Round Character Essay - Jean Valjean

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Many famous works are labeled as such because of the characters they have to offer. Therefore, proper use of character development is greatly necessary for the work to be a success. In Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, Jean Valjean is labeled as the hero of the story for many different reasons, one of which is the drastic transformation from a convicted criminal to a loving father figure. Valjean was born in a small town, sometime in 1769, and was orphaned as a young child. He grew up as a street urchin until he was old enough to secure a job to support himself, his sister, and her seven children. When the winter came, Valjean’s pay was not enough to sustain his family and he was forced to resort to thievery. He was caught stealing a loaf of bread and sentenced to five years in prison, which is then lengthened by Valjean’s numerous escape attempts. At the end of his nineteen-year imprisonment, Valjean is released and is told that he is forevermore on parole and any refusal to report will result in his immediate arrest. Disregarding the warning, Valjean skips his parole meeting and disappears for several years, finally resurfacing in 1815 under the alias of Monsieur Madeleine. Valjean (Madeleine), now mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer, while walking by the boardwalk, meets a young prostitute named Fantine and saves her from being arrested. Realizing that she is sick, Valjean takes her to the chapel infirmary and watches over her for the night. Fantine, realizing that she is going to die, asks Valjean to retrieve her daughter, Cosette, from an innkeeper. After a run-in with a lawman, Valjean evades the police and travels to find Cosette. Arriving at the inn, Valjean discovers that the innkeeper and his wife have been mistreating Cosette in favor of their own two daughters. He tries to take Cosette, but the greedy innkeeper, Monsieur Thénardier, refuses, stating that Cosette

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