A comparative study of the ways in which Richard Cameron and Thomas

A comparative study of the ways in which Richard Cameron and Thomas

Hardy apportion justice and sympathy towards the male characters.

In 'Can't stand up for falling down' Cameron is looking at the

boundaries of drama and braking them, most of the play consists of

monologues, we are told of events by the female characters rather

then, as is traditional in theatre, being shown them. Cameron uses

this to form an intimacy between the audience and the female

characters, allowing the audience to empathise with them, justify

their actions and isolate the male characters. In contrast to this

Hardy, in the novel, uses his authorial voice to try and manipulate

the reader's sympathies and sense of justice whereas Cameron, although

he tries to guide the audience, ultimately leaves them to decide upon

their own opinions.

The way the writers describe their characters form the basis of how

they are perceived and influences whether the readers and audience

want to bring them to justice or sympathise with them. Thomas Hardy is

a very dramatic writer and conjures up scenes in the mind's eye of his

readers. In the novel 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' Hardy describes Alec

and Angel's physical and personal characteristics making them more

rounded characters and allowing the reader the ability to form complex

emotions about them such as sympathy.

Hardy uses the over spiritualised Angel to personify the average 'new'

1890's man. He rejects Christianity and embraces logic rather then the

sensual. He therefore falls prey to his emotions. He sees Tess as a

thing of beauty and idealises her, portraying in his mind and

convincing himself that she is a perfect goddess; therefore he does

not love her for who she really is.

Angel's character is presented as being gentle with Tess and

interested in her thoughts rather then just her looks, which is in

direct contrast to Alec. All we had heard about Tess previously from

the other characters in the novel is that "her fortune is in her

face." but Tess wants to be accepted for herself and Angel encourages

her without pushing her.

"You sir can raise up dreams with your music and drive all such horrid

fancies away."

Hardy shows this as Tess's belief about Angel as her saviour. This

description is in direct comparison to Hardy's original description of

it as "dim and flattened" showing that whilst Tess is easily pleased

by Angel, Hardy is not so; this encourages the readers into Hardy's

own view.

In 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' Alec is presented as a

moustache-curling, melodramatic, cardboard-cut-out villain. Hardy uses

him to represent both the unjust differences between the treatment of

women and stereotyping of women in what was perceived to be an new