blog




  • Essay / Comparison between the life of struggle and comfort

    Les Miserables is a story of redemption, forgiveness, charity, salvation and moral obligation. The main character, Jean Valjean, enters the novel as a thief, having spent nineteen years in prison. This second chance is given to him by Mr. Myriel, a prominent bishop, who offers Jean Valjean food and lodging, and in doing so, he paves the way for Jean Valjean to live a life of financial prosperity and renewed spiritual faith . Jean Valjean pretends to be Mr. Madeleine in this pure and natural life but soon finds himself faced with a dilemma. Jean Valjean must choose “stay in paradise and become a demon!” or “enter hell and become an angel” (p. 84)! Through this conflict, Hugo offers two types of life: the life of a wealthy, well-off man with few moral obligations and the life of a struggling, but ultimately virtuous, convict. Through this conflict, Hugo expresses Jean Valjean's inner turmoil and his ultimate choice to exchange material comfort for moral comfort and selfishness for altruism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”. '?Get the original essayIn this paradise where Jean Valjean lives, he takes on the role of Mr. Madeleine, a prosperous mayor, who brings wealth to the entire region over which he governs. He is very generous towards the poor, has good things. conscious, and always seems calm. One day Fauchelevent, an old man, falls under his cart and cannot get out and risks his life so that this old man also saves Fantine. from prison. Javert condemns her for defending herself against someone who was taunting her because of her appearance. Despite all these acts of kindness, Jean Valjean has done little to reconcile the real moral and legal dilemmas of his life, and eventually they begin. reappear. The deeds he performs are true to his benevolent nature, but they almost also seem to be recompense to the world for the evils he has committed. The problem is that, according to the laws of society, the only way to right one's wrong is to allow oneself to be punished and treated like a criminal. Worse still, he became a devil by integrating into the society he had denounced years before. He says at the beginning of the book: "If it were not scandalous that society treated with such rigid precision those of its members who were the most poorly endowed in the distribution of wealth that chance had made, and who were therefore most worthy of indulgence. . These questions asked and resolved, he condemned society and condemned it" (21). He denounces the upper class, who took advantage of those who were already in dire situations, but years later he became this that he condemned to his hatred The disparity between the image he conveys and his reality provokes a great conflict in him and leads him to reevaluate his choices. The moment when Jean Valjean's world becomes hell is precisely. the moment when he becomes salvation for Javert, was then Javert's moment in paradise, (113) Hugo writes, while the inspector believes that he has triumphed over evil. While Javert becomes a devil in paradise, Jean Valjean. becomes an angel in hell The world that Jean Valjean emerges into is a far cry from M. Madeleine's comfortable existence. However, despite the tragedy surrounding him, this choice is better for Jean Valjean, and he is able to make amends. the true wrongs of his life After saving Champmathieu, the first act he performs is to save Cosette from the Thénardiers, and in return, this act gives him something he has never known before: love. The description of Cosette as he first finds her is terrible; the Thendardiers almost killed her. However, Jean Valjean offers to take him and behaves for a second,.