“…yelled something like ‘blooming cissy’ and went away in disgust…”
Larry understands his enemies’ mentality, and openly preaches about God so therefore he must understand a lot about it. His teachings of God must have come from his friend Miss Cooney. He wants to shoe off his intelligence to others and talking about God demonstrates this.
“…an old washerwoman called Miss Cooney who had been in the lunatic asylum and was very religious…”
He has a wide range of vocabulary for a young boy. Larry is willing to look strange and out of place, he doesn’t care. Randolph is different because he does care, very much. He dearly wants to be accepted by society and wants to fit in. His mother brings him down as she is from a lower class, he is ashamed of her. People of the upper classes constantly surround him due to his private education. All his friends’ mothers and fathers are upper class.
“…while on the coaches sat the proud fathers and mothers; but never a poor mother like her…”
Sophy wants Randolph to be loving and like her. She does feel out of place and knows she is. Randolph being in a higher class has destroyed his relationship with his mother, although not completely. He doesn’t have any respect for his mother and isn’t proud of her as she is uneducated. She embarrasses him, especially when she makes grammatical errors. Due to his higher status in society Randolph has power over his mother, she doesn’t stand up for herself because she feels it isn’t in her morality, it’s not right.
“…He is so much educated and I so little that I do not feel dignified enough to be his mother…”
Sophy also feels ashamed of herself to be Randolph’s mother, which is awful. Randolph feels he belongs to his dead father and not her; it is a desperate situation, as Randolph doesn’t care for her as much as she odes for him. Education and class difference are very closely linked. You can only get a private education if you are of a higher class. Working class cannot afford to send their children to private schools, it is out of the question. If Sophy didn’t marry Mr Twycott her children with a lower class husband would not have a private education.
Larry and Randolph are similar in the fact that they both expect to have jobs in the church. Larry says he might be a bishop and wants a statue of himself put up near Father Matthew. Larry expects it where as it is Randolph’s destiny as his father was a vicar and he is following in his footsteps. It is a cultural expectation that if you’re a genius you should become a priest. The Catholic religion is a very important one. It affects all aspects of life. People think that if you are clever, intelligent boy then the only thing you can be is a priest. Catholic priests are celibate, which means they can’t marry, which Larry wants to do. Ireland is a temperate society; wither temperance abstinence from alcoholic drink or it can mean moderation or self-restraint. You should avoid things that may lead you astray. Nuns run all the Catholic schools and education has a strong religious side to it. Morality is very important.
“…and told me she was sure I would be a priest…”
Society expects Larry to be a priest, but it might not necessarily happen. Pressure is put on Larry. Both Larry and Randolph find faults with their mothers, they either find them embarrassing or exasperating. They are also very strong willed and they know what they want.
“…so far our town hadn’t a proper genius and I intended to supply the deficiency…”
Randolph doesn’t allow feeling to get in his way, but Larry is a lot more open and emotional. Randolph is probably twice Larry’s age but he is still very childish and not very mature, Larry is very grown up for his age. Both of them are very self centred and selfish, they always think of themselves before others. A good example of this is when Sophy wants to marry Sam but Randolph won’t allow it. He thinks it will completely humiliate him if his mother married a lower class man. He doesn’t think that it would bring his mother happiness just the effects it would have on him.
“…it will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England…”
Larry is naturally clever whereas Randolph’s education was given to him. Both sons’ are more intelligent than their mothers. They look down on them because they think they are brighter. There is no evidence that Larry goes to a public school, he is naturally bright and feels his mother is misleading. Randolph’s education was planned and he feels he is able to correct his mother’s grammatical errors. He only sees his education as a mean of getting higher in social class.
The fathers in each story are completely different. Larry’s father is troubles by his son. He is always joking at his son and making him upset, which is unpleasant and not funny for Larry.
“…He looked round him at all contempories who had normal, bloodthirsty, illiterate children…”
He desperately wants Larry to be like the other children in their neighbourhood. It is quite ironic as ‘bloodthirsty and illiterate’ children are not normal! Larry disappoints his father. He has his feet on the ground and he wants to belong to the working class culture. He finds Larry embarrassing because he stands out. He cannot connect with the other fathers. Larry and his fathers relationship is formal, and there is an emphasise on politeness on Larry’s part. The father is quite provocative and pushy. He has an element of violence and there is a dark side to his humour.
“…‛And what harm is fighting? Can’t you fight them back?’…”
He wishes Larry was as violent as the other children but he resides to the fact that the only thing he is good at is being a genius. He is always able to get to Larry and upset him because he never serious. He just ridicules Larry. Larry wants people who are full of knowledge and information so that he can have an intellectual conversation with them. People are sources of knowledge to him. Larry’s parents both have different expectations of him and they have a combined influence on him. His mother encourages him to be a genius. She wants him to mix with children of a higher class, that is why she encourages his relationship with Una. His father on the other hand wants him to behave like the other boys and fight and enjoy violence.
When Mr Tycott marries Sophy, hardy describes it as;
“…My Tywcott knew perfectly well that he had committed social suicide…”
This is because he was in a higher class than Sophy, who was working class. Mr Twycott is portraying that he is killing himself for her. Here Hardy uses very strong and powerful language. My Tywcott is cutting himself off from society so he may as well be dead. Hardy sees class as a cage, they are very separate. You cannot move successfully from one to another, you won’t fit in. This story was written 109 years ago, when class was a barrier to love. Today things have changed. There are social conventions, unwritten ruled for class. Sophy was born into her class and tried to fit in to the higher class but failed.
“…he (Randolph) was reducing their compass to a population of a few thousand wealthy and titles people…”
Randolph only wants to mix with wealthy people.
“…Sophy saw the large proportion of boys like her own…”
Mr Tywcott just wants a wife, a companion. It is not true love at all. Sophy feels it would be wrong to go against him and turn him down, she respects him highly, almost worships him. She says ‘yes’ because of his status, she can’t refuse even though she doesn’t love him. She immediately accepts and it is a quick decision. She is under social pressure.
“…Sophy did not exactly love him, but had a respect for him which almost mounted to veneration…”
Sophy describes her life as a ‘little tragic comedy’. This is because her life has been full of ironic events, which could be seen as accidental. When Sam asks her to marry him it is ironic as she has moved up a class and is a lady so she can’t. But before she could have married him when she had the chance. She didn’t know what the future was going to bring, so how did she know. The obvious event is when she injured herself and damaged her ankle.
“…she had slipped down with the tray, and so twisted her foot that she could not stand…”
Her marriage to Mr Twycott was out of her control, she didn’t have a choice and had to say yes. All these things happen to Sophy which she can’t control, she almost falls into things. Hardy views Sophy’s life as a play, she is the victim. Hardy uses the word ‘little’ tragic comedy to make her life seem small and insignificant. It is quite ironic because things are going so badly that it is almost laughable. It is a tragedy because she rejected Sam who she loved. My Tywcott was hard to reject the proposal of someone in a higher class. He sacrificed his life for Sophy, which shows his love for her.
Larry wanted to be an explorer. His exploration is typical of a child because he doesn’t have to leave the pavement.
“…and return almost without leaving the pavement…”
It is very safe and on a childlike level. It is not really an adventure but he thinks it is, so it is quite ironic. Other children would do dangerous things. Larry’s maturity is shown from a very early age.
“…I toyed with games and enjoyed kicking a ball gently…”
The word that conveys how the boy kicks the ball is ‘gently’. This also conveys that he isn’t rough and violent like all the other boys. He doesn’t really like rough games. This portrays that Larry is quite soft and different from the rest of the boys. He is also quite fickle because as soon as he discovers that the other boys get violent when he starts kicking the ball he changes his mind.
“…till I discovered that any boy who joined me grew violent…”
Larry has a lot of self-control, he knows what he is capable of. He always wants to learn more. The other boys are out of control and continue with violence. Randolph’s friends are different. He doesn’t have a problem with them being violent and pout of control. He desperately wants to be like his friends, they are a bit like his idols. They are something for him to aim to be like. Larry doesn’t mind that he doesn’t fit in and goes out of his way to be different. Randolph longs to belong and be in with the right crowd of higher status people.
The characters in both series are revealed in different ways. Harder starts with the appearance of the mother and what she looks like from behind. The reader see her hair and it conveys beauty and they expect her face to reflect that beauty. There is an expectation in the audience that show would be beautiful. Her face could reflect the story of her life and her hardship. Hardy wants to show that the people around her find her mysterious and interesting. The reader also feels this is so it attracts their attention. You want to read on and find out more about this woman. She is in an environment with middle class people, they notice that she’s not what they expected her to be. This is a hint that she doesn’t quite belong in this class. The first line hints at Sophy’s attractiveness, there is an idea that men manipulate her, because she is interesting. The way she has done her hair is so perfect, implying she has little to do and is bored. Also it says she has no social life.
“…if somewhat barbaric…”
hardy sees her as someone who is natural, but her hair is barbaric. This means it is violent and brutal. What she has done to her hair is unnatural and she has only styled it like that to fit in.
Early on in ‘The Genius’ we get to see that Larry’s mother is actually very kind and caring.
“…Mother understood my difficulty and worried herself endlessly finding answers to my questions…”
‘The Genius’ is written in the first person so as a reader we get to know directly how the character is feeling, through his speech. It is seen through the eyes of a child but there is evidence of mature adult reflection. For example, this line:
“…even today I find this with girls…”
Larry couldn’t use sophisticated language if he was a seven year old. We are able to see exactly what Larry is like. We decide and feel personally involved we can see Larry’s innocence. Also, O’Conor can use irony by writing in the first person. Through Larry’s words, as a reader we find them funny although Larry doesn’t. ‘The Son’s Veto’ is written in a different narrative style, it is written in the third person. This means that Hardy is able to comment on characters and situations in the story. It’s like an overview; he can manipulate the reader to his way of thinking. Hardy is telling us what to think, we are more directed.
“…and she had done it all herself, poor thing…”
Here he is telling us to feel sorry for Sophy, it is almost in a sarcastic way that he sympathises with her.
Another difference between the two texts is that in ‘The Son’s Veto’ it uses flashbacks whereas in ‘The Genius’ it doesn’t. Hardy introduces us to the present then goes back and forward again. In ‘The Genius’ the story unfolds in chronological order. There is no background given. The tones of both texts are also different. Hardy is a lot more accusing and nasty. Frank O’Conor is more sympathetic. Hardy has a clear viewpoint on events and is very assertive. He makes statements that are very subjective.
“…she was a sad looking woman…”
He has a clear opinion and viewpoint but it is not necessarily a balances viewpoint. In ‘The Genius’ Frank O’Conor leaves it up to the reader to make up your mind, he is not telling us what to think.
Larry’s mother is portrayed as being slightly snobbish and clingy. She has her own set of values and views. She sees the boys on the streets as being uncivilised and her son is above them. She keeps him away from the other boys in the area as she doesn’t want Larry to be like them. She would like to be of a higher class she encourages Larry’s relationship with Una, as the Dywers are higher up in society. Randolph’s mother, Sophy is the opposite. She has stepped up a class by marrying Mr Tywcott but she would much rather remain as working class. It is where she belongs, where she was born into. Both Sophy and Larry’s mother have different social reasons for moving classes.
Throughout ‘the Genius’ you can see Larry passing through the stages of development and growing up. Larry becomes friends with an older girl called Una, he is a substitute for her dead little brother John Joe. Of course when Una takes Larry home Una’s mother makes a fuss of him and Una thought it would be a reminder of John Joe for her mother, brothers and sisters. Larry’s mother knew that Una was only using him, but she didn’t tell him. This tells us that Larry’s mother really cares for him and she allowed him to feel something emotionally for once. She is letting him grow up and not protecting him from being hurt.
“…You reminded her of her little brother that was killed, of course-that was why…”
Frank O’Conor tells us about the narrator’s character through other people’s reactions. The Dwyers are using Larry as a substitute for John Joe. Of course Larry doesn’t see this and thinks they are taking such interest in him because they are appreciating the talents of a genius. When Larry is told where the spot John Joe got killed he reacts by thinking that he won’t be able to get any useful information so he doesn’t offer Una any sympathy but asks what make the car was that knocked him down.
“…‛Was it a Ford or a Morris?’ I asked more out of politeness than anything else…”
Even though it would have been polite to say sorry. Due to his innocence he misunderstands the importance of the situation. He has been taught from his mother to only care about himself and not other people. He’s remarkably unmoved, and the death doesn’t affect him. He has missed the point. He is trying to impress Una by asking the question to show off his intelligence.
Another theme in ‘The Son’s veto’ is the opposition of rural life to city life, this doesn’t occur in ‘The Genius’.
“…Abandoning their pretty home, with trees and shrubs, for a narrow, dusty house in a long straight street…”
This quotation describes the countryside as beautiful and compared to the city which is dirty and dull. Sophy is described as a ‘child of nature’ like she belongs in the country. My Tywcott by moving to the city, he found freedom there and enjoyed city life. It is private and he longer is alone, he has a social life. In comparison Sophy becomes idol in the city and no longer is practical, like she was in the country. Being in a wheelchair is restricting but in the country at least she would enjoy it more. Her life in the city is ‘dreary’ and boring. She constantly thinks about her past and reminisces about her old home. In the country she could have easily found something to keep her busy but in the city she has absolutely nothing to do.
“…she really had nothing to occupy her in the world but to eat and drink…”
When Sophy looks through the railings on to the city around her she sounds trapped like the house in her prison.
“…the railings at the ever flowing traffic…”
The major theme in both ‘The Genius’ and ‘The Son’s Veto’ is class difference, although it is a lot more significant in ‘The Son’s Veto. Both boys, Randolph and Larry want to be of a higher class, Randolph more so than Larry. Both mothers have married someone of a different class, they don’t seem to be made for each other. My Tywcott is committing social suicide by marring beneath him. Sophy is of a lower class compared to him. She has to step up a class and is now a lady although she would much rather prefer to stay how she is. Sam and Sophy are both victims of social pressure.
“…She knew there had been nothing wrong in the journey, but supposed it conventionally to be very wrong…”
Sophy feels it wrong to be mixing with Sam and she knows society also thinks it to be wrong. She should only mix with people belonging to her class, therefore she is put under social pressure as she really likes Sam but shouldn’t really see him. Sophy would lose everything if she married Sam. Especially the love from her son, Randolph. He would be ashamed of her husband and would probably isolate himself away from her. Also, everything Sophy possessed would also be lost. As she is living in a higher class she would lose her house and status in society. I think she would gladly give up everything for Sam but she is restricted because of Randolph’s higher class.
“…If it was only myself I would do but, and gladly though everything I possess would be lost to me by marrying again…”
Sophy feels ashamed to be Randolph’s mother which is terrible. Randolph feels he belongs to his dead father and not her, it is a desperate situation. Sam is so patient and understanding, this shows respect and his love for Sophy.
Both stories have different morals to them. I think the important message is don’t try to be anyone else. I think Hardy is more moralistic than O’Conor. For him class difference is such a big theme. He doesn’t think, and I don’t think that class difference should affect someone so tragically. By the end of ‘The Son’s Veto’ it is incredibly sad and you feel a lot of sympathy towards Sophy. Class is such a powerful thing, it can destroy you. You can see how it destroyed Sophy. Hardy isn’t necessarily attacking Sophy by this story by making her suffer, he is purely showing she is a victim of society. Sophy represents an instinctive, natural human being. Whereas Randolph is a product of education and higher class. Both are very opposing and different so there is bound to be conflict. One of the morals of the story is that you can’t change class successfully. It is impossible to change but it never brings happiness. Like in Sophy’s case, Randolph makes her unhappy. She is a caring mother who wants the best for her son. He was born into his class due to his father. Sophy was a lot happier when she was working class. The moral in ‘The Genius’ is that you shouldn’t stand out from the crowd and you pay the price for being different as Larry did. Larry learns about himself and his mother. The mother knew all along that Larry was being a substitute for Una’s brother, but she didn’t intervene. This was because she cares about him and allowed him to suffer so he could open up his feelings. By the end of ‘The Genius’ Larry has changed a great deal, he wants to spend time with Una. Even though she is older than him she is still only a child. T the end he shows his emotions and cries about losing Una.
“…I out my head on my hands and sobbed…”
He wants to grow up too quickly, by doing so he is missing out on the wonders of his childhood. He is hurt by the end of his relationship and suddenly open’s up. He is now aware that he needs others. He realises he doesn’t want to be alone any more.
“…I felt it was a poor, sad, lonesome thing being nothing but a genius…”
Generally, Hardy sees the world in a very ironic way. If a character has a slightest chance of being unfortunate, through no fault of their own, hardy will ensure that this will happen. Some people will argue that Hardy is therefore a deeply pessimistic writer, but I think he respects the importance of deep feelings in people’s lives.
