Blake-Les+Miserables

|| = __Les Misérables__ by Victor Hugo = = =

Victor Hugo was born on February 26, 1802 in Besançon, France. He had his mother, father, and two older brothers. In his teens, Hugo became interested in poetry and was recognized for his poems at age fifteen by the French Academy. Victor-Marie Hugo published Miscellaneous Odes and Verses, which was his first poetry book, in 1822. His first novel, published in 1823, was __Hans of__ __Ic____elan____d__. His play, “Cromwell,” is published in 1827, another play ( “Hernani”) in 1830, and “the Hunchback of Notre Dame” in 1831. He had many other works too, but there are too many to name. Les Misérables was published in 1862. Victor Hugo died on May 22, 1885.

= = =<--The Book Cover = = Plot Synopsis: =

Les Misérables is set in time before the French Revolution, and the last part of the book is set during the French Revolution. In the beginning of __Les Misérables__, we are introduced to the bishop Myriel. Monsieur Myriel lives with his sister Mademoiselle Baptistine and the femme de chambre (chambermaid), Madame Magloire. One day, a lone traveler enters the town of D-- on foot and is pointed towards the Bishop's door. The Bishop lets the traveler in, gives him food, water, and a bed to sleep in. Jean Valjean, as Hugo tells us, is an ex-convict who is running away from the galleys. "Jean Valjean was brought before the tribunals of the time for "burglary at night, in an inhabited house." He was found guilty..." (Hugo 21). Bishop Myriel is the key to Jean Valjean turning from his former ways. Next, Fantine is seen talking to Madame Thénardier. Fantine is a poor, unmarried woman with an illegitimate child whom she names Cosette. She asks the Thénardiers to take care of Cosette for her. They agree, and Fantine goes on her way without Cosette, and plans to return for her in the future. Hugo shows his audience how Cosette was mistreated by the Thénardiers. "So long as Cosette was very small, she was the scapegoat of the two other children; as soon as she began to grow a little, that is to say, before she was five years old, she became the servant of the house" (Hugo 48). Fantine is able to get a job at a factory run by Monsieur Madeleine, the mayor of the town she goes to. As she runs low on money, she starts to sacrifice more and more, and finally becomes a prostitute to support Cosette because the Thénardiers are greedy. One night she gets in a fight with a man and is arrested by the police inspecter, Javert. Monsieur Madeleine gets her out of jail and takes her to his house where she becomes ill. When Madeleine sends for Cosette, the Thénardiers will not let her go. Javert tells Monsieur Madeleine that a man whom he calls Jean Valjean is going on trial because someone had caught him. Madeleine is secretly disturbed by this, and leaves for the court. Monsieur Madeleine confesses that he is Jean Valjean during a court session because he could not let someone else go to the galleys for him. When Jean Valjean/Monsieur Madeleine returns home, Fantine is not well. Upon seeing Javert, Fantine goes into fits and dies without seeing her daughter again. Madeleine/Valjean is taken to the galleys. While working on a ship, he is seen to plungle into the sea. They pronounce him drowned even though they cannot find his body. Valjean's first thought is to fectch Cosette, which he does. She regards him as a hero for saving her from the Thénardiess, as she calls Madame Thénardier, and for buying her a doll she had always admired. Together, Jean Valjean and Cosette travel to Paris where he finds a job as a gardener and she goes to school at a convent. She calls him "Father" and thinks of him as her father. Meanwhile, a young man named Marius is going about life in a rather serious, but dream-like way. He becomes interested in the father he never knew, and leaves his grandfather's home because their opinions are so different. Marius sees Cosette when she is about 16 years old, and falls madly in love with her. "‘You love me then?’ She answered in a voice so low that it was no more than a breath which could scarcely be heard: ‘Hush! You know it!’ And she hid her blushing head in the bosom of the proud and intoxicated young man" (Hugo 369).

=Criticism: =

__Les Misérables__ is a book about finding yourself, and about making your life be for a better purpose. It is about taking a bad situation and making it better in the end. This book belongs in the outstanding book lists because of its content. It belongs there because it shows the reader a good example of how someone can change their life for the better after being in such a horrible situation. This book includes a large glossary in the back of the book for words, or names, that are not familiar to people. Also, the glossary contains some French words that were not translated for different reasons. I did like the book, it was an very well written piece of literature, however, I do think that it needed more emotion. Jean Valjean's feelings were, for the most part, left to be inferred by the reader. __Les Misérables__ needs more emotional appeal to connect with its audience. Also, the book had a lot of information that was rather useless and lengthy, which made it rather boring. All of the unnecessary information, and unnecessary chapters, made it hard to get through. It was something I would recommend to someone to read, it was a good book with a good plot, and good values as well.  ||
 * || =Works Cited: =

Brantley, Margaret. __Les Misérables supplementary materials__. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2005. Hugo, Victor. __Les Misérables.__ New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 2005. [] (picture)

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