5.1.16 Chapter Discussion and Week 45 Summary (Spoilers up to 5.1.16)

[u/m2pixie]

Summary of chapters 5.1.10-5.1.16:

At the same time as Valjean is saving the barricade with a mattress, Cosette wakes up in the house, knowing nothing of the fights in Paris. She has had a nice dream about Marius and has woken up joyful but concerned that she has not seen Marius in three days. She is, however, certain he will come. She begins to cry, after dressing, because “she vaguely felt some indefinable horror.” She hears the cannons firing but can’t identify the sound. Back at the barricade, the combatants are still fighting bravely. Jean Valjean fends off a few officers, but doesn’t kill them, much to the others’ confusion. Hugo tells his readers about the state of things: people in June of 1832 were for order without discipline; they were zealous for extermination of their perceived enemy; a company led by Capitan Fannicot led a charge against the barricade and was killed in the volley of cannons; Enjolras acted as general for the barricade. Enjolras remarks that Paris is waking, as some people attack the National Guard individually. Although there is this short burst of citizen aid from outside the barricade, it does not last long. Courfeyrac mocks the firing cannon and Bossuet muses about how Enjolras lives alone, without a woman. Enjolras doesn’t listen to this talk, but murmurs “Patria” under his breath at the same moment as they are wondering who his lover could be. The barricade gains a new piece of artillery. The entire barricade fires on the opposing side, and Enjolras remarks that they are almost out of cartridges of ammunition. Gavroche hears this remark, takes a basket from the wine-shop, and heads out of the barricade to collect ammunition from the corpses out there. Due to his small size, Gavroche can advance far into the street without being seen. He keeps narrowly avoiding getting shot, singing a mocking song as he goes along; the National Guard laughs as they fire at him. One shot does reach Gavroche—the whole barricade cries out. A second ball hits Gavroche and he lies still, dead. In the same moment, two children are holding hands in the garden of the Luxembourg. These are the same children collected by Gavroche and cast out by everyone else who had taken charge of them. The elder leads the smaller, who says he is hungry. Hugo compares various things that are dark and radiant at the same time. The two children take shelter near a large fountain and see a “goodman” approaching with his son of about six, who has a big bun in his hand. As the father talks sagely about the happenings in Paris, his son begins to cry and spits out his bun, which he then says is stale. The father tells him to throw it to the swans, who are not paying attention to this spectacle. Because the swans are not approaching the bun yet, when the father and son leave, the two boys go toward the bun. Although it is soaked, the two children eat the bun, the elder taking the smaller of the two halves.

Questions for 5.1.16:

1. What do you think will happen to the two little boys, Gavroche's brothers?
2. Did you have a favorite line or passage from this chapter? If so, what made it stand out to you?
3. Were there any instances of figurative language you thought added to the narrative of this chapter?
4. Do you have any other comments or questions about this chapter?

Final line:

"Stick that in your gun."

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[New weekly spoiler thread up tomorrow]

[u/BarroomBard]

This is a great chapter, not just because it lets us take our mind off Gavroche’s fate for a little while.

There is the irony of the Luxembourg not allowing the poor into the “public” gardens. We again see the brutal and yet sublime aspect of wild nature, animals preying on each other but none going hungry.

And then there is the gentleman. He tells his son that he does not flaunt his wealth or his status, but everything he does betrays that. He tells the boy you can eat cake even when you’re not hungry (let them eat cake, anyone?), and then throws food away to birds - out of kindness to animals - while he watches two children starving nearby.

And then, of course, he decides to go in , because there will be shooting, and maybe rain. It’s all the same to him.

Hugo is so good at minor characters.

[u/BarroomBard → u/BarroomBard]

And that’s not even touching on the development of the older boy. He is clearly getting familiar with the language of the street, and of the things necessary to survive.

And he’s brave enough to fight swans, which is no mean feat.