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◉Sources: Dataset Selection, Context, and Data Cleaning

Dataset Source: The text data for this analysis was obtained from Project Gutenberg, an open-source platform that provides public domain texts. Project Gutenberg offers a vast collection of the world’s great literature, primarily focusing on older works with expired U.S. copyright. The eBooks are digitized and carefully proofread by thousands of volunteers, ensuring accuracy and readability. Users can choose from various formats, including Read Online, EPUB, Kindle, and Plain Text. I selected Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, and downloaded it in Plain Text (.txt) format for ease of text analysis.

Data Cleaning and Formatting:
To ensure the most accurate analytical results, the following cleaning procedures were applied:

• Removal of Non-narrative Sections: Deleted non-narrative content such as:
  • Project Gutenberg Explanations (e.g., copyright disclaimers, donation requests)
  • Prefaces, Contents, and Chapter Headers
  • Additional Sections (e.g., footnotes, author’s notes, and appendices)
• Illustration Markers: Removed words like “ILLUSTRATION”, which are embedded in the text where illustrations appear in the original book.
• Consistent Formatting: Standardized line breaks, spacing, and punctuation to maintain text continuity for more reliable word frequency and pattern analysis.

　This comprehensive cleaning and formatting process ensures that the dataset is refined and focused on the narrative content, thereby enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the text analysis results.

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◉Processes: Analysis Tools and Techniques Used

　Using Voyant Tools, a web-based environment for reading and analyzing digital texts, I conducted an in-depth analysis of Les Misérables to explore Victor Hugo’s exploration of existential themes. By leveraging tools such as Cirrus, Trends, Bubbleline, and Collocate, I performed word frequency analysis to measure the occurrence of “death” and their distribution across different parts of the narrative. This quantitative approach was complemented by trend analysis to observe fluctuations in the use of these words, revealing shifts in emotional tone and thematic focus. Collocation analysis identified words commonly associated with “death” uncovering contextual relationships and thematic nuances. These collocations highlight Hugo’s exploration of existential themes, moral philosophy, and social commentary, portraying the human experience as a journey of love and loss, time and memory, salvation and redemption, and identity and purpose. Additionally, sentiment analysis evaluated the emotional connotations surrounding these words, revealing whether they were portrayed positively or negatively depending on the context. By editing the stop word list to exclude irrelevant words, the analysis provided a more accurate depiction of Hugo’s narrative strategies. This approach effectively combined quantitative data with qualitative interpretation, offering a comprehensive understanding of Les Misérables‘s complex thematic landscape.

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◉Presentation: Website Design and Embed/Illustration Decisions

　To effectively communicate the findings from the text analysis of Les Misérables, a thoughtfully designed website was created to present the results in an engaging and accessible manner. The primary goal of the website design was to enhance the user’s experience by offering a visually appealing and intuitive interface while ensuring that the complex analytical data remained clear and informative. The website was designed with a minimalist aesthetic to maintain focus on the text analysis results without overwhelming the viewer with excessive design elements. Clean lines, ample white space, and a neutral color palette were used to create a sophisticated and modern look, reflecting the timelessness of Les Misérables. A serif typeface was chosen for the main body text to evoke a classic literary feel, while a sans-serif font was used for headings and navigation for better readability and contrast. The navigation structure was made simple and user-friendly, with clearly labeled sections for Introduction, Dataset and Methodology, Analysis Results, and Conclusion. This logical flow allows users to easily follow the narrative of the project and delve deeper into specific analytical components, such as word frequency trends and sentiment analysis. To bring the text analysis to life, various visualizations were embedded throughout the website using interactive tools provided by Voyant Tools.

　The website was developed using a responsive design approach, ensuring optimal viewing experiences across devices, from desktops to mobile phones. Interactive features, such as hover effects on word clouds and clickable collocation diagrams, encourage user engagement and exploration. This thoughtful integration of website design, interactive visualizations, and carefully curated illustrations resulted in a comprehensive digital presentation that not only showcased the analytical findings but also enhanced the user’s interpretive journey through Les Misérables. By leveraging digital humanities tools in combination with effective web design principles, the project successfully bridged the gap between complex text analysis and accessible literary interpretation.

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◉Significance

　Applying a digital approach to this literary analysis unlocks a spectrum of insights that traditional reading might overlook. Through techniques like word frequency, trend, and collocation analyses, the project quantifies and visualizes the evolution of pivotal themes such as “death” throughout the narrative, revealing subtle shifts in tone and emphasis that underscore the text’s emotional and philosophical complexity. This method not only substantiates qualitative interpretations with concrete data but also provides an engaging, interactive experience that bridges the gap between computational analysis and literary interpretation. Unlike conventional data science, which primarily emphasizes algorithmic precision and statistical outcomes, Digital Arts & Humanities infuse these techniques with creative and interpretive perspectives, enriching our understanding of cultural artifacts. In this context, digital methods transform a classic work into a dynamic canvas where quantitative data and humanistic inquiry converge, offering a multidimensional exploration of narrative structure and thematic interplay that deepens our appreciation of both the art and science behind literature.