Lee 1 Critical Reading Response Chris Lee Mrs.

Roche Honors English 10 Period 1 February 10 2013 Reading Response #2

I.

Author/Introduction

Victor Hugo is a French poet and writer. He is one of the best known French writers. He was also a passionate supporter of republicanism and his works often touched upon the political and social problems of his day. His most famous books are Les Misrables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The book, Les Misrables, is about an ex-convict who is trying to redeem himself from his crimes and how he survives after the French Revolution. II. Vocabulary

Capote- A long cloak Cuirassier- An armored horse soldier Threadbare- cloth which is becoming worn out with age. III. Explication- Summary/ Paraphrase

In the beginning of this book, Jean Valjean saves the life of man and then falls off the boat and is proclaimed dead because a body was never discovered but what actually happened was that Jean Valjean had run away. And then the story shifts to Cosette who lives with the Thnardiers and shows the horrible abuse they are inflicting upon her and is using her basically as a slave. Then Valjean who had run away comes to find Cosette as a promise to Fantine goes and buys Cosette from the Thnardiers for about 1500 francs and leaves with Cosette. Then Valjean and Cosette go live somewhere else, when Valjean sees Javert who was after him and then leaves where him and cosette were staying. They eventually get away from Javert and run into a man named

Lee 2 Fauchelevent, whose life Valjean had saved and finds Valjean a job and a place to stay. Valjean eventually just hides inside the convent of Petit-Picpus. And through a lot of trickery, evneutally Valjean is hired by the convent and allows Cosette to enroll at the school at the convent. IV. Literary Analysis

Through the supposed death of Jean Valjean, it sort of shows his rebirth of as a new man and how many different times, he is shown to do things for his honor which was not present earlier in his life, where he stole things on a whim. Jean Valjean also saves a mans life while others were not even willing to try showing his significant change from the past. And other things like Cosettes mistreatment almost like a dog is so degrading and is similar to how Jean Valjean used to live and the change in her life is almost as radical as Jean Valjeans change in his life. V. Language Analysis

Imagery is used as a way to describe things that can be described to us and envisioned within our mind through words. The author says things like the Light of the fire, which was shining upon her, made her bones stand out and rendered her thinness fearfully visible. (Hugo 162). This shows the full image of a skinny girl who is mistreated and abused by her parents. And throughout the book, Hugo uses imagery as tool to show that things that we can only see with the words on a page. VI. Critique

Jean Valjean throughout the book so far has changed greatly, as before he only acted for himself and stole anything and everything shamelessly. His change is evident by his action where he, had asked permission to save the topmans life at the risk of his own (Hugo 145). I can see how a man can change a lot like this and how a man can see his faults and change through their own conscience. Even I have changed through many painful things and the mercy of others.

Lee 3 Works Cited Page 1. Hugo, Victor, and Margaret Brantley. Les . New York: Pocket, 2005. Print.