The scene that I have chosen to compare between the novel and one of its many movie adaptations is one that is notably not explicitly present in the novel. First I will discuss the scene in the movie adaptation.
This adaptation in particular moves quite quickly after Jean Valjean’s release from prison, simply skipping over any troubles that he had in becoming M. Madeleine, and instead moving from his stealing the coin 40 sous piece from the young boy to Javert coming to the town that M. Madeleine has become the mayor of. In this scene, Javert walks into one of the factories and is greeted by one of the councilman of M. Madeleine. The councilman remarks on the mayors “ modesty, humility, and discretion” in that he does not allow for a portrait…show more content… M. Madeleine has discovered that this root can be used as a material to form linen for clothing, and is much cheaper, yet just as durable as any other cloth. M. Madeleine then intervenes and discusses that his decision to use nettles is not only a sound business decision, but it also is a comment on morality. He states that the nettle root is normally something that is despised, but if you can “trust its hidden virtues,” it becomes a very essential commodity. We can obviously make the metaphoric connection between the nettles and a previous convict, such as Jean Valjean. Something that “no one wants” and is “often trampled upon,” can become something incredibly essential—such was the path of Jean Valjean. This metaphor is even further developed by Javert’s comment later in the scene that “You can never trust a criminal, ever,” ironically directed at Jean Valjean himself, unbeknownst to Javert at this point. This interaction between the two serves to further develop the stark contrast between the character of the two men, and also shows that Javert is…show more content… The first is one in which Jean Valjean, having changed his name to M. Madeleine and become M. le Maire, is walking through the countryside and discusses nettles with “country people busily engaged in pulling [them] up” (Hugo, 105). He simply says that there are many uses for them despite the original dislike of them by the people, and he summarizes his statement by saying “Remember this, my friends: there are no such things as bad plants or bad men. There are only bad cultivators.” This is extremely similar to the statement that the same character made in the movie adaptation, just slightly dissimilar in that the movie discusses the reform of a bad man or bad plant, and the novel states that they can only be brought up