"A blaze of love and extinction, was better than a lantern glimmer of the same which should last long years" Analyse Hardy's presentation of Eustacia Vye in Book One in the light of this comment.

"A blaze of love and extinction, was better than a lantern glimmer of the same which should last long years" Analyse Hardy's presentation of Eustacia Vye in Book One in the light of this comment. In "Return of the Native" we first come across the character of Eustacia Vye in Chapter 7. In this chapter Hardy gives us an in depth description of the character, for example we learn that she "was the raw material of a divinity". Here Hardy is comparing her to a godlike figure which immediately gives us an impression of a character that is above the rest of the characters of the heath. Further divine imagery is used throughout this chapter, other examples are, "On Olympus she would have done well with a little preparation", "In heaven she will probably sit between the Heloises and the Cleopatras." And "She had the passions and instincts which make a model goddess, that is, those which make not quite a model woman." All of these add together to present her as something not of this world, this in a way shows the audience how she doesn't belong with the 'lower' members of society. In a way Hardy is also ambiguous about the presentation of Eustacia, as he seems to be torn between her divinity and her humanity. This is particularly apparent in the quote "She had the passions and instincts which make a model goddess, that is, those which make not quite a model woman." Although we

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How does Thomas Hardy create tension and suspense in "The Withered Arm"?

How does Thomas Hardy create tension and suspense in "The Withered Arm"? The withered arm was written around 1891. The story is about a milkmaid called Rhoda Brook, who is obsessed with her ex lover's new bride. She has a dream about his wife where Rhoda grabs Gertrude, Farmer Lodge's wife, by her arm and hurls her to the floor and eventually causes Gertrude to have a withered arm. In the dictionary it states that suspense means "A state of anxiety or uncertainty." Tension means "A situation or condition of suspense or uneasiness." Examples of where you might come across moments of tension is in a horror film, there are usually noises and effects which makes you think that something is going to happen which builds up suspense. An author or film director should keep their audience in suspense because it makes the story more exciting because if there is no suspense then it makes it boring, so the audience will not want to read on. It is important for an opening chapter to pose questions because it makes the story more attention-grabbing and it will make the reader want to read on. The type of questions that Hardy pose's about the characters and events in chapter one are questions such as, "Tis hard for she" and "He ha'n't spoke to Rhoda Brook for years" it makes you wonder what had happened in the past to Rhoda Brook. The first significant moment of tension in the

  • Word count: 1062
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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'It is not a character, it is not alive, it is just a vast barren landscape - yet it has an important influence on the behaviour of its inhabitants'.

'It is not a character, it is not alive, it is just a vast barren landscape - yet it has an important influence on the behaviour of its inhabitants'. Examine Hardy's depiction of the heath in the light of this statement. Thomas Hardy presents Egdon Heath as a character and a vast landscape which is not barren but has an effect in the inhabitant's lives and decisions. Egdon heath rules the lives of the inhabitants and their relationship with the heath determines their lives. In chapter 1, Thomas Hardy uses personification to describe the heath as a character: 'The storm was its lover'. This suggests that the heath controls nature. It also suggests that something as destructive as a storm can be tamed into loving. Through this, Hardy also suggests that the storm does not affect the heath or its inhabitants but it affects outsiders on the heath like Eustacia who realises during the storm that she cannot and it affects trees planted outside the heath. Therefore, the heath's importance cannot be ignored by the reader as Hardy presents the heath as powerful and dominating in the lives of the inhabitants as it is Eustacia's position on the heath that prevents her from escaping. The heath does have an important influence on the behaviour of its inhabitants. The heath provides 'furze' which sustains the heathfolk as it provides food and nourishes them. Therefore, the lives of the

  • Word count: 849
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Withered Arm - Trace the developing relationship between Rhoda Brook and Gertrude Lodge. How does Thomas Hardy use the supernatural to engage the readers' interest, build up tension and keep the story going?

Coursework The Withered Arm By Thomas Hardy Trace the developing relationship between Rhoda Brook and Gertrude Lodge. How does Thomas Hardy use the supernatural to engage the readers' interest, build up tension and keep the story going? 'The Withered Arm' is set in 1888 in a place called Wessex - now known as Devon. It is set in a typically English rural location, mainly farms and small cottages for farm workers. There are two main characters; Rhoda Brook - a milkmaid and Gertrude Lodge - newly married to local landlord Farmer Lodge. Back then everybody knew each other and so knew everybody's business. Men are more respected and did all of the work whilst the women stayed at home and did the house work. If women were single they lived with their parents or on their own in a cottage. If the had a child whilst out of wedlock then they were frowned upon by society and were very much disrespected by everybody else. When we are first told about Rhoda Brook she is portrayed as a woman in her early thirties who hasn't aged to well. She is a milkmaid working on a farm for most hours of the day not having much time to rest. She has a twelve-year-old son although she isn't married and we don't find out the identity of the father until the end of the story. Rhoda lives in a small cottage, built out of mud blocks, on the side of a hill. Gertrude Lodge is introduced as a young and

  • Word count: 1045
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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When I was eight I always wanted to be twelve

I don't know about you but when I was eight I always wanted to be twelve. I don't know why; maybe it was at that time loads of characters in movies were twelve or that I thought I could get more pocket money - to be honest it could have been anything. Now that I'm twelve looking back four years, although it wasn't as "adventurous" life was a lot easier. Anyway, when I was eight, I lived up north and just five minutes away from a park. At that time I was a lot "goofier", about the average size for an eight-year-old and a bit skinnier the I am now. The Local Park that I was near was a cross between a nature resort and loads of racing tracks and football pitches put together. When I was eight In our family (this was my dad, my mum and I) it was a tradition that each time, after dinner we would go for a gentle stroll in the park. We finished diner around seven and the walk lasted an hour and a half. One day, most likely to be Sunday I had a friend round named David and we took him down to the park. My parents would have their weekly walk while me and Dave would play Football and ride our bikes. The park had many entrances; to get into the park itself it took a five-minute walk. We rode our bikes into the park with him in the lead. Personally, I thought I was a competitive child when I was eight and still I'm now. Anyway, the ground was slippery just like any other nature park; I

  • Word count: 705
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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In this essay, I shall outline how Hardy shows people to be victims of social, historical and cultural circumstances in "The Withered Arm".

Hamza Anwar The Withered Arm 2nd Draft In this essay, I shall outline how Hardy shows people to be victims of social, historical and cultural circumstances in "The Withered Arm". "The Withered Arm" is set in an area which Hardy calls 'Dorchester'. The story was set in the 1800 where witchcraft and believing in superstition was popular. Thomas Hardy was born in Upper Bockhampton, near Dorchester where he went to school. Thomas Hardy was the son of a stonemason. He was born in Upper Bockhampton, near Dorchester where he went to school. Once qualified, he moved to work with a company that specialized in church architecture. It was at this time, he began to write poetry to several magazines which were all rejected. Hardy's real success came in 1974 with the serialisation of "Far From the Madding Crowd". This was followed by other popular novels such as 'The return of the Native' (1878), 'The Mayo' and 'The Woodlander'. Thomas Hardy died on 1928. In "The Withered Arm", women and children were considered inferior copared to men. They had no right but to follow orders from their superiors. We see this when Farmer Lodge orders Gertrude not to see Rhoda anymore. I believe Farmer Lodge did not marry Rhoda because his image of being the farm owner would get ruined as Rhoda was a poor milkmaid. I think this is wrong

  • Word count: 761
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Read the Short Stories the Three Strangers By Thomas Hardy, and a Vendetta By Guy De Maupassant. Compare and Contrast the Way the Authors Develop a Sense of Mystery In These Stories.

READ THE SHORT STORIES THE THREE STRANGERS BY THOMAS HARDY, AND A VENDETTA BY GUY DE MAUPASSANT. COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE WAY THE AUTHORS DEVELOP A SENSE OF MYSTERY IN THESE STORIES. Both these stories build up mystery. However, because they are written in different ways, there is significant contrast in the way the two stories are built up. Hardy's story is longer, and has much more detail than Maupassant's. Hardy's has more characters and there is a twist in the tale. Maupassant's is simpler, to the point and only has one character. These differences in structure contribute to the contrasting styles in which the mystery is built up. The setting at the beginning of 'The Three Strangers', plays a big part in creating mystery. Thomas Hardy describes 'a lonely cottage' (page 130) as 'solitary'. The way he describes this leads the reader to think that if anything happens out there, no one would know about it. Hardy's descriptive use of the weather when he says 'the level rainstorm' (on page 131), creates an atmosphere that plays on the readers emotions. The setting for Maupassant's story builds up mystery too. It opens with a horrific murder. On page 201, we are told that the victim was 'treacherously knifed'. This is important, as straight away there is some action in it, which makes us wonder what's going to happen next. This is a clever way to build up mystery. Like

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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To what extent do you think Michael Henchard is responsible for his own downfall? Michael Henchard's life is a series of terrible disasters, which leads to self destruction

To what extent do you think Michael Henchard is responsible for his own downfall? Michael Henchard's life is a series of terrible disasters, which leads to self destruction. However, deciding whether Michael Henchard is responsible for his own downfall and to what extent is something which needs a lot of deliberation before getting an answer. There are different factors which need to be looked at before deciding this, such as whether it was Henchard's fault, or whether he could have stopped the disaster from happening. The only way to determine whether or not Henchard is totally responsible for his own downfall is to look at each disaster which occurs in the novel and then see whether he could have prevented it or not. Starting directly from the beginning, the novel begins with Michael Henchard travelling with his wife and daughter and then stopping at a furmity tent for some food. Michael straight away decided that he wanted some rum in his furmity. "He winked to her, and passed up his basin in reply to her nod; when she took a bottle from under the table, slily measured out a quantity of its contents, and tipped the same into the man's furmity. The liquor poured in was rum." He soon got drunk after several helpings of it and when his wife tried to quieten him a little. He then began to ramble about how better off he would be without her. "I married at eighteen, like the

  • Word count: 2209
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How does Hardy use his knowledge of the Bible, Art, the universe and Wessex folklore to add depth to his novel?

How does Hardy use his knowledge of the Bible, Art, the universe and Wessex folklore to add depth to his novel? Hardy began writing Return of the Native in 1877 and Hardy includes may of the beliefs and views of the Victorian period in his writing including concerns about God and religion, scientific theories, moral values and cultural attitudes of the people of the day. Hardy wrote the novel at a time when he was happiest, when he had returned to his native Dorset after living for a time in London. He loved the countryside but realized that with this great time of change, with the industrial and agricultural revolution, that the customs of rural England were under threat. He was concerned that local traditions and regional identity would be forgotten through the civilizing of the masses. Hardy was keen to preserve a record of the local folk history and superstition which continued to play a major part in the lives of the Dorset people, even in the 1890's. By drawing on his knowledge, Hardy was able to illustrate to the reader the changing beliefs of the period at the same time as giving deeper meanings to the story and giving the reader a better understanding of the characters through his extensive use of Greek mythology and biblical references. Hardy began his life with strong religious beliefs. He was born into a very active Christian family and regularly attended

  • Word count: 2916
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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What makes “The Melancholy Hussar” such as a sad and unhappy tale?

What makes "The Melancholy Hussar" such as a sad and unhappy tale? To what extent do the attitudes people had at this time affect the atmosphere of despair? The short story of the "Melancholy Hussar" is such a sad and unhappy tale because the events that go on within the story are all very sad. The reader's hopes go up and down all the way through the tale. As you read the story the author Thomas Hardy makes the reader feel very sad and unhappy, by the way he brings realism to the story. The time at which the story is set also makes it sad because the rules of society make it much harder for the young girl Phyllis who is the main character, to have a relationship with a man that she really loved rather than someone whom her father considered to be the right person for her. Also the constant rising and dashing of hope for the future bring over the feeling of despair. This story has a lot of bitter irony about some of the events that make it sad and unhappy, an example of this is when Hardy uses coincidence, bad luck, fate, and chance to the story. Phyllis is always on a roller coaster going backwards and forwards, going from happy to sad. One way in which Hardy makes the reader think that the story is real is by describing the scenery at which the story is set and the time it was set in. Thomas Hardy starts the story by saying "Phyllis told me with her own lips", this

  • Word count: 1381
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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