Caitlin
Cook
Molyneaux
Honors
English-B
17
April 2015
Character Change
Jean Valjean experiences a drastic
character change in the first part of the novel. He leaves the prison still
being a thief, unwanted in any town. One of his first nights out of jail, a
bishop offers him food and a bed when no one else would. That night, he wakes
up and steals “the basket of silver” from the bishop(30). Later, when Jean is
caught with the silver, he is brought back to the bishop and is surprisingly
freed due to the bishops kindness, and got to keep the silver. This is when the
first step to becoming an honest man began, because he started to understand
right from wrong.
A young boy named Petit Gervais
triggers his next step in the right direction. The boy dropped his money and
Jean picked it up telling the boy to “get out” and refusing to return the money
to the boy (35). After the boy left he realizes his cruel action and tries to
give the money back but is not able to find the boy. This leaves Jean feeling
sorry and helps to change him into an honest man.
After this incident he becomes known
as Father Madeleine and becomes the mayor of M--- sur M---. He hides who he was
from the people in the town but constantly gives to the poor turning into an
honest man. Then, he does something that truly makes him an honest man. When
someone else is being charged for his crimes he turns himself in to the judge
telling him to “order his arrest”(90). Therefore, in part one of Les Misérables,
Jean transforms into an honest man.
I agree the Jean Valjean's past affects his change in character. Before Jean Valjean meets the Bishop he is just a convict coming out from nineteen years in the gallery, but the Bishop changes that. A little bit of kindness from the Bishop goes a long way in Jean's new life. The Bishop teaches him the difference beween right and wrong, and with this knowledge Jean Valjean is able to change his old ways and turn into Father Madeleine and the Mayor of M--- sur M---. Father Madeleine is an honest giving man who is willing to risk his lives for others.He shows that he is willing to risk his life multiple times. One example is when he rushes into a fire to save two children. One more example is when Father Madelein saves Father Fauchelevent, a non supporter of hime being mayor. He is willing to risk his life even for people who don't believe in him.
ReplyDeleteI would give this blog post a 23 out of 25. I would give it a 23 because the quotes in this blog weren't the best. The quotes were often just two to three words, and they didn't really go into detail about the subject. Overall this blog was good being the first one and it had many positive things. Next time I would just pick better quotes and give more detail.
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