Jean Valjean example essay topic

Les Mis " enables is an epic tale of hope, empathy, sympathy, redemption and hate set in post-revolutionary France. Written by acclaimed author Victor Hugo, Les Mis " enables follows the transformation of its two main characters from criminal to honest man and from dedicated reactionary to compassionate fellow man. Written sometime between 1845 and 1862, Hugo provides a detailed look into nineteenth century France's society and politics. BY combining his story of redemption with the wrongdoings of the French government, Hugo sharply criticized French political policies and hoped his work may encourage change for the future. Hugo describes the setting of Les Mis " enables with great detail.

Part of the motives of Hugo were to set a tone of miserable elements for the lead character Valjean, and for anyone who lived under the poverty line in France in the early nineteenth century. Poverty was rampant during these times and with the radical "science" of reactionaries, many people were condemned for life due to a mistake they may have made early in their life. The surroundings and details described are very accurate and play a very large role in the storyline. This description of the elements faced by the poor and underprivileged was an obvious stab at the government and greatly emphasizes the story's plot of redemption. The characters in Les Mis " enables, while not historically factual characters, are very easily believed and would fit perfectly into the time period. Jean Valjean, the protagonist, is an ex-convict who leaves behind a life of theft and deceit for a life as an honest man.

He takes on a new persona and makes his fortune honestly and ultimately makes his goal in life redemption. Javert is the story's antagonist and is a reactionary who believes in the law and will stop at nothing to enforce the harsh laws of France. With no pity, he believes that humans are either inherently good or bad. He sees Valjean's fortunes as an injustice and chases him relentlessly. Cosette is the adoptive daughter of Valjean, who came to father her through a promise to her mother Fantine, whom Valjean knew only a short time, but fell in love with her quickly. Fantine had fallen in love with a wealthy student who abandoned her and had Cosette out of wedlock.

She left Cosette in the car of the Thenadiers and paid for her upkeep through factory work and after her firing through prostitution. The character of Thenar dier plays a role in actual history being that he was was at the Battle of Waterloo. It was there that this man's true self was portrayed, for he stripped valuables from the corpses of soldiers. It is with these valuables that he buys the inn at which Fantine left Cosette. Cosette was treated as a hated stepchild by the Thanarniers who forced her to work at earn her keep. Valjean rescues Cosette from the Thenadiers and adopts her as his own.

Later, Cosette will fall in love with Marius, the son of a colonel in Napoleon's army. These characters weave together the injustices and redemption's of the plot. These fictional characters would easily fit into the historical setting Hugo describes. The action of the novel begins in 1815, the year of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, which insured that the revolution was over and a king would be back on the throne. The story stretches through 1832, the year of the unsuccessful red flag student and worker rebellion against the government.

The plot of this story, though very easily believable for the time period, is fictional. While the characters do not dramatize n eventful moment in history, they do depict an eventful period of the past. The plot follows Jean Valjean, a kind illiterate farm worker after his release from prison for the theft of bread, five years for the bread and fourteen for to escape. The kind bishop Myriel of Diane helps Valjean after his release only to be robbed by him.

When the police catch Valjean, Bishop Myriel covers for him and tells the police the silverware he stole was a gift. He makes Valjean promise to be an honest man; a promise Valjean tries his life to fulfill. He moves to Motreuil-sur-mer where he becomes mayor after inventing a groundbreaking manufacturing process. This brings he and the town prosperity. It is here Valjean meets Fantine and adopts Cosette after fleeing from the relentless Javert. Javert is wise to Valjean, known as Madeleine in Montre uil, and Valjean confesses to who he really is in court at the trial of a simple man accused of being him.

Val jean and Cosette escape into Paris where Valjean's kindness earns him a job as a gardener in a convent and Cosette a spot in the school to become a nun. Cosette grows into a young woman and at age seventeen wants to see the world so they buy a home in Paris and begin a normal life. It is when Cosette meets Marius, the idealistic student leading the uprising, that Javert is alerted to Valjean once again. When the revolt begins, Marius is hurt and Valjean carries him to safety. In the end, Valjean saves the life of Javert who had gone undercover into Marius' ABC resistance party to find Valjean. He had been captured and was to be executed.

This kindness and goodness undermines Javert's whole system of belief, the same system he had dedicated his life to. In the end, torn between his profession and the fact that Valjean saved his life, he releases Valjean and throws himself into the river. Marius is at first disgusted when he finds out about Valjean's past, though when he discovers it was Valjean who saved his life, they reconcile on Valjean's deathbed. Les Mis " enables depicts the unjust class-based society of nineteenth century France. This system often turned good and honest people into beggars and thieves. Hugo obviously believed the social conditions of the time needed to be reformed, particularly in the areas of education, criminal justice and the treatment of women.

The character of Fantine conveys all three of these. Undereducated, she works in a factory where she is fired for immorality and only then forced into prostitution so she could provide for her daughter. This novel provides a detailed look into the early nineteenth century condition in France. It is considered an historical novel for this reason. The novel shows how new and radical thought processes, especially that in the justice and political realm such as the reactionary movement, came to be and were outgrown by the good of all people.

Thos is a great historical novel based on any definition of historical fiction.