Genius | Song Lyrics & Knowledge

when everything was as fragile as a wet painting. Evan Swenson – On leaving

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if you disturb a wet painting, you can ruin it forever

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what am i doing

drinking an iced soy latte Jordan Castro – This morning i worried about my face, among other things

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Castro simultaneously asks himself what is he doing–perhaps as an existential question–and answers with the objectively true answer, “drinking an iced soy latte”; but he could also be asking what is he doing drinking an iced soy latte when there are so many other things to be doing?

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Rappers they get slave money Gucci Mane (Ft. Birdman) – Anytime You Ready

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Since a slave doesn’t get paid, Gucci is saying that these rappers make nothing compared to him. Insulting the earning power of other rappers is something that many artists do like Drake

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[He tears up his yellow ticket-of-leave.] Claude-Michel Schönberg (Ft. Colm Wilkinson, Gary Morris & John Owen-Jones) – What Have I Done? (Valjean's Soliloquy)

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The piece of paper that identified him as a convict; from now on, Valjean is leaving behind both the “Jean Valjean” and the “24601” identity; he is becoming a new man whose spiritual resurrection ties very much to the Christian themes of these events.

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Yes, 24601 Claude-Michel Schönberg (Ft. Colm Wilkinson, Gary Morris, Maurice Barrier, Roger Allam & Terrence Mann) – Prologue

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Javert insistently refers to Valjean with a number rather than a name to dehumanize him, in keeping with the former’s belief that criminals are irredeemably lesser than law-abiding citizens.

This particular habit of Javert’s is an invention of the musical adaptation—he does not do this in the novel; however, it serves to illustrate his character and philosophy very early on in the musical, as well as providing a pretext for both to announce their names clearly in the opening song, which is crucial to helping the audience follow events, particularly given Valjean’s changing identities later on.

The number 24601 appears only twice in the original French text of the novel and serves a similar purpose of compromising Valjean’s humanity. Hugo states that “He was no longer even Jean Valjean; he was the number 24601.” After a second arrest, which the musical omits, he receives the new number 9430, which appears a total of four times (significantly, in place of Valjean’s name in two chapter titles). Neither number is ever spoken by Javert, and given Hugo’s famed prolixity a total of six mentions of Valjean’s prisoner number renders it far from being a prominent motif in the novel.

Valjean’s number has also been used in homage to the character in various other media. Prisoners in Arrested Development, South Park and The Simpsons have all borne the number.

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Javert insistently refers to Valjean with a number rather than a name to dehumanize him, in keeping with the former's belief that criminals are irredeemably lesser than law-abiding citizens.

This particular habit of Javert's is an invention of the musical adaptation---he does not do this in the novel; however, it serves to illustrate his character and philosophy very early on in the musical, as well as providing a pretext for both to announce their names clearly in the opening song, which is crucial to helping the audience follow events, particularly given Valjean's changing identities later on.

The number 24601 appears only twice in the original French text of the novel and serves a similar purpose of compromising Valjean's humanity. Hugo states that "He was no longer even Jean Valjean; he was the number 24601." After a second arrest, which the musical omits, he receives the new number 9430, which appears a total of four times (significantly, in place of Valjean's name in two chapter titles). Neither number is ever spoken by Javert, and given Hugo's famed prolixity a total of six mentions of Valjean's prisoner number renders it far from being a prominent motif in the novel.

***

Valjean's number has also been used in homage to the character in various other media. Prisoners in *Arrested Development*, *South Park* and *The Simpsons* have all borne the number.

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