“Cloud On A Castle”

1. Who is the speaker

in the song?
Little Cosette

“Castle on a Cloud”
 2. How many verses does the
song have?
Three verses

“Castle on a Cloud”
 2. Why do you think the song
was entitled ,
“Castle on a Cloud”?

“Castle on a Cloud”
 • Beaccuse, Cosette was
dreaming of a better life
instead of the life with the
Thenardiers.
• It was a realm of her own
imagination where all
children are free to play
and she is loved.

“Castle on a Cloud”
 • The third verse speaks of a
lady all in white who loves
her and it is implied that this
is her vision of her mother,
Fantine.
• Madame Thénardier
intervenes during the song
and verbally abuses Cosette,
ordering to “fetch some water
from the well in the wood",
despite the fact that it is cold
outside and Cosette is afraid.

“Castle on a Cloud”
 • “Castle On A Cloud’ takes
part in 1823.
• And, the lyrics of the song
were written by Herbert
Kretzmer, one of the best
lyricists and well known as
English journalists.

“Castle on a Cloud”
“Unlocking of Difficulties”
Read the following sentences. Unlock the meaning of
the highlighting words using context clues.

“Unlocking of Difficulties”
“Unlocking of
1
Difficulties”

1. The man accosted her. He spoke in a voice that was

grave and almost bass.
a. approached with a greeting
b. avoided constantly
c. ignored without a glance
“Unlocking of Difficulties”

2. The man said nothing for a moment; then he

remarked abruptly.
a. hesitantly
b. unexpectedly
c. slowly
“Unlocking of Difficulties”

3. The man halted; he set the bucket on the ground,

bent down and placed both hands on the child's
shoulder.
a. stopped for a moment
b. continued moving
c. resumed a work
“Unlocking of Difficulties”

4. Cosette's thin and sickly face was vaguely outlined

by the livid light in the sky.
a. clearly visualized
b. definitely described
c. not clearly recognized
“Unlocking of Difficulties”

5. From time to time she raised her eyes towards the man,
with a sort of tranquility and an indescribable confidence.
a. a quality or state of disturbance
b. a quality or state of agitation
c. a quality of state of calmness
• He was a French poet,
novelist, and dramatist of
the Romantic movements.
• He was born on February
26, 1802, Besançon,
France.
• His father was Joseph
Leopold Sigisbert Hugo, a
military officer who later
served as a general under
Napoloen and his mother
was Sophie Trebuche.
• Hugo is considered to be one
of the greatest and best-
known French writers
worldwide both literary and
political celebrity.
• He studied law between 1815
and 1818, though he never
committed himself to legal
practice.
• He was died on May 22,
1885 in Paris France due to
Pneumonia.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
“Les Miserables”
 Les Miserables was written during a century of
massive social upheaval in France.
 The Revolution and subsequent uprisings, the
country go from monarchy to republic to empire
and back again several times.
 Many supported the idea of universal suffrage and
secular education, but putting these ideas into
practice proved to be challenging.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
“Les Miserables”
 Major Events in France, Napoleon,
Les Miserables.
 1789 – French Revolution
 1804 – Napoleon Named Emperor
 1814 – Monarchy Restored
 1815 – Final Defeat of Napoleon
 1830 – 2nd French Revolution (Louise
Philippe
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
“Les Miserables”
 1848 – 3rd French Revolution & 2nd
Republic (Louis Napoleon)
 1870 – 3rd French Republic
 Between 1789 – 1804, (Birth of Hugo –
1802)
 Between 1814 – 1832, (Events of Les
Miserables)
 1851 – 1870 (Hugo in Exile, Finishes
Novel)
 SOCIAL BACKGROUND
“Les Miserables”
 Les Miserables demonstrates the prevalence of
social classes in revolutionary France.
 Les Miserables is set with the context of social
and political turbulence, chaos, and personal
despair.
 As the title itself suggests, the story dramatizes
the plight of people caught in vicious cycles of
injustice, violence, and suffering.
 Hugo himself describes the universal appeal of
the themes set forth in this novel:
 “Les Miserables”
The literal meaning is
"the miserable ones.”
Les Misérables is a French historical novel by
Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is
considered one of the greatest novels of the
19th century.
 “Les Miserables”
• Les Miserables is all about how society was indifferent
then to one’s struggles rich or poor.
• The rich looked down on the poor, the poor looked
down on the convicts, and the convicts looked down on
the rich for treating them like dirt.
• The writer doesn’t just simplify how miserable the
main characters are, but he also touches on the misery
of everyone else in France.
• It isn’t just about these characters and their struggles.
 “Les Miserables”
• It is France as a whole and the social
injustice taking place at the time.
• It is France's poor who are the miserable
ones ultimately the English-speaking
world, the novel is usually referred to by
its original French title.
 Les Miserables Metaphors and
Similes
“There are human creatures which, like crayfish, always retreat
into shadow, going backwards rather than forwards through
life, gaining in deformity with experience, going from bad to
worse and sinking into even deeper darkness. The Thénardiers
were of this kind“
 The only apt comparison for the nasty Thénardiers is the scuttling
crayfish, a weird-looking crawling animal.
 The Thénardiers are not above enslaving a little girl and charging her
mother exorbitant fees for her keep. Unlike Myriel or Valjean (the
heroes of the text), they backslide and decline in morality, committing
even crueler acts.
 Les Miserables emphasizes the growth of the human spirit; in this light,
the Thénardiers may be read as the opposite of correct progress.
 Les Miserables Metaphors and
Similes
"Just as demons and evil spirits recognize by
certain signs the presence of a higher God, so
Thénardier realized that he had to do with a man
of great moral strength"

 When Thénardier tries to wheedle more money from Valjean

in exchange for Cosette at the inn, Valjean replied with a
forceful and rigid refusal that stuns the wicked Thénardier.
 This passage describes Thénardier's reaction to Valjean; it
connects the ordinary human characters with celestial
conflict, and emphasizes the goodness of Valjean.
 Les Miserables Metaphors and
Similes

"Like all children, like the tendrils of a vine

reaching for something to cling to, she had looked
for love, but she had not found it."

 Cosette is deeply lonely when Valjean rescues her from

the Thénardiers; she loves him like a father instantly,
trusting him deeply. Hugo underscores this deep
connection by comparing her to a plant.
 Cosette, and children more generally, are like small plants
seeking rest and support, striving towards the light.
 Quiz
1. Who is the author of Les Miserables?
a. Antoine de-Saint Exupery
b. Nicholas Sparks
c. Victor Hugo
2. The following are the blood member of the Thenardier’s family exept ___.
a. Cosette
b. Azelma
c. Eponine
3. What is the main reason why the Thénardiers are keeping Cosette?
a. For prostitution
b. For the love she offers them
c. For her labor and the money they extort from her mother
 Quiz

4. Who was the stranger whom Cosette had met while

fetching water into the woods?
a. Monsieur Thenardier
b. Bishop Myriel
c. Jean Valjean
5. What was Jean Valjean’s prisoner number?
a. 24602
b.24607
c. 24601
 Quiz
• Write True if the statement is correct and False
otherwise.
__ ____ 6. Madame Thenardier is the real mother of
Cosette.
_______ 7. Cosette receives proper love and care from
the Thenardiers.
_______ 8. Jean Valjean helped Cosette in carrying a
bucket full of water.
_______ 9. Zelma and Ponine are the siblings of
Cosette.
_______ 10. Cosette was never allowed by Zelma and
Ponine to play with them.
 Plot
“Les Miserables”
 Les Miserables, tells about the fictional story of Prisoner 24601,
Jean Valjean, a man who has unjustly been condemned to prison
for stealing a loaf bread from a local baker to save a starving
child.
 He was caught and imprisoned for five to nineteen years in
Toulon.
 In 1814, Valjean broke his parolee, he wants to starts a new life
and he issued a yellow passport with marching orders to
Pontarlier, where he will be forced to live under severe restriction
orders.
 Bishop Myriel of Digne, from whom he steals valuable
silverware, tells the police that he has given the treasure to
Valjean.
 Plot
“Les Miserables”
 In late 1815, Jean Valjean, now using the name Madeleine,
arrives in Montreuil-sur-Mer.
 He revolutionizes the town's manufacturing and earns a fortune,
which he spends mostly for the town's good, paying for the
maintenance of hospitals, orphanages and schools.
 He was appointed as mayor after refusing the first time.
 He declines the king's offer to make him a Knight of the Legion
of Honor.
 Valjean goes to Montfermeil, where he meets Cosette alone in the
forest on Christmas Eve 1823.
 Valjean takes Cosette to Paris.
 “During The June Monarchy”

 Jean Valjean promised the dying Fantine that he will protect her
daughter.
 He adopts Cosette, paying off her greedy, cruel caretakers,
Monsieur and Madame Thenadier.
 Fifteen years pass peacefully for Valjean and Cosette as they hide
in an abbey.
 During this time, King Louis dies and King Charles X took over
briefly.
 The new king is soon exiled in 1830 during the July Revolution,
also known as the Second French Revolution.
 Louis Philippe assumes the throne, beginning a reign known as
the July Monarchy.
 “During The June Monarchy”

In the story of Les Miserables, Valjean's

relatively tranquil existence becomes imperiled
when Cosette falls in love with Marius, a young
member of "Friends of the ABC," a fictional
organization created by author Hugo that mirrors
many of the small revolutionary groups of the
time.
Valjean risks his life by joining the rebellion in
order to save Marius.
 “The July Rebellion”
 Marius and his friends represented the sentiments expressed by
many freethinkers in Paris.
 They wanted to reject the monarchy and return France to a
republic once more.
 The Friends of the ABC strongly support a liberal-minded
politician named Jean Lamarque.
 When Lamarque lay dying of cholera, many people believed
that the government had poisoned public wells, resulting in the
deaths of popular political figures.
 Enjolras, the leader of The Friends of the ABC, knows that
Lamarque's death may serve as an important catalyst to their
revolution.
 “The End of Uprising”
 A usually violent effort by many people to change the
government or leader of a country.
 As depicted in the novel and musical, the Rebellion did not end
well for the rebels.
 They expected that the people would support their cause;
however, they soon realized that no reinforcements would be
joining them.
 According to historian Matt Boughton, both sides suffered
casualties: "166 killed and 635 wounded on both sides during the
course of the struggle." Of those 166, 93 were members of the
rebellion.
 As Marius describes it, "Empty chairs at empty tables, where my
friends sing no more..."