Was it because he was an imposter? Because he lied about who he was so he could be mayor? Because at the beginning of the movie, Valjean said he had been released from prison. The only other crime we knew of after that was stealing from the bishop, but the bishop covered for him on that, so why was the law still after him?
shareI think he was only on parole, not completely free, and that he broke his parole.
shareYou are probably right, and that was all I could come to too, although the movie never really made that clear. He mentioned to the bishop he was on his way to meet his parole officer, and after he was caught stealing and the bishop covered for him, he was to become a new man. You would think the first thing a man would do when trying to turn over a new leaf would be to comply with the law and meet the parole officer, and not just skip on him and try to start new.
shareThe movie may not have covered it, but in the book, after the incident with the bishop, Jean was in a very dark place. While on the road, he ran into a little boy, who was clearly enjoying a shiny gold piece. Jean, feeling very evil, stole the money, and the boy ran off crying (more might have happened, I can't remember). Then Jean realized what he had done and how awful it was. He also realized that the boy would report him and he would get sent back to prison. So he fled and never reported for parole.
Even without that event, being a parolee isn't necessarily a great way to start over. I know people in law enforcement who hear "parole" and immediately think "scum," because 99% of the time, parolees turn out to be criminals still. And parolees have trouble finding good work, and often return to crime because it at least pays well (among other reasons). It can't have been much different 200 years ago. For Jean Valjean to truly start over, he started a new life with a new identity.
One of the themes of this story is that law =/= morality. While Jean Valjean lived outside the law, and broke the law on many occasions, he lived a moral life.
The book definately gives a little more context that the movie needed. That would make a lot more sense. Because while what you say is true, that being a parolee is not the best way to start over, it is not exactly punishable by law. If they were to arrest men simply for being on parole, it would be as if saying "Here, we are letting you go by our standards, and for this, you must be punished." But if, as the book reads, he continued to commit crimes before turning around, and he never reported to his parole officer, than the hunt for him makes more sense.
shareI'm not saying that parole means automatic arrest, but that it will color any police response toward him. Let's say somebody picked a fight with him and started beating him up. Police would be biased against the parolee, and likely send him back to prison. There would be no motivation to give him the benefit of the doubt, or second chances.
shareNo, I understand, and I wasn't arguing you on that. I was just saying that with the movie leaving out the fact that he never checked in with his parole officer, and that he stole from a young boy, even if the police were biased against him, he wouldn't have to run on fear of arrest.
shareThe problem with being on parole, in the novel, was that Valjean was forced to carry his papers with him everywhere he went and show them, affirming that he was a criminal. The novel follows him trying to get work or even just a place to stay for a night and he was abused and turned away constantly because of his parole status. In essence his freedom had become his new shackles and sadly perpetuated the hate he'd built up in prison, as well as the viscious cycle of almost being forced into crime or shame to survive because of a faulty social system (one of the greater themes of the novel, I think). It's not until the Bishop freely lets him stay, he bolts with the man's silver and is covered for by the Bishop that he begins to consider another way. That way ends up being to bury Valjean and begin anew as someone without the stigma, so he breaks parole and begins living a new life. It's the breaking of his parole that has Javert hounding him. It is Javert's zealous commitment to fulfilling the law and blindness to the nuances of justice and mercy that makes him so obsessive in his hunt for Valjean.
shareDidn't this happen in this version? I saw the television version, and I clearly remember him stealing the coin from the kid, and I think he also strangled him in the process, but I'm not sure about that last bit.
shareThere was a young chimney sweep he stole a 40 sous coin from and the boy reported it so Jarvert went after Valjean as a thief then instead of just a parole violee.
To understand his character you must pay close attention to what he says at the end of the movie to Valjean about always upholding the law no matter how unfair and that the law does not allow for mercy. He could not live with those contradictions which led to his demise. He saw the moral dilemma and couldn't resolve it.
There is so much more detail in the novel to better explain it.
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You are probably right, and that was all I could come to too, although the movie never really made that clear. He mentioned to the bishop he was on his way to meet his parole officer, and after he was caught stealing and the bishop covered for him, he was to become a new man.
You would think the first thing a man would do when trying to turn over a new leaf would be to comply with the law and meet the parole officer, and not just skip on him and try to start new.
Even if the police were biased against him, he wouldn't have to run on fear of arrest.
The convent probably didn't know that Valjean was a dangerous man/ex-convict.
Even if the man he saved from the cart knew, he wouldn't have told them.
In the book he doesn't just stay there for free, he does their gardening.
The convent probably didn't know that Valjean was a dangerous man/ex-convict.
When he recognized him as the mayor, it was indeed about his having lied to become the mayor. Presumably there was some law against former criminals holding public office which is why he wanted an investigation and to "denounce" him. There was also the fact that Javert didn't believe in reformed criminals saying science has proven that people are born good or evil. Therefore, he also likely always suspected that Valjean was plotting/scheming something. He felt that the only place he belonged was in jail and he would do whatever he could to put him there.
sharenice
shareJavert had an obsession. He said it himself at the end: "I've tried to live my life without breaking a single rule." His obsession was to the law and he never questioned the moral implications of his actions; his character, like Valjean, has no clear standing for good or evil. Javert is utterly convinced that the law is absolute and must be obeyed; he is the embodiment of a warped justice that, to him, is how life is lived. Valjean breaks the tennents of life that Javert is disillusioned by and in doing so Valjean threatens the integrity of his perception of justice.
Javert doesn't fully understand, or rather cannot accept, the true reason he pursues Valjean: It seems to be at first that Javert cannot tolerate criminals and in his conviction to maintain his system of life he is compelled to hunt the one that threatens it.
Which makes the ending ever more symbolic and poignant when you understand the realisation Javert has come to.
Cause he broke parole by never reporting to Dijon to the parole officer.
Even though he had paid for his original crime (stealing the bread plus numerous escape attempts which added to his sentence), he was wanted for never arriving for parole.
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I never read the book but I did just watch the 1998 film. The way I saw it is Javert literally can't help himself. Even he knows Valjean is no threat to society. He knows Valjean more than served his punishment. Valjean simply wants to live in peace. Javert is not capable of letting it go. That's why he tells Valjean to kill him. Its the only way it will end. Since Valjean won't kill him and Javert is probably tortured by the fact he can't leave this man alone, he kills himself.
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