Les Miserables and Media Theories
The phrase Les Misérables has been around the consciousness of many for a hundred and fifty one years. It has become a cross-cultural artefact, whether it may be the book, the musical, or the movie. One can say that references to any 0f the three can be found in everyday life. It has been around far longer than any of us have been; it’s safe to say that it is a real phenomenon. Yet, there have been other works more aged than Les Misérables. So what sets this work apart?
Les Misérables, published in 1862, is a story that focuses on an ex-convict, Jean Valjean, on his road to redemption. Through his course, he encounters characters such as the relentless and unforgiving police inspector Javert, the saintly Monseigneur Myriel – Bishop of Digne, the naïve orphan turned unmarried mother turned prostitute Fantine, the illegitimate child Cosette, the greedy con artist couple M. and Mme. Thenardier, and the upper class boy estranged from his family Marius. With these people, he learns compassion, forgiveness, mercy, and love. What’s outstanding about this story is how Victor Hugo incorporated his beliefs without making the story flat. He was able to articulate the struggles of class oppression and social injustice in such a way that not only the upper classes would understand, but also the lower ones who are the main reason he wrote the novel for.
In Hugo’s young adulthood, he was already a champion of the masses, though he never explicitly put in his work his political views. His talent for poetry made him popular amongst the heads of state. He was a Royalist. Although in 1825 he had served as official poet for Charles X 's coronation and had been enrolled as a chevalier of the Légion d 'honneur, in 1830 he supported the revolution that brought down Charles and replaced him with the constitutional monarch Louis-Philippe (Valiunas, 2007). By 1843, according to Walnut Street Theatre.org, he decided to focus on the growing social problems in France. He was joined in his
Les Misérables, published in 1862, is a story that focuses on an ex-convict, Jean Valjean, on his road to redemption. Through his course, he encounters characters such as the relentless and unforgiving police inspector Javert, the saintly Monseigneur Myriel – Bishop of Digne, the naïve orphan turned unmarried mother turned prostitute Fantine, the illegitimate child Cosette, the greedy con artist couple M. and Mme. Thenardier, and the upper class boy estranged from his family Marius. With these people, he learns compassion, forgiveness, mercy, and love. What’s outstanding about this story is how Victor Hugo incorporated his beliefs without making the story flat. He was able to articulate the struggles of class oppression and social injustice in such a way that not only the upper classes would understand, but also the lower ones who are the main reason he wrote the novel for.
In Hugo’s young adulthood, he was already a champion of the masses, though he never explicitly put in his work his political views. His talent for poetry made him popular amongst the heads of state. He was a Royalist. Although in 1825 he had served as official poet for Charles X 's coronation and had been enrolled as a chevalier of the Légion d 'honneur, in 1830 he supported the revolution that brought down Charles and replaced him with the constitutional monarch Louis-Philippe (Valiunas, 2007). By 1843, according to Walnut Street Theatre.org, he decided to focus on the growing social problems in France. He was joined in his
References: • LittleJohn, S.W. (2002). Theories of human communication (7th ed.). United States:Wadsworth Publishing Company.