French

Hey everyone!

So how was every body's Monday? Mine was pretty cool. I had violin today, and my teacher is leaving for ten weeks to go on this missionary thing. *Hysterical crying* no I'm not that upset, though I'm gonna miss her :(

Today my lil' sis's best friend invited her to a day at the Mall of America-I was jealous! She (my sis) got to skive off school and go hang with her bff at the funnest place in the universe! *sigh* :D jk I was excited for her.

Oh, guess what? I'm learning French. French is such a beautiful language. Okay, I don't have a teacher or anything, I'm just teaching myself off this free website. Some words in French sound just like their meaning! English has some words like that, like phlegm or thwack. They just sound like what they mean. Okay, some words in French that sound exactly like their meaning: les parents (parents, and it is pronounced: lee baho), un enfant (you guessed it: infant, and it is pronounced: un nofo), comprendre (you're right! To understand. Pronounced: cohpawndon), un mouvement, (exactly. A movement. Pronounced: un movemoe), un point (right again. Easy, isn't it? It means a point. Pronounced: un proyn) and, finally, un combat (a fight. Pronounced: un combaht). One word I just like is: mourir (to die. Pronounced: mow-rear).

Les Misérables [French for The Miserables and is pronouced: Lay mizarob] is just a spectacular book. Victor Hugo has such a way with words! *faint* :D It's one thousand, four hundred and some pages-an extremely vast book. I'm on page *screw up face* about...three hundred eighty five or something around there.

For those who don't know what Les Misérables is about, here's a synopsis. There's this ex-convict named Jean Valjean. He is released after nineteen years spent in prison, just for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family. Valjean, worn from his long journey, fresh out of jail, knocks on a kind bishop named Myriel's door. Myriel lets him in, and gives him bed and board. In the middle of the night, Valjean gets up and steals Myriel's silver candlesticks and his solid-silver silverware. He is caught by some policemen, and brought before Myriel. Myriel says, "Why, I gave these to him! Release him! He stole nothing from me." When the policemen leave, Myriel says to Valjean, "With this silver, I have bought your soul from the Devil, and have given it back to God." Valjean then leaves the bishop of Digne, and walks along the highway to Montriel-sur-mer (or something like that :D). On the way, he meets a boy and steals a forty-piece franc from him. Valjean is horrified by what he has done, right after he was given such grace, too, and tries to find the boy from whom he stole. He fails. Valjean then goes to a town and becomes mayor, and incredibly rich. In short, Valjean turned his life around. However, his highway robbery was enough to land him in jail for the rest of his life, and so Valjean changed his name to Madeleine. Under this identity he hid for almost eight years.

Now there is this inspector named Javert, who is out to get Valjean. Javert is a troubled man, one of Valjean's jailors in the nineteen years he previously spent in a hard-labor prison. He lives by the rules, and the rules alone. Grace and mercy is nonexistent in his life. Javert has searched for Valjean for eight years, just because Valjean stole a coin. Which is wrong, but Javert is a pathetic figure, enhanced by his desperate want to send Valjean to jail.

Okay, anyway, Valjean stumbles upon Javert sending a woman named Fantine to jail. Fantine had had snow shoved down her dress by a citizen, and had struck out against the man, named Monseiur Bollabouis, or something like that. Javert had witnessed her attack and sentenced her to six months in a jail.

Now Fantine has a daughter named Cosette. Fantine had no husband, and she was shunned in her society because of it. Fantine had needed someone to care for Cosette, and had entrusted her in the care of a couple with the surname of Thénadier. Or maybe it's Thenadiér. Yeah, the accented é is the second 'e'. Sorry. Well anyway, Thenadiér is very greedy. He demands a high pay, like twelve francs per month. Fantine has no source of money, so she turns to prostitution. So, Valjean stumbles upon Fantine getting carted off to jail. Fantine cut off her hair and pulled out her front teeth for money. Valjean felt great pity for her, and demanded her release. He had power, so Javert had to give in, even when Fantine spit in Valjean's face. Valjean cares for Fantine, who is really really sick, and sends money to Thenadiér to care for Cosette, paying Fantine's debt. Thenadiér realizes that Fantine got money, and so pretends like Cosette is really sick, so that he could get more money. Thenadiér has no goal in life except to get rich.

Valjean hears about this man named Champtheiu who is mistaken for Valjean, the convict. Champtheiu is condemned to life-long work in the same labor camp that the real Valjean worked in for nineteen years. Madeleine (the REAL Jean Valjean), after an intense internal struggle that must have taken Hugo (the author) twenty pages to describe, at the least, goes to the court and sheds his skin of Monseiur Madeleine, and becomes Jean Valjean. He is arrested.

Fantine is desperately sick, and she believes that Madeleine had gone to get her daughter. That fact was the only thing that kept her alive. Madeleine rushes back after he revealed his identity and Champtheiu had been released, and she dies of shock when she realizes that Monsieur Madeliene did not have her daughter. Javert comes, and arrestes Valjean. He escapes from jail by breaking through the window or something like that. Valjean goes to Thenadiér and takes Cosette.

He brings her into Paris, or some big city, and rears her, once again hiding under a fake name, cowering from the police, but being kind and merciful to everyone he meets. You must understand that Valjean is a very godly man now.

Cosette grows up, and falls in love with a revolutioner, Muirius. Valjean has not told her anything about her mother or himself being a convict, or why he hid from the police. In turn, Cosette tells him nothing about Muirius.

But, beware of Javert! He puts all his time and energy into once again finding Valjean and landing him in jail for life. Meanwhile, Javert has spies, and sends them to watch Muirius, for he is a dangerous upriser, who is trying to stir France into rebelling against the King. The spy tells him about Cosette, and how Muirius meets her every night outside in the park, regardless of the weather. Javert decides to tell Cosette's father about her being "seduced by a dangerous revolutioner named Muirius." He has no idea that Cosette's father is Jean Valjean.

Javert goes to Valjean's house and leaves him a note, for Valjean saw him coming and hid, frantically telling Cosette to tell Javert that he is gone. Cosette, suspicious but dutiful, obeys. Javert leaves, none the wiser. Then Cosette goes to her father and demands to know why he cringes from Javert like a rabbit before a lion.

Valjean is forced into telling Cosette everything-about Fantine, prison, robbery-everything. Then he reads the note about Muirius.

Murius, meanwhile, is planning a revolution, an uprising, a mob attack on the King's men. Valjean prepares to flee, both from the violence and Javert, with his daughter.

On the night of the uprising, Murius goes to meet Cosette for the last time. Javert, waiting in hiding, captures them both. Of course, Muirius manages to wriggle away and grabs Javert's gun, bringing him back to the rebels' camp for destruction, for Javert, informed by his spy, warned the King's men of the uprising, and the King was prepared.

Cosette runs to Valjean and tells him of Javert's capture. Valjean goes to the rebel camp and offers to kill Javert. Valjean takes him into the alley, has a conversation with him, and then shoots up in the air, releasing Javert, even though Javert told him that he would not stop hunting the convict until he died or Valjean was in jail.

Then, Valjean takes Muirius and tells him to go to Cosette. When they both reach their home, Javert re-captures Valjean (or something, I can't really remember, I haven't read the book before, just watched the movies of it. Javert DOES capture Valjean though. But how he went about doing that flees from my mind right now.) Valjean goes with Javert to serve his life sentence in jail, leaving Muirius and Cosette together. Before Javert turns him in, however, he talks to Valjean by the side of a river. Javert cannot live with mercy. He cannot live with grace.

Javert takes off Valjean's handcuffs, and re-cuffs himself. With a face as grave as a gargoyle's (:D that's a stupid comparison), Javert stands on the edge of the river, and falls in, drowning himself.

Valjean walks away, back to Cosette and Muirius-a free man.

It is one of the greatest stories of all time. In fact, excluding the Bible, it is the best book I have ever read in my life. It is a wonderful story of mercy and redemption, of godliness against evil. It challenges the reader to lead a better life. I highly recommend reading it.

:D that "synopsis" was really lengthy-I apologize. I have left out many main points of Hugo's Les Misérables, and reading my synopsis won't make up for missing the book. Again, if you can, read the book-it is highly worth it. I, right now, am at the part when Valjean's about to rescue Cosette from the Thenadiér's.

~~~

We live on a golf course, and I love playing golf! Since I have glasses, its a lot easier to play the game. My whole family, up to my great grandad or even furthur, has played golf. It runs in my blood :D
I might go out to play tonight, but it's almost seven o'clock, so its a little late for a few holes...but who knows?
Love to y'all,
Bekah