Justice. Les miserables

i am currently reading les miserables. the main character, Jean Valjean, has been a convict for 19 years. 5 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, and 14 years for 4 attempted escapes. The main social issue in this book is punishment. It is quite clear that 19 years is too much for stealing some bread.  What really bothers me is the fact that according to his record he is a very dangerous person. What makes it so unjust is that no one knows the true reason why he was imprisoned. the report from his case says that he was sentanced for burglary and attempted escape. although this is true, it lacks detail and i would say that it exaggerates the real situation. and due to this Jean Valjean has now been stripped of his rights as a person. No one wants to help him because they are afraid of him.   this leads me to my point;  how do we know if the punishment fits the crime? and how do we decide on an appropriate punishment for a crime?  different people have different opinions on how to punish a crime. so how can everyone come to an agreement?  i believe that this is one of the biggest social issues of the world. its everyday that you hear stories on the news about some kind of crime and you always wonder whats going to happen to the person responsible for the crime. and sometimes you may think that the punishment is too harsh or sometimes its too mild. but how can we develop a system for punishing crime the right way so that everyone can be in agreement, and is it even possible to do so? les miserables takes place during the early 1800s, so right away you can see how far we've come to punish crime in a more fair way. but there are still places in our world where punishment for crime is not fair, and even in places where it is, there are exceptions. our world is far from perfect, but if everyone realizes the mistakes we may be able to create justice.

independent reading book entry#1

The point of this blog post is to explain some really hard problems that are going on in a book. the book that I am currently reading is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I am sure that many of you have heard of it for it is ranked among the greatest novels of all time and is also quite a famous musical. Now as for the really hard things going on in this book, there are many. The book was written in 1862, therefore it is full of history. It explains the history of France, monarchy,the concept of good and evil, and love.  The novel focuses on the struggles of Jean Valjean and his journey to redemption. Jean Valjean is a noble peasant who is imprisoned for simply stealing a loaf of bread in order to feed his starving family. That is one of the main problems in the book, the lack of  justice. Jean Valjean is imprisoned for 19 years. Even after he has paid out his debt he is marked a convict denying him many rights as a person. This is an example  of a lack of justice in Paris during the 19th century. Also during this time period there was no free education.Jean Valjean is educated in prison.  Jean Valjean is relentlessly persecuted throughout the book. Although I am not very far into the book the main themes are already clearly evident. Victor Hugo immerses the reader into moral philosophy, or the theme of good and evil. The book was originally written in French hence the title. The literal translation of Les Misérables is the miserable ones giving you a hint of what this book is about. And although the title may sound a bit mournful, the book itself is a heart warming classic. And despite the conflicts and the constant battle between good and evil and the undeniable theme of crime and punishment , this book is beautiful and deeply meaningful.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. CS Lewis archetypes

 The book begins with four children in an old house during the war. Their mother sent them to live their because of air-raids. At the begining Edmund is really obnoxious, selfish and really mean to his little sister Lucy. even as the story progresses edmund remains that way, he chooses the wrong side and turns against his siblings. But in the end he realizes that he was wrong to side with the white witch because this whole time she had been lying to him. He is saved by Aslan and he joins his two sisters and brother in the battle against the white witch. at the end of the book (page180) it says "when at last she was free to come back to Edmund she found him standing on his feet and not only healed of his wounds but looking better then she had seen him look-oh for ages; in fact ever since his first term at that horrid school which was where he had begun to go wrong. he had become his real old self againand could look you in the face. and there on that field of battle aslan made him a knight." And since Edmund has changed so much during the book it makes him the hero. He was meant to be killed by the witch but Aslan sacrificed his own life to save Edmund and to come back to life and to kill the witch. Edmunds journey is the quest, he is searching for himself, the way he used to be. Edmund began his school year badly and since he has always had a negative outlook on everything. his attitude and his personality have changed. so the day that he entered Narnia it was really no surprise that he joined the side of the white witch. From there, he completely distanced himself from his brothers and sisters in hopes that the witch would keep her word and make him a king. But instead she tried to use him to gain access to his brothers and sisters so that they could be killed. Edmund realizes that he has made a mistake when the witch is no longer kind to him. and after he is saved by aslan, aslan has a talk with him. "a talk that he never forgot" and after that Edmund apologizes to his brother and sisters. and in the battle at the end he shows plenty of courage when he fights the white witch, and is made a knight by Aslan.