Jean Valjean was an alluring hero of Les Miserables for many reasons, one of which was
his drastic conversion from a miserable criminal into a heroic, peaceful man. Jean
Valjean seems like a three dimensional character at first. But deep inside his emotions
he shows a defined viewpoint on life making him a flat character. One of the most
compassionate things he did was guarding Cossette and treating her as if she were his own
daughter. He is the main character, therefore there would essentially be no plot without
him. His several journeys span across a length of twenty years. He is an extremely strong
man. Sometimes his strength was a burden put upon him. His charisma and superhuman
qualities make his character a figment of romanticism.
Valjean was born a decent human being. Unfortunately he was born into poverty, which
forced him to steal in order to survive. After getting caught stealing a loaf of bread
he was imprisoned. A few years later he is caught after escaping, he is then sent to the
galleys for 19 years. He later escapes from there to goto a town where he was not wanted.
Still a criminal he steals some silverware from a kind priest who gave him shelter. When
caught, the police ask the priest if Jean stole the silverware. To everyone's surprise
the priest said it was a gift this started his conversion toward a good life. After this
he tried to live a peaceful life. He started a new factory in a new town employing
several. Then a man in a city nearby was arrested under the name Jean Valjean. Jean was
faced with a tough choice. Rather than letting the other man take the wrap for him, he
chose to admit his identity to save the innocent man. Later, he rescued Cossette from her
harsh life with the Thenardiers. He acted as her father while she grew up. Throughout
these years. Jean was faced with obstacles that made him choose between right and wrong.
He always chose the right path. From this Jean expressed that he only saw right and
wrong, black and white, which made him two dimensional.
His life was lead one way, his personality proved to respond one way, and his relevance
to the story was set out in one way. This way was the way that things were done justly in
his mind. His relevence to the entire structure of the story set aside from being the
main character was crucial. He was portrayed as both the hero and the miserable.
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