Write a 3 page essay on On Freedom.Download file to see previous pages... Two of these are the book, Les Miserables and the movie, Sneakers. Despite various differences between setting, plot, and the

Write a 3 page essay on On Freedom.

Two of these are the book, Les Miserables and the movie, Sneakers. Despite various differences between setting, plot, and the overall mood of the two, both of them delve into freedom its role in society.

Les Miserables is the famous book written by Victor Hugo. Its popularity goes beyond its hardbound and paperback versions for it has been adapted both for stage and screen productions. The main character in the story is Jean Valjean. The story of Hugo's novel focuses on the main character's journey to securing and protecting his freedom. Furthermore, it revolves around Valjean and his attempt to keep and protect his freedom from imprisonment. After spending nineteen years in jail and in the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread and for several attempts to escape, Valjean is finally released. His road to renewal doesn't come easy and he is continuously haunted by his past. It is his past that he struggles to fight in order to remain free, free from capture and arrest. Although he may have committed unlawful acts in the past, Valjean continues to seek renewal in order to live a truly free life, one where he is free from being held back by his past.

Sneakers on the other hand is a 1992 film starring Robert Redford as Martin Bishop. For 20 years, Bishop has done what he could to evade the arm of the law and has established a new identity for him. Knowing that he had not done anything wrong and that he was just wrongly accused, Bishop works to secure his freedom. The movie is about Bishop and his team of sneakers and a code breaker box they have been blackmailed into stealing. Failure to do so will mean that Bishop's real identity will be revealed to authorities and may eventually lead to his capture. Several turns in the plot occur, the biggest one being that the Bishop finds himself in a situation where he can finally erase his bad record which will inevitably lead to his complete freedom. In the end, Bishop and his group develop a plan to make sure that no group makes use of the code breaker and at the same time ensure that Bishop remains free and all other members get what they've always dreamt of.

As previously mentioned, freedom is a central theme in both works of art discussed. As with Valjean, Bishop makes use of all means possible to preserve his freedom. Both main characters are evading authorities determined to catch them. In fact, both Valjean and Bishop established new identities for themselves in order to avoid being arrested. Such a similarity exists because both stories focus on the lives on men on the run. Both show how protecting one's freedom sometimes entails running away and turning one's back on his past. Also, both characters in the stories have a past that prevents them from living as free individuals. Another important similarity is that both characters were shown to put their seemingly temporary freedom to good use. Valjean escaped in order to help Cossette escape. Bishop on the other hand chooses not to take advantage of the power that the code breaker held and instead, made it a point that neither the government nor any other group can use the device for their advantage.

In both cases, we see the great lengths that people will go to in order to remain free. Some even spend their whole lives on the run just to make sure that they remain free. This shows us how valuable freedom is.