In this essay I aim to discuss the portrayal of Silas Marner in chapters 1, 2 and 14 in the novel.

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Miss. Keeton – English                                                 Karanveer Singh Bembey – 11 B

SILAS MARNER

In this essay I aim to discuss the portrayal of Silas Marner in chapters 1, 2 and 14 in the novel.

The story of Silas Marner is about how things can change in time. It also supplies a certain message. George Elliot wrote the story in 1860. George Elliot was a female and her real name was Marian Evans. She changed her name because it was difficult for a woman’s book to be published. Her story deals with themes of greed, jealousy and envy. There are many morals to this story and we can learn a lot about life.

In chapter 1 and 2 in a town called Lantern Yard, North ‘ard lives a man called Silas Marner. He is a simple man there is nothing out of the ordinary about him. He is very religious and spends most of his time at God’s house, “The church in lantern yard.” He also gives a share of his earnings to the church. Silas Marner’s job is as a linen weaver. He is very special and respected because he is a linen weaver; he is experienced and there were not many good and experienced linen weavers around, “Scattered linen weavers.” Silas Marner has a very serious medical condition, which gives him seizures (fits). He is epileptic which basically means that he freezes, roughly for about 10 seconds and he cannot remember anything that happened in those 10 seconds, “A fit was stroke.” One day unfortunately Silas Marner had a seizure. The unfortunate thing was that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Silas Marner had a seizure while there was a crime happening in front of his eyes. The crime was committed and the criminal got away whereas Silas Marner (innocent bystander) was left behind to take the blame. Silas Marner was accused of the crime that he did not commit, but due to the false evidence against him and no defence, Silas Marner was convicted guilty, “The lots declared that Silas Marner was guilty.” Through this false conviction Silas Marner’s life shattered into small pieces. Silas Marner was very depressed because firstly he had lost his fiancé to his best friend who had betrayed him because he did not help Silas Marner's defence when his help was most needed, “symbols have all vanished.” From this I understood that George Elliot is trying to say, the symbols are metaphors for relationships and that the relationships that Silas Marner had are all fading away. Who he believed to be his friends, abandoned him in his time of need. Their presence was only a mirage.

Silas Marner then became very lonely, “Loneliness, Deserted,” because as well as losing his fiancé and his best friend he had also lost his faith in God. As he was convicted guilty, further punishment was that he was not allowed to be part of the church. He became very lonely, “His soul, long stupefied in a cold narrow prism,” and because of this he decided to leave from Lantern Yard, North ‘ard and migrate to a small village far away called Raveloe. In Raveloe Silas Marner opted for a different life from which he before he was found guilty. He chose to be different and not become sociable in the community. No one spoke to him and he never spoke to anyone, “There was no unseen love that cared for him.” Working, as a linen weaver was his life because it seems that was all he was interested in, “Reduce his life to the unquestioning activity of a spinning insect.” His life was becoming very similar day after day and he was becoming more lonely and depressed. Through his depression he was becoming strange and very obsessed with money. He had replaced his family and friends with money. So every day after working hard in his home he would take out his money which he stored under a brick on the floor, to grasp, admire and adore the wealth he had really worked hard for, “The habit of looking towards the money and grasping it with a sense of fulfilled effort made a loam that was deep enough for the seeds of desire.” Through this he became a very rich middle class man and so his aims and ambitions changed in life, he was more interested in working and earning more money than anything else which is understandable because he had no one else to work for.

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Silas Marner used the key ring as a hook to hang his cooking pot when he was preparing his meal. One day during the meal preparation he realized some ingredients were missing, so left the pot to go and get the essentials. As his key ring was holding the pot up he decided to leave his home unlocked, as he would be back very soon. So the door was open and no one was at home. Meanwhile a complete stranger to Silas Marner came to visit him. The door was open and so he went in and searched for ...

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