The Moral Arc Of Justice

Martin Luther King Jr., a world renowned civil rights activist once stated that ¨The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.¨ An arc is a smooth curve, composed of numerous points that connect to make something bigger. There are no sudden breaks or holes in an arc. The moral arc of the universe is a smooth path of righteousness, allowing different aspects of humanity to prevail and create a much bigger shape. When morality is followed and prioritized, the world can live in peace and harmony, without chaos. However, the world is not perfect due to justice. The rules of justice contradict the smooth arc of morality, abruptly breaking off from the connected line. At the ¨elbow of justice¨ there is a sharp turning point between
humanity and law; law, which takes control over virtue as a sharp, dangerous body part like the elbow. These two methods of looking at the world are difficult to coexist and because of justice, the moral arc is broken, and a corrupt world takes form.
Exemplified in VIctor Hugo's novel Les Miserables, police inspector Javert demonstrates how the smooth arc of law is corrupted by rigid thinking involving the law, and how transformation allows for the construction of a better world, in which all men are equal. Justice and law are very powerful things, and when focused only on those, Javert becomes quite destructive in terms of the lives who fall underneath his. Javert does not see the moral arc described by Martin Luther King Jr., and instead only see the abrupt elbow of justice, which he believes is the only answer to anything. Throughout the novel Les Miserables, Hugo uses the characterization and plight of Javert to illustrate that law and order thinking commonly prevail in society, but once those in charge of the law recognize humanity’s suffering, a more just world is possible. Javert begins his character as someone attracted to rigid thinking regarding the law, and in turn poorly affects the lives of people like Jean Valjean and Fantine. Through these characters however, Javert is able to recognize his own ignorance and transform in order to help humanity become better as a
whole.
In his role as police inspector, Javert follows his method of rigid thinking and harshness to enforce law and order no matter the circumstance. Brought up from a background of corruption and poverty, much like the people he pursues, Javert enforces the law to erase his troubling past. He rids society of those who disobey the law no matter who they are, because the law is superior. If the rules say something is wrong, the person is wrong as well. He spends his life chasing down ¨criminals¨, like Fantine, who he throws in jail for simply defending herself. Javert feels he is in the right as he ¨[protects] order, [hurls] forth the thunder of the law, he [avenges] society, he [lends] aid to the absolute; he [stands] erect in a halo of glory...standing haughty . resplendent, [displaying] full glory the superhuman beastliness of a ferocious archangel(130).” Javert “protects order” in a very powerful manner, having the “thunder of the law.” He scares those who are lower than him and is a powerful man of justice, much like thunder is powerful in a storm. In his own eyes, he sees himself as doing what is right, as he “stands erect in a halo of glory” in a way that makes his rigid thinking a sacred thing. He is a superior and angelic figure of the law, displayed in a manner that allows himself to believe he is doing the honest thing. The power of law and order is a matter beyond Earth and must be followed religiously, hence Javert’s “superhuman beastliness”. Javert has the aggression of a beast to impose the law through his divine occupation. This beastliness emerges from his conscience and “his conscience [is] bound up in his utility, his religion in his duties, and he [is] a spy as others are priests(55).” Javert's conscience consists of what he believes in and his conscience is simply ¨bound¨ up in his work enforcing the law. His conscience has no other place to go and no other task to complete other than enforcing justice, as if his conscience and his job are bound together. His ¨religion¨, typically something sacred that people believe in and strictly follow, is his duty as police inspector. Javert finds comfort and an enlightening glory in his job because he can only see what he believes is right, despite his harm to others around him. All of his actions are brought about from his conscience, and just as a ¨priest¨ preaches religion as the leader of a church, Javert as a ¨spy¨ preaches justice as the leader of the police force. Whether it be a priest or a spy, Javert is devoted to the law, driven by a strict conscience and brutal nature. Throughout his plight as a brutal police inspector, Javert negatively affects the lives of the less fortunate around him like Fantine due to his cruel nature.
Javert pays no attention to the harm he causes to others around him, blinded by the notion that justice is the only road that can be followed. On one occasion, Fantine is walking down a street and is teased by a richer man looking to pick a fight. After she can’t take anymore of his antagonizing, Fantine hits the man, just in time for Javert to see. From around the corner, he is called to duty to protect the law, arresting her and taking her back to the court. Javert has Fantine´s fate in his hands and “It [is] one of those moments in which he [exercises] without restraint, but with all the scruples of a strict conscience, his formidable discretionary power. At this moment he [feels] that his policeman’s stool [is] a bench of justice...He [calls] all the ideas of which his mind [is] capable around the grand thing he [is] doing(70).” The power over the law which Javert has as a police inspector allows him to ¨exercise without restraint¨. He can do whatever he wants and in any matter as long as justice is being enforced and rules are followed at all costs. He has hesitation is his ¨strict conscience¨, and even though Fantine is clearly suffering at his mercy, morality is no match to Javert´s will to serve justice and use his daunting power when necessary. His stool, where he sits and declares guilt to those who fall
beneath him, is a ¨bench of justice¨. When he is arresting Fantine, he feels he is doing something ¨grand¨ and the bench serves as a throne to the king of justice himself. His belief and priority is that law must always come first, even if it does cause suffering. After being arrested by Javert for simply standing up for herself against a hostile man, Fantine is taken to the courtroom where her sentence is determined. She pleas with Javert, telling him of her helpless child and how she did no wrong, but Javert ignores her cries of help and remains strictly to the law. Negatively affected by Javert´s actions, she ¨¨[bends] double, [shakes] with sobs, [is blinded] by tears, her neck bare, clenching her hands, coughing with a dry and short cough, stammering feebly with an agonized voice¨ in which ¨she [stops] and tenderly [kisses] the policeman´s coat. She would have softened a heart of granite, but you cannot soften a heart of wood(73).¨ Fantine is clearly traumatized that she has to leave her helpless daughter Cosette and all because Javert saw her defending herself against the man who attacked her. If put in jail, Fantine knows that her daughter will surely die and Javert is the one who determines that. She ¨shakes¨ with sobs as her fear and despair take control of her, making it unable for her to see clearly or gather any strength, as Javert´s actions cause her dismay. Even after sentencing her to 6 months in jail, she finds it in her heart to ¨kiss his coat.¨ Still, affection has no effect on Javert´s stance and does not break him from his belief that jail and punishment is the only answer to crime. Someone whose intentions are so pure, like Fantine´s, could sway those who believe in humanity, the ¨granite¨ of society. Granite is valuable and strong, meaning that morality is an important and strong way of looking at life. The granite of society are those who feel compassion and do what is right no matter the cost.. Wood however, is weaker and only continues to grow, resembling the law of society, like Javert, and how crime will never go unpunished. Wood is not as strong as granite, and so law is not as crucial as morality. Yet the wood of society still continues to grow, enforcing law even when not right. All emotion like sadness, grief, and affection are not enough to break Javert and his strict belief that law must be obeyed. Nothing can penetrate the harsh nature of Javert, which causes him to pursue more destruction upon the lives of those beneath him without even knowing it.