What impressions of Silas Marner do you form early in the novel Essay Example

What impressions of Silas Marner do you form early in the novel Essay Example What impressions of Silas Marner do you form early in the novel Paper What impressions of Silas Marner do you form early in the novel Paper Essay Topic: Literature This essay plans to tell the reader about the early chapters in the book Silas Marner. Part I begins with the description and comparisons of the two settings that are introduced to us in this book, it then goes on to tell the reader about Silas himself, Silass physical drawbacks and his membership of the sect in the Lantern Yard. Part II then goes on to tell the reader about the more social aspects of Silass life and then about his settlement in Raveloe. In the opening chapters of this book we are introduced to two types of setting. Firstly we are introduced to Raveloe (pages 10 through to 12), this is quite a verdant village, a woody village tucked away in the back woods of the fresh English Midlands. The way Raveloe is placed geographically and its seclusion from the rest of the Midlands, the intellectual and spiritual confinement of its quite simple and its very misunderstood tastes to the countryside are premeditated. In this setting the writer George Eliot captures all the views of the bygone era, prompted by her indelible Warwickshire memories. The second setting that we are given is one that is not written in the text but one, which we have to look for. Just before the industrial revolution was due to begin is the books second setting. This is between the decades 1810 and 1840, when the first signs of industrialization were being seen in the urban areas, the first roads into the English countryside had begun to be put in place and land enclosures had fallen off the agenda and the peasants were being forced to move into the towns and cities to earn a decant living. Whilst this was proceeding, Raveloe village itself was remaining unaffected by this looming industrialisation and it continued to proceed with its rural backdrop still fertile and exuberant. The spinning wheels still hummed busily in the farmhouses, the bigger families lived in wealth and luxuries swearing by the thriving land, inherited estates and still using their ancestral tankards. Whilst these events are continue in the Raveloe village, Silass life as a weaver is starting to become quite easy for him and he is becoming quite a prosperous member of the village, but his fortune is still very secret and nobody knows the amount of money he has stored away apart from him. Silas is a very simple and extremely trusting man who lives for his work and works with pride. Silass has a Thread-bore physique; he appears to be very shabby and untidy. His body is not one thriving with muscles but a rather slender build. His eyes are very protruding and myopic (short sighted) and are quite baggy due to his heavy workload. Silas has a condition known as catalepsy, which is a suspension of the senses, all bodily powers and movements, with muscular rigidity and in some parts of the world called a trance. We first find out about the catalepsy around page twelve when Jem Rodney tells us that on coming up to him, I saw that Marners eyes were set like a dead mans, and he spoke to him, shook him, his limbs were stiff, and his hands clutched the bag as theyd been made of iron. The children of the village are terrified of Silas and after a while they begin to associate him with the devil. Jem Rodney then goes on to describe Silas as a dead man, come to life. Mr Macey believes that Silass soul leaves his body and goes into other peoples body to see what is going on in their lives. This plays a vital part in the early plot of the novel, while Silas is still a member of the Lantern Yard sect. The leader of the sect Deacon is suffering from a very bad illness; almost knocking on heavens door and it was Silass turn to watch him. Whilst he watches him he falls into a fit and William Dane knows this and takes advantage of it, by going in to the room and stealing the churches money from the cabinet where it is kept. He uses Silass knife, which he borrowed a few days before to cut some cloth, to pick the lock so he cannot be framed for the theft. Silas is obviously found guilty and banished from the sect; he does not only lose his religion but his best friend and fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e too. In this sect at Lantern Yard Silas has a major to play in the running and organization inside of the sect. He does his fair share of the work for it and is very highly thought in the sect. He is a man of exemplary life and he has a great faith in god and its surrounding faith. He was very trusting and thought that his best friend and fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e would not abandon him in his moment of need and when they did he was ashamed to have even known them and upon losing them, he lost his life and everything that meant anything to him. He felt that he had been betrayed by everyone and especially God because in the end he begins to call God The God of Lies. William Dane was one of Silass best friends during his time at the sect, but when it comes to the end of Silass time at the sect he stabs him in the back by not supporting him and then going on to marry his fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e. Dane had very narrow slanting eyes but that was not his only unusual facial feature, his lips seemed to be always very compressed. This gives us an impression that he is quite a sadistic man and sometimes can be evil. Dane describes Silass fit as a visitation of Satan only after Silas has moved on out of the sect and they are no longer friends. For Silas to be found guilty of the theft the leader has to draw lots out of a black bag and if the number drawn is even he is innocent but if it is an odd number drawn he is guilty. This is done on the basis that the leader of the sect puts them in but God takes the power of his hand as he puts them in. After the sect find him guilty of theft and they turn their backs on him, he loses the framework of his life, his friends, his belief in god and then goes on to resent God in a way that can not be described in words but not only does he lose all of this he also loses the one person in the whole world which he loves dearly. When we first come into contact with Raveloe it has been fifteen years since Silas had first come to settle there. There are three reasons given in the book to why Silas chose to settle there. It begins by telling us that believes that he is safe and is disconnected from the rest of the world and from God. It is a low wooded area and is quite populated so there is enough custom to ply his trade and earn a good living, and also that this village is very different from the sect at Lantern Yard and this will help him to forget all the bad memories he posses from there. When Silas arrives in Raveloe for the first time the villages form impressions on Silas because not only are they both intellectually and physically slow they arse also very superstitious. This new person moving into the village also intrigues them. They find the way he works at his loom all day long with few breaks quite mysterious and not moving to scare away peeping scoundrels just to stare at them without a mumble of a word, they suspected that this stare gave the children or even adults a disease that would paralyse them or even kill them. They already knew that Silas had learnt about herbal remedies and this struck both fascination and fear into them. The ladies in Raveloe know that he is in not interested in them or he never lets anyone over his doorstep to talk or never goes for a quiet drink in the pub. Silas sits at his loom working all day because he has nothing left to do, while doing this he becomes quite prosperous. The gold that he earns replaces everything that he had from Lantern Yard. The rhythm and framework has gone from his life ever since he was banished from the sect. He lost all his belief in God, lost and any routine that he once might have had but now all he is left with is his loom and gold. The routine that he had is now replace by the counting of his gold, he enjoys doing this because it is warm and soft to touch, another reason we are given for his counting of the gold is he thinks that gold cannot betray him like his old friends did. George Eliot uses two references to natural imagery in the early chapters of the book. She explains about Silass weaving pattern by saying, He seemed to weave, like the spider, from pure impulse, without a minuets reflection. He used the weavers chair as a comfort zone where he relaxed and freed himself of bad feelings. She described his life after the sect to be like a rivulet. An old drying up, small stream that is leading to nowhere or not coming from anywhere.

Lord of the Flies Study Guide

Lord of the Flies Study Guide William Goldings 1954 novel Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of schoolchildren stranded on a deserted island. What initially seems to be a tale of heroic survival and adventure, however, soon takes a horrifying turn as the children descend into violence and chaos. The story, which serves as an allegory for human nature, remains as fresh and startling today as when it was first published. Fast Facts: Lord of the Flies Author: William GoldingPublisher: Faber and FaberYear Published: 1954Genre: AllegoryType of Work: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishThemes: Good vs. evil, reality vs. illusion, order vs. chaosCharacters: Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon, Roger, Sam, Eric Plot Summary After a plane crash, a group of British schoolboys find themselves on an abandoned island without any adult supervision. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, meet on the beach and discover a conch shell, which they use to gather the other children. Ralph organizes the boys and is elected chief. Ralph’s election angers Jack, a fellow schoolboy who wants to be in charge. We also meet a third boy, Simon- a dreamy, almost spiritual character. The boys organize into separate tribes, choosing Ralph or Jack as their leader. Jack announces that he will organize a hunting party. He attracts more boys to his tribe as they hunt the wild pigs. A rumor begins of a beast in the forest. Jack and his second-in-command Roger announce they will kill the beast. Terror drives the other boys away from Ralph’s orderly tribe into Jacks group, which becomes increasingly savage. Simon has a vision of the Lord of the Flies, then discovers a pilot’s body in the trees, which he realizes the boys have mistaken for a beast. Simon races to the beach to tell the other boys that the beast was an illusion, but the boys mistake Simon for the beast and kill him. After almost all the boys defect to Jack’s tribe, Ralph and Piggy make one last stand. Piggy is killed by Roger. Ralph flees and arrives on the beach just as a ship has arrived on the island. The captain expresses horror at what the boys have become. The boys suddenly stop and burst into tears. Major Characters Ralph. Ralph is physically attractive, personally charming, and older than most of the other children, which makes him popular. He is a symbol of civilization and order, but as the other boys descend into chaos and brutality, he slowly loses control of the society hes created. Piggy. An overweight, bookish boy, Piggy has been abused and bullied by peers throughout his life. Piggy represents knowledge and science, but he is powerless without Ralph’s protection. Jack. Jack sees himself as a natural leader. He is confident, but unattractive and unpopular. Jack builds a power base with his tribe of hunters: the boys who quickly shed the constraints of civilization. Simon. Simon is a quiet, thoughtful boy who suffers from seizures. Representing religion and spiritual faith, Simon is the only boy to see the truth: the fact that the beast is an illusion. With his death, he becomes a Christ-like figure. Major Themes Good vs. Evil. The storys central question is whether humanity is fundamentally good or evil. The boys are initially inclined to establish an orderly society with rules and an appreciation for fairness, but as they become increasingly fearful and divided, their newly-established civilization descends into violence and chaos. Ultimately, the book suggests that morality is the result of artificial restraints imposed on our behavior by the society in which we live. Illusion vs. Reality. The Beast is imaginary, but the boys belief in it has real-life consequences. As their belief in the illusion grows- and, notably, when the illusion takes on a physical form through the body of the pilot- the boys behavior grows increasingly savage. When Simon tries to shatter this illusion, he is killed. Indeed, much of the boys motivation for their behavior stems from irrational fears and imaginary monsters. When those imaginary elements change or disappear, the structure of their newly-formed society disappears, too. Order vs. Chaos. The tension between order and chaos is ever-present in Lord of the Flies. The characters of Ralph and Jack represent opposing sides of this spectrum, with Ralph establishing orderly authority and Jack encouraging chaotic violence. The boys behave in an orderly fashion at first, but when they lose faith in the possibility of being rescued, they quickly descend into chaos. The story suggests that the morality of the adult world is similarly tenuous: we are governed by a criminal justice system and spiritual codes, but if those factors were removed, our society would quickly collapse into chaos, too. Literary Style Lord of the Flies alternates between a straightforward style, employed when the boys converse with each other, and a lyrical style used to describe the island and surrounding nature. Golding also utilizes allegory: every character represents a concept or idea larger than himself. As a result, the characters actions cannot be viewed as entirely voluntary. Each boy behaves as Golding sees the larger world: Ralph attempts to exercise authority even when he has no clear plan, Piggy insists on rules and rationality, Jack follows his impulses and primitive urges, and Simon loses himself in thought and seeks enlightenment. About the Author William Golding, born in England in 1911, is considered one of the most important writers of the 20th century. In addition to fiction, Golding wrote poetry, plays, and non-fiction essays. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983. His first novel, Lord of the Flies, established him as a major literary voice. Lord of the Flies continues to be adapted and referenced by other writers to this day. His writing frequently raised questions about morality and human nature, of which he had a decidedly cynical view.