Is Sam Marsdyke a Construct of The Communitys Attitude towards Him and Other Factors?
Is Sam Marsdyke a Construct of The Community’s Attitude towards Him and Other Factors?
God’s Own Country is a book which in many ways has an air of menace hanging over it. This is helped by the fact that the books, protagonist is a complex character who spends his time stalking the Moors, spending his days in Yorkshire’s almost bleak settings. Marsdyke himself is treated like social pariah as a few years back; he was accused of raping a girl. Though charges were never pressed, he has since been forced to stay in his farmlands, rarely leaving the safety of the Moors, so as to avoid any confrontation or as he puts it a “queer look”. Indeed, it seems that Marsdyke is now a somewhat, reclusive and menacing anti-hero but for us to truly understand Marsdyke’s character, we must dissect Marsdyke’s mind and evaluate what it is that causes him to be the way he is. Indeed, the way the community treats him could, to some extent be a factor.
Indeed, as stated before, we know that Marsdyke has been touted as a rapist, a tag which has since stuck to him and one which has caused his life since to be more or less centred on that. However, what we may have to ask ourselves is if Marsdyke is like this as a result of the community’s somewhat blind accusations. Indeed, our own society is sometimes guilty of tagging someone with this sort of card, often due to the media or in the case of Marsdyke, the gossiping and the sheer fact that information spreads like wildfire in the village that Marsdyke is from. Also, it is fair to say that Marsdyke has not been the same since he was accused of rape. He has developed an almost psychotic persona in the sense that he has a habit of observing people surreptitiously, whilst creating conversations in his head as if he can actually hear what he is saying. As has been the case in society, we have the habit of not finding out the full facts, as long as the word “rape” is involved, we have our own preconceptions thanks to our lynching mentality. Indeed, Ross Raisin the author may be trying to show that the village in which the book is set is a microcosm of our society all together. Indeed, in the book comments like “You forced her against her will” are common in the book. Because of this, Marsdyke was thrown out of school and forced to tend to the sheep under his father’s eye. He has obviously, as a result suffered from a lack of satisfactory human contact and a proper education. Indeed, he seems to be able to communicate with his dog, Sal, better than his own parents. Indeed, his relationship with them is one which could also be looked at.
