Wealth Inequality

Wealth Versus Welfare
Victor Hugo in Les Miserables and Claire Kokoska in the article Wealth Inequality in America Leads to Systemic Problems for the Poor discuss the consequences of inequality in wealth distribution; two of those are the inability to provide basic necessities to their families and the descent into a life of criminal and malicious intent to survive.
As wealth inequality grows in a population, there is a conflict of trying to maintain a stable family. In the beginnings of Les Miserables, Fantine is struggling to provide for her daughter Cosette. During her conquest to provide for her child, she does many questionable acts for a minimal sum of money. Part of her frivolous search for jobs, she decides to cut her hair for “Ten …show more content…
Within the novel the daughter of Fantine, Cosette, is living as part of the Thenardiers family. Cosette is a slave in their household and is victim to physical abuse from her disobedience. Cosette in their family had to tend to customers of the tavern run by the Thenardiers. As the tavern was first introduced Cosette was described as being “only eight years old, she had already suffered so much that she mused with the mournful air of an old woman. She had a black eye from a blow of the Thenardiess’ fist, which made the Thenardiess say from time to time: ‘How ugly she is with that patch on her eye’”(Hugo 149) The illegal acts of forcing extreme labor on a child as well as abuse shows the dehumanization of Cosette to an object rather than child. Furthermore, the mistreatment of Cossette is Hugo’s satire on the poor having such low standards to where they would abuse a child rather than do simple work themselves, It is also fairly ironic that the Thenardiers live in a tavern because generally poor people such as the Thenardiers have poor living conditions to support themselves let alone other people, as well as alcoholism is an epitome of the poor. Wealth Inequality in America Leads to Systemic Problems for the Poor points out this same issue by stating “[economic] insecurity is directly correlated with depression, alcoholism, obesity, smoking, drug use, gambling and minor criminality”(Kokoska) This wealth disparity only creates more problems like the examples previously listed and are only getting worse as the wealth gap

Show More