One Lie “It is not only the prisoners who grow coarse and hardened from corporeal punishment, but those as well who perpetrate the act or are present to witness it.” ― Anton Chekhov. In the story Les Mesribles by Victor Hugo the main character John Val Jean starts off the story by being released from prison. He is a dangerous man as society would call him. The criminal system in the era of this book is so messed up that everyone knows how unfair and unjust it is. The church officials even lie to the law because they see how corrupt it is. One of those lies changed Val Jeans life forever. The Bishop’s treatments, advice, and candle sticks transformed Val jean’s life. Val Jean spent 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. When he