According to Wikipedia, “The English idiom [don’t judge a book by its cover] is a metaphorical phrase which means you shouldn’t prejudge the worth of someone or something, by its outward appearance alone” (Don’t judge a book by its cover 1). Just like an old ragged book that one turns the pages to reveal the knowledge or characters within, the same goes for people.

It is what is within the person that counts. In “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” Clopin, a gypsy, introduces the story as, “It’s a tale, a tale of a man and a monster” (Scripps). Prejudgment of a person can lead to false identity as seen in the characters of Quasimodo and Frollo.Although Quasi appears as a deformed monster, he is really a caring man.

Quasimodo, whose name means half-formed, was born with many deformities. He is portrayed as a red head, pale skinned monster with a hunchback. Frollo tells the archdeacon, “This is an unholy demon. I'm sending it back to hell, where it belongs” (Scripps). Frollo killed Quasi’s mother and the archdeacon made him feel responsible so Frollo agreed to take him as his own.

He says, “Just so he’s kept locked away where no one else can see” (Scripps). Even Quasi believes he is not normal. He tells the gargoyles, “I'd never fit in down there. I'm not..

. normal” (Scripps).When he escapes for just one day to attend the Festival of Fools, he is made fun of and ridiculed for the way he looks. The crowd is shouting, “That’s no mask! It’s his face! He’s hideous! ” (Scripps).

Thus Quasimodo appears as a monster to everyone who did not get to know him. Even though Quasimodo looks like a monster on the outside, his personality is that of a selfless person. Quasi falls in love with Esmeralda, the gypsy woman, and helps her get back to her people. He demonstrates a man of good character as he rescued the damsel in distress.She wants him to run away with her but he refuses because of his devotion to Frollo. Quasi’s caring and loyal nature did not allow him to abandon his care-taker.

Putting his own wants aside, Quasi even helps Phoebus, who is Esmeralda’s real knight in shining armor. In the end, Quasi rescues Esmeralda from the fire and brings her back to the bell tower and screams “Sanctuary”, which means a safe place (Scripps). He saves her life by allowing her to enter sanctuary. Even though Quasimoto looks like a monster on the outside, his personality is that of a kind and caring person. In the end, “the crowd begins to cheer.As he moves into the crowd, they do not move away as before” (Scripps).

He is no longer the monster that people once thought. People overlooked Quasi’s deformities and saw a good-natured person. Frollo who is employed by the church as a Court Judge is a man of great Catholic faith. Logically, he should be the kind and caring person. He is thought of by the people of the city as the man who took in the deformed infant to protect him from the rest of the world.

Frollo tells Phoebus in the film, “The gypsies live outside the normal order. Their heathen ways inflame the peoples' lowest instincts, and they must be stopped” (Scripps).As a man of God, he believes it is his responsibility to get rid of all the sin and evil in the world. Frollo seems to be a generous and loving man by the people in the city. In fulfilling this responsibility he believes God has given him, Frollo becomes the evil man but proclaims his innocence.

Even though he killed Quasimoto’s mother, he leads Quasi to believe that his mother gave him away because of his deformity. Frollo is constantly telling Quasi that he is deformed and the world would see him as a monster. He tortures Quasi by saying, “The world is cruel. The world is wicket. It’s I alone whom you can trust in this whole city.I am you only friend.

You are deformed” (Scripps). He manipulates Quasi into believing he is worthless. In addition to diminishing Quasi, Frollo lusts for Esmeralda. He sings, “Like fire, hellfire, this fire in my skin, this burning desire, is turning me to sin” (Scripps).

Frollo, who should not be yearning over women, is infatuated with Esmeralda. Although he still pleads his innocence and says, “It’s not my fault! I’m not to blame! It is the gypsy girl…If, in God’s plan, He made the devil so much stronger than a man! ” (Scripps). Frollo never takes the blame for his actions; he always has an excuse.Frollo commands Phoebus, “Burn it. Until it smolders.

These people are traitors and must be made example of” (Scripps). Because he is obsessed in finding Esmerelda, he will do anything, including burn innocent people, to achieve his goal. Although Frollo is portrayed in society as a man of God and a man of good character, in reality he is a cruel, manipulative man. Frollo’s character in the movie is a prime example of how one cannot be judged by what is on the outside.

Quasimoto and Frollo were two characters in the movie that had completely opposite portrayal of what they were assumed to be because of who they were and what they looked like.Quasi being the “monster” because of his appearance was really the kind hearted man. Frollo on the other hand was the religious figure who should have been the kind hearted man but ultimately was the “monster”. One cannot be judged by appearance or social standing. When Clopin introduced the story as “A tale, a tale of a man and a monster”, one would think the “monster” to be the deformed hunchback, Quasimoto, while the “man” to be the religious character, Frollo (Scripps).

Ironically it was the complete opposite. What you see is not always what you get!