Les Miserables - How Society Affects Human Nature Essays

Les Miserables - How Society Affects Human Nature In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo portrays human nature in a neutral state. Humans are born with neither good nor bad instincts, but rather society affects our actions and thoughts. Hugo portrays the neutral state of mind through Jean Valjean and Cosette. The two extremes of good and evil are represented through Th?nardier and the bishop. Good and evil coexists in the society and affects Valjean and Cosette. It is the two extremes of good and evil that dictate the lives of Valjean and Cosette. The bishop represents charity and love. Everything he's ever had, he gave to charity. When the bishop first met Valjean, he said, "You need not tell me who you are. This is not my house; it is the house of Christ. It does not ask any comer whether he has a name, but whether he has an affliction. You are suffering; you are hungry and thirsty; be welcome. And do not thank me; do not tell me that I take you into my house..... whatever is here is yours." (pg. 15-16) The bishop didn't look at him as a convict; he looked at him as a fellow brother. Later, when the bishop found out that Valjean stole his silver, he wasn't mad, but offered all of his silver to Valjean saying, "Don't forget that you promised me to use this silver to become an honest man." Th?nardier, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of the bishop. He represents the corruptive nature of society. He's the one that changes people for the bad. An example of how Th?nardier represents greed and evil is how he mistreated Cosette when he was taking care of her. He made her wash and clean, while letting his kids run around and play. Th?nardier took advantage of Cosette's mother, Fantine. He kept on asking her for more money, when in fact he didn't really need it. When it was cold, Th?nardier told Fantine that her daughter was cold and they needed money for a wool skirt. This was just an excuse to get money. Also, Th?nardier billed Fantine forty francs to cure a fever that Cosette had supposedly contracted (pg. 56). Fantine had to sell her hair and teeth just to meet Th?nardier's demands. Later, she had to become a prostitute because she didn't have enough money. Jean Valjean was affected by society in many ways. Valjean was poor and needed to feed his family, so he stole a loaf of bread. Consequently, he was sentenced to five years in jail. Trying to escape, Valjean's sentence was lengthened to nineteen years. The harsh treatment that Valjean received from prison corrupted the goodness inside of him and turned him into a bad person. If he wasn't poor, he wouldn't have had to steal. As a result, society beat down on him. Jean Valjean struggled to survive, living in poverty. When he got out of prison, he walked twelve leagues from Toulon (page 13) to Paris, but the people refused to give him a room. Valjean went to all the Inns, but everyone, knowing that he was an ex-convict, refused him. After time, society changed Valjean's human nature. He became good with the help of the bishop. At first, Valjean thought he would always be looked upon as a convict, so he was bad and stole. Valjean described himself as "less than a dog" (pg. 9; 1961 ver.) His last criminal deed was when he stole the coin from little Gervais (pg. 31). When Valjean became M. Madeleine and M. Leblanc, he was good and gave lots of charity. The bishop gave Valjean a sense of hope. He gave him a whole new life. Valjean couldn't have changed without the help of the bishop. Cosette was affected by human nature in many ways as well. She experienced both goodness and evil. At first, Cosette's environment was harsh, therefore, she was harsh. When Cosette lived with Th?nardier, she was deprived of her childhood. Cosette was forced to do all the chores. Thinking that she was a slave child, Cosette had low self-esteem and thought of herself as displeasing and ugly. When Cosette moved in with Valjean,

The laws Governing Marijuana essays

The laws Governing Marijuana essays In todays day and age certain American laws are or seem to be flawed a bit. The legal system is in place to serve and protect. We are guaranteed certain freedoms as Americans, but the reality is we really arent all that free. The legalization of marijuana is a pressing issue in our socioety today. It is in Americas best interest to examine its laws on this matter. There is no need for complete and total legalization on all forms. However there is a need for decriminalization and tolerance. The law should be changed and reexamined. As the law stands it is unlawful for any American to posses, grow, or smoke marijuana. No one should be allowed to grow marijuana, except for government-licensed growers. The growers should distribute the product as they see fit, but only to businesses. By the time marijuana reaches the publics hands it should be heavily taxed, much in the same way as tobacco. The money the government could make on the taxes alone would get the national debt in a better standing. The goal would be for the government to control all aspects of production and distrobution. With this new law in place the idea would be to erase black markets sales. Any black market sales should be strictly dealt with in a legal way. This is something that is in place today in our country. These punishments should actually strengthen, and hopefully scare peopl for the black market. In that event people would be less likely to buy black market product, and and the same time be less likely to sell as well. This could further progress this law along the way. Marijuana being illegal actually increases the national debt. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but in the eyes of many Americans it is. Billions of dollars go out every year in black market purchases of marijuana. The government could make those billions back easily if they legalized and taxed this product. Most illegal drugs can be or are l...