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WORK IMMERSION
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LES
MISEREBLES

Released Year: December 5. 2012

Director’s name: Thomas George Hooper
Lead Actors: Hugh jackman
Genre: Epic novel

A final requirement for the subject:

Work Immersion.

Introduction
Name: Jerry D. Quilongquilong
Les
Section: Aristotle
Miserables is a
Strand: Humss
French Novel by
Victor Hugo. In the
English world, Les
Miserables can be
translated from
the French as The Miserables, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched
Poor, or The Victims.
Les Miserables was one of Victor Hugo’s greatest works.
Some of Victor Hugo’s sources came from what happened in his life. Jean Valjean’s character is
based on the life of Eugene Francois Vidocq, an ex-convict who became a successful businessman.
Vidocq helped Hugo with his research for Claude Gueux and Le Dernier jour d’un condamne (The
Last Day of a Condemned Man). In 1828, Vidocq, already pardoned, saved one of the workers in his
paper factory by lifting a heavy cart on his shoulders as Jean Valjean does. In 1841, Hugo saved a
prostitute from arrest for assault. He used a short part of his dialogue with the police when recounting
Valjean’s rescue of Fantine in the novel.

Characterization

Jean Valjean
A convict from a poor provincial family, whose long and torturous transformation amounts to the most
significant narrative arc of the novel. The 19 years spent by Valjean in the galleys transform him from
a desperate boy into a hardened criminal—revealing, according to Hugo, the social evil of the prison
system. Valjean is then transformed by his encounter with the Bishop of D---. After he steals from a
small boy once more after that encounter, we never see him commit an evil act again. However, at
several points throughout the novel we witness Valjean in severe internal struggle with his own
conscience. He is constantly attempting to redeem himself for his past life, and one of the novel’s
major questions is whether this is possible, especially because his past life never truly leaves him. He
goes by several other names other than his own across the novel: M. Madeleine, Ultime
Fauchelevent, and M. Leblanc.

Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel
Regularly referred to as Bishop of D--, Bienvenu, the novel begins as a story about the Bishop, who is
the embodiment of goodness in the book—even as the narrator suggests that ultimate goodness is
not the same as great intelligence or even theological knowledge. By creating a religious and
specifically Christian figure as the epitome of goodness, Hugo both emphasizes his belief that God is
the way to goodness, and offers an alternative to the conception of many religious figures as corrupt
and power-hungry. The Bishop is the key to Valjean’s redemption—not necessarily in his own person
but, according to the novel, as a conduit to God’s redemption.

Cosette
Left by her mother at the Thenardier household, Cosette has a bitter, wretched childhood, one that is
transformed when Jean Valjean takes her away. Cosette is portrayed as an innocent, deeply good
person, whose main characteristics are her love for Valjean and then for Marius. As a character, she
also symbolizes one major aspect of social evil: the abandonment and misery of children.

Fantine
Cosette’s mother, a young, sweet girl from the provinces who is naïve and innocent. She falls into a
love affair with Tholomyes and is ultimately betrayed by him and left with a child. This one event ends
up causing her downfall, as she is fired from a factory when people find out about her bastard child,
and she is forced to be a prostitute in order to support herself and her daughter. The narrator portrays
Fantine as emblematic of social wretchedness, especially as it relates to women, and especially when
it results from lack of compassion in society.

Thenardier (Jondrette)
An inn-keeper at Montfermeil who takes Cosette in and then attempts to swindle Fantine by
demanding larger and larger sums of money for Cosette’s care. Thenardier is greedy, selfish,
uncaring, and generally evil. He changes little if at all over the course of the novel, as his only goal
remains attaining a fortune by any means possible (except by hard work). Thenardier is more of a
stock villain than Javert, who is a more complex antagonist.

Eponine
Thenardier’s eldest daughter, a spoiled, self-satisfied little girl at the inn in Montfermeil, but later a
desperate waif who obeys her criminal father even though it appears that in other circumstances she
could have been a morally upstanding person. Eponine will do anything for Marius, whom she’s in
love with, but this love is compromised by Eponine’s jealousy.

Javert
A police inspector who originally met Jean Valjean in the galleys, and who reemerges again and
again throughout the novel, constantly threatening to expose Valjean’s identity and cause his
downfall. Javert believes in authority and obedience to the law above all else. The law is so sacred for
him that he cannot envision any other system of morality or justice. Javert’s wholehearted devotion to
the law is portrayed in the novel as ultimately insufficient, even if it is well-intentioned.

M. Gillenormand
A jovial, somewhat ridiculous old man who lives on the Rue des Filles-du-Calvaire. Politically
reactionary, a ladies’ man, and prone to outbreaks of temper, Gillenormand is portrayed as a rather
absurd character, prone to making rambling speeches of uncertain meaning. But his love for Marius,
even though he often proves unable to show it well, redeems him in the eyes of the narrator.

Marius
The grandson of Gillenormand, who is brought up in his household. Marius is perhaps the character
that changes the most throughout the novel, shifting from a youth who parrots his grandfather’s
reactionary views to a revolutionary himself. According to the narrator, poverty actually strengthens
Marius’s character, making him devoid of greed or pride. His relationship with Cosette is the main
love story of the novel, though it has tragic dimensions in terms of how it prevents Marius from being
as forgiving as he might have been to Valjean once he learns of the latter’s past.

Magnon
One of Gillenormand’s servant-maids, who bears two of his children. Magnon gives her monthly
payments to support them. When these two children die, she takes on two of the Thenardier boys to
replace them in order to continue to receive the money without Magnon knowing any better. She
shares the money with the Thenardiers.

Georges Pontmercy
A timid, shy man who nevertheless becomes a successful colonel under Napoleon. He believes he
was “saved” by Thenardier at Waterloo, though in fact Thenardier merely was trying to rob the
corpses on the battlefield. He marries Gillenormand’s daughter and they have a son, Marius, but
Gillenormand doesn’t approve of the colonel’s politics and so prevents him from seeing his son. Only
after his death does the colonel become Marius’s hero.

Minor Characters

Madame Thenardier
Thenardier’s wife is similarly ill-intentioned, although she does seem to harbor some uncertainty
about all her husband’s criminal activity. She still obeys him in every way, however.

Azelma
Thenardier’s younger daughter.

Father Fauchelevent
A businessman in M.-sur-M., whom Valjean saves after he falls beneath the weight of his horse-cart.
Fauchelevent then repays the favor by taking Valjean and Cosette into the convent, where he later
works, and by giving Valjean his own name.

Mademoiselle Gillenormand
Gillenormand’s daughter, a middle-aged woman who never married and who lives with him. She is
pious but also scheming, attempting to get her nephew Theodule to replace Marius as the family’s
heir. She is mainly characterized as a melancholy woman whose life has largely passed her by.

Basque
Gillenormand’s male servant at the Rue des Filles-du-Calvaire.

Gavroche
Son of the Thenardiers, who becomes a street urchin who wanders around Paris, eats what he can
find, and sleeps where he can. Gavroche is a trouble-maker but ultimately kindhearted. For Hugo, he
epitomizes the essential goodness of men as it can be seen even within social desperation.

Navret
A friend of Gavroche.

Cravatte
A bandit who gives the Bishop of D--- an opportunity to reveal his lack of fear for robbers and
murderers, and instead caution against internal sin.

Mademoiselle Baptistine
The Bishop of D---’s sister, a respectable-looking spinster who is nothing but good, and obeys her
brother’s sometimes odd-seeming wishes.

Madame Magloire
The servant of the Bishop of D---, who is less thrilled about the Bishop’s desires to go without all but
the barest necessities, though she too admires him.

G---
A former member of the Convention with whom the Bishop has a troubling political conversation
before G--- dies.

Gervais
A small Savoyard boy from whom Valjean steals money—the last crime he commits.

Felix Tholomyes
A cheerful, witty, and handsome young man from the provinces, whose time in Paris is merely an
adventure. Though he impregnates Fantine, he never again thinks of her and later becomes a
wealthy provincial lawyer, thereby symbolizing the distinct expectations and trajectories for men and
women.

Listolier
A friend of Tholomyes.

Fameuil
A friend of Tholomyes.

Blancheville
A friend of Tholomyes.

Dahlia
A girl who spends a summer with Tholomyes and his gang, along with Fantine.

Zephine
A friend of Dahlia.
Favourite
A friend of Dahlia.

Madame Victurnien
A town gossip at M.-sur-M. who travels to Montfermeil and whose information about Cosette leads to
Fantine’s dismissal.

M. Bamatabois
A dandy who makes fun of Fantine when she’s working as a prostitute.
Sister Simplice
A nun who looks after Mayor Madeleine. She is known for having never told a lie.

Champmathieu
Accused of stealing apples from an orchard, Champmathieu is also identified falsely as Jean Valjean.

Chenildieu
A convict who had been with Valjean in the galleys, and falsely identifies Champmathieu.

Cochepaille
Another convict who had been with Valjean in the galleys, and falsely identifies Champmathieu.

Boulatruelle
An ex-convict who tries several times, unsuccessfully, to find out where Valjean hid his treasure in the
Montfermeil forest.

Madame Albertine
A resident of the Petit-Picpus convent, whose past love affairs serve as a source of intrigue for the
girls in the boarding school there.

Mademoiselle de Blemeur (Mother Innocente)

The prioress of the Petit-Picpus convent, known for being jovial and kindhearted.

Gribier
A grave-digger.

Madame Bourgon
Housekeeper at the Gorbeau hovel.

Theodule
Marius’s distant cousin, a handsome but haughty lieutenant.

Enjolras
A young student who’s a member of the Friends of the ABC society. He is from a wealthy family, a
handsome young man more concerned with political liberty than love affairs.

Combeferre
Enjolras’s friend and another member of the Friends of the ABC; intellectual and clever.

Prouvaire
Another member of the Friends of the ABC; a romantic.

Feuilly
Another member of the Friends of the ABC; a self-educated worker.

Bahorel
Another member of the Friends of the ABC; somewhat lazy and capricious.

Courfeyrac
Another member of the Friends of the ABC; witty and jovial, but politically committed.

Laigle de Meaux (Bossuet)

Another member of the Friends of the ABC; intelligent but always getting himself into scrapes.

Joly
A friend of Bossuet and Grantaire.

Grantaire
Another member of the Friends of the ABC; the only skeptic in the group, though he adores Enjolras.

M. Mabeuf
An old man whose sole love is botanical research, and who was responsible for Marius’s renewed
love of his father. He slowly falls into misery before being swept up in the riots of 1832.

Mother Plutarque
Mabeuf’s apartment-mate.

Claquesous, or Le Cabuc
A Parisian criminal who only emerges at night. He is part of the crowd at the barricade, shoots an
innocent man, and thereafter is shot by Enjolras.

Montparnasse
A Parisian criminal, and a kind of dandy.

Babet
A Parisian criminal, thin and thoughtless.

Gueulemer
A Parisian criminal, massive and idle.

Brujon
Another Parisian criminal.

Panchaud (Printanier, Bigrenaille)

A famous Parisian criminal.

Toussaint
The servant-maid of Valjean and Cosette in Paris.

The widow Hucheloup

Proprietress of the Corinthe tavern, the last defense of the insurgents.

Mateloup
Servant-girl at the Corinthe tavern.

Captain Fannicot
A government supporter and army commander killed at the barricade.

Brevet
A convict who falsely identifies Champmathieu as Jean Valjean, eventually causing Valjean to reveal
his identity.

Setting
The story of French peasant, Jean Valjean , is set in Paris, but the 2012 film starring Hugh Jackman ,
Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne was largely shot in England, with locations
including places such as Kettering, Somerset, Bath and Northamptonshire.

Plot

Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, 'Les Miserables' travels with prisoner-on-parole, 24601, Jean
Valjean, as he runs from the ruthless Inspector Javert on a journey beyond the barricades, at the
center of the June Rebellion. Meanwhile, the life of a working class girl with a child is at turning point
as she turns to prostitution to pay money to the evil innkeeper and his wife who look after her child,
Cosette. Valjean promises to take care of the child, eventually leads to a love triangle between
Cosette, Marius who is a student of the rebellion, and Eponine, a girl of the streets. The people sing
of their anger and Enjolras leads the students to fight upon the barricades.

Cinematography

A well-executed and powerful musical from Tom Hooper, 'Les Misérables' stood alongside 'Skyfall' as
Britain's two main entries at the 2013 Academy Awards and left with 3 Oscars. Featuring some
bravura performances from an all-star cast including Anne Hathaway (Oscar winner), Hugh Jackman
(Oscar nominated), Russell Crowe, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. Set against the
sweeping backdrop of 19th-century France, 'Les Mis' tells an enthralling and emotional story of
passion, love and redemption, accompanied by some stunning cinematography, uplifting musical
numbers and flawless direction. While it does drag on at parts, 'Les Mis' is generally an impeccably
crafted musical to be enjoyed by all.

Tone

Everyone has struggles in life, some might even say that life is “wretched”. In the book Les
Miserables by Victor Hugo, published in 1961, numerous peoples’ struggles are highlighted and
followed. Jean Valjean, our main character connects a group of people's’ hardships living in 19th
century France. The theme of Les Miserables is that throughout the toil of life you’ll still have love.
People will push themselves through endless torment for those that they love. The tone of the story
contributes to the theme by creating a sense of sadness in the times of torment in the book yet also
creating the feeling of love in the happy parts. Symbols play a key part in the theme of the book as
well, Jean Valjean’s silver that he is given by the priest symbolizes new hope and the chance of
redemption.constructing a deeper meaning of the feelings of the characters .

The tone of Les Miserables changes throughout the book, it starts our very dim. In the beginning after
Jean Valjean is set free from the galleys, he is not allowed a room in the Inn. He showed his yellow
card and was immediately denied a room. “‘I am at an inn. I am hungry, and I shall stay.’ The host
bent his ear ,…show more content…

The barricade symbolizes the hope and strength Marius and his friends staging the rebellion against
the French Government. “These men, want, tattered, and exhausted, who had not eaten for twenty-
four hours, who had not slept, who had but a few more shots to fire, who felt their pockets empty of
cartridges, nearly all wounded, their heads or arms bound with smutty and blackened cloth, with holes
in their coats whence the blood was flowing, scarcely armed with worthless muskets and with old
hacked swords, became Titans.

Music and Sound

Look Down
Written by Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Alain Boublil Performed by Daniel
Huttlestone, Eddie Redmayne, Killian Donnelly, Fra Fee, Aaron Tveit & Chorus

Do You Hear The People Sing?

Written by Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Alain Boublil Performed by Hugh
Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne Samantha Barks,Aaron Tveit, George Blagden, Killian
Donnelly, Fra Fee, Gabriel Vick, Hugh Skinner, Stuart Neal , Alistair Brammer, Iwan Lewis, Daniel
Huttlestone and chorus

On Parole
Written by Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Alain Boublil Performed by Hugh
Jackman and Colm Wilkinson

Beggars At The Feast

Written by Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Alain Boublil Performed by Sacha Baron
Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter

Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven

Written by Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Alain Boublil Performed by Colm
Wilkinson

Valjean's Soliloquy
Written by Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Alain Boublil Performed by Hugh
Jackman

Turning
Written by Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Alain Boublil Performed by Linzi Hateley
Gemma Wardle, Gina Beck, Katie Hall, Lisa Hull, Andrea Deck, Jessica Duncan, Kerry Ingram,
Sophie Hutchinson, Ella Hunt, Claire Machin, Brenda Moore, Mischa Purnell and Annette Yeo

At the End of the Day

Written by Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Alain Boublil Performed by Anne
Hathaway , Michael Jibson , Kate Fleetwood , Hannah Waddingham , Hugh Jackman, Richard
Bremmer, Alexander Brooks, Eleanor Bruce, Emma Dukes, Stephen Matthews, Peter Saracen,
Sebastian Sykes, Phil Zimmerman, Bessie Carter, Helen Cotterill, Tricia Deighton, Mandy Holliday,
Charlotte Hope, Jackie Marks, Sara Pelosi, Mary Roscoe, Amelia Scaramucci and Caroline Sheen

Acting

Hugh Jackman, Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway star in this critically-
acclaimed adaptation of the epic musical phenomenon. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century
France, Les Misérables tells the story of ex-prisoner Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), hunted for
decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Russell Crowe), after he breaks parole. When Valjean
agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Anne Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives
change forever. This enthralling story is a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit and
"an unforgettable experience" (Richard Roeper, RichardRoeper.com).

Body or Summary
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo, is an epic historical novel that, though titled Les Miserables, which
translates to "The Miserable [People]," is also a story about undying love set largely against the
backdrop of the June Rebellion, also known as the Paris Uprising of 1832. The book begins in 1815,
following Napoleon's defeat by the British at Waterloo. A man named Jean Valjean has just been
paroled from prison following an extended sentence that he received for stealing bread. Before
Valjean leaves the prison, Javert—one of the guards—warns him against breaking his parole. But
Valjean cannot find work as a prisoner, and after being taken in for a night by Bishop Myriel and
resorting to theft again in order to survive, he is granted a second chance. He abandons his parole
and becomes an upstanding member of society—and a mayor—under a new name, Monsieur
Madeleine.

Meanwhile, Fantine—a factory worker who is trying to save money to care for her daughter Cosette—
is fired. The factory where she worked belongs to Valjean, and it’s his foreman who puts Fantine out
on the street. Fantine sells everything in her possession, including her hair, her teeth, and her body in
order to pay for Cosette, who lives in Paris with an innkeeper named Thendardier, and his wife.
Fantine gets into trouble with Inspector Javert—the same man who has been looking for the convict
Valjean ever since he broke parole. Javert intends to arrest Fantine, who is by that time quite sick.
Upon discovering that Fantine has sunk to this state after being fired from his factory, Valjean seeks
to redeem her. At the same time, Valjean must be wary of Javert, who has already indicated that he
suspects Valjean may be the convict he seeks.

Meanwhile, a man named Champmathieu, who resembles Valjean, is accused of his crime and
arrested. Valjean finds out about this from Javert, and spends the night in torment over whether to let
an innocent man go to prison for him. Ultimately, he decides that he must confess, and does just that.
However, before Javert can arrest him, Valjean escapes, with his conscience now clear regarding
Champmathieu. He is still riddled with guilt about Fantine, though, and so, after finding out where
Cosette is, and after Fantine’s death, he travels to Paris to save the little girl. The Thenardiers treat
her like a slave. After rescuing Cosette, Valjean brings her to the convent of Petit-Picpus, where they
live happily for five years, Valjean raising Cosette as his daughter but never revealing his past to her.

Analysis and Evaluation

The epic novel “Les Miserables” was created by Hugo for thirty years. The French writer put two
strictly opposite images of his era, the convict and the righteous, in the basis of the plot, not in order
to show their moral difference, but in order to unite them into the single essence of Man. Hugo wrote
his novel intermittently. In the beginning, the plot twists and turns of the work were created, then it
became overgrown with historical chapters.

The main goal of the “Les Miserables” French writer saw showing the way, which passes as a
separate person, and the whole society “from evil to good, from wrong to just, from lies to truth. The
starting point is matter, the final point is the soul. ” The central connecting image of the novel –
convict Jean Valjean – embodies the inner realization of this idea.

The most “rejected” hero of the work goes through a difficult path of moral formation, which began for
him with an unexpected meeting with the righteous Bishop of Dinh – seventy-five-year-old Charles
Miriel. The pious old man was the first person who did not turn away from Jean Valjean, learning
about his past, sheltered in his house, treated as an equal, and not only forgive the theft of silverware,
but also presented two silver candlesticks, asking to use them with for the poor. In the hardened labor
and constant injustice of the convict’s soul, an internal revolution took place, leading him to the first
step of moral formation – he began to lead an honest and pious way of life, taking up industrial
production and taking care of his workers.

The second turning point in the fate of Jean Valjean was the case of Champmathieu. Rescuing a
person unknown to him from hard labor and revealing incognito was given to the hero by hard internal
struggle – Jean Valjean suffered all night long thinking about whether he should risk the well-being of
the whole region for the sake of the life of one person, and whether it will be testify of his excessive
pride. To meet the fate of the hero is sent, without taking any decision. He speaks his name at the
court hearing, having seen in Champmathieu a common, close-minded old man who has no idea
about what is happening around him.

 Is the director’s style effective, hard to perceive, engaging, and/or powerful?

- removes the complexity of building, training, and deploying machine learning models at any
scale.
 Did the director achieve set goals?
-Goals and objectives have to cover all of the areas the executive director is responsible for,
not just operations or the bottom line.
 How can we evaluate the overall impression from the movie (did you find it dull, engaging, fun,
moving?)
-Movie
 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the movie, are the author’s arguments convincing?
-Les Miserables‘s greatest strengths are also its greatest weakness in Tom Hooper’s muscular
film adaptation of the classic 1862 Victor Hugo novel and eventual stage musical.
Extraordinarily well-acted, often gorgeously shot, and finely sung, Les Miserables suffers under
the weight of its own power in the latter half of an overly-long film.

Conclusion

Les Miserables, first published in 1862 is the story of Jean Valjean, a man who was imprisoned for
nineteen years after stealing bread to feed his sister’s starving family. When he is released from
prison he finds himself on the run from an unforgiving police inspector Javert. The pursuit becomes
Les Miserables ‘ central conflict as Valjean struggles between staying true to himself or committing
crimes to survive and protect others. Les Miserables explores three themes: forgiveness, self-
sacrifice, and courage.

Recommendation

Overall, reading this book has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as a reader. It
is definitely an investment, but I was glad that I made it. I feel as if I have a deeper understanding of
what it means to be human and for the Gospel for having read it. The characters feel like old friends
now (I mean can you blame me, I spent seven months with them!). If you haven’t been exposed to
the story of Les Mis, I would definitely suggest getting into it. You’ll be glad you did
Documentation