Compare and contrast two stories by Thomas Hardy which deal with the
theme of fate?
The two stories that I have chosen that deal with the them of 'fate'
are Old Mrs Chundle and The Withered Arm. Both of these stories are
written by Thomas Hardy, and in both of these stories he is dealing
with the theme of 'fate'.
Both of theses stories are about little accidental happenings which
govern and determine peoples lives. This is just like real life
situations. It is the accidental happenings that determine which road
our lives should take, and this judges what will happen to us in the
future.
Our lives are shaped by the character that we have adopted, and how we
get on in life. Everyone is different in many ways, and it is this
individual character that each of us have that will show the way for
are future life.
'Character is fate' is what Thomas Hardy stated, and this is true in
both the stories I read.
The first story that I read was Old Mrs Chundle. Old Mrs Chundle is a
lonely woman, who isolates herself from the outside world. She lives
in a small stone-built cottage, which has a vegetable patch out the
back were she grows her own greens. She doesn't go to the local Church
as she feels there is no need for her attending.
There was a Curate who had accidentally bumped into Mrs Chundle. After
chatting to Mrs Chundle he soon becomes to discover that Mrs Chundle
belongs to his parish. She tells him that she attends Church every
Sunday, but in fact she never goes to Church at all.
Later on the Curate mentions to the rector of his encounter with Old
Mrs Chundle. The Curate explains to the rector that Mrs Chundle is
part of their parish and attends regularly. The rector is shocked to
hear this, as...
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... and the
lives of others. If Farmer Lodge had not been as raunchy towards
ladies then this situation of the two deaths would never of occurred.
Farmer Lodge moved from a relationship with an older lady, to a
relationship with a young and pretty women. If Gertrude had not liked
older men then this also would not be the situation. But it is clear
she did, and this eventually led to her own death, and the death of
Rhoda's son.
Overall my favourite story from these two had to be 'Old Mrs Chundle'.
I thought this was a very exciting story compared to 'The Withered
Arm'. Both these stories ended in deaths, one a lot more tragic than
the other. From reading these two stories, I now believe that it is
the character that we lead, that will determine how we go about
living. We are all 'born under a blided star' and we can't control
what is going to happen to us.
Early on in the story, there is a phrase about an older woman explaining an image. It says, “A woman with shorn white hair wearing tennis shoes and a shapeless gray sweater over a summery calico dress. She is small and sprightly, like a bantam hen; but, due to a long youthful illness, her shoulders are pitifully hunched.” She dresses comfortable but we know
First, the story takes place in the 1900s on Tol and Miss Minnie’s farm. They have crops, gardens, and livestock, and are avid in what they do (Half-Pint of Old Darling 124).
The world is filled with many different types of societies and cultures. This is due to the fact that many people share dissimilar beliefs and ideas, as well as diverse ways of life. People lived under different circumstances and stipulations, therefore forming cultures and societies with ideas they formulated, themselves. These two factors, society and culture, are what motivate people to execute the things that they do. Many times, however, society and culture can cause downgrading effects to an assemblage if ever it is corrupt or prejudiced. Society and culture not only influences the emotions individuals have toward things like age differences, religion, power, and equality but also the actions they perform as a result.
like, if the young woman did decide to have sex with the man then she
The Wife of Bath, Dame Alice is quite a spiteful woman even though she desires only a few simple things in life; power and control. Through her prologue and tale, she makes mirror images of herself , which reflects the person who she really is.
Through attention to detail, repeated comparison, shifting tone, and dialogue that gives the characters an opportunity to voice their feelings, Elizabeth Gaskell creates a divide between the poor working class and the rich higher class in Mary Barton. Gaskell places emphasis on the differences that separate both classes by describing the lavish, comfortable, and extravagant life that the wealthy enjoy and compares it to the impoverished and miserable life that the poor have to survive through. Though Gaskell displays the inequality that is present between both social classes, she also shows that there are similarities between them. The tone and diction change halfway through the novel to highlight the factors that unify the poor and rich. In the beginning of the story John Barton exclaims that, “The rich know nothing of the trials of the poor…” (11), showing that besides the amount of material possessions that one owns, what divides the two social classes is ability to feel and experience hardship. John Barton views those of the upper class as cold individuals incapable of experiencing pain and sorrow. Gaskell, however proves Barton wrong and demonstrates that though there are various differences that divide the two social classes, they are unified through their ability to feel emotions and to go through times of hardship. Gaskell’s novel reveals the problematic tension between the two social classes, but also offers a solution to this problem in the form of communication, which would allow both sides to speak of their concerns and worries as well as eliminate misunderstandings.
I handed my school photograph to my mother. She stared from the photograph to me. Lord sweet Lord how come she so ugly. UGLY. UGLY.'
‘To His Coy Mistress’ is a poem about a man trying to persuade a shy
again I'm used to it by now, if you can get used to folk talking the
Mrs. Marian Forrester strikes readers as an appealing character with the way she shifts as a person from the start of the novel, A Lost Lady, to the end of it. She signifies just more than a women that is married to an old man who has worked in the train business. She innovated a new type of women that has transitioned from the old world to new world. She is sought out to be a caring, vibrant, graceful, and kind young lady but then shifts into a gold-digging, adulterous, deceitful lady from the way she is interpreted throughout the book through the eyes of Niel Herbert. The way that the reader is able to construe the Willa Cather on how Mr. and Mrs. Forrester fell in love is a concept that leads the reader to believe that it is merely psychological based. As Mrs. Forrester goes through her experiences such as the death of her husband, the affairs that she took part in with Frank Ellinger, and so on, the reader witnesses a shift in her mentally and internally. Mrs. Forrester becomes a much more complicated women to the extent in which she struggles to find who really is and that is a women that wants to find love and be fructuous in wealth. A women of a multitude of blemishes, as a leading character it can be argued that Mrs. Forrester signifies a lady that is ultimately lost in her path of personal transitioning. She becomes lost because she cannot withstand herself unless she is treated well by a wealthy male in which causes her to act unalike the person she truly is.
Thomas Hardy's The Withered Arm. Introduction ------------ "The Withered Arm" is a pre-twentieth century short story written by Thomas Hardy. This story was published in 1888, appearing in "The Blackwoods" Magazine.
Emily Bronte, a famous British poet, lived a very lonely life, she spent much of her childhood with her other five siblings reading and writing literature. In her poem, "Remembrance", she describes the fantasy her and her sister, Anne Bronte, had created about the loss of a lover (scholar's park). Her creativity and the skill of writing has brought her the fame. Even though her fame came much later after her death, her poems and books are still used as wonderful examples in everyday life.
Elinor Represents the Sense and Marianne the Sensibility of the Novel’s Title. Discuss. “She had an excellent heart – her disposition was affectionate and her feelings were strong, but she knew how to govern them…” Right from the opening of the novel, the author, Jane Austen, makes it clear that Elinor, the eldest of the Dashwood sisters, represents the “Sense” in the title of the novel. Elinor endures some very strong emotions and, in virtually every situation, unlike most heroines in novels of that era, she is able to conceal or control them. For this reason she appears to be a perfect role model for her sister Marianne, the “Sensibility” of the novel’s title.
In "To His Coy Mistress," Andrew Marvell presents a speaker who appeals to his love
The argument that is presented throughout this poem, like many other poems, is one that involves love. The narrator is an older man who has found love with a much younger mistress. Because of his old age, he tries to act on his love quickly. The narrator makes an attempt to encourage his lover to act on their love, and give up her virginity.