Analyse the first two chapters of 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' and discuss how far they act as a prologue to the rest of the novel.
Analyse the first two chapters of 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' and discuss how far they act as a prologue to the rest of the novel In 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' the opening two chapters are a good indicator of Hardy's style and act as a prologue to the rest of the novel. Hardy's style places considerable focus on imagery and the scene around the characters. He used the writing techniques at this scene setting to help you understand the context in which the characters act. During the first chapter, Hardy describes Henchard as a 'fine figure, swarthy, and stern in aspect' however he is not named at first. It symbolises that this could be any man, or could relate to the reader in someway and makes the reader look at this character from a different angle as if we might know him rather then seeing him as Henchard. Susan Henchard, Henchard's wife, is described to be so faint as to be almost invisible; she becomes a less important part as the plot thickens. Another character mentioned is Elizabeth-Jane the first. The reader is given very few descriptions towards her because she is only a small child. We call her the first because beyond chapter 2 the reader is told that this Elizabeth-Jane died 3 months after the auction and the second child of Susan Henchard is called Elizabeth-Jane but is the sailor's daughter not Henchard's. Elizabeth the second is much like a father in a
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 at the Village of Upper Bochampton. He was the child of a country stonemason. Hardy was the third Thomas of his family. His mother's maiden name was Jemima Hand and she and her husband let Hardy to have an unusually happy childhood. His early years were a seed-bed to his later creative development. His mother knew what real poverty was when she was young because she lost her father. Hardy said 'she read every book she could lay her hands on' and she grew up to be a woman of ability, judgment, and 'an energy that might have carried her to incalculable issues!' Many thought she was the dominant influence in Hardy's life but his father was a man of character also. Even though he didn't 'possess the art of enriching himself by business,' he was a fine craftsman, and a lover of music As a young child, Hardy mastered the violin learning over 100 tunes. He also sang in the Stansford Church every Sunday. It seems to be that Hardy and his parents had a good relationship. In 1867 Hardy met Tryphena Sparks who was 16 and a daughter to a family related to his. She was intelligent and made her living as a teacher. She bore a child in 1868 and Hardy fell deeply in love with her. But in 1872 she broke his heart by returning her engagement ring. She then remarried and had two more children before dying in 1890. Tryphena had a great
Thomas Hardy - The Withered Arm
Thomas Hardy - The Withered Arm Coursework - Nichola McCappin 12'3. In Thomas Hardy's "The Withered Arm" Gertrude Lodge and Rhoda Brook, although two very different people, from different classes and upbringings, are linked by their love for one man, Farmer Lodge. With the help of fate their two separate destiny's become one. In the beginning we believe that Rhoda is the one who is responsible in the role of fate but as the story progresses we see that the burden is placed more and more upon Gertrude's shoulders. Throughout the story Gertrude's character changes significantly because of the effects and influences Rhoda is having on her life. Before Gertrude first met Rhoda she was young, innocent and had just married Farmer Lodge, she was kind and good-natured. When a horrible curse, placed by Rhoda, withers Gertrude's arm it has dramatic effects on her life. When Gertrude realises the seriousness of this mutilation it begins to have effects on her conscious, she realises that her husband no longer finds her attractive which causes her to become obsessive about getting rid of the curse that will plague her life. She becomes mixed up in potions and begins to deceive all those around her. Personally I believe that Gertrude's downfall was fate. Fate dealt Gertrude a massive blow when, many years after the initial disfigurement of her arm, she came to the realisation that Rhoda
The Characters and superstitions are unrealistic and nothing like this could ever happen.
The Characters and superstitions are unrealistic and nothing like this could ever happen. I feel that Rhoda Brook is a very strong and realistic character. I feel Rhoda is a realistic character because she feels jealous and curious about Gertrude Lodges looks (who has recently just got married to Rhoda's ex-husband Farmer Lodge). "You can give her a look, and tell me what she's like." I think Rhoda is a strong woman because her life is a big obstacle and she deals with it well. The reason I think she's a strong is because she is poor and gets her son to poach food for them both, she has a son to look after, she has no partner to help her, no partner to support her son and she has no friends. Farmer Lodge is the father of her son but I feel he is ashamed to be his father. "Took no notice of you" "None." Rhoda works as a milkmaid but nobody likes to communicate with her because they think she's a witch they also do not communicate with her because she had an illegitimate child, which was not right in those days. Farmer Lodge left Rhoda a £100 annual payment a year but however Rhoda did not accept his money even though she was poor. The reason I feel she did not accept the money was because of the way he treated her and her son. This shows Rhoda is a very proud woman. Gertrude Lodge is a kind, friendly, polite and pleasant person. "Ah, the way the boy stared as if we
Comparing And Contrasting The Character And Setting Of 'The Withered Arm' And 'Old Mrs Chundle'
Comparing And Contrasting The Character And Setting Of 'The Withered Arm' And 'Old Mrs Chundle' Thomas Hardy was born in 1840, the son of a builder in the rural county of Dorset. His main interest was in the countryside and people of Wessex-that area of southern England made up of Dorset and its neighbouring counties. In his writing he set out to observe and describe the lives of ordinary people. He wrote about their life and their work, about the making and breaking of relationships. The two short stories that I am comparing and contrasting are both by Thomas Hardy. These two stories have similar settings, demonstrating one of Thomas Hardy's main interest, the countryside, I will be comparing and contrasting Rhoda Brook from 'The Withered Arm' and Mrs Chundle from 'Old Mrs Chundle'. First of all I am going to start with Mrs Chundle from 'Old Mrs Chundle'. Mrs Chundle is modest and generous, we can tell by the way she gives a dinner to the Curate. The Curate wanted to give money for it because it was so nice but she put her on food down, and she didn't take the money of him. But the Curate insisted and sat a shilling down and she said she would only take the twopence and that was it. "The Curate ate heartily: he thought he had never tasted such potatoes and cabbage in his life which he had probebly had not, for they had just been brought in from the garden so that
Explain how Hardy combines elements of social realism and an interest in the occult in this short story, and how he directs the reader's sympathies to show the unfairness of existence "The Withered Arm" is a tragedy of fate and is a story
Explain how Hardy combines elements of social realism and an interest in the occult in this short story, and how he directs the reader's sympathies to show the unfairness of existence "The Withered Arm" is a tragedy of fate and is a story of two women linked to one man. The nature of the tragedy is that the suffering is always a punishment that is disproportionate to the 'offence'. In this story it is the innocent who are punished for the sins of others (Rhoda's son, Gertrude). They exemplify the unfairness of existence. The story begins with a group of milkmaids gossiping about the farmer's new, young wife. It is, perhaps, a comical scene, but it is quickly apparent that the humour of these sharp tongued, common folk is a bare veil over the hardship of rural life that Hardy finds everywhere. One milkmaid, Rhoda, is quickly established as a former lover of the farmer. She is separated from the others, physically, and by their alienating chatter. At the end of Chapter One, Rhoda's cottage is a painful, if obvious, metaphor for her worn-down existence. Her cottage has been attacked by the elements and is virtually at the point of collapse: " It was built of mud-walls, the surface of which had been washed by many rains into channels and depressions that left none of the original flat face visible; while here and there in the thatch above a rafter showed like a bone protruding
'Father and Son' by Bernard McLaverty - short story review
'Father and Son' by Bernard McLaverty is a short story which is set in a time of conflict and culminates in the death of one of the main characters. Through the author's skilful use of literary techniques, we know the outcome of this story is inevitably going to be tragic due to the nature of the characters he presents. The symbolic setting hints to the reader that conflict is going to be an important theme and the structure of the piece allows the reader to see the painful build up to the climactic end. The conflict is set within the city of Belfast. The setting itself has the connotation of division and violence and it is clear to the reader that there is good reason for choosing this setting: the story shows the effect of a violent society on a family. The sound of 'ambulances criss-crossing the city' shows that the characters are in the middle of violence and we are aware that this is likely to spill over into the household. Within the household itself, the hostility is continued. The lack of communication between the father and the son is one of the main reasons for the climatic ending. The house is not described in any physical detail, we are only aware of the harsh sounds. We hear the 'snap of the switch' - a harsh alliterative sound symbolic of the relationship between the father and son. The father's feet 'click', the 'rattling' of his pills, the newspaper
What is the Significance of the Heath in Return of the Native?
Jane Stollery What is the Significance of the Heath in Return of the Native? It is evident right from the beginning that the heath plays an integral part in the novel "Return of the Native", this is because the opening chapter is exclusively about the heath. The heath assists in creating the feelings of both central characters and the background heath folk, the first chapter is titled "A Face on which Time makes but little Impression", meaning that Egdon Heath is timeless and everybody on it has little significance. The reader gains an insight of the novel and its genre through the first chapter, "It had a lonely face, suggesting tragical possibilities." This aids the reader in identifying that there is going to be something tragical in the novel. Hardy is also using personification, which brings the heath to life. In spite of this, the first chapter also does what every other first chapter in a novel does, it sets the scene. Egdon Heath, as far as the novel is concerned and the characters inside it, is the world. The only time that the novel ever abandons the heath is only briefly between pages 253-257 which is the part when Wildeve and Eustacia are at the dance together in Budmouth. It is comprehensible that the heath folk consider Egdon Heath to be everything when they talk about Paris as if it were a million miles away, "like a King's Palace as far as diments go"
Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge.
Rachel Moss L204 Essay #2 3-24-04 Sex is so intertwined in our society that it pervades each facet, including television, books, advertising, and conversation. Movies like The Matrix toss in gratuitous sex because the audience nearly expects it. Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, therefore, is exceptional in its lack of sexual situations. The subject of sexual motivation and its inherent ambiguity with regard to Henchard's actions is a topic that caught my attention from the very first pages of The Mayor of Casterbridge. Continually in the novel there is tension, but it is never described as sexual. Much the same, there are countless marriages during the novel but no related sexual attraction is discussed. The topics of sex and sexuality are simply expected in most literature, because they are such dominant themes in everyday life. Hence, the absence of sex is more noticeable than its inclusion in this novel. The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with what I believe to be the single most important event of the entire novel. Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to a passing sailor for five guineas. This is a perfect example of a dominant man, which sets the stage for Henchard's character through the rest of the book. The portrayal of Michael and Susan Henchard on their walk to Weydon-Priors reaffirms this dominant man/victimized woman viewpoint. The
Rhoda Brook has many difficulties to face - How does she cope with them given the way people would feel about her situation at the time?
Katrina Morris-10N Rhoda Brook has many difficulties to face. How does she cope with them given the way people would feel about her situation at the time? Rhoda Brook was a milkmaid who was in her early thirties. She worked on Farmer Lodge's farm milking the cows, Farmer Lodge adored her when she was younger, this lead to them having an affair; Rhoda became pregnant. Farmer Lodge decided to end their relationship, Rhoda had to continue her life looking after and bringing up his child, but she remained working on the farm being ignored by almost everyone. During this time Rhoda faced many difficulties including other milkmaids talking about her. I think she coped very well because she walked away from the situation and worked alone, She was considered different from the other milkmaids and perhaps that was the reason why the villagers believed she was a witch. She ignored their suspension and was ruled by common sense. Rhoda had to see Farmer Lodge frequently as he was her employer, but she had to endure the pain of jealousy, and gossip when the new wife, Gertrude came home. Rhoda sent her son to see if Gertrude was prettier than Rhoda was. She was very jealous because when her son reported back to her he said of Gertrude "But she's very pretty-very Infact she's lovely." Thoughts of Gertrude filled Rhodes mind to such an extent that she, "could raise a metal image of the
