azalea's blogs

The bishop lives in a small house that doesn't have much decoration but he thinks it's enough. This tells me that he's a humble man that doesn't need a big house, he's perfectly fine with a small house. The house was old because he wanted to preserve it for as long as he could. He also kept no locks on his doors so that anyone could come into his house if they were in need of help. I find it amazing that he did this without being scared of any criminals breaking into his house. That shows that he puts others and their well-being before his own safety.

While reading this chapter it showed me how kind, giving, and selfless the bishop is. He seems like the type of person to put other peoples' comforts before his own. A man like him deserves respect for everything he has done for the people around him. I can tell that he's not a materialistic person at all and that money means nothing to him, he'd rather do things for the people around him and know that they're satisfied.

What led to the people of France revolting and rebelling against King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette is the food shortage and agricultural failure. They were also in national debt that became unmanageable. This caused national discontent with the French Monarchy and many people began to be angry at the king and queen. This all led to their demise. Eventually, everything became chaotic and the people executed King Louis. Queen Marie Antoinette was also executed shortly after. 

In chapter 4, the bishop spent an entire day with a man who was soon to be executed. The bishop prayed for this man and helped him see light. The man being executed was so devastated, he didn't know what to do with himself. On the day of the execution, the bishop continued to talk to him until it was time for the execution to happen. The author makes it clear that he is against the death penalty. He talks about how only God has the right to condemn someone to death, humans shouldn't have that power. I agree with the author, I'm against the death penalty. I don't think someone should be killed for a crime. I know stories of many people who have been sentenced to death for crimes they didn't even commit and I find that so wrong. Innocent people have lost their lives to the death penalty.

After reading this chapter, it shows how calm and collected the bishop is. When he arrived to Senez, the mayor of the town glared at him and looked at him with an unpleasant expression on his face. Also upon his arrival, the people of the town were laughing at him and making a fool of him. Instead of confronting the mayor about it or lashing out at the people, he instead starting preaching and talking about Jesus. This shows how this man doesn't hold any anger in him, he's very peaceful and isn't looking to start trouble. During his travels he was very kind and genuine to others.

When I read this chapter, I saw how good of a person M. Myriel is. He's a very selfless man who cares about others. He let the hospital move sick patients into his home so that they had more room and they didn't become overcrowded. He didn't care that it would be an inconvenience for himself, he wanted to make sure that the sick had a place to stay and be treated. He also only keeps 1,000 of the 15,000 francs that he receives. However, people still accused M. Myriel of being greedy and being selfish. I find this so sad because he is a very kind person who is willing to sacrifice his comfort for others. 

My reaction to reading the first chapter of Les Mis é rables  is I'm interested. I like the advanced vocabulary used, even if I don't know what the word means. I like the fact that it contains words I don't know because this is how I expand my vocabulary. I'm interested in what led M. Myriel to become a priest. I'm thinking that after he lost his wife, he was so devastated that he turned to God.