Abstract This paper explains how Thomas Hardy examines these themes in his novel, "Far From the MaddingCrowd", with the characters of Gabriel, Frank and Boldwood. It discusses how Gabriel is portrayed as a man who learns from his circumstances in life, whether he deserves them or not. He becomes a character that embodies strength and determination despite the odds. It also points out how in contrast, Frank and Boldwood are characters that do not completely develop because they choose not to.
From the Paper "Gabriel exhibits maturity because he is willing to learn from his devastating circumstances. He does not spend a lot of time asking why or feeling sorry for himself. Instead, he processes things rather quickly and moves on. For example, he is very realistic when he accepts the fact that he alone is responsible for not insuring his sheep. One of his most admirable characteristics is the fact that he is willing to see the best of things. For instance, after he loses his flock, he states, "Thank God I am not married: what would she have done in the poverty now coming upon me!" (Chapter 5). Gabriel does not resign himself to self-pity. Instead he accepts the reality of his situation and decides to make something of it."
Examines the traits of Bathsheba in Thomas Hardy's novel "Far from the MaddingCrowd" and relates these with her relationships with the three men in her life.
1,410 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 1 source, 2002, $ 46.95
Abstract This paper analyzes Thomas Hardy's character Bathsheba Everdene from the novel ?Far from the MaddingCrowd.? It focuses on her personality traits and how these traits attracted her to each of the three men in her life. It also analyzes these three men to a lesser degree, but only in relation to her.
From the paper:
?In the Thomas Hardy novel Far from the MaddingCrowd, the most interesting aspect of the book is most assuredly the interaction between Bathsheba Everdene and her three admirers. The plot was centered around those relationships, and there would not have been much of a storyline had those encounters been removed. It is therefore desirable to know as much as possible about what made these suitors attractive to Bathsheba, as it would provide great insight into her character as well as lead to a more complete understanding of the book. With a little analysis, it can be seen that the personality traits in Bathsheba that led to her attraction to Sergeant Troy, Farmer Boldwood, and Gabriel Oak, respectively, are her most primary and basic tendencies, and add much to her complexity.?
Tags: analysis, bathsheba, boldwood, character, gabriel, hardy, literature, victorian, york
Abstract The essay uses many examples from the text to illustrate how clothing can be used as a marker of the strong value system in the Victorian value system. It also proves how Hardy undermines such beliefs; examples are given of traditional notions of class, identity and masculinity being questionned. The essay also uses clothing to explore the subjugation of women, morality and sexuality in the Victorian era.
From the Paper "In the Victorian era appearances were important. In order to be accepted by society, the individual needed to be seen to conform to its values. In Far From the Madding Crowd, such rules and values are evident by what is worn. Clothing, therefore, acts as another marker of society's control over the individual. The power of such control is seen to weaken, however, as the ever-prevalent modern world begins to infect the public consciousness. As the old order disintegrates, clothing becomes an effective disguise for the individual to hide behind."
Abstract "Far From the MaddingCrowd" and "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" describe local cultures, in reaction to independent and forceful women characters.
This paper traces the progression of the heroine, Bathsheba Everdene, throughout the novel, Thomas Hardy's ?Far from the MaddingCrowd?, by focusing on various stages in her life and how different incidents influenced her character.
Abstract This paper discusses that, initially, Bathsheba is presented as the epitome of vanity and pride. The author, who feels that this book is too long and involved, describes the many transgression and errors made by Bathsheba. The paper concludes that all of these unpleasant events have a strong impact on Bathsheba, and she turns into a more responsible and wiser person, as she gains better insight into her own character.
From the Paper "At this point Gabriel firmly resolves never to ask her for marriage again. ?No man likes to see his emotions the sport of a merry-go-round of skittishness.? (Chapter IV) Bathsheba however doesn?t change a bit initially as she moves from one silly antic to another only to attract people's attention and make herself extremely popular with all men. In Chapter 13, she mischievously sends a valentine note to Mr. Boldwood, one man who never pays any attention to Bathsheba. He is old enough to be her father but his indifference to her beauty makes her do something absolutely undesirable so that he would start noticing her. Hardy aptly remarked, ?Of love as a spectacle Bathsheba had a fair knowledge; but of love subjectively she knew nothing.? (Hardy, Chapter XIII) This one despicable mistake of hers ultimately results in life imprisonment for Boldwood. By this time, Bathsheba's character has not changed much. It was when Troy enters her life that we notice some transformation in her behavior. This change results from deep involvement with the Sergeant who cares nothing about her but loves to flirt outrageously."
Abstract This essay examines the importance of ?The Crowd? in modernist writing and how the dramatic growth of urban areas affected lifestyle at the end of the 19th century. Examining in detail The Man of The Crowd by Poe as well as Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent and the poems of Baudelaire and relating them to modernist thinkers.
Tags: conrad, crowds, modern, modernity, new, modernism, literature
Abstract The idea of madness is one which many writers have explored. By becoming mad, people are granted leave of social, moral, and political expectations. In essence, they become free because as they take leave of their senses, they are shown the societal exit door and enter a world of their own creation. Madness, however, is not a free ticket to a different reality, it comes with a very dear price. For, by leaving logic behind and becoming ruled only by emotion, rather than making things better, events will inevitably turn for the worse. It is the purpose of this paper, then to explore the theme of madness as it appears in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Abstract This paper discusses George Miller's 1979 film "Mad Max" and its relevance to Australian character and identity. It looks at the physical and social infrastructure depicted and the film's vision of the horrors of the world's overly dependence on costly oil fuel. The paper contends that the universal aspect of the film's hero--Mel Gibson's Max--is as significant as the movie's expression of Australian identity.
From the Paper "George Miller's film Mad Max pays homage to aspects of Australian national character constructions of gender and identity and culture. However though some critics including Lorraine Mortimer position the film as emanating from an imagined nation-community ..."
Abstract This paper examines a 2004 Wall Street Journal article on mad cow disease, and how companies, especially fast food companies, are responding to the possibility of tainted meat. It uses the example of McDonald's.
Tags:mad cow disease, mcdonald's fast food industry, marketin
Abstract This paper presents a detailed scene analysis of the sequence immediately after the scene "The Break Up" in Todd Haynes' 2002 film, Far From Heaven. The paper discusses the characters in the film, the film's use of music and its cinematography.
From the Paper "Immediately after the scene "The Break Up", we see Cathy walk from the warmly lit living room occupied by her husband to the unlit parlor where a window is opened onto the night sky. The music illustrating this transition foreshadows the momentous change occurring in Cathy's life by the use of a single instrument -- the piano interlude. The orchestral piece fades to highlight the piano solo, which signifies Cathy's new single status."
Abstract This paper will analyze the novel "Far From the Maddening Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. The essence of this paper will be to uncover the themes, as told by the author, of Victorian women within the scope of the book. By analyzing certain aspects of this literature, we can understand the way that women were treated in the 19th century in the perception of a gentleman writer of the period. Hardy projects a strong, yet tragic view of women in the story and this will be thesis of this paper.
Abstract This paper reviews the book "The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind" by Gustave LeBone, which studies the psychology of crowds and their impact on society. The paper explains that the book was written earlier in this century, by a Frenchman, who relied on French examples. "The Crowd" is somewhat outdated, claims the paper, but could be applied to today's crowd mechanisms -- namely, mass media, especially television, which are used to arouse crowds into action. The author of this paper argues that the media has assumed the leadership role in creating, inciting and defusing crowds.
From the Paper "The old cliche says there is safety in numbers. In a crowd, then, according to the author individual ideas and personalities are subjugated to the single will of the crowd. The crowd forms one personality, mass personality, perhaps, but with a single goal to be achieved. The goal could be political overthrow, labor union strikes or wage settlements, joy at some momentous event (think of the parades of the astronauts that first landed on the moon), or showing support for some religious, foreign policy, or festive event. The crowds in St. Peter's square at Christmas to hear the Pope's message to the world is a crowd with a single purpose, therefore."
Tags: people, mass, media, psychology, rodney, king, personality, persona
Abstract The paper shows that in his prose-poem "Crowds", Charles Baudelaire explores the themes of egoism, individualism, conformity. He delves deeply into the idea of the artist as a philosopher, and the artist's ability to experience the world. The paper discusses how, in our modern, individualistic society, it is tempting to shift Baudelaire's analysis to the common individual. It is the very individualism of modern society that allows us to reject his arguments in "Crowds" as adolescent egoism. The author of the paper shows that ultimately, however, both the modern reader and Charles Baudelaire fail in the attempt to stand apart from the conformity of the crowd - despite twin beliefs that individualism holds them apart from the crowd, both Baudelaire and the modern reader are ultimately consumed by the swelling mass of humanity.
From the Paper "While Baudelaire's poem explores the role of the poet in the crowd, in the fervent individualism of modern North American Society his analysis can now shift to the common person. Certainly, each of us sees ourselves as individualistic. Our trials, struggles, joys and experiences are truly our own, and make us unique. We are superior to everyone else in the crowd; we are unique, and like poet, we stand apart. Today, of course, the crowd is made up of countless people, of which each "unique" individual is only a small part. It is in our modern individual. Ironically, today's crowd may achieve its conformity despite of the very exercise of modern individualism."
Abstract This paper discusses the poem "Crowds" by Charles Baudelaire about an idle man who roams through the Parisian crowd and while moving through the crowd, notices and ponders over everyone and everything. It analyzes the three main themes of the prose namely, individuality, egoism and conformity. It examines how the basic notion is that each human being like the character in the prose sees himself as a unique individual of society and how the qualities, which truly make a person an individual in its right meaning, are his sorrows, happiness, obstacles, triumphs and experiences.
From the Paper "It is this very concept of individualism, which enables the audience to discard Baudelaire's argument as a result of egoism. No matter how one sees himself above others or how distinguished, he eventually is the same as anyone else as far as his origination or orientation is concerned. All men possess some similar attributes and as a result are not completely unique from others. Even though they might think they are but in reality they are not and will eventually be described as humans, having the same human nature, which in some ways possesses the same qualities as others. Since each person recognizes himself as incomparable to others, to accept this notion may prove to be somewhat a matter of self-pride and egoism."
Abstract Madness in Shakespearean plays has distinct and multiple meanings and purposes. On one level, the madness of insanity is clearly felt in the tragedies like "Lear". On another, madness is also felt in the frenetic pace of impossible situations and comedic errors in judgment as is found in "Twelfth Night". Madness is, then, both tragic and comedic. But, it is much more than that. Madness represents a loss of control, of being borne by unnatural impulses, drivesa nd, perhaps, voices. Being mad is to not be yourself, it is to have lost touch with humanity, with life and with reality. The mad are excused from the rules of man and at the same time, tragically bound by them. For some, in madness is found freedom. Lear is wrapped, tightly, within a horrible prison created by his inability to see through the duplicitous daughters and embrace the one person in his life that loves him enough to refuse him. His madness, in the end, is what sets him free of the binds that his daughters and his pride had him in. The madness, however, is like the release from an intense and long-term drug addiction, it is horrible to watch, but leaves Lear in a better state afterward, free of poisons. Madness also allows otherwise straight-laced, bound by social rules (which were oppressive in Elizabethan England), to freely express inner passions, make mistakes and be fools in the eyes of others without fear of recourse, as is the case with nearly every character in "Twelfth Night". It is the purpose of this paper to examine the nature of madness in the Shakespearean context, how it plays out in both King Lear and Twelfth Night, and the meaning behind the madness in both works.
