Les Misérables

Introduction

Victor-Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 — 22 May 1885) was a French bard, novelist, playwright, essayist, visual creative person, statesman, human rights campaigner, and possibly the most influential exponent of the loving action in France. In France, Hugo's literary status rests on his poetic and spectacular output. Among numerous volumes of verse, Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles stand especially high in critical esteem, and Hugo is occasionally recognised as the utmost French poet. In the English-speaking world his best-known works are often the books Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris (sometimes converted into English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). Though exceedingly cautious in his youth, Hugo moved to the political left as the decades passed; he became a passionate supporter of republicanism, and his work feels upon most of the political and social matters and creative tendencies of his time.

Thesis Paragraph

Les Miserables is an epic musical saga of Jean Valjean and his long excursion to salvation. He is issued on parole after 19 years on the string of links gang, for robbing a loaf of bread. Valjean, unknowingly bargains for his soul with a saintly bishop and spends the rest of his life trying to do good in order to repay him.

Discussion

The Inspector Javert continues to relentlessly pursue Valjean even though he is trying to start anew. He has become the mayor of Montreuil and the manager of a factory. Meanwhile, one of his workers, Fantine, is the mother of an illegitimate daughter, Cosette. Cosette is living with the Thenardiers, an innkeeper, his wife, and their own daughter, Eponine. Fantine is fired from the factory after word of her daughter gets out and a series of other incidents. She becomes a prostitute and asks Valjean, while on her deathbed, to care for Cosette.

Valjean adopts Cosette and they move to Paris where Cosette meets and falls in love with Marius, a student, with whom Eponine is also in love. The students barricade the streets of Paris and the rebellion begins. As the insurrection continues, Javert has been captured in the students camp as a spy, Eponine is killed, and Valjean has joined the students and drags an injured Marius into the sewers to save him. (Starzomski, 56)

The students desire to kill Javert, but Valjean prevents this from happening. Javert, beside himself for being saved by the man of whom he was in pursuit, kills himself by throwing himself into the Seine River. Years subsequent, on his deathbed, Valjean confesses to Marius that he kept him. Now, having paid for his sins, he can die peacefully. Marius and Cosette eventually marry and Valjean dies. Upon his death, the ghosts of Eponine, Fantine, and others who have died before him, meet. Leaving us on an optimistic note, the belief that good, will always prevail: Even the darkest night will end/And the sun will rise.

Les Miserables is one of the great works of contemporary theater, filled with beautiful music, memorable characters, and brilliant, but not overpowering, scenic effects. The music is ...