The external conflicts between Jean Valjean and the other characters in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables

Novel is one of the literary works that describes human life. It concerns with almost every aspect of life. In this study, the writer takes Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables as the subject of her research. Due to the broad nature of possible analysis, the writer limits her analysis only to the main character’s external conflicts. The writer is interested to analyze the external conflict because this, as it brings the important thing to understand the characteristic of a character by discussing and analyzing the causes of emergence and the resolution taken to overcome the external conflicts. The study is an attempt to find out the external conflicts-man vs man of the main character in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. The central questions formulated are (1) what are main character’s external conflicts depicted in this story? (2) What are the causes of the conflicts? (3) What are the solutions to the conflicts? In this study, the writer uses literary criticism as her research design because the writer examines the settings, characters, plot, external conflicts, solutions taken, and the causes of the external conflicts of Les Misérables. This research uses objective approach. The objective approach, as defined by M. H. Abrams (1953), views the criticism of the novel through its intrinsic elements as the basis of analysis. The intrinsic elements then are setting, characters, plot and theme. In this research, the writer analyzes the external conflicts of the main character. The writer finds out that the conflicts Jean Valjean encountered were associated with the eight following external conflicts; (1) Jean Valjean’s theft, (2) Jean Valjean’s dishonesty, (3) Jean Valjean’s strange action, (4) Jean Valjean’s jealousy, (5) Foster rights seizure, (6) Thénardier’s trap for Valjean to take Cosette back, (7) Javert’s pursuit, and (8) Valjean’s opportunity. The external conflicts emerge on eight major causes: (1) Valjean’s recklessness, (2) Valjean’s accident while fetching Cosette, (3) Valjean’s hiding his identity, (4) Marius’ love to Cosette, (5) Valjean’s willingness to take Cosette from Thénardier, (6) Thénardier’s recognizing Cosette, (7) Valjean’s existence in Javert’s life, and (8) Javert’s betrayal. Meanwhile, the solutions taken are Bishop’s forgiveness that shaped Valjean be a better person, Valjean admitted to Fantine that he had not fetch Cosette yet forced by Javert’s coming, Valjean decided to left Cosette and lived separately from her, Valjean sacrifices his happiness for Marius and Cosette so that Marius could marry Cosette and Valjean saw both of them happy, Valjean gave money to Thénardier and Thénardier gave Valjean Cosette, Valjean escaped from Thénardier’s trap, Valjean ran away from Javert although in the end he surrendered himself to Javert, Valjean’s forgiveness to Javert. The conflicts among Jean Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, and Thénardier can be considered as minor conflicts in which Hugo uses those conflicts to depict the harsh condition of poverty at that time. The problems they deal with are related. However the actions and resolutions taken from these conflicts do not seem to be directly related to each other. Meanwhile, the conflicts among Jean Valjean, Bishop Myriel, Marius, and Javert are related. Most of the plot concerns with influences of Bishop Myriel’s, Marius’, and Javert’s actions. After doing the research, the writer hopes that the readers of the novel have more capability in understanding the plot through knowing the external conflicts. One conflict may result in different ways for different types of people in different places. The writer suggests that in teaching literature, it would be better if the teacher asked the students to analyze in such a way through objective approaches so that the students would feel the way the story goes or the way the characters feel. The writer hopes and suggests that it is more likely for the other researchers to broaden the scope of the study regarding this Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables