#Javert's inner monologue being binary code is one of my favorite Joaks

[secretmellowblog]

In the musical, Jean Valjean and Javert's final confrontation is a climactic shouting match. But in the book it's different? Javert is obviously ridden with doubts from the moment he sees Jean Valjean, doubts he can't live with-- he's hesitant, uncertain, and passive. He speaks "as if in a dream," he dutifully asks the questions he's supposed to ask of criminals but doesn't hear any of Jean Valjean's answers, his mind is obviously wandering elsewhere, and he doesn't even verbally threaten to arrest Jean Valjean at all. He never says 'yes' to Jean Valjean's requests for favors, but he also never says 'no." It's like he's in so much confusion he's forgotten how an arrest is supposed to work. It's fascinating how much Jean Valjean "takes the lead" throughout their final confrontation. Javert is busy short-circuiting like a malfunctioning robot, while Jean Valjean walks him through the "script" for how arresting criminals is supposed to go, reminding him of how arresting people is supposed to work, while Javert primarily just passively follows Jean Valjean's orders. Their conversation is literally just: Javert: who is there? Jean Valjean: it's me Jean Valjean Javert: *Computer fans whirring, overheating, Windows error noise* Jean Valjean: You are going to arrest me. Javert: *bluescreen* Jean Valjean: I am going to come quiety. Javert: *404_file not found* Jean Valjean: But first we are going to take Marius home Javert: 01000001 01001000 01001000 01001000 01001000 01001000 01001000 01001000 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101111 01110101 01100111 01101000 01110100 01110011 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 01110011 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 0010