Les Misérables, Book 11: The Atom Joins the Hurricane, Chapter 1 summary

What happens

1. A clash near the Arsenal starts the insurrection, and the crowd following a hearse scatters through the streets.
2. Gavroche takes a pistol from a junk shop, sings as he walks, and discovers that the weapon lacks a trigger.
3. The narrator describes Gavroche’s songs, brief printing apprenticeship, and errand for M. Baour-Lormian.
4. The narrator recalls how Gavroche shelters and feeds two boys without knowing they are his brothers; they never return.
5. Unable to buy an apple turnover, Gavroche continues walking and tears down theater posters for pleasure.
6. He encounters prosperous-looking people and angrily accuses the rich of spending their money on excessive eating.

In this chapter

What to notice

The sentence makes the brothers’ disappearance final. It sharpens the contrast between Gavroche’s generous care and the loss of children within the city.

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