Philippa Griffiths
WIDE READING ASSIGNMENT
GCSE LITERATURE
PROSE TEXTS: PRE AND POST-1914
Lively and Hardy both make use of the natural environment to enhance their stories in many ways. By referring to the whole of the short story and chapters 16,20,43 and 47 of the novel, show what they do that is in common, what is different and say which you prefer and why.
Lively and Hardy chose to convey their story in different time spans as Tess of the D'Ubervilles is a novel whereas The Darkness Out There is a short story. The books centre around two young girls whose circumstances are very different. Tess has already undergone many dreadful setbacks as she journeys to her destination and has no assurance that life will be 'good' to her whereas Sandra has no reason to fear the world as she is just setting out in life. They both have hope but Tess hopes that her life will get better whereas Sandra hopes for a good day and is enjoying all life. Sandra is a schoolgirl in a relatively modern time compared to Tess who is also young being a girl of 21 and is living mid 1800's. Both girls are portrayed to be very innocent but the difference is that Sandra at the end is portrayed to have evil inside her whereas Tess remains pure and innocent throughout the duration of the story.
Similary both girls are initially naïve as they have they have mapped out a simple future. It did not occur to Tess that she would not live the same life forever and is naïve to how close evil is to her and Sandra prepares an unevent dreamlike future. Both girls come 'down to earth' with a crash as they realise what reality is like. They both enjoy the natural environment and their spirits correspond to the kind of environment that they are in.
The opening of 'The Darkness Out There' sets a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere The first sentence describes a setting which seems peaceful and idyllic,'She walked through the flowers, the girl'. The reference to Sandra as 'the girl' makes the opening seem very relaxing. Replacing the noun with weeds creates the effect that 'the girl' is in a place where you would not want to stay as the surroundings are not pleasant and perhaps in the midst of evil. The further description of the flowers ' ox-eye daisies and vetch and cow parsley' adds to the summery, dreamlike image. The image of the cottage, 'shrugged down in the dip beyond the next hedge' gives the impression that it is unthreatening and inviting. All this description is deliberately lulling the reader into a false sense of security as they think the story will be all cheerful and optimistic.
Lively uses the natural environment as a tool to enhance Sandra's character. Lively's description of Sandra makes her seem very innocent and cherub like e.g. 'Someone had said she had pretty feet, once: she looked at them clean and plump and neat on the grass.' She seems at one with nature as it moves with her easily eg. ' bare brown legs brushing through the grass' and 'A ladybird crawled a cross a toe.' Sandra also seems rather wimpish and childish e.g. ' She wouldn't go in there for a thousand pounds'.' The girl is extremely dreamy as she reflects into her past eg. 'When they were small'and 'After they were twelve'. She appears to love nature as she loves the sensations it gives her ('felt it drag at her legs') which spur her into a dreamy world e.g. 'thought of swimming in warm seas' and the reader too must become submerged in Sandra's dreams of nature. Sandra is extremely naïve and immature as she dreams of a future that is so simple it is far from the truth (She would fall in love and she would get a good job' etc), which shows the girl does not know of the complexities of life. She has no concept of time which shows her immaturity, 'One day, this year, next year, sometime'. She also is very gullible as she seems to be believe every rubbish 'people said.' It is more effective for Sandra to be pretty, dreamy, naïve and gullible than some ugly and hard-bitten cynic because the reader enjoys the pleasant description of how she looks and the way she sees the environment and is taken away with her lovely dreams whereas if it were a cynic in the story the world would be seen in a different way. The reader probably laughs at Sandra's naivety and gullibility and does not associate himself or herself to be like that. Sandra and the reader are also lulled into a false sense of security by the walk through the fields.
Lively carefully builds up from the beginning images, adjectives and strong verbs of the track so the reader can almost be experiencing what Sandra is. Alliteration is used to stress certain images eg. 'bare brown legs brushing' and 'powdery plate' which makes them very pleasant. The almost poetic language effects the reader as it makes them too fall with Sandra into a state of dreaminess eg. 'grass,polleny summer grass' and 'pattern and petal.' The imagery is sensory eg. 'silken grass' and 'seething the corn', these adjectives are very soft sounding and appealing images.
Before going to Talbothays Tess was staying at Trantridge, the home of people of the same surname which is why Tess had gone to try and benefit from their wealth by revealing that she was a family relative. Even though Tess learns the surname they owned was bought, she still works there as a servant were Alec D'Urberville pays her attention to attract her as his mistress. One night he rapes her and after this occasion after constant persistence from him Tess agrees to become his mistress. Unfortunately, unmarried Tess falls pregnant unknown to Alec the baby eventually dies. The events at Trantridge lead her to want to start a new life far way to escape her scandal.
The walk to Talbolthays by Tess includes many key images, which create an effect. Hardy makes Tess seem so beautiful as he describes she is 'akin to the landscape'. The landscape especially in the historical/social background of the story would be God's wonderful creation so this sole description conjures up many wonderful attributes that Tess must possess. He shows how the environment profoundly effects Tess's mood and how she compares it with her homeland. 'Either the change in the quality of the air from heavy to light, or the sense of being amid new scenes where there was no invidious eyes upon her, sent up her spirits wonderfully.' Tess is affected by the place and feels the change is for the better and so begins to feel less depressed as 'she bounded along.' Nature seems to be sending her signs of hope eg. 'in every birds note seemed to lurk a note of joy.' It is 'the valley in which milk and butter grew to rankness and were produced more profusely, if less delicately than at her home.' This means that that the cows that produced the milk and butter feed on plants which grew luxuriantly (rankness) to keep them producing good quality milk and 'profusely' which means in abundance but even though, it is produced less accurately or carefully than at Tess's old home (delicately). Perhaps this signifies that Tess has journeyed to a new area, which will bring more promise but also a warning that all will not be perfect. 'The world was drawn to a larger pattern here', this means at the new environment works on a bigger scale. This perhaps gives the reader the idea that a different environment will bring a fresh start for Tess with different opportunities. 'The birds-eye perspective before was not so luxuriantly beautiful, perhaps, as the other one which she knew so well; yet it was more cheering ', the new area seems full of promise for hope and this quote is reminiscent of the idea that great beauty which Tess has does not always bring the most cheer. Hardy elaborately compares the environments of the two areas eg. 'heavy soils and scents' compared to 'the new air was clear, bracing,etheral' conjure up different images. The first describing Tess's homeland seems an environment that is more earthly and rugged whereas the latter seems to be not of this world and heavenly. Hardy describes the difference in the rivers, eg. Homeland 'were slow, silent, often turbid; flowing over beds of mud' whereas the 'The Froom waters were as clear as the pure River of Life' The comparison shows that her homeland was more hostile and uninviting than the new which is calm and almost heavenly as the river is likened to one from the bible.
WIDE READING ASSIGNMENT
GCSE LITERATURE
PROSE TEXTS: PRE AND POST-1914
Lively and Hardy both make use of the natural environment to enhance their stories in many ways. By referring to the whole of the short story and chapters 16,20,43 and 47 of the novel, show what they do that is in common, what is different and say which you prefer and why.
Lively and Hardy chose to convey their story in different time spans as Tess of the D'Ubervilles is a novel whereas The Darkness Out There is a short story. The books centre around two young girls whose circumstances are very different. Tess has already undergone many dreadful setbacks as she journeys to her destination and has no assurance that life will be 'good' to her whereas Sandra has no reason to fear the world as she is just setting out in life. They both have hope but Tess hopes that her life will get better whereas Sandra hopes for a good day and is enjoying all life. Sandra is a schoolgirl in a relatively modern time compared to Tess who is also young being a girl of 21 and is living mid 1800's. Both girls are portrayed to be very innocent but the difference is that Sandra at the end is portrayed to have evil inside her whereas Tess remains pure and innocent throughout the duration of the story.
Similary both girls are initially naïve as they have they have mapped out a simple future. It did not occur to Tess that she would not live the same life forever and is naïve to how close evil is to her and Sandra prepares an unevent dreamlike future. Both girls come 'down to earth' with a crash as they realise what reality is like. They both enjoy the natural environment and their spirits correspond to the kind of environment that they are in.
The opening of 'The Darkness Out There' sets a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere The first sentence describes a setting which seems peaceful and idyllic,'She walked through the flowers, the girl'. The reference to Sandra as 'the girl' makes the opening seem very relaxing. Replacing the noun with weeds creates the effect that 'the girl' is in a place where you would not want to stay as the surroundings are not pleasant and perhaps in the midst of evil. The further description of the flowers ' ox-eye daisies and vetch and cow parsley' adds to the summery, dreamlike image. The image of the cottage, 'shrugged down in the dip beyond the next hedge' gives the impression that it is unthreatening and inviting. All this description is deliberately lulling the reader into a false sense of security as they think the story will be all cheerful and optimistic.
Lively uses the natural environment as a tool to enhance Sandra's character. Lively's description of Sandra makes her seem very innocent and cherub like e.g. 'Someone had said she had pretty feet, once: she looked at them clean and plump and neat on the grass.' She seems at one with nature as it moves with her easily eg. ' bare brown legs brushing through the grass' and 'A ladybird crawled a cross a toe.' Sandra also seems rather wimpish and childish e.g. ' She wouldn't go in there for a thousand pounds'.' The girl is extremely dreamy as she reflects into her past eg. 'When they were small'and 'After they were twelve'. She appears to love nature as she loves the sensations it gives her ('felt it drag at her legs') which spur her into a dreamy world e.g. 'thought of swimming in warm seas' and the reader too must become submerged in Sandra's dreams of nature. Sandra is extremely naïve and immature as she dreams of a future that is so simple it is far from the truth (She would fall in love and she would get a good job' etc), which shows the girl does not know of the complexities of life. She has no concept of time which shows her immaturity, 'One day, this year, next year, sometime'. She also is very gullible as she seems to be believe every rubbish 'people said.' It is more effective for Sandra to be pretty, dreamy, naïve and gullible than some ugly and hard-bitten cynic because the reader enjoys the pleasant description of how she looks and the way she sees the environment and is taken away with her lovely dreams whereas if it were a cynic in the story the world would be seen in a different way. The reader probably laughs at Sandra's naivety and gullibility and does not associate himself or herself to be like that. Sandra and the reader are also lulled into a false sense of security by the walk through the fields.
Lively carefully builds up from the beginning images, adjectives and strong verbs of the track so the reader can almost be experiencing what Sandra is. Alliteration is used to stress certain images eg. 'bare brown legs brushing' and 'powdery plate' which makes them very pleasant. The almost poetic language effects the reader as it makes them too fall with Sandra into a state of dreaminess eg. 'grass,polleny summer grass' and 'pattern and petal.' The imagery is sensory eg. 'silken grass' and 'seething the corn', these adjectives are very soft sounding and appealing images.
Before going to Talbothays Tess was staying at Trantridge, the home of people of the same surname which is why Tess had gone to try and benefit from their wealth by revealing that she was a family relative. Even though Tess learns the surname they owned was bought, she still works there as a servant were Alec D'Urberville pays her attention to attract her as his mistress. One night he rapes her and after this occasion after constant persistence from him Tess agrees to become his mistress. Unfortunately, unmarried Tess falls pregnant unknown to Alec the baby eventually dies. The events at Trantridge lead her to want to start a new life far way to escape her scandal.
The walk to Talbolthays by Tess includes many key images, which create an effect. Hardy makes Tess seem so beautiful as he describes she is 'akin to the landscape'. The landscape especially in the historical/social background of the story would be God's wonderful creation so this sole description conjures up many wonderful attributes that Tess must possess. He shows how the environment profoundly effects Tess's mood and how she compares it with her homeland. 'Either the change in the quality of the air from heavy to light, or the sense of being amid new scenes where there was no invidious eyes upon her, sent up her spirits wonderfully.' Tess is affected by the place and feels the change is for the better and so begins to feel less depressed as 'she bounded along.' Nature seems to be sending her signs of hope eg. 'in every birds note seemed to lurk a note of joy.' It is 'the valley in which milk and butter grew to rankness and were produced more profusely, if less delicately than at her home.' This means that that the cows that produced the milk and butter feed on plants which grew luxuriantly (rankness) to keep them producing good quality milk and 'profusely' which means in abundance but even though, it is produced less accurately or carefully than at Tess's old home (delicately). Perhaps this signifies that Tess has journeyed to a new area, which will bring more promise but also a warning that all will not be perfect. 'The world was drawn to a larger pattern here', this means at the new environment works on a bigger scale. This perhaps gives the reader the idea that a different environment will bring a fresh start for Tess with different opportunities. 'The birds-eye perspective before was not so luxuriantly beautiful, perhaps, as the other one which she knew so well; yet it was more cheering ', the new area seems full of promise for hope and this quote is reminiscent of the idea that great beauty which Tess has does not always bring the most cheer. Hardy elaborately compares the environments of the two areas eg. 'heavy soils and scents' compared to 'the new air was clear, bracing,etheral' conjure up different images. The first describing Tess's homeland seems an environment that is more earthly and rugged whereas the latter seems to be not of this world and heavenly. Hardy describes the difference in the rivers, eg. Homeland 'were slow, silent, often turbid; flowing over beds of mud' whereas the 'The Froom waters were as clear as the pure River of Life' The comparison shows that her homeland was more hostile and uninviting than the new which is calm and almost heavenly as the river is likened to one from the bible.
