LES MISERABLE

            He gets closer and closer to the bakery as he travels through the shadowy alleyway. As

the moonlight reflects off the glass, he thinks of his sister and the children she's been struggling

to feed. He is in a precarious position, his conscience in turmoil. He is provoked by the bread,

which is mouthwatering and alluring, and as a result, he shatters the glass with a violent sweep.

Does the fact that stealing bread to feed one's family excuse stealing? In the passionate book Les

Miserables written by Victor Hugo, the protagonist Jean Valjean's deeds lead to his

incarceration, where he remains morally bewildered. Despite the fact that his climb from poverty

and confession demonstrate Valjean's capacity to repair his conscience on his own.

The renaissance of Jean Valjean as Father Madeleine and his heroic deeds illustrate his

ascent from a life of abject poverty and his efforts to win back his soul. At the beginning of the

book, Valjean is shown to be a social vagrant and is said to have just been freed from prison.

Following his rejection at a number of inns, he seeks sanctuary with a bishop. When Valjean is

pardoned by the Bishop for stealing two silver candlesticks, the Bishop uses this opportunity to

teach him compassion and forgiveness. "Father Madeleine hired everyone; he had only one

criterion, and that was, 'Be an honest man!' 'Be and honest lady!'" (40). In this section of the

story, the profound lessons of the bishop have an impact on Jean Valjean, who is working hard to

be honest. This changes his outlook. The transformation of Jean Valjean into Father Madeleine is

a significant event that represents a turning point in the plot of the book and symbolizes the

protagonist's attempt to rid himself of the taint of his dark past. Valjean, in his newly discovered

personality, travels across the city spreading the virtues that the bishop taught him. After putting

the past in the rearview mirror, he is looking to establish himself as a respected member of
society. "As we have seen, this guy was the one to whom the nation owed a great lot, and the

poor owed him everything" (41).