Les Miserables Essay Free Essays

In Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserable’s, one character plays a part in each of the other character’s lives. Cosette, a little girl, is created to develop the rest of the â€Å"miserables† throughout the book. Fantine, Cosette’s mother, digs herself into the shameless lifestyle of prostitution and poverty, while trying to support Cosette. We will write a custom essay sample on Les Miserables Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Thenardiers become her home while her mother leaves in search for work. There, Cosette is used to clean and work. Through Cosette, the Thenardier’s are shown as they beat and punish Cosette, their â€Å"slave†. Jean Valjean uses Cosette in a different way. He takes her in as his â€Å"daughter† and finds companionship through her. Cosette is loved and cared for. As Cosette’s character develops she is passed along from a pitiful mother who cannot support her; to the Thenardier’s who beat and starve her; then, to Jean Valjean who takes Cosette in where she becomes his everything. Fantine, desperately in love with a man, Felix Tholomyes, whose feelings vary from hers, and yet she bears his child despite his fickle appearance. The illegitimate child, Cosette, is the outcome of her dying love toward him. Cosette is used to show Fantine as a â€Å"miserable. † Fantine leaves Cosette with the Thenardier’s and goes in search for a job to support Cosette. As Cosette’s character grows, she reveals how pitiful Fantine becomes. Fantine’s devotion for Cosette, a little girl who is too young to give anything back in return, exposes us to one of the themes being forced to consider throughout the book, unrequited love. â€Å"My child in not cold anymore, I dressed her in my hair. † Fantine does everything she can to work for money to support Cosette. She sacrifices her hair so that Cosette will have clothes. Without Cosette Fantine could live her life for herself. She puts all her effort into a child that she does not see and which the child does not know who she is. The child, Cosette, is a symbol of all the love and everything Fantine put into a man who gave her nothing back. Cosette’s character is used merely to show Fantine as she goes through life and through each step as she puts something into someone else, how â€Å"miserable† she becomes. As the Thenardier’s continue to send Fantine bills for Cosette’s deceptive needs, Fantine continues to find ways to get that money. She goes to every extent go the money they claim to need for Cosette. Fantine sells everything she has, and when she had nothing she sells herself. She becomes a prostitute as an alternative to earn money. The Thenardier’s use Cosette to get money from Fantine as needed. Fantine, being weak and trusting, does not know of their plans and her love for Cosette lets her fall into their scheme. The Thenardier’s take in Cosette because Fantine can’t take care of her and work at the same time. As Cosette gets older she becomes useful to the Thenardier’s. Her innocent childhood is taken away from her and she is treated like a slave. Cosette is used to clean and work around the house making stockings and other necessary things. Cosette’s character and the way she is treated show the Thenardier’s authority. The way that the two daughters of the Thenardier’s won’t play with Cosette reveals the superiority the daughters claim to have over Cosette. Cosette is different; she is small and skinny, for she doesn’t get fed as well; she is dirty and her clothes have holes, for doesn’t have the privilege of getting a bath; and she is used as help and treated as a slave. This shows the boundary that was put up between Cosette and the Thenardier girls. Cosette isn’t loved or cared for-only used. Her role plays into the plot of the book; after being beat and tortured by the evil Thenardier’s, it’s time for Cosette to be saved. Jean Valjean comes just in time to take Cosette away from these awful people. Cosette play an important role in the life of Jean Valjean. After being imprisoned for nineteen years and accused of many other crimes, Jean Valjean can’t find it in him to love or trust another human. Cosette changes that for him. When Jean Valjean first goes to the Thenardier’s and notices poor Cosette working away at knitting stockings while the other children play he connects with her. Jean Valjean then buys the stockings she is knitting and gives her permission to play. Cosette is shocked for she is never allowed to play, and Jean Valjean finds joy in watching this little girl content. When Jean Valjean takes Cosette from the Thenardiers, she becomes his â€Å"daughter. † Jean Valjean grows very attached to Cosette and learns to love and care for her. Cosette is used to show that a man in prison can change. Jean Valjean changes once Cosette enters his life. His actions become revolved around the safety and happiness of her. Jean Valjean existence is centered on Cosette. As her character is developed with him, Jean Valjean’s outgoing love for others is revealed. Having Cosette in Jean Valjean’s life, it exposes us to a changed side of him. Through, Cosette, it is showed that a man in prison can become a good man. After adopting Cosette, taking her in, loving and caring for her, Jean Valjean and Cosette’s relationship shows what a good man he has become. Cosette becomes Jean Valjean’s entity. He puts everything into her happiness. She symbolizes all he has. When she falls in love with Marius and leaves him, he has nothing. Jean Valjean’s reason for living dies and so does he. Cosette’s character moves around many times throughout the novel. She spends a portion of the book with her mother, Fantine, who could not take care of her. Cosette becomes the object of Fantine’s poverty. Their relationship also exposes us to the theme of the unfulfilled love, since Cosette cannot return Fantine’s love at such a young age. Cosette then goes to the Thenardier’s where she presents us to this evil family who beat and abuse her. When Jean Valjean takes her in, Cosette reveals a side of Jean Valjean that has not yet been exposed- his loving side. Jean Valjean loves Cosette and supports and protects her. Cosette is used in many ways throughout the novel and by many different characters. Although she never becomes a well-rounded character, she plays an important role in the development of the other characters. Cosette touches each character she comes in contact with and each in a distinct way. How to cite Les Miserables Essay, Essays Les Miserables Essay Free Essays The longest running and arguably the most powerful musical production to have ever hit the stage, Les Miserables has been seen by over 60 million people in 42 different countries across the globe. Since its opening night at the Barbican Theatre on October 8, 1985, it has captured the hearts of many as it continues to break box-office records even in its 28th year. The story revolves around an ex-convict named Jean Valjean who broke his parole and is from then on pursued by a constabulary named Inspector Javert. We will write a custom essay sample on Les Miserables Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Valjean then dedicates his life to becoming an honest man who tries to show love for people around him who are in need. Les Miserables embodies a primarily historical performance, yet certain modern elements are present as well. Historical elements are manifested through its setting of 19th Century France. The use of language, the culture of the characters, as well as the costumes and outfits are also key indicators of the historical background of the production. Yet hints of modern ideas also turn up in the form of hierarchies, authorities, and causality within the story. Such a fusion of a historical setting and modern concepts helped spur the complexity and aesthetics of the entire production. Directed by Tom Hooper and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, Les Miserables the film starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway was released in 2012. It was a revolutionary production of film fused with musical theatre as it evoked tears from audiences all around the world. However, as a film, it deviated from certain norms of musical theatre and such is evident upon comparison with the 10th Anniversary Concert of Les Miserables starring Colm Wilkinson, Lea Salonga, and Michael Ball among others. A glaring difference between the two productions lies in the spectacle. While the costumes of both productions were vibrant and candy to the eyes, the 10th Anniversary Concert provided a powerful and striking display of ensemble and orchestra that was absent in the movie. Throughout the concert, the entire cast of characters was seated somewhere around center stage, easily visible to the audience. More so, the ensemble and cast members would occasionally participate in scenes that they did not have an on-stage role in. In contrast, the movie provided a very rigid and precise depiction of scenes and characters. Only characters that played active roles during a scene were tangible to the audience’s senses. In sum, the movie provided a â€Å"what you see is what you get† type of value to the audience, thus, giving them a clear idea of what was going on and exactly how the plot was unfolding. However, the concert provided audiences with a more dynamic and holistic theatrical experience, and as a result, a more appealing form of spectacle. Both performance films had similar and contrasting means of unveiling the given circumstances for certain characters. For instance, both productions utilized the music in the confrontation scene between Valjean and Javert to uncover the character of Javert. Following that scene, there was a sense of awareness that beyond his strict adherence to his duties and to the law, Javert was born in a jail and grew up in harsh conditions. On another note, Fantine’s given circumstances in the movie were revealed not only through the music, but also through her changes in costume, hair, and make up. In the concert, her given circumstances were revealed more through conventions. As it was refreshing to watch the complex plot of Les Miserables unfold in a straightforward manner as it did in the movie, it did not leave much room for theatrical conventions. The 10th Anniversary Concert on the other hand showcased such conventions that were lacking in the movie. During the first scene of the concert, prisoners walking behind two guards around the stage signified that the prisoners were not yet free and were being led to do more slave work. In addition, the scene where men are tumbling around the stage in slow motion behind a cart imparts to the audience that they are running down the streets trying to avoid being run over and crushed by the cart. These conventions contributed to the dynamics of the concert and gave the audience a more active role in terms of performance evaluation. As an art form, Les Miserables the movie took on a very grand idea of audience as the film was released in theatres globally. With its large-scale production, such an idea proved successful for the film. In contrast, the concert’s idea of an audience was both a live audience as well as an audience who would watch the film from households due to the fact that the concert was not released on the big screen. As a performance, the concert’s organizing principles were grounded and focused on the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the staging of Les Miserables. On the other hand, the movie was organized more for the sake of publicity as well as higher profit margins. Taking a step back to glance at the front cover of the theatrical film, it is clear that the movie offers a focused and detailed depiction of Les Miserables. The given circumstances will be crystal clear and the conventions will be minimal and very straightforward. Meanwhile, the front cover of the theatrical concert reveals a dynamic set up and a large-scale stage production. Such a poster reveals production’s capacity for grand and complex theatrical conventions that could aid in the disclosing of given circumstances. In sum, both front covers are striking but the theatrical concert’s cover shows more dynamics than its subtler counterpart. In the postmodern age, where innovation and developments are abundant in the theatre, it is of utmost importance that critical questions brought up. In terms of the performances of Les Miserables, questions such as the following should be asked for optimum evaluation: What are the strengths and weaknesses of such a production? Are the musical pieces arranged in the most suiting manner? How can different art and performance forms be fused into such a production so that it can be improved? BIBLIOGRAPHY (ENDNOTES): * Patterson, Jim, Jim Hunter, Patti Gillespie, and Kenneth Cameron. The Enjoyment of Theatre. 8th ed. USA: Pearson Education, Inc. , 2011. * Verlezza, Joseph â€Å"Cabaret. † Peter Marshall: And Then She Wrote (2012): page nr. http://www. theatrereviews. com/reviews/cabaret-AndThenSheWrote. htm (accessed January 14, 2013). * Mackintosh, Cameron. â€Å"Les Miserables. † Les Miserables. http://www. lesmis. com/uk/ (accessed Feb 3, 2012). * Sweeney, Erica. â€Å"How to Write a Theatre Performance Review. † (2012): page nr. http://www. ehow. com/how_4881268_write-theatre-performance-review. html (accessed February 3, 2013) How to cite Les Miserables Essay, Essay examples