# Gavroche Outside explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

During the battle at the barricade, Gavroche bravely ventures outside to collect cartridges from fallen National Guardsmen, taunting the soldiers with songs as bullets fly around him. Despite being shot, he continues his defiant act until a second bullet kills him, leaving the insurgents in mourning.

## Themes in this chapter

### Revolution and Social Upheaval

Gavroche's fearless actions and death embody the spirit of the revolutionary struggle and the sacrifice of the young.

### Suffering and Sacrifice

Gavroche's fatal mission to gather ammunition highlights the cost of rebellion and the innocence lost in conflict.

## Character check-ins

### Gavroche

Braves enemy fire to collect cartridges, taunts soldiers with songs, and is ultimately killed.

### Courfeyrac

Spots Gavroche outside the barricade and shouts for him to come back inside.

## Key lines

> Gavroche had taken a bottle basket from the wine-shop, had made his way out through the cut, and was quietly engaged in emptying the full cartridge-boxes of the National Guardsmen who had been killed on the slope of the redoubt, into his basket.

Gavroche grabbed a basket from the tavern, slipped through an opening in the barricade, and began calmly collecting ammunition from the bodies of dead soldiers.

_Shows Gavroche's daring and resourcefulness in the midst of battle._

> Gavroche, though shot at, was teasing the fusillade. He had the air of being greatly diverted. It was the sparrow pecking at the sportsmen.

Despite being fired upon, Gavroche mocked the soldiers, acting as if he were enjoying the game, like a small bird taunting hunters.

_Highlights Gavroche's defiant and playful courage in the face of death._

> This grand little soul had taken its flight.

The brave young spirit had departed from his body.

_Poetic description of Gavroche's death, emphasizing his heroic and noble nature._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/xv-gavroche-outside
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters