Les Miserables Essay, Research Paper

Les Miserables: One of the Greatest Works of Literature

Les Mis? rables was written by Victor Hugo, and published in 1862. It has been translated into many different linguistic communications, and turned into a drama and film every bit when as being a book. When a friend asked Hugo why he wrote the book he replied as follows, & # 8220 ; I condemn slavery, I banish poorness, I teach ignorance, I treat disease, I lighten the dark, and I hate hatred. That is what I am, and that is why I have written Les Mis? rables. & # 8221 ; The book Les Mis? rables Tells of Hugo? s life, and of France in the early 1800? s while stating a narrative of alteration, struggles between categories, and justness. Hugo wanted this book to be as our authorities is for us, for the people by the people.

Victor Hugo was born in 1802 in Besancon, France. Hugo was a novelist, poet, political militant, and painter. It is because of this that Victor Hugo was a cardinal figure and leader in the Romantic motion of France in the nineteenth-century. Hugo? s male parent was a general in the Napoleonic ground forces. After schooling in France Hugo married his childhood lover in 1822. The 1840? s were a clip of political engagement for Victor Hugo. Subjects that show up in Les Mis? rables such as the unfair legal system and unfairness to the hapless were issues that he spoke up on at the Chamber of Peers. In 1848 he was active in the revolution, which gave him foremost had experience of the combat at the roadblocks which he talks about in Les Mis? rables, and spoke out against Louis Napoleon when he came into power. For talking out against Napoleon Hugo was exiled to Belgium and so Germany, during which he wrote Les Mis? rables. This book ensured Victor Hugo? s topographic point as fable, and when he returned to France in 1870 he was greeted with a hero? s welcome. ( Novels 232 ) & # 8220 ; When Les Miserables was published, it appeared at the same time in Paris, London, Budapest, Brussels, Leipzig, Madrid, Milan, and Naples, and was translated into many other languages. & # 8221 ; ( Cerisola 246 )

Les Mis? rables was one of the most influential plants of the Romantic authorship period. The romantic period was all about emotions and an person? s imaginativeness, apposed to the criterions of the Enlightenment period. ( Novels 243 ) In the 19th century, France was invariably undergoing alterations in their political relations. In 1795 Napoleon staged a Coup to catch the authorities, he was in power until 1815 when he lost the conflict of Waterloo. This is when the book Les Mis? rables starts. The last portion of the book takes topographic point in 1832 when an rebellion started over the entombment of a radical hero named Lamarque. This set the phase for us to run into the immature adult male Marius, who falls in love with Cosette. Hugo was exiled for his political beliefs, and this is when he wrote Les Mis? rables. It is an history of Hugo? s memory of Paris during the rebellion, and shows his feelings towards the political state of affairs in Paris. ( Novels 244 )

To get down, alteration. Change is an implicit in subject throughout Hugo? s book. From the beginning when Jean Valjean is forced to alter his personal beliefs, to the terminal when Marius is contending for a state to alter. In the beginning when Valjean bargains from the Bishop, he sees something he has ne’er seen before which forces him to alter, love. The Bishop of Digne shows Valjean unconditioned love, which gi

ves the chief character a new mentality on life. Because of what the Bishop did for him Jean Valjean learned to set others in forepart of himself, and puts this to action when raising Cosette. This alteration in Valjean is most present at the terminal when he saves Marius during the battles in the streets. He knows that Marius and Cosette love each other, and for this ground he saves Marius even though he himself hates Marius. The ground that Marius was on the frontlines is because he is against the political way that France is taking. He is contending to alter the state in order to do it better for his household and friends, which are portion of the middle-class in society.

Second is the battle between economic categories. The battle to win financially in the France that is talked about in Les Mis? rables is really prevailing. Valjean goes from being a inmate in a prison to having a company and being the city manager of a metropolis. The people that work in his mill are fighting to do ends meet. One worker in the mill named Fantine has a girl that is with another household and she has to pay for that household to take attention of her girl. As so many others in the metropolis she was laid away and had to happen another manner to have money. She sold her hair her dentitions, and even her organic structure in order to pay her girl? s keepers to take attention of her. This is besides the battle that Marius is contending for. The middleclass people feel that they are non good represented, and they do non like the authorities, but they are non able to alter things because of their category standing. A life and decease battle takes topographic point at the roadblocks in Paris. This is where the authorities will be changed, and the unfairnesss turned.

Last, is justness. Many times in Les Miserables there is justness, but besides unfairness. Peoples like Fantine are put in gaol after supporting herself from a adult male who was crushing her when she refused to give her organic structure to him. This unfairness was turned right when Valjean got intelligence of it. He went down to the gaol and told inspector Javert to let go of her, when Javert refused Valjean reminded him that he was the concluding jurisprudence in the metropolis and Javert will make as he says. Valjean takes Fantine back to his house and attentions for her, and she talks about another unfairness that was her being laid off from Valjean mill. So it seems as though another thing is being made right at the same clip. Valjean is caring for a former employee that had to turn to prostitution because of him firing her. Another unfairness throughout the full book is Javert? s relentless chase of Valjean, Jean Valjean even says to him, & # 8220 ; Why do you still trouble oneself me, I am a changed adult male. I work for the improvement of people now. Just go forth me alone. & # 8221 ; ( Hugo ) This unfairness is made right at the terminal of the book when Javert has Valjean in his custodies and so lets him travel. Javert ends up killing himself over the heartache of non following the jurisprudence, and traveling against everything he ever stood for.

Les Miserables has had great success in its 139 old ages. The success started the twenty-four hours it was published because it is a book written about the people by a adult male that the people respect. It is non merely the people that respect him ; other writers respect him because he was a leader of the Romantic Movement. This book will ever be a authoritative because the battles in the book will ever be.

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