A Classics Challenge -- July Post (Lasting Impression)

This month's Classics Challenge, hosted by November's Autumn, focuses on a memorable moment from a classic. Because I am still reading Les Miserables (how many months has it been now?) I am going to talk about Jean Valjean.

While not everyone has read the massive tome that is Les Miserables, there are several people that are familiar with the musical and the story, and Jean Valjean has become a cultural symbol of redemption and the ability to change. I love that he starts out desperate, albeit innocent, and then is transformed to the type of person that bites the hand that feeds him. However, he finally has an experience that transforms him into the kindest, most giving man imaginable. I think Jean Valjean's life and the changes he goes through show that any person is capable of redemption. We all have the depths of hell and the heights of heaven within us.