Victor Hugo For the 21st Century
In this Victor Hugo For The 21st Century article, you will learn about the writer’s influence on the French culture, modern French poetry, and human rights. In particular, you will learn about the importance of the novel Les Miserables. Also, you will learn how Victor Hugo’s work continues to influence society today.
Les Miserables
A modern audience can appreciate the power of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserable and its themes of political injustice and social class. Hugo wrote during the Industrial Age, when human fortunes were changing dramatically. Moreover, the novel focuses on the plight of the poor and the social movement that they spawned.
Initially, Victor Hugo’s novel was not universally well received. Critics were harsh on it, calling it “immoral” and “a cynic’s tale”. Yet, many readers praised the book and praised its importance in shaping the sociology of crime. It also paved the way for writers in modern literature, including Camus, Dostoevsky, Steinbeck, and Tolstoy. Moreover, it transformed the way we think about class and social inequality.
The TV adaptation of the popular novel will be screened in six episodes, each one lasting an hour. This will give television executives the freedom to explore the complex details of the story. The novel is one of the longest works in European literature, so the BBC’s executive team has been aiming to stay as faithful to Hugo’s original text as possible, while creating an adaptation that is relevant to a 21st century audience.
Victor Hugo’s influence on French culture
Victor Hugo’s political views were affected by the French Revolution. His parents, both Catholics, remained loyal to the deposed dynasty, and he grew up in an atmosphere of upheaval. His political views changed as he developed a fascination with Napoleon I. He reached the pinnacle of his literary career in the 1840s. In 1841, he was elected to the prestigious Academie francaise and honoured by Louis Philippe.
Les Misérables is an enduring classic that has influenced people for centuries. Its religious content is very strong, and the movie version accentuates it. A famous part of the novel, where Bishop Myriel redeems the impoverished Valjean, is now in a movie. Victor Hugo also included a scene where a revolutionary from 1789, who had voted to execute Louis the XVI, defends revolutionary violence on his deathbed. In the end, he asks the bishop for a blessing.
Victor Hugo was 20 years old when he published his first collection of poetry. His work was so influential that Louis XVIII provided him with a royal pension. Despite his political views, he continued writing and composing poetry while in exile. After publishing La Legende des Siecles, Hugo published three other poems and three novels, which were widely praised.
His influence on modern French poetry
Hugo was a French poet and writer. He was a non-practicing Catholic and a Rationalist Deist. While in exile, he developed an interest in spiritualism and attended seances. He wrote about his experiences. Hugo’s work was influential on modern French poetry.
Hugo’s work was very evocative of the sea. His famous poem “Les Orientales” was inspired by a sunset. He later spent 15 years in exile in Guernsey, a tiny island in the Channel Islands. While there, he would ride a pony carriage across the island and tell the driver to stop, then start writing.
Hugo’s life and work were shaped by his mentor, Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand. Hugo’s early life paralleled Chateaubriand’s, but the two men did not share the same political beliefs.
His influence on human rights
Hugo published his first volume of poetry in 1893. He went on to write novels and plays. His life included contact with major artists and intellectuals. Though his political beliefs changed with the various French governments, he remained committed to human rights. As a result, his writings have become influential in the 21st century.
Hugo’s characters portray Parisian society in the early 1800s and highlight different social problems. Galley slaves were often chained to benches and forced to row. This practice was used as an alternative to the death penalty, and most galley slaves died within a few years. Hugo also studied conditions in prisons in Toulon, France. Prisoners were often overcrowded and forced to wear color-coded uniforms. They were also tattooed with identification numbers.
Hugo traced the origins of civil unrest to the search for something better. The rich and the well-off seek stability, while those on the margins agitate for change. Hugo claimed that it is human nature to rebel against laws and conventions, and that this is necessary to progress society.