Reading Notes

I just finished the chapter “This Will Kill That” in Notre-Dame de Paris. It is a fascinating telling of the history of the conveyances of knowledge and ideology. Hugo uses it as a tool to develop characterization and conflict to further his plot. He uses his knowledge of history and philosophy to create characters based on ideas. He is like a master teacher who recognizes an enormous context (events and ideas in history and philosophy) that the reader must first grasp, before the reader can grasp the the nature of his work (his character, plot and novel).