Les Miserables Degradation of Man

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The Degradation of Man Many people can remember being thought less of because of some reason. It might be because they are young, or it might be because they are short. This kind of degradation is clearly shown by many characters in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. Many of the characters are prevented from grasping their full potential while others have to work hard for it. The characters that show this degradation the most are Jean Val Jean, Champmathieu, and Fantine. Jean Val Jean begins life as a lower class individual where he has to take care of a large family. He steals bread to help feed his family and was caught. Jean Val Jean went to prison or the next twenty years even though he was stealing only to support his family. When he came out of prison he had doubts about his innocence in the matter and was convinced that he was indeed a convict. “Under the whip, under the chain, in the cell...he recognized that he was not an innocent man, unjustly punished” (Hugo 23). Later in his life Jean Val Jean does overcome this and turns out to be a huge benefactor for his community, giving to the poor and providing many jobs. This however is done only with great resistance from society, as they do not accept convicts as normal people. Jean Val Jean had to conceal his identity in order to help people. “To save from punishment perhaps a little to severe...must an entire country be let go to ruin” (Hugo 92). Once at a noble position, if Jean Val Jean revealed himself as a convict he would surely be punished. Another character that is degraded by society is Champmathieu. Champmathieu is arrested for a crime that he did not commit. Despite his innocence he is taken to trial, because someone must be punished. “The counsel established that the theft of the apples was not in fact proved” (Hugo 108). Champmathieu is not only wrongly accused of stealing apples, he is also
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