DIRECTIONS: As we’ve discussed in class, Victor Hugo (Les Miserables) states that the three main problems of the age are:

-The degradation of man by poverty
-The ruination of women by starvation
-The dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night
For this assignment you will need to pick one character who suffers from one of these problems and complete a case study on them. Since you will eventually write an essay that talks about a problem you see in today’s world and also in Les Miserables, you may want to pick a character who falls into a category of suffering close to the problem you researched for your “Initial Research Assignment.”Your case study should have the name of the character as the title and then you will answer the following questions:

Write a summary of this character’s situation and how it connects to one of the three main problems of the age. This should be 100-200 words in length.

Explain the cause of their problem. How did it start? Who or what is responsible? This should be about 50-100 words in length.

Explain the end result of this issue. What was the fate of this character, because of this issue? This should be 50-100 words in length.

Explain what you think Victor Hugo’s intention was in putting this character in the novel. What did he want to point out about this character’s situation and its connection to the three main problems of the age? What should the reader take away from this character’s situation? This response should be 100-200 words.

Do you think this character’s situation was preventable or solvable? How? Explain. Your response to this question should be 100-200 words.