Les Miserables
Les Miserables is a novel written by French author Victor Hugo .It is a work unifies realism and romanticism .The story follows the lives of several French over a twenty-year period in the early 19th .Victor Hugo was a famous French poet , play writer , novelist , essayist ,human right activist and represent of the Romantic Movement in France .His reputation in France basically rests on his poem and drama and then on his novels .He is a passionate supporter of republicanism and his work contains many political and social issues .His best-known works are Les Miserables and Notre-Dame do Paris.
Les Miserables is a story which tells us a miserable life of the main character -Jean Valjean . To let him be a capable man who can fight with temporal society and his own life, the author endows him with amazing strong-will,extraordinary physical abilities , rare bravery and remarkable intelligence. After put into prison for 5 years because of stealing a piece of bread , he groans under the weight of the cruel law in the prison .He loses the chances to break the prison for 4 times that makes him stay there for totally 19 years. After passing the firm prison life , he is released .Because of ever being prisoned , he can not find any job and becomes fierce . But his life changes when he comes across Bishop Myriel . Myriel convinces him and saves him from being arrested though Jean Valjean steals some silver from him .After that, Jean Valjean goes to a small town and starts a new way of life . He turns to be a kind-hearted man who is always ready to help others .For his intelligence, he invents a new method to produce bangle and that let him to run some factories and become a rather rich man. Finall , he is selected to be the Mayor of that place .Then he meets Fantine and helps she .For Fantine who is abandoned with a small child by her lover .She leaves her daughter Cosette in the care of others and works in Jean Valjean’s factory . But she is fired by a female supervisor who discovers that she is an unmarried mother .For her daughter , she sells her hair , then her front teeth ,turns to prostitution and finally dies of disease .As a mother , she can sacrifice anything she has .
Here comes another turning of Jean Valjean’s life. Javert,an goofy police who is always hunting and losing Jean Valjean, finds him and arrests him for another time. Fortunately, he comes out of that miserable life after saving s sailor’s life .Then he finds Cosette and adopts her .Cosette is so happy now after living a life fills with housework and beats from the age of 3 to 8 . Later she grows up to become a very beautiful girl and falls in love with Marius who is one of the top leader of the revolt in 1832 in France .However after all these , Jean Valjean dies partialy because of misunderstood by Marius .
Hugo describes the miserable dates of lower people between the periods of Waterloo and the revolts in 1832. It emphasizes kindness of people such as Jean Valjean and Fantine . Jean Valjean is a character surrounding with romanticism. He is an ordinary poor people with virtuous nature at first, but ends up being tortured by the cruel society and law .To indicates kindness, the author lets him come across Bishop Myriel . Bishop Myriel illuminates his later lifetime and sublimates his virtue .Fantine , a pure girl living such a miserable life , is another kindness character .She suffers a lot for her daughter .
Hugo tells us two kinds of law: kindness and the real tough law. These two kinds of laws contrast to each other in the novel. Jean Valjean , Fantine , Myriel stand for goodness and Javert stands for the other . Javert , who is searching for Jean Valjean all the year round with the intention to bring him into prison , is saved by Jean Valjean at last .Then he has the chance to seizes Jean Valjean but he let him go away . His inner conflicts lead him to take his own life by jumping into a river. Javert is just a victim of that kind of society and law .The responsibility must be taken by the society and the root buries there.
Les Miserables is a sorrow heroic that the poverty struggles in the dark with the cruel society .Following the ordinary people’s lives. Hugo criticize the temporal society .It shows us the kindness of people and the tortured society .It tells us law is not the only tool to control people . We must have a virtuous heart and it will lead us to a meaningful lifetime no matter how miserable life is.
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