Les Miserables Changed My Life - I
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The old document I wrote at the age of 18 as a university application essay.
Describe an experience that you have learned from or that has changed your life.
My worldview changed when I was eleven and read the book Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, in full unabridged glory. I thought it by far the greatest and most exciting book that I had ever read, and have not had cause to change that opinion even now, seven years and many books later. Since the first time I read it, I have re-read it regularly, and this culminative experience of reading the book throughout the years has done more to change my life than my experience with any other single work of literature.
Les Miserables is a story which has been made popular by the well-known musical, yet to admire the musical without reading the book is to cheat oneself, for the real treasure lies in Victor Hugo’s majestic prose. The basic plot follows the journey of the reformed convict Jean Valjean through life, doing good while evading the dedicated police inspector on his trail. A kaleidoscope of sub-plots and plot twists make the book a detective story, action thriller, love story and critique of society all in one. It is a work of deep thought and compassion, one of the greatest humanitarian texts.
Reading the book at 11 was my introduction to the immense vistas of thought and philosophy and to the ideals and failures of mankind throughout history. In fact, the book was so thought-provoking that it began my search for truth and meaning in life. It triggered off a phase of searching desperately for the answer to society’s problems, reading everything from Dostoyevsky to Lu Xun; and when I finally reconciled myself to the fact that utopia would never exist on earth, the book’s vision remained with me – the hope of bringing truth and reason to the world to enable humans to live fully human lives.
I consider myself fortunate to have had such an early encounter with intellectual grandeur and literary beauty. If I had not read the book, I would probably have eventually become the same person I am now, but it would have taken me much longer to start asking questions of life and to develop the awareness of my duty to society, and revulsion to apathy, that I have today. And not only did the book spur me to the intellectual exploration of life which got rid of my illusions at an early age, it also gave me a deep hunger for the beauty of great literature which has never left me.
Reading Les Miserables has influenced many of the practical decisions in my life. It directly inspired me to begin my study of French as a third language (which I eventually continued to ‘AO’ level). Also, my decision to study science with a view to becoming a doctor, scientist or engineer in the future so that I can help society to the fullest of my capacity can be directly traced back to Hugo’s message of compassion and societal responsibility, which was a major influence at the beginning of my intellectual and moral development.
If I had to sum up the ‘message’ of Les Miserables in one line, it would be this: though man is essentially flawed and his institutions are bound to be imperfect, it is up to every individual to live out his life as best as he can to bring light to the darkness around him, mending the imperfections of society one by one in his own limited capacity. And while I continue to learn more about the world I live in and the part I play in it, this is what I hope to do with my own life.
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