From reading the selected pre-1914 prose what do you learn of Hardy's use of vivid description, dramatic incident and reference to Nineteenth century customs and traditions?

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 Catherine Evans 11s                                                     January 26th, 2004

Coursework Pre-1914 Prose

 

   Thomas Hardy: The Withered Arm

                          The Mayor of Casterbridge (Chapter one)

                          The Return of the Native (pg 414 - 447) near end of novel

   From reading the above, what do you learn of Hardy's use of vivid description, dramatic incident and reference to Nineteenth century customs and traditions?

  Which of the three pieces was your favourite and why?

  From reading the two extracts and the story, I can see that the main difference in the book is how life is in the book compared to our modern 21st century.

  People in the 19th century depended very heavily on agriculture and farming especially in 'Wessex', where nearly all of Hardy's novels were set. Wages for agricultural labourers were the lowest in the country in Dorset, averaging out at the equivalent of 37p a week in 1840.

  Magic and superstition was rife in the 19th century, and many people believedin dark powers. Every village in Wessex was supposed to have their own witch. Magic play a big role in two of the stories which I am studying, 'The Withered Arm', and 'The Return of the Native'.

  People who committed crimes in the 19th century were severely punished. Poachers were transported to Australia to do 'hard labour', night burglary was punishable by death. Hangings were still very popular in the 19th century and any hanging was an excuse for a 'holiday'.

  Class systems in the 19th century were very rigid - not many people succeeded in moving up to a higher class, but Thomas Hardy was one of the few people who managed to do this.

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  Thomas Hardy uses vivid description in all of his novels and short stories, including the novels which I am studying, in particular 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'. At the beginning of the chapter, we have an almost cinematic view, as if a camera is zooming in on the three travellers, describing them from afar at first, then in more detail as we begin to see them from closer up. We can almost feel the tension between the two adults, when Hardy says: "What was really peculiar...was the perfect silence they preserved."

  In 'The Withered Arm', Hardy uses vivid ...

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