In the 1939 film adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, various characters are subjected to different forms of discrimination due to their social statuses, physical appearance, and even gender/sex. Discrimination in all its forms is a timeless issue in the society; classism, ableism, and sexism, as forms of discrimination, are prevalent in the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame and similar examples exist in the contemporary society. There are various sectors of society portrayed in the film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. Nearly all spheres that comprise the modern day society find representation in the film. The King, who plays a prominent role in the society potrayed, represents the leadership authority or structure of governance. The clergy and the church find symbolism by the gigantic cathedral of Notre Dame. The Cathedral, according to Tonkin, is “a vindication of the Gothic style” of art and architecture, still prevalent in many western towns and cities even today (40). There are gypsies, street urchins, and all other members of society as can be found in any of today’s ‘modern’ society. Esmeralda herself is a gypsy, a factor that bears down on her sense of self, because she experiences discrimination for her lifestyle on the fringes of society and the accompanying poverty. At one point in the film, Esmeralda prays and acknowledges her frustration at being an outcast. She wonders if her prayers will ever be heard because in her mind the prayers of other more economically endowed members of society should take precedence over her own. The society depicted in the film thus practices a level of classism as a form of discrimination. As a gypsy, Esmeralda and her companions experience a system of discrimination that leaves them economically underpowered and socially downtrodden, a typical classism. In contemporary society, low earning members of society who engage in all sorts of activities in order to earn their keep (as exemplified by gypsies) are usually relegated to the lower classes of society. In both the film adaptation and the book itself, one of the chief protagonists is Quasimodo, a hunchback variously described as ugly and portrayed quite grotesquely in the film. Quasimodo is the church bell ringer, an occupation that renders him deaf due to the loud sounds of the bell. He is abandoned as a child; most likely his mother was uncomfortable with his looks because he is exchanged for the fairer and more beautiful Esmeralda. Throughout the film, people mock and deride Quasimodo for his looks and his disability. He is crowned the “pope of fools” during the “feast of fools” festival. According to Whittington-Walsh, “People with physical and mental disabilities have been displayed for human entertainment and profit as human oddities for hundred of years” (696). Ableism, the practice of discriminating against another based on his or her physical disabilities is meted out on Quasimodo. When Quasimodo is up close with the beautiful Esmeralda, the contrast in their looks bears down on him and he laments at how ugly he is especially since Esmeralda is strikingly beautiful. He describes himself as half man and half beast, stating that he is as shapeless as they come. Even the compassionate Esmeralda is revolted by his look to a poi