Caleb's Blog

 

      This semester is unlike any I've ever had. With the pandemic keeping us home, and only attending class every other day, it was a pretty big adjustment from the previous semesters. Luckily it was a somewhat smooth adjustment as everyone was figuring out how to do life and school in a pandemic. Even with all that, one couldn't miss how even this English course by itself, is so different than any other courses.      One thing that made my English 2 Honors course different was the flexibility of it. Flexibility in a class is hard to come by with deadlines for assignments and  specific stuff we have to learn by the end of the year., but this class managed to be it. For example, in class we would have conversations about when something should be assigned or future projects that students would recommend. Maybe some of my other classes would push an assignment back by a day, but they would never ask the students if it was too much too soon. Even when I thought the course was too

 I found it interesting that Jean Valjean knows that he did a bad thing that deserved to be punished. Most people would get very defensive and say  they didn't deserve it and that it was justified theft. Jean Valjean however, acknowledges that he probably just could've asked for it and the bread would've been given to him. I do agree with Jean Valjean though that he was punished to severely for the crime and that he should've never been going hungry as he was a hard worker who wasn't reckless with his money. Also, after reading what Jean Valjean thinks of humanity, I am a little concerned for the Bishop but I don't think anything really bad will happen to him as the Bishop was the only person who showed him kindness.

 Jean Valjean's life just can't seem to get even a little but better. He's lost pretty much everything in his life. His mother, father, sister, nephews, and nieces are all lost to him in one way or another. He was give a  cruel punishment for the crime of stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family. I like what was mentioned in class about how he is a good person that was forced to do bad things by the circumstances around him. Seriously though, was he suppose to just let the children starve to death. One would think that someone would understand his circumstances but I guess not. Hopefully, he can get a fresh start at life but I doubt he will.

 This chapter was even shorter than the last. One thing that stood out to me was how tired Jean Valjean was. Just reading it started to make me feel tired. I must say to that the Bishop is super confident to let Jean Valjean sleep so close to him, as he knows almost nothing about him besides the fact that he has stolen in the past. However, it isn't surprising that the Bishop is okay with it.

 This was a very short chapter so not a lot could stand out to me. One thing that stood out though was how Mademoiselle Baptistine mentioned how her brother treated Jean Valjean just like he would someone very important. Another thing that stood out to me was how Mademoiselle Baptistine gave Jean Valjean the goatskin to keep warm. The reason it stood out to me was because it shows that she is following her brother's lead and being hospitable to Jean Valjean.