Tess of the Durbervilles Essay Example For Students

Tess of the Durbervilles Essay Tess is a young girl visiting her cousin Alec, who is of a higher class the Tess, Alec takes advantage of this and controls where they go and what they do. Hardy presents Alec as a scheming man and there seems something weird about him, Tess on the other hand is of completely different character to Alec, she seems like a vulnerable girl and has no control over what they do or where they go. In the first extract Tess comes over as very uneasy around Alec, for example when Alec called her a pretty girl she blushed, also Alec directs the conversation and answers in short sentences and in not much detail at all yes when they come and I suppose I have show this. I think that in this extract it shows that Tess has little or no power in the relationship, it shows this how Alec directs the conversation and how he gives Tess no chance to do what she wants to do as he shows Tess around the ground. We will write a custom essay on Tess of the Durbervilles specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now There is a lot of evidence in this extract that Alec treats Tess as inferior to himself, maybe because Tess isnt from as higher class background as himself or just because he is sexist and thinks that women are inferior to men. There is evidence of this when Alec asks Tess where do you live? What are you? This shows that the two characters are not at all close, you would think that if you had a cousin coming to stay you would find out who they were and know where they come from or even know them before. There is a point in the first extract where you see that Alec has and influence over Tess and what she does. When Alec tries to feed Tess the strawberry Tess says no.no Id rather take it in my own hand but it seemed like Tess had no choice whatever but to take the strawberry from Alec as he pushed it towards Tess mouth anyway. Yet again in extract two there is another point at which Tess is made to sound inferior to Alec, Tess says oh not at all sir, This shows that Tess respects Alec for being of a higher class to her. In this extract we learn a lot about the two characters. We learned that Tess is a lot younger than she looks Thomas Hardy showed this when he says that Tess had a fullness of growth, which made her, appear more of a woman than she really was. There is more evidence of Tess looking older than she is when Thomas Hardy says the tragic mischief of her drama one who stood fair to be the blood-red ray in the spectrum of her young life. In this extract Tess and Alec are set in a smoke filled tent. I think that Thomas Hardy has done this to make Alec seem a little more threatening towards Tess. There are a few points suggesting that Alec likes Tess as more than just a cousin, Hardy shows this by saying causing Alec Durbervilles eyes to rivet upon her as Alec looked at her. This is proof of my point as your eyes do not rivet upon someone who is a cousin of yours. Again in this extract there is a clue that Alec is of a higher class than Tess. It says that Tess full name is Tess Durbeyfield and Alecs name is Alec Durberville, this sounds like a posh and more of a higher-class version of the name Durbeyfield. The third extract is different from the other extracts as the style of the writing changes, the words used are longer and generally more difficult to read than the other extracts. I found that this made the extract harder and more difficult to understand. The tone of the extract changes when Alec says that Tess was doomed, at this moment you feel that the rest of the story may take a different route to what you may have first imagined. .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 , .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .postImageUrl , .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 , .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929:hover , .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929:visited , .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929:active { border:0!important; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929:active , .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929 .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc64a7ba9e17c21c62dff61e84bef7929:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Corporate Downsizing Essay PaperExtract four is only a short extract but yet it tells so much about Alec .You learn that Alec may have thought that he was leading Tess on but didnt really care for her one bit. In the last extract Alec breaks out into a loud laugh and says to himself what a crummy girl this is another sign that Alec thinks upon Tess as inferior or of lower class to himself, that he was leading her on and didnt care one bit for her. Tess of the DUrbervilles Essay Example For Students Tess of the DUrbervilles Essay Setting is used powerfully in both Tess of the DUrbervilles and The Shipping News, and is, in my opinion, pivotal in rendering these two novels so resonant and beautiful. It is employed to expand and reinforce the moods of each phase of the narrative, as well as marking these different phases. The setting generates the atmosphere in which the characters exist, but more profoundly, it is used to symbolise and intensify the feelings and experiences of the protagonists.  Although written at different times by authors with very different literary styles, and set in places of extreme contrast- tranquil, lush Wessex set against grimy, degenerate New York, then bleak Newfoundland the novels share a remarkable degree of similarity. We will write a custom essay on Tess of the DUrbervilles specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Both novels feature people with uneasy minds, people who are somehow unlike their peers, people who are searching ultimately for a sense of belonging. These characters, Tess and Quoyle, are strongly influenced by the ancestral myths which haunt their surroundings. They are trying to understand themselves in the context of these myths, and to understand the forces that have shaped their lives. Tess Durbeyfield discovers that she is a belated seedling of a decayed aristocratic family, the DUrbervilles. She is fooled into thinking that in finding her noble family, she will find love and nobility of spirit. Her story is one of disillusionment, when she realises too late that this nobility and pride of spirit she so craves is only to be found within her, and not in the outside world. She needs a sense of belonging; but receives only physical and emotional violation, and further alienation. Quoyle desires to comprehend the mysteries of unknown family, the dark lives of the big wild boogers that are his Newfoundland ancestors; he needs to define his place amongst these treacherous, primitive people. Unlike Tess, however, he finally discovers a sense of acceptance of his past, and an assurance of his own individuality in the context of his family history.  Proulxs use of symbolism is especially apparent in the place names within The Shipping News. The first chapter is introduced with a definition of a Quoyle a coil of rope that may be walked upon if necessary. Similarly Quoyle is a downtrodden, tyrannised character. His surname is the only name he is given throughout the book, a name that, significantly, connects him only to his ancestors and allows him no individuality. Quoyles town of residence before he moves to Newfoundland is Mockingburg. This name is representative of Quoyles experience there; it is a place that has served to emphasise his alienation and his lack of physical appeal: a great damp loaf of a bodyEyes the color of plastic. The monstrous chin It is a place where Quoyle lives a detached, unfulfilled and lonely life, a life that is indeed a mockery. It is no co-incidence, therefore, that Proulx chose Newfoundland as Quoyles new home; it proves to be the place where he rediscovers himself, a place where he is metaphorically reborn. However, this new place is no idyll, it is savage and harsh. The lives of its habitants are governed by the often-destructive elements; reflected in the place names Capsize Cove, Desperate Cove, Hell Rock names that imply existences punctuated by hardship, danger and misery. This is a place where people rely on the sea to survive, yet often die whilst using its resources. The intrinsic link between people and elementary forces, especially the sea, is demonstrated by the name Wavey. The relationship that Wavey and other inhabitants of Newfoundland possess with nature is one of struggle and opposition, whereas Tess is fundamentally linked to the landscape, but in that she is a natural being, a fragment of her natural environment. Hardy narrates her life in phases, like the moon. He employs landscape throughout his novel as a mirror image for his protagonists emotion. Her blissfully detached, unworldly childhood is set in the sleepy, warm Vale of Blackmoor, her magical love affair with Angel is set in the Eden-like, fertile valley of Talbothays dairy and her abject desolation and isolated sorrow are reflected by the barren, stripped landscape of Flintcomb-Ash. .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 , .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .postImageUrl , .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 , .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192:hover , .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192:visited , .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192:active { border:0!important; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192:active , .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192 .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4c505f32dfa6a01b6173cfc6439a0192:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Top Girls EssayHardy writes using the conventional structure of his time. His power lies in his unparalleled ability to evoke landscape and mood in a deeply poetic manner. The ethereal descriptions, spectral, half-compounded aqueous light, are enchanting and lyrical,  The sky was dense with cloud, a diffused light from some fragment of moon  Hardy uses nature to great effect, employs it as a symbol in his work with understanding, tenderness and intimacy. He interprets nature so well because he has spent so long observing and contemplating it, perhaps during his rural upbringing. Imagery and symbolism are intrinsic to all Hardys novels. Dorothy Van Ghent called the echoing of experience in landscape a symbolism that, considered in itself, isastonishingly blunt and rudimentary. Yet the effect of Hardys writing is so, that the reader and critic alike disregard this rudimentary imagery. It is transcended by the elegance, beauty and power of his prose.  Hardys most lucid and tenderly beautiful description comes during the summer at Talbothays, when Tess and Angel are falling in love. He describes Tess with the intimacy of a lover: Minute diamonds of moisture from the mist hung, too, upon Tesss eyelashes, and drops upon her hair, like seed pearlsher teeth, lips and eyes scintillated in the sunlight  The lushness of the vegetation and the season itself echo Tesss fertility, her womanliness, her heightened sensuality:  A season when the rush of juices could almost be heard below the hiss of fertilisation  Hardy describes a scene where Tess listens to Angel playing his harp in the garden at the dairy, with deeply erotic language and imagery: The gardenwas now damp and rank with juicy grasstall blooming weedsgathering cuckoo-spittle on her skirtsstaining her hand with thistle milkrubbing off upon her naked arms sticky blights whichmade madder stains on her skin  The words used to describe the plants are sensual; damp, juicy, blooming, naked, and provoke images of nudity, passion and even sexual intercourse, especially when it is considered that the landscape is used throughout to parallel Tess.