Analysis of Les Miserables, Exercises of English

Download Analysis of Les Miserables and more Exercises English in PDF only on Docsity! Analysis Characters:  Jean Valjean He is Cosette’s adopted father. He finds fulfillment in loving his adopted daughter & helping other people who are in difficult situations, even when it means risking his own life and welfare. He’s a good man who turned bad by circumstances. He’s intelligent and resourceful, and notable for his incredible physical strength.  Javert A narrow-minded police inspector who strictly believes in law and order and will stop at nothing to enforce France’s harsh penal codes. He does not believe that one can reform oneself from a criminal background. Javert is completely without mercy, but this harshness stems from his own past: he was born in a prison.  Bishop Myriel Also known as Monseigneur Bienvenu. He’s a generous and kindhearted man of God. He is famed for his good deeds. He passes on these same qualities to Valjean and initiates the ex-convicts spiritual renewal by saving Valjean from arrest and making him promise to live as an honest man.  Fantine She’s a working-class girl who leaves her hometown of Montreuil-sur-mer to seek her fortune in Paris. Fantine is impregnated and abandoned by the man she loves. In order to support her daughter Cosette, she takes up a number of low paying manual jobs, and finally resorts to prostitution. She dies from consumption, but not before securing a better future for her daughter.  Cosette The daughter of Fantine, Cosette is abandoned by her father shortly after her birth. In order to earn money, Fantine was forced to leave her daughter with the Thénardier family, who use her as a servant and a means to extort money from her mother. She lives as Valjean’s adopted daughter after her mother dies. A gentle and pure young woman, she falls in love with Marius.  Eponine Thenardiers The Thénardiers’ eldest daughter. Éponine enjoys a pampered childhood but an impoverished adolescence. Her parents teach her to steal and cheat, but she is eventually redeemed by her love for Marius.  Monsieur Thenardiers A greedy and selfish man, he works in a variety of jobs, including tavern owner. He claims to have fought in the 1815 campaign. He is the husband of Madame Thénardier and the father of Azelma and Éponine. His schemes range from robbery to fraud to murder, and he has strong ties to the criminal underworld in Paris.  Madame Thenardiers A nasty and selfish woman, she is the wife of Monsieur Thénardier and the mother of Azelma and Éponine. She becomes her husband’s most devoted accomplice and is particularly enthusiastic about his schemes to rob Valjean and Cosette.  Azelma Thenardiers The Thénardiers’ younger daughter. Azelma grows up pampered and spoiled but ends up enduring the same poverty as the rest of her family. She adores her sister, Éponine.  Marius Pontmercy