through revolution. The novel is a critical statement against human suffering, poverty, and ignorance. Its purpose is as much political as it is artistic.…

    • 2263 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lovely Bones is about a 14 year old girl called Susie Salmon who is the narrator in the film. On her way home from school one day, she is stopped by her neighbour George Harvey. He asks her to see the den he made in the cornfield. She thinks she can trust him, but regrettably he murders her. She tells her story from the place between heaven and earth, where she meets and learns about the stories of his other victims. But she can only watch as her devastated family begin their own investigation of her death. When Suzie is finally ready to move on, she goes to heaven where she feels happy and safe.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays