Premium Essay

Les Miserables (Reaction Paper)

In: English and Literature

Submitted By CDJB
Words 538
Pages 3
Les Misérables ,as defined by Wikipedia, is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables follows the story of former prisoner Jean Valjean who, after being released from the watchful eye of police officer Javert is unable to find work because of his status as an ex-convict. He eventually steals from a local church, but when apprehended, the priest claims that Valjean was given the valuables. This triggers a change in Valjean, and he constructs a new identity for himself as a pillar of society and a local businessman. Years later, he adopts a young girl named Cosette, whose mother Fantine, a former employee of his, became a prostitute and died a horrible death in the gutters after being fired. As the years progress and the French Revolution begins to foment, a grown Cosette falls for a passionate revolutionary named Marius, while Javert begins to close in again on Valjean's secret past.

Les Miserables, as I’ve thought, was just another movie about revolution and rebellion. But I was completely dumbfounded when I saw the twist and turn of events. At first I found the movie a bit strange and queer, mainly because of the portrayal of the character’s lines through singing but, nevertheless, it made the whole story more enticing and interesting especially as the story develops. The movie made me growl internally upon watching the suffering of the characters from social and political injustice. I was also moved by the sacrifices that each character gave just to pursue their belief that change or reform must be done in the French social structure. I was also amazed by the will that Jean Valjean has to continue with his life despite the hardships that he has been through

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Les Miserables Reaction Paper

...Les Miserables (Reaction Paper) Les Miserables or The Miserable Ones is a musical movie based on the novel of Victor Hugo. It is a story about the hardship, love, sacrifice, humanity, laws, broken dreams, and also the darkest parts of French history during the revolution in 18th century. This movie focusing on the struggles and experiences of redemption of Jean Valjean. The movie begins in 1815 in Digne,France, when Jean Valjean released from 19 years imprisonment for stealing a loaf of bread just to feed his sister’s seven starving children, and gave him a parole but he breaks it that makes the ruthless policeman Javert hunted him. Because of being a former convict, the people around him rejected him until he met the Bishop Myriel who helped and encourage him to have a faith in God and to change as a better man. After six years hiding, he becomes a wealthy factory owner in Paris and one of his employees is Fantine. Fantine is a single mother who will do anything in order to support her daughter. She sell her hair, become a prostitute and even her dreams are broken. Valjean helped Fantine to see her daughter and take her to the hospital but later she was die happily when she saw her daughter. Later, he met Cosette, a young girl who is abusing and maltreating by Monsieur and Madame Thenardier. So, Valjean adopts her. After 8 years, Cosette grows into a beautiful woman where Marius falls in love with her. While Eponine, a young daughter of Monsieur and M. Thenardier who was...

Words: 1340 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Music Term Paper

...Musical Experience You must either attend a live concert, watch a video or television performance, listen to an entire CD or watch a musical movie. You must only use something from this quarter for this assignment (not a concert you saw in another quarter). You may choose any type of music for this paper. Requirements for this Assignment: fill in the boxes below. Describe the Concert Setting and media (Video, CD, DVD, Live Performance): Grease | Date of concert, place of concert, name of group, programs provided, program notes provided, spoken remarks, include the names of all the selections: Date of Concert: June 16, 1978Place of Concert: United StatesName of Group: Grease CastProgram provided: DVDAny Spoken remarks: Various Movie QuotesNames of ALL the Selections you listened to: "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing""Grease" – Frankie Valli"Alma Mater""Summer Nights" – Danny, Sandy, Pink Ladies and T-Birds"Rydell Fight Song" – Rydell Marching Band"Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" – Rizzo and Pink Ladies"Alma Mater Parody" – T-Birds"Hopelessly Devoted to You" – Sandy"Greased Lightnin'" – Danny and T-Birds"La Bamba" – Ritchie Valens"It's Raining on Prom Night" – Cindy Bullens"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" – Jerry Lee Lewis"Beauty School Dropout" – Teen Angel and Female Angels"Rock n' Roll Party Queen" – Louis St. Louis"Rock n' Roll Is Here to Stay" – Johnny Casino and the Gamblers"Those Magic Changes" – Johnny Casino and the Gamblers; Danny sings along onscreen"Tears...

Words: 854 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Scars of War

...The Scars of War Lou Hampton United States History 1763-1877 September 18, 2012 During the 1840s and 1850s, great change was coming to America. Northerners lived in a world of change in which they hardly understood. Their confusions and anxieties of that world made them ready for conflict. However, it was not completely clear what they were fighting for. The war wiped away their confusions and revealed to them where they stood and defined what kind of people they might be. Social and economic changes were happening as the North headed toward war. The economy accelerated, increased output, generated more wealth, moved products and people at faster speeds, transmitted information more rapidly and linked distant places by rail, telegraph and newspapers. New inventions, industries and products had sprung to life. The population multiplied six fold and the amount and size of cities were continuing their growth. There were 400 places with over 2,500 people. Swelling its possibilities, the nation expanded in size when in 1845 Texas joined the Union. Another factor in the nation’s growth was in 1846 when the Oregon territorial boundary was settled. The sudden economic growth was not as beneficial as it seemed. Per capita wealth was growing but there was a decline in actual wages. The North controlled about 92 percent of the wealth. This helped fuel sectionalism because the Southerners became afraid that they would lose their own culture and power in Congress. This...

Words: 3044 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Interpretation of Dreams

...The Interpretation of Dreams Sigmund Freud (1900) PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION Wheras there was a space of nine years between the first and second editions of this book, the need of a third edition was apparent when little more than a year had elapsed. I ought to be gratified by this change; but if I was unwilling previously to attribute the neglect of my work to its small value, I cannot take the interest which is now making its appearance as proof of its quality. The advance of scientific knowledge has not left The Interpretation of Dreams untouched. When I wrote this book in 1899 there was as yet no "sexual theory," and the analysis of the more complicated forms of the psychoneuroses was still in its infancy. The interpretation of dreams was intended as an expedient to facilitate the psychological analysis of the neuroses; but since then a profounder understanding of the neuroses has contributed towards the comprehension of the dream. The doctrine of dream-interpretation itself has evolved in a direction which was insufficiently emphasized in the first edition of this book. From my own experience, and the works of Stekel and other writers, [1] I have since learned to appreciate more accurately the significance of symbolism in dreams (or rather, in unconscious thought). In the course of years, a mass of data has accumulated which demands consideration. I have endeavored to deal with these innovations by interpolations in the text and footnotes. If these additions do...

Words: 226702 - Pages: 907

Free Essay

Cry More Voluntarily

...Dear Alice, For the last year or so, I haven't been able to cry anymore. And when I do, absolutely no tears come out. My eyes just water up, but there are no tears. Is this normal? Should I be worried? —Confused Dear Confused, Crying as an emotional response (rather than to clear out debris and moisten the eyes) is a uniquely human phenomenon. Some evolutionary biologists think this function developed as a distress call of sorts. Human beings can "fake" all other emotions, but crying is more likely to be reflective of genuine emotion. Tears often stimulate a nurturing response in others, which, for a creature as socially interdependent as people are, can be a key to survival. Tears are also necessary for the lubrication and nourishment of our eyes, and they protect our eyes from infection. So what's going on when someone can't cry? There are a few possible explanations. You mentioned that your eyes water up, but there are no tears. It’s possible that your tears are evaporating too fast. Environmental conditions like smoke, wind, and dry climates can make tears evaporate more quickly than normal. When a person isn’t producing enough tears or has poor quality tears, he or she may be suffering from dry eye syndrome. This condition, known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, can be the result of many factors. Experiencing dry eyes is actually a natural part of the aging process and most people over 65 show signs of dry eye syndrome at some point. Women are more likely to develop dry...

Words: 5727 - Pages: 23

Free Essay

Camping vs Hotels

...he 1964 world première of “Mary Poppins” was held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and it was the kind of spectacle for which the Disney organization had become famous. Throngs of screaming fans were greeted by Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Snow White and the dwarfs, as well as by entertainers who gestured toward the movie’s Edwardian setting: a twelve-piece pearly band, chimney-sweep dancers, valets dressed as bobbies, and a bevy of pretty Disneyland hostesses, whose traditional uniforms (kilts and black velvet riding helmets) suggested a general Englishness. Hollywood luminaries arrived in chauffeured automobiles, the women in ball gowns and mink stoles (Angie Dickinson, Maureen O’Hara, Suzanne Pleshette), the men wearing dinner jackets (Edward G. Robinson, Cesar Romero, Buddy Ebsen). The arrival of the movie’s principals aroused muted excitement: Julie Andrews, who played Mary Poppins, had never appeared in a movie before, and Dick Van Dyke—the chimney sweep Bert—became much better known after the film’s release. Then Walt Disney himself arrived, stepping out of a stretch limousine and gallantly reaching a hand into the car to help his wife, Lillian, onto the pavement. Disney was by then immensely famous, appearing on his own television show every Sunday night. He had carefully engineered his entrance: when his car pulled up, the Disney characters mobbed it, and soon afterward clouds of balloons were released into the air. Inside the packed twelve-hundred-seat theatre...

Words: 5628 - Pages: 23

Free Essay

Frnch Grammer

...grammerFrench Grammar and Usage French Grammar and Usage Second edition Roger Hawkins Senior Lecturer in Language and Linguistics, University of Essex Richard Towell Professor of French Applied Linguistics, University of Salford NATIVE SPEAKER CONSULTANT Marie-Noëlle Lamy Senior Lecturer, Open University A member of the Hodder Headline Group LONDON Contents Guide for the user Glossary of key grammatical terms Acknowledgements Acknowledgements for the second edition xi xiv xx xxi 1 Nouns 1.1 Types of noun 1.2 Gender 1.3 Number 2 Determiners 2.1 Articles 2.2 Typical use of the definite article 2.3 Typical use of the indefinite article 2.4 The partitive article: du, de l', de la, des 2.5 Use of indefinite and partitive articles after the negative forms ne... pas, ne... jamais, ne... plus, ne... guère 2.6 Omission of the article 2.7 Demonstrative determiners 2.8 Possessive determiners 3 Personal and impersonal pronouns 3.1 Subject pronouns 3.2 Object pronouns 3.3 Stressed pronouns 3.4 Demonstrative pronouns 3.5 Possessive pronouns 4 Adjectives 4.1 Adjectives modifying the noun 4.2 Adjectives which follow verbs or verbal expressions 4.3 Adjectives with complements 4.4 Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements 4.5 Adjectives used as nouns 4.6 Adjectives used as adverbs 4.7 Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives 4.8 Plural forms of adjectives 4.9 Adjective agreement with nouns 1 1 5 17 23 23 24 29 32 33 34 37 39 40 40 53 71 75...

Words: 184852 - Pages: 740

Premium Essay

Frankenstein

...Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Key facts full title ·  Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus author · Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley type of work · Novel genre · Gothic science fiction language · English time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 date of first publication · January 1, 1818 publisher · Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor. climax · The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza on the night of her wedding to Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 23 protagonist · Victor Frankenstein antagonist · Frankenstein’s monster setting (time) · Eighteenth century setting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt; England and Scotland; the northern ice point of view · The point of view shifts with the narration, from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein’s monster, then back to Walton, with a few digressions in the form of letters from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein. falling action · After the murder of Elizabeth Lavenza, when Victor Frankenstein chases the monster to the northern ice, is rescued by Robert Walton, narrates his story, and dies tense · Past foreshadowing · Ubiquitous—throughout...

Words: 51140 - Pages: 205

Free Essay

Learning Material

...ARTS TEACHERS’ GUIDE Grade 9 ARTS Teacher’s Guide Unit I WESTERN CLASSICAL ART TRADITIONS GRADE 9 Unit 1 ARTS TEACHERS’ GUIDE GRADE 9 Unit 1 WESTERN CLASSICAL ART TRADITIONS LEARNING AREA STANDARD The learner demonstrates an understanding of basic concepts and processes in music and art through appreciation, analysis and performance for his/her self-development, celebration of his/her Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and expansion of his/her world vision. key - stage STANDARD The learner demonstrates understanding of salient features of music and arts of the Philippines and the world, through appreciation, analysis, and performance, for self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. grade level STANDARD The learner demonstrates understanding of salient features of Western music and the arts from different historical periods, through appreciation, analysis, and performance for self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. CONTENT STANDARDs The Learner:  demonstrates understanding of art elements and processes by synthesizing and applying prior knowledge and skills  demonstrates understanding that the arts are integral to the development of organizations, spiritual belief, historical events, scientific discoveries, natural disasters/ occurrences and other external phenomenon ...

Words: 32535 - Pages: 131

Premium Essay

301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview

...301 BEST QUESTIONS TO ASK ON YOUR INTERVIEW SECOND EDITION JOHN KADOR New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto Copyright © 2010 by John Kador. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-0-07-174128-6 MHID: 0-07-174128-3 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-173888-0, MHID: 0-07-173888-6. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps. McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a representative please e-mail us at bulsales@mcgrawhill.com. TERMS OF USE This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of...

Words: 59943 - Pages: 240

Free Essay

Knjnjokn

...NOTES ON PERSONAL LANGUAGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE John Whelpton The reminiscences and reflections collected here cover almost six decades of language learning, from childhood in Nottingham, where I was born in 1950, through study at Oxford (1968-72), teaching English in Nepal (1972-74), working as a civil servant in London (1975-81), graduate studies and teacher training in London, Nepal, India and Manchester (1981-87) to the last twenty-two years when I have been teaching English in Hong Kong but paying regular return visits to the UK and to Nepal. I began the compilation early in 1997, when I was teaching only part-time and occupied mainly with an intensive course in Cantonese and with work for an M.A. in Applied Linguistics. At the suggestion of my course director, Professor David Nunan, I had decided that my M.A.dissertation would be a diary study of my efforts with Cantonese and I needed a summary of my previous language learning experience as part of the exercise as well as for incorporation, in condensed form, in the eventual dissertation (completed in September 1998). I included any language which I had been formally taught for any length of time and also any others which I had worked at on my own over long periods, but not those which I occasionally looked at just out of linguistic interest or to learn a few phrases for short holiday trips. Earlier drafts were circulated to friends and colleagues...

Words: 16202 - Pages: 65

Free Essay

As It Goes

...Contents Preface to the First Edition Introduction Part 1. Thought Control: The Case of the Middle East Part 2. Middle East Terrorism and the American Ideological System Part 3. Libya in U.S. Demonology Part 4. The U.S. Role in the Middle East Part 5. International Terrorism: Image and Reality Part 6. The World after September 11 Part 7. U.S./Israel-Palestine Notes Preface to the First Edition (1986) St. Augustine tells the story of a pirate captured by Alexander the Great, who asked him "how he dares molest the sea." "How dare you molest the whole world?" the pirate replied: "Because I do it with a little ship only, I am called a thief; you, doing it with a great navy, are called an Emperor." The pirate's answer was "elegant and excellent," St. Augustine relates. It captures with some accuracy the current relations between the United States and various minor actors on the stage of international terrorism: Libya, factions of the PLO, and others. More generally, St. Augustine's tale illuminates the meaning of the concept of international terrorism in contemporary Western usage, and reaches to the heart of the frenzy over selected incidents of terrorism currently being orchestrated, with supreme cynicism, as a cover for Western violence. The term "terrorism" came into use at the end of the eighteenth century, primarily to refer to violent acts of governments designed to ensure popular submission. That concept plainly is of little benefit to the practitioners of state terrorism...

Words: 93777 - Pages: 376

Free Essay

Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli

...CONTE NTS Introduction 1 WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT CEMETERIES: Survivorship Bias 2 DOES HARVARD MAKE YOU SMARTER?: Swimmer’s Body Illusion 3 WHY YOU SEE SHAPES IN THE CLOUDS: Clustering Illusion 4 IF 50 MILLION PEOPLE SAY SOMETHING FOOLISH, IT IS STILL FOOLISH: Social Proof 5 WHY YOU SHOULD FORGET THE PAST: Sunk Cost Fallacy 6 DON’T ACCEPT FREE DRINKS: Reciprocity 7 BEWARE THE ‘SPECIAL CASE’: Confirmation Bias (Part 1) 8 MURDER YOUR DARLINGS: Confirmation Bias (Part 2) 9 DON’T BOW TO AUTHORITY: Authority Bias 10 LEAVE YOUR SUPERMODEL FRIENDS AT HOME: Contrast Effect 11 WHY WE PREFER A WRONG MAP TO NO MAP AT ALL: Availability Bias 12 WHY ‘NO PAIN, NO GAIN’ SHOULD SET ALARM BELLS RINGING: The It’llGet-Worse-Before-It-Gets-Better Fallacy 13 EVEN TRUE STORIES ARE FAIRYTALES: Story Bias 14 WHY YOU SHOULD KEEP A DIARY: Hindsight Bias 15 WHY YOU SYSTEMATICALLY OVERESTIMATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES: Overconfidence Effect 16 DON’T TAKE NEWS ANCHORS SERIOUSLY: Chauffeur Knowledge 17 YOU CONTROL LESS THAN YOU THINK: Illusion of Control 18 NEVER PAY YOUR LAWYER BY THE HOUR: Incentive Super-Response Tendency 19 THE DUBIOUS EFFICACY OF DOCTORS, CONSULTANTS AND PSYCHOTHERAPISTS: Regression to Mean 20 NEVER JUDGE A DECISION BY ITS OUTCOME: Outcome Bias 21 LESS IS MORE: The Paradox of Choice 22 YOU LIKE ME, YOU REALLY REALLY LIKE ME: Liking Bias 23 DON’T CLING TO THINGS: Endowment Effect 24 THE INEVITABILITY OF UNLIKELY Events: Coincidence 25 THE CALAMITY OF CONFORMITY: Groupthink 26 WHY...

Words: 75018 - Pages: 301

Premium Essay

Ceo Advertising Company

...GROW RICH WHILE YOU SLEEP by Ben Sweetland Published by Melvin Powers ILSHIRE BOOK COMPANY 2015 Sherman Road No. Hollywood, California 91605 Telephone: (213) 875-1711 © 1962 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or any portions thereof, in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 62-16321 Printed in the United States of America 36560-T Wilshire Book Company edition is published by special arrangement with Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs. N. J. ISBN 0-87980-038-0 Printed by HAL LEIGHTON PRINTING COMPANY P.O. Box 3952 North Hollywood, California91605 Telephone: (213) 983-1105 GROW RICH WHILE YOU SLEEP By Ben Sweetland 95% of all human problems stem from a negative mind. This figure includes such traits as timidity, domestic discord, business failure, bad memory, tenseness, unhappiness, worry, etc. You can do something about it... while you sleep! You are a mind with a body attached, not a body with a mind attached! Realize this and you are on your way to self-mastery. This is the new approach to the Conscious Mind through the other level that never sleeps, the Creative Mind. What you will discover is priceless! This book shows how to use the deepest thinking part of you, while you sleep, to get whatever you want out of life . . . money, personal influence, love, respect and admiration. At will, you can direct your Creative Mind to assist...

Words: 72480 - Pages: 290

Premium Essay

Orient Express

...Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Agatha Christie is the world’s best known mystery writer. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in 44 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her writing career spanned more than half a century, during which she wrote 79 novels and short story collections, as well as 14 plays, one of which, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in history. Two of the characters she created, the brilliant little Belgian Hercule Poirot and the irrepressible and relentless Miss Marple, went on to become world-famous detectives. Both have been widely dramatized in feature films and made-for-TV movies. Agatha Christie also wrote six romantic novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. As well, she wrote four nonfiction books including an autobiography and an entertaining account of the many expeditions she shared with her archaeologist husband Sir Max Mallowan. Agatha Christie died in 1976. 1 Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS HarperPaperbacks by Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY POSTERN OF FATE CROOKED HOUSE ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE THE CLOCKS Coming Soon THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS POIROT INVESTIGATES THE MIRROR CRACK’D ENDLESS NIGHT BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS MURDER WITH MIRRORS FUNERALS ARE FATAL...

Words: 61250 - Pages: 245