The Importance of Duty in George Eliot's Silas Marner
In George Eliot's novel, 'Silas Marner', there is much evidence to
suggest that duty is important. In the novel 'Silas Marner', duty is
presented through parenting and community. Duty means conducts that
are due to others. Duties are various functions that we have to
follow, and they are moral obligations to others. This is all true for
this novel, but also it means to show kindness, generosity, and
respect for the community, traditions and family. Duty is a large part
of this novel and it is based upon the values of practical
Christianity, in part one. In this novel, the people are clearly
divided into two separate classes of people; those who neglect duty
and are punished, and those who honour duty and are latter rewarded.
In this novel, Silas himself has an obligation to Eppie, Eppie has an
obligation to Silas, and Godfrey has an obligation to Molly, Nancy and
his father.
However, although people respect duty, there are those in this novel
who are disrespectful towards duty, and are not in any way or form
dutiful at all. The people that neglect duty include the Cass family,
consisting of the Old Squire, Godfrey and Dunsey. Also the community
at Lantern Yard neglect duty, of which William Dane especially
neglects duty. The Lantern Yard community neglects their duty as they
wrongly accuse Silas of theft. All these people that neglect duty in
this novel, would probably regret that they ever did neglect duty as
in the end of the novel they all get punished for their wrong doings.
In this novel, the Cass family is one of the worst families, in terms
of fulfilling duty. The Ol...
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...hroughout the book, but honoured them. All those
that honour duty in this novel include Silas, Eppie, the Lammeter
family (Pricilla), and the Winthrop family (Dolly and Aaron). In the
end Pricilla gets to manage and run the farm, and that is the reward
for caring for her father. Silas is rewarded by getting his gold back
and by Eppie being loyal to him and not leaving him, and also he
regains his trust in God. Eppie, who stays with Silas, is rewarded by
her marriage to Aaron Winthrop. Finally Dolly is rewarded when her son
marries Eppie, and she gets true gratification for making Silas who
is.
'Duty' is a major theme of Silas Marner. It is one of the 'practical
aspects' of Christianity, favoured by Eliot. The novel could be said
to be a 'fable'. But realistically in that, Nancy follows duty but is
still punished.
Many would assume that this would be a very peaceful and joyous reunion for Price and his family, however, several new struggles ensue for him instead. This is due to him becoming so accustomed to spending his life in the war that he can no longer comprehend what purpose and identity he holds removed from it. Given the severe monotony he was subjected to during the war, Price has now become just as prompt in making decisions at home as on the battlefield by no longer taking the time to “think” before acting. In fact, Price’s own dog named Vicar serves as a symbol to represent Price’s “civilian” mindset, which repeatedly conflicts with his “war” mindset until it is no longer bearable. Therefore, Price is forced to kill Vicar as he can no longer manage his conflicting mindsets. The parallels drawn between the stories of Price and Vicar and Cross and Martha serve to suggest that even though one details the struggles of a soldier in the war, while the other elaborates on a soldier’s struggle removed from it, they both share the same consequence of having to put away their humanity in order to settle the dispute between conserving their identities as civilians, and remaining obligated to their duties in
“Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred” (Hawthorne). As this sentence is read in the The Scarlet Letter, the reader will realize that the main theme of the book is the sentence above. Throughout the book, secret sin damages the lives, soul, and the integrity of the main characters. However, it could have easily been evaded through open confession of their sins. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s purpose in writing this novel is an attempt to influence the reader to openly confess their sins and never be ashamed of who they are. According to Levine, “even though we convey ourselves as saints, we are really sinners (Levine 64). The Scarlet Letter is a classic work of Hawthorne due to the themes it portrays and the relevancy to today’s society. By definition, “A classic is a work of art so universal that it has transcended the boundaries of time and place; it has survived the ‘test of time’” (Lazarus). In the highly symbolic novel, “The Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the effects of hidden sin and his characters’ ultimate release from guilt when they learn to own their sin.
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
Montresor is a man who like to get revenge back to the people that did something to him. Montresor like to get back at the people when they are no longer thinking about what they have done. Because Montresor is that way Fortunato insulted him and he reacted to what was said about him. Yet, Fortunato was saying all these things about Montresor and thought it was okay. The personalities that Montresor have is that he don’t play about what people say to or about him, and don’t take it lightly. He is also that person that like to take care of business and get things done. Fortunato is a man that loves to run his mouth and has these emotion when he wants to say things and later think about what he has said. Fortunato act like it doesn’t matter
From a young age, our parents teach us to be grateful for what we have. However, as human beings and Americans, we * find it difficult to be content with what we consider “less.” Much of the American Dream revolves around success, and in general, the more you have, whether it is money, possessions, or relationships, the more successful you are. The American value of achievement often results in selfishness, once described by William E. Gladstone as “the greatest curse of the human race” (William E. Gladstone quotes, 2010). Collectively, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath demonstrate how selfishness breaks society, affecting both the individual as well as those around him, and how selflessness repairs it.
Flannery O’Connor’s short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, cleverly conveys morality through various literary devices. Her allegory is heavily loaded with irony and cryptic motifs. The diction and dialogue in the story is constructed very deliberately. The story portrays individuals with distorted dispositions on morality and the concept of ‘a good man’. And through their interactions, O’Connor is able to convey their misguided dispositions.
Contrastingly, Mrs. Darling, his wife, is portrayed as a romantic, maternal character. She is a “lovely lady”, who had many suitors yet was “won” by Mr. Darling, who got to her first. However, she is a multifaceted character because her mind is described “like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East”, suggesting that she is, to some extent, an enigma to the other characters, especially Mr. Darling. As well as this, she exemplifies the characteristics of a “perfect mother”. She puts everything in order, including her children’s minds, which is a metaphor for the morals and ethics that she instils in them. Although ...
“The Raven”, a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe, impresses the reader of a strange and frightening setting through the description of the speaker’s thoughts. The piece introduces the content with the subject as a bereaved lover of Lenoré and the speaker’s vain attempt to hide his loss. The setting together with the monologues, which displays the speaker’s emotions, is effective to set the mood of the poem. The paper’s objective centers, whether Wordsworth’s notions of developing feelings, which give importance to the actions and situations (not vice versa) and passion-insusceptibility of characters, in addition to Coleridge’s conception of the intelligence of objects of thought and elevated language, when merge work together to amplify the brilliance of the piece.
In Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge transforms from a notorious miser to a humbled, kind-hearted soul as a result of three spirits who apprise him of life's true meaning. Mirroring Scrooge's evolution, in George Eliot's Silas Marner, Silas also transitions from a recluse in society to a rejuvenated man because of a little girl who crawls into his heart. Initially, Silas is lonely man who finds solace from his past with money and solitude. When Eppie enters Silas' home, he begins to understand that there is more substance to life than hoarding gold. Furthermore, after many years as Eppie's guardian, Silas is finally able to experience true happiness and the invaluable joy of love.
The theme that has been attached to this story is directly relevant to it as depicted by the anonymous letters which the main character is busy writing secretly based on gossip and distributing them to the different houses. Considering that people have an impression of her being a good woman who is quiet and peaceful, it becomes completely unbecoming that she instead engages in very abnormal behavior. What makes it even more terrible is the fact that she uses gossip as the premise for her to propagate her hate messages not only in a single household but across the many different households in the estate where she stays.
In his poem, “The Raven,” Edgar Allan Poe accurately demonstrates the romantic characteristic of an appeal to emotion. The poem begins with the narrator reading, trying to ignore the sorrow of missing his beloved Lenore, who had passed away. He hears tapping on his door and window and when he checks what it is, a raven flies in his room. Even though he realizes the bird only knows one word, Nevermore, he asks it a series of questions about takes the answer seriously. The most important question he asks is if he will see Lenore in heaven. The narrator’s actions show how desperately he misses Lenore and how much he misses her.
quite seem to make him that much of a better person; he still had an
was to marry and all that ends with Silas having no more trust in God;
Primarily, Mansfield uses the foil characters Laura and Mrs. Sheridan to accentuate Laura’s beliefs in social equality while bringing out Mrs. Sheridan’s opposite actions. After the news of the death of their neighbor, Mr. Scott, Laura feels she “...can’t possible have a garden-party with a man dead just outside [her] front gate”(5) she feels sympathetic towards the family as she knows they will be able to hear their band as they are mourning. On the contrary, Mrs. Sheridan does quite the opposite when alerted of the news, and even more so when Laura tells Mrs. Sheridan of her plans to cancel the party. Mrs. Sheridan strongly believes that “People like that don't expect sacrifices from us.”(6) Mansfield shows the reader how these two characters are quite different from each other. Laura doesn’t want a garden party to be disrespectful of the Scotts, but Mrs. Sheridan believes quite the opposite as she is rude and doesn’t believe the Scotts are on the same level as the Sheridans, being quite lower...
returned to his life when his brother dies and he is able to tell his