Colleen Kadowaki
Molyneaux
English-B
15 May 2015
The Miserable Ones
In
Victor Hugo’s Les Miseables, the
title literally translates to "The Miserable Ones." These miserable
people are “very depraved, very corrupt, very vile, [and] very hateful” (205).
Each character in this novel has baggage that they are carrying around which
makes them fall under this category, and many characters are orphans who are
alone and lost. Jean Valjean, the central character to which this book is
about, has a hard life in the beginning. He loses his family and walks around
towns just trying to find a place to call home for the night. Time and time
again, he is rejected until the bishop takes him in and gives him a place for
the night. Cosette has a similar situation however she never knows her family.
Even though her mother wants a better life for her, she cannot help but feel a
sense of abandonment. The Thénardiers certainly never
treated her like family for “the dog and cat were her messmates. Cosette ate
with them under the table in a wooden dish” (46). Cosette grows up an orphan
and the only time she feels she has a family, is with Jean Valjean. Jean takes
Cosette in as his daughter and “he [is] the support of this child, and this
child [is] his prop and staff” (125). This novel is not about how life has no
light at the end of the tunnel, this novel is a story showing that happiness is
possible without all the material things in life.
I love your last statement about how happiness is possible without all the material things in life. I think happiness is truly achieved when you have a loving relationship with someone. Jean Valjean and Cosette found happiness within eac hother.
ReplyDeleteMarius is another character who carried baggage. His entire childhood he was lied to about his father. When he finally learns the truth, Marius runs away to live on his own. He has to take care of his own burdens by himself. Eventually he finds Cosette, and their lives are filled with happiness because they have each other.
Les Miserables is about overcoming terrible life events to prosper as a person.
I like how you showed the relation between the different characters and the misery they went through. Cosette and Jean Valjean share a similar story of growing up as orphans. The both lost their families but once they found each other they had a new family. Therefore, although the book is literally titled, The Miserable Ones, the characters find ways to get out of that misery. They do this by helping eachother. Jean Valjean, Cosette, and Marius all help to make each other happy and like you said this happiness was achieved without all the material things that usually come with life.
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