Macedonio1 Roxer Macedonio Dr. Griffin English 12 11 April 2014 Why Is Les Miserables Still Useful?

What is it that gives our life value? Love is what gives value to the characters of Les Miserables. In contrast, the meaning of Javerts life was his job while Eponines was Marius from jealousy or JeanValjeans with Cosette making him happy. The meaning of Javerts life is enforcing the law. In the text Javert says, It was useless to struggle, he was reduced to confess before his own inner tribunal the sublimity of this wretch (Hugo 336). As a result, capturing Jean Valjean is something that keeps him going in life. Javert let Jean Valjean go which made what he did meaningless. Once he felt like it was meaningless he killed himself because he had nothing else to live for. The meaning of Javerts life was the love of capturing Jean Valjean. The value of Eponines life was the love for Marius, which made her jealous. In the text Eponine says, We have seen what she did there. She died with tragic joy of jealous hearts which drag the being they love into death with them, saying: nobody shall have him! (Hugo 292). This leads toward the conclusion that the value of Eponines life was Marius. If she couldnt have him no one could. Eponine devised a plan to have Marius die with her, so Cosette couldnt have him. This shows Eponine was jealous of Cosette and Marius because Eponine loved Marius. The value of Jean Valjeans life was love from Cosette to make him happy. In the text Jean Valjean says There is scarcely anything else in the world but that: to love one another (Hugo

Macedonio2 398,399). This discovery greatly strengthens the fact that Jean Valjean had Cosette and by having her, she was his world. If Jean Valjean didnt have Cosette he would have been dead because he had nothing to live for. This shows the love between Cosette and Jean Valjean gave value in Jean Valjeans life. All of these examples all show that when you love something it can either ruin a person or help a person in life.

Works Citied Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. Trans. James K. Robinson. New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 1969. Print. 1. It was useless to struggle, he was reduced to confess before his own inner tribunal the sublimity of this wretch (Hugo 336). 2. We have seen what she did there. She died with tragic joy of jealous hearts which drag the being they love into death with them, saying: nobody shall have him! (Hugo 292). 3. There is scarcely anything else in the world but that: to love one another (Hugo 398,399).