Review of Far from the Madding Crowd

Review of Far from the Madding Crowd

At the start of the story, we are told by Liddy that Boldwood "took

her and put her to school and got her a place here with your uncle."

And that "he's a very kind man." With this, we can see that Boldwood

is regarded highly in the eyes of the country folk. However, when he

fell for Bathsheba, he became an emotional wreck and his hay ricks

ruined as he didn't collect them in before the storm. By doing this,

he is shirking his responsibilities. As Gabriel said, "A few months

earlier Boldwood's forgetting his husbandry would have been as

preposterous as a sailor forgetting he was in a ship." Boldwood

forgetting his hay ricks was a huge clue to how much Bathsheba's

marriage had affected him. At the end of the story, he tried to take

his own life and was only stopped by his worker Sam. Compared to the

dignified and respected Boldwood we saw at the start of the novel,

this is a drastic change.

Similarly, Troyshirks his responsibilities and drags the rest of the

workers down with him as well by practically forcing them to drink. He

tells them that "If any of the men show the white feather, let them

look else where for a winter's work." By saying this, the men had been

left with no choice but to do what he told them to. He shows contempt

towards Gabriel's suggestion that the hay ricks should be covered in

order to protect them from the rain. In the end Gabriel had to do it

all by himself as the workers had been too drunk to work. "He saw at

once that if the ricks were to be saved that night, or even the nest

morning, he would have to save them with his own hands." The author

has shown a contrast in the attitudes if Frank Troy and Gabriel Oak.

Clearly, Troydid the worker's harm more than good. Therefore, their

working relationship with the workers show their worth or lack of

worth. Also, the author makes it clear that the workers are not to

blame in this matter as they had been suitably apologetic and

embarrassed the day after. "the others shambled after with a

conscience stricken air."

Move plot along.

At many points of the story, the major characters find out many things

that have affected the way the story has been played out from the

minor characters. Therefore, although these characters are 'minor',

and never actually gets much attention from the reader in the story,

they are always somewhere in the background Thomas Hardy has painted