Les Miserables

Victor Hugo's Preface:

So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation

pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century---the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of woman through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light—are unsolved; so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world;—in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use. 

Reflection:

My thoughts on Victor Hugo’s preface are that he somehow managed to adequately and efficiently capture the message, meaning, and main theme of Les Miserables into one sentence before he even wrote the book, and I find that fascinating. He defends the poor and unfortunate while making society look bad and fills the reader with sympathy for the lives of the Miserables. But then again, are those people really the Miserables? Or is society?

Examples from Les Miserables:

The problems displayed in Victor Hugo's preface are shown in many places all throughout the course of the book. One example is that Jean Valjean stole a loaf of bread to feed his sister and her seven starving children. He is put in prison and continually tries to escape so that he can return to the family and take care of them- giving him nineteen years. After being released her is no longer himself, but has been overtaken by a monster- emotionless, careless and selfish. Even when he breaks that, the yellow passport still calls him dangerous and society rejects him. 

My Preface:

So long as there shall exist, by way of society’s expectations, discouraged people encountering life’s daily struggles, creating comatose cyborgs, in addition to the means of survival; so long as life’s three greatest problems—stress of every day’s struggles, the need to live up to the media’s standards, and the unattainable pursuit of happiness—cannot be grasped and held under one’s control; so long as humanity continues to plunge deeper into its dissatisfaction; —and with a still wider significance, so long as these people need just one small moment of circumvention, delicious, rich, comforting desserts will not fail to be of use.  

Book Project Option

Create a conversation between a character and a reporter in an interview or between a character and a psychiatrist.

Psychiatrist: Hi Ponyboy. Sit down. How has your week been?

Ponyboy: Well, I went to school, and I did my homework with only a little bit of arguing with Darry, and I ate chocolate cake for breakfast only three days this week because Soda used all the chocolate for his milk. I read Gone with the Wind for the fourth time, and I had a little run-in with the Socs, but nothing big. My teacher passed me with a C, so I still can have a decent chance at college. Darry did only a little bit of yelling about this. I slept in the bed with Soda instead of the empty lot this week, and I didn't have that one dream. And, well, I guess that’s about it.

Psychiatrist: What about smoking?

Ponyboy: Four packs a day, about.

Psychiatrist: Do you know what smoking does to you, Ponyboy?

Ponyboy: Well of course I do, it gets you all messed up on the inside. But I’m already pretty messed up all around, and the only thing it ever does is make everything feel good again, so I think its pretty okay. Darry doesn't like it. Soda doesn't mind. Everybody does it though. It’s kind of like eating or walking, you just do it without a second thought. That’s how it is around us greasers. We've all been smoking since we were young.

Psychiatrist: I recall that you said you were different from them, that you had a chance.

Ponyboy: Well of course I do, I do well in school.

Psychiatrist: There’s more to getting along in life than just doing well in school, Ponyboy.

Ponyboy: I know that, but here’s how I see it: one day I’ll be like Darry, all hard working and stiff and caring a heck of a lot more than necessary about every little thing. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it just doesn't seem very desirable. So right now while I don’t have any real responsibilities, I want to enjoy my freedom and do what I want. Maybe a couple smokes and some chocolate cake is just the way I say that I still have that freedom.

Psychiatrist: Okay, we’ll talk about that later…tell me about your relationship with Darry.

Ponyboy: Well, ever since I figured out that he really does love me a lot, a kind of gave him a break about yelling at me, because I know he’s just doing it out of care. And he yells a lot less now. I guess maybe he figured out he should be a little less hard on me.  And he still whips up a chocolate cake whenever we've eaten it all, so I can’t be too picky.

Psychiatrist: And what about Soda?

Ponyboy: Oh me and Soda are just swell. I stop by the gas station on the way home from school now, because Darry doesn't ever want me walking alone. I buy a coke and a candy bar and play around with Soda and the girls he picks up until his shift is over, and then we drive home. Darry always has a nice meal cooking when we get there. Me and Soda talk about everything with each other, and I listen to his problems now too, because I know that he has them just like everyone else. And every night before we doze off we open the window and look at the stars for a while, because star gazing is the best way to stay gold. I want to stay gold for Johnnycake.

Psychiatrist: You sound like you’re very happy now, Ponyboy.

Ponyboy: Well I am. I figured there’s no use staying sad about the guys who died because that’s not what they would want. They’d want me to eat chocolate cake and fool around and smoke and act tough and tuff just like we used to. So that’s just what I’ll do.

Psychiatrist: I’m glad you have an optimistic look on life again. I’m afraid your session is over, I’ll see you next week, Ponyboy.

Ponyboy: Okay.

Psychiatrist: Oh, one more thing.

Ponyboy: Yes?

Psychiatrist: Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold. 

Dense Question

Text: How has William discovered his identity and purpose through his experiences, failures, and achievements in his life? 
Other World or Lit: How is William’s discovery of himself different from Equality’s discovery of himself? How are they the same?
Reader: What is an experience in your life that helped to shape your identity? Was it a positive or negative experience, and how did it effect you?

       William’s unfortunate circumstances throughout the book such as the famine and him not being able to go to school helped to shape his identity and purpose because he was forced to discover new things on his own and be inventive. Because of the famine, William could not afford to go to school, so he went to the library where he read the books about electricity which inspired and gave him the knowledge to create the windmill. This then led to the trials of other inventions like alternative heat and radio transmitters. He did these things to help make life easier and more comfortable for his family and the people in his immediate community, and helped him to realize how much he liked to do for others. His identity became his selflessness and his giving heart, and his purpose was to help others.

       William discovered himself through helping other people and that gave him satisfaction and happiness. Equality discovered his identity through the realization that he was a lone human and he could accomplish things on his own that no one else could; his discovery was internal and self-directed. However, the discoveries of oneself were the same because the two characters both had obstacles they had to overcome and inventions that they made that ultimately led to their discoveries of identity.

       My identity has been shaped through a handful of situations throughout the past few years. Some of them being positive experiences, and a little more being negative. It seems that identity is shaped the most when one is faced with obstacles, as was the case with me. I now am more mature, more outgoing, more cautious, less boring, more caring, and I have more common sense. I guess you could say that in order for someone to grow, mature, and discover who they are, they have to experience life first, in all its glory and tragedy. 

Advanced Research Topic

Is Anthem a realistic portrayal of life in a totalitarian society? Compare the fictionalized society in Anthem to a real dictatorship, past or present. Some options are Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Cuba, China, Cambodia, etc.

            In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, Equality 7-2521 lives in a corrupt oppressive society where every single aspect of life is controlled by the government—otherwise known as the Council—through a structured, organized, and slowly-progressing, selfless society. Each person is not a person, but a brother to one another, and there is no individual, there is only a body representing a whole. Everything is done selflessly for the good of the brothers to unite and create a perfect utopia.

This is an idea derived directly from real-life circumstances through which the author lived. She was born in 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia—directly into one of the country’s most tumultuous periods. She endured the overthrow of power, the Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution which caused much distress to her family; they were lowered to poverty in order to be equal with all others who were in unfortunate financial circumstances. Finally, when Josef Stalin came into power, she had had enough and escaped the country completely (Life of Ayn Rand, 1).

The life of Ayn Rand and the life of Equality 7-2521 mirror the long stretched and current political situations in North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. North Korea is one of the most secluded countries in the world—only because it wants to be. In 1972, the country, under rule of Kim Il Sung, adopted the idea of Marxism-Leninism—an extreme nationalism committed to the pursuit of economic and cultural self-sufficiency (Credo Reference, 2). To achieve this, most everyone must be relatively equal to one another and must work together in their collective society.

The native North Koreans have grown up to be essentially brainwashed, and their lives are almost parallel to that of Equality and his brothers. They consider their leaders immortal “gods”, and treat them accordingly, calling them “Great Leader” and “Dear Leader” (Credo Reference, 1-2), and never considering disobedience or rebellion. The children are taught songs and anthems to sing in school that reflect a positive outlook on their country. Only very important people are allowed to live in the country’s capitol, and everyone else resides in small, poverty-stricken, rural villages scattered about. A Korean citizen retires at age 60, no matter the physical condition. And the country has a closely monitored closed-system of information exchange; Internet, television, and any other information based media is limited only to what the government feels is appropriate for its citizens to see. These are just some examples, and because North Korea is the most secretive country in the world, there are probably many more things that we do not know (NK Notes, 1).

North Korea is stubborn in the sense that it tries to function on its own and refuses help from other countries; it wants to survive independently as if the rest of the world didn't even exist (Credo Reference, 1-2) . This shows the same kind of society Equality lived in, in which it took care of itself and no one knew anything of what lay outside its confines. These societies are strict, orderly, and introverted and frankly don’t care at all what goes on in the rest of the world so long as it doesn't affect their society. Anthem is a very realistic portrayal of life in a totalitarianism society today. These are undesirable circumstances and hopefully one day they can be eliminated altogether in order to allow for the freedom and individual purpose that every human being was born with the right to have.

Works Cited

"The Life Of Ayn Rand." The Life of Ayn Rand. The Atlas Society, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.  <http://www.atlassociety.org/life-biography-of-ayn-rand>.

"Topic Page:." North Korea. Credo Reference, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.  <http://www.credoreference.com/topic/north_korea>.

“North Korea Video Notes.” Civics and Economics. Sept. 2012

Creative Writing Assignment for Anthem

Rewrite the meeting between Equality and Liberty from her perspective.
Anthem, by Ayn Rand—Chapter 2

Every day when we went out to work in the fields, a brother would watch us. We did not know what to think of this, for brothers never looked upon us. This brother kept his eyes upon us as we worked in the field, and we pretended not to notice.

After many days of this, we came close to the hedge where this brother was, and we turned to them. They were striking. Taller and stronger than any other brother, with eyes like fire but also like ice, we stood aghast amongst their beauty and did not move. But we stared too long, and were embarrassed, so we turned and walked away from them.

The following day we met this brother again, and today we smiled. They smiled back at us. We were overwhelmed with joy, and we threw our body back toward the sky who had always been our friend. We turned once more over our shoulder and gazed upon them. They were different.

Every morning thereafter, we met this way but did not speak but with our eyes. What would come of us if we had? Execution certainly. But oh, we wanted to hear their voice just once. If even anyone had seen us as we raised our hand to our forehead and moved it in accordance with them, they would not have thought a thing of it. But can one survive off of gestures of the hand? This mysterious brother we know nothing of, yet we know them more than any other human being, and we feel something towards them that we feel towards no other. We do not know though what this feeling is. Women should not think of men, nor men of women, yet we find ourselves always thinking of this brother and their beauty. They are not like the others.

This day was monumental. We were kneeling along a moat that runs through the field and all the other women were far off. We saw them there by the hedge and rose and came toward them. As we were entranced by them, we were startled—but still—as they said to us, “You are beautiful, Liberty 5-3000.”

They knew our name, and they thought us beautiful! But what could we say? We had never spoken toward man, certainly not a man like this man, and we were afraid. “What is your name?” Oh, how stupid of us! What a thing to ask. They had just told us we were beautiful, and all we ask is a name.

“Equality 7-2521,” they answered.

“You are not one of our brothers, Equality 7-2521, for we do not wish you to be.” What were these words we had just uttered to this being? Not even do we understand what we meant by them.

“No, nor are you one of our sisters.” Yet they understood what we meant.

“If you see us among women, will you look upon us?”

“We shall look upon you, Liberty 5-3000, if we see you among all the women of the earth.”

“Are the Street Sweepers sent to different parts of the City or do they always work in the same places?” We were curious to know if they would look upon us every day thereafter.

“They always work in the same places, and no one will take this road away from us.” Joy filled our soul.

“Your eyes,” we said, “are not like the eyes of any among men.”

They replied, “How old are you?”

And we felt ashamed. “Seventeen,” we whispered. We smiled sadly, for we knew what they thought, and then we retreated.

            That night we lie in our clean white room with one hundred beds and we ponder at the ceiling of the whereabouts of this brother, who in our thoughts is the Unconquered, for we know that nothing can conquer them. We wish only to speak to them again—and again, and again, and again. 

Anthem Post

Why is love forbidden in this society? What do you think caused the leaders to reprimand love?

The goal of this society is only one simple thing: do everything for the good of others and of the whole. Everything must be aimed away from the individual. No one should do anything for themselves; that would be selfish, and would only help that one person. This society believes that if anything should ever work properly and orderly and in harmony, it must be done wholeheartedly for their brothers. If one’s heart is longing for another more than for their brothers, all of their work will be aimed toward that love, and not the society. 

It is not proper in this society to love any one person more than another. There are no best friends or acquaintances or the hated, there are just brothers. Love opens a door from soul to soul, a relationship that is stronger than any other, and that one person becomes the only important thing. Love is a feeling curled up inside oneself, that is both selfish and selfless—but only for the other soul that it belongs to. 

Love believes in freedom, in spreading its wings and flying away from anything that ever contradicted it. Those feelings can stir up new feelings which can lead to the introduction of the thought of rebellion against the orderly robotic society. Love is natural and intangible and flexible and free. Love is the opposite of society; they are enemies. Love is all about the individual. This is why love was reprimanded; society was scared of it. 

Literary Writing Prompts: Les Misérables

Writers often highlight the values of a culture/society by using characters who are alienated from that culture/society due to gender/race/class/creed. Choose a play or novel in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character’s alienation reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions/moral values.

In the book Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Jean Valjean, an ex-convict, was just trying to get through his unfortunate life. Nineteen years he was in prison, for one measly little act of unselfish desperation; Valjean attempted to steal a loaf of bread from a bakery to feed his sister and her seven starving children. Finally, he was set free, but his past was like a cloud always hanging over him. Valjean’s yellow passport was the only way people knew who he was, but that passport was always inquired wherever he went. Society recoiled from him, and he felt eternally dejected.

This alienation was what shaped Jean Valjean throughout his life. He always had to pretend he was someone else for people to actually accept him. When seen as a convict, Valjean was thrown out of taverns and rejected from restaurants. He was a homeless, helpless wanderer detested by society. But by change of name and establishment of himself, he became a very loved and successful man, the most generous and kind-hearted anyone knew.

This act shows one simple thing: the judgemental, subjective mind of society. Referring to society in a whole, as one single body, it jumps to conclusions about the way things look or appear to be. Naturally, one would retract from a ragged old convict and be drawn toward this wealthy, charitable man. But they are the same person; it’s all in the way things appear to be. Don’t judge a book by its cover? Don’t judge a man by his dress.

Choose a complex/important character in a novel/play of recognized literary merit who might be considered evil or immoral. Explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might.

Jean Valjean, in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, as first perceived seemed to be the bad guy: he stole bread from a baker, he stole silver from a bishop, he stole money from a child. But as Valjean evolved and grew and developed as a character, he only wanted to run from that life. It was his past, he longed for his future – a new future, to escape from his darkness. He flourished into an implausibly generous and forgiving man, beyond the extent of the average man. Nevertheless he could never fully escape his murky past.

Javert, the police inspector, caused the most trouble for Jean Valjean. From the very beginning in the galleys at Toulon, Javert had been a guard, and upon Valjean’s numerous efforts of escape, Javert had grown to loathe him. Upon discharge of the galleys, with still a cloudy mind, Valjean inconsequently fell back into his old ways. Evidently, Javert was right on top of this. As Valjean’s life progressed, Inspector Javert seemed to be part of the police force in every town Jean Valjean hid in; he continued to hunt Valjean down, even after becoming a clean new man. Disguised name or not, Javert knew his face anywhere, and the endless game of hide and seek kept Valjean on his toes.

As the reader, we begin to sympathize for poor Jean Valjean. Everywhere he went, he started a new life for himself, and everywhere he went, his past tracked him down. Jean Valjean redeemed himself time and time again: he rescued an old man from underneath a fallen carriage, he took in and raised poor frozen Cosette – an orphan servant of but eight years old – and he saved the life of Marius Pontmercy – Cosette’s subsequent lover –who Valjean looked upon only with hatred. We, the readers, love Jean Valjean, for he is a good man with only a regrettable past.