Les Miserables-the Tale that has it all by Joshua

Les Miserables-the Tale that has it all by Joshua - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

To be or not to be, a story worth telling, a bridge worth creating, and lesson in waiting. If you want a story that has it all, then look no further than the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Actually, even if you do not want to read it, you should because it is truly a motivating and influential story, perfect for high school students.

The novel takes place in France in the early 1800s, which was not necessarily the best of places to be seeing how there were revolutions going on during this time. In fact, it was such a poor time that a person could even end up going to jail for a few years for mere petty theft, such as stealing a loaf of bread, which is what the main character, Jean Valjean, did. However, Valjean numerous escape attempts made it so that his sentence was increased to 17 years, but when he finally gets out he runs into a bishop that completely changes his life. However, Valjean’s dedication to start leading a holy life did not undertake immediately as he fell back into the life of thievery a couple more times. On the other hand, once he became a pure man, he was the purest of all men as he was willing to give up his identity for the safety of another man and he saved an orphaned child from captivity to raise her as his own. In the end, this man was willing to bear the weight of everyone’s sins just to ensure the safety of this child, a child who started off shy from abuse to become more bashful due to the love given to her by Valjean. Additionally, the other main character Marius, the man who stole the young orphan’s heart, had a fair share of trials of his own as he tried to embrace the world by himself while living up to his dead father’s misguided wishes.

However, not all is joyous in this sad tale as Valjean is constantly being pursued all over Paris by the ex-convict Javert, who is now the chief of police. This man, who is now intent on pursuing justice to make up for his crimes, relies too much on the law and does not pardon Valjean for his petty crimes until he himself was saved by Valjean. Essentially, these two men are like two old friends/enemies, like Magneto and Charles Xavier from X-Man.

Moreover, there is the greedy Thenardier family, whom were the ones that abused the orphaned child, Cosette, before Valjean came and saved her. Since that time, Thenardier has been participating in many illegal underground activities that end up interfering with the protagonists.

Ultimately, Les Misérables is a tale that expertly shows the impact of a person’s actions and reflects upon a person’s sense of virtue or morality. This brilliant novel also creates characters who grow with the reader’s expectations and then makes unexpected turn of events. Thus, this story, while it may be fictional, feels very realistic at the same time, causing the novel to be filled with numerous moments where self-revaluation is required (making it perfect for purpose-seeking high school students).