Les Miserable And Heroes Essay, Research Paper

Les Miserables: Jean Valjean Jean Valjean was an alluring hero of Les Miserables

for many reasons, one of which was his drastic conversion from a miserable

criminal into a heroic, peaceful man. Jean Valjean seems like a three

dimensional character at first. But deep inside his emotions he shows a defined

viewpoint on life making him a flat character. One of the most compassionate

things he did was guarding Cossette and treating her as if she were his own

daughter. He is the main character, therefore there would essentially be no plot

without him. His several journeys span across a length of twenty years. He is an

extremely strong man. Sometimes his strength was a burden put upon him. His

charisma and superhuman qualities make his character a figment of romanticism.

Valjean was born a decent human being. Unfortunately he was born into poverty,

which forced him to steal in order to survive. After getting caught stealing a

loaf of bread he was imprisoned. A few years later he is caught after escaping,

he is then sent to the galleys for 19 years. He later escapes from there to goto

a town where he was not wanted. Still a criminal he steals some silverware from

a kind priest who gave him shelter. When caught, the police ask the priest if

Jean stole the silverware. To everyone’s surprise the priest said it was a gift

this started his conversion toward a good life. After this he tried to live a

peaceful life. He sta rted a new factory in a new town employing several. Then a

man in a city nearby was arrested under the name Jean Valjean. Jean was faced

with a tough choice. Rather than letting the other man take the wrap for him, he

chose to admit his identity to save the innocent man. Later, he rescued Cossette

from her harsh life with the Thenardiers. He acted as her father while she grew

up. Throughout these years. Jean was faced with obstacles that made him choose

between right and wrong. He always chose the right path. From this Jean

expressed that he only saw right and wrong, black and white, which made him two

dimensional. His life was lead one way, his personality proved to respond one

way, and his relevance to the story was set out in one way. This way was the way

that things were done justly in his mind. His relevence to the entire structure

of the story set aside from being the main character was crucial. He was

portrayed as both the hero and the miserable.