Fate and Chance in The Mayor of Casterbridge
Thomas Hardy's disillusionment over religion was a major theme in both his novels and his poetry. In his mind there was a conflict over whether fate or chance ruled us. He explores this dilemma in the poems "I Look Into My Glass" and "Going and Staying." Each poem takes a different stance on the matter. It is up to the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge to illuminate which position he ultimately adopts.
The poem "I Look Into My Glass" is similar to "Going and Staying" in many ways. Both poems deal with the effects of time. "I Look Into My Glass" is narrated by a person (I picture a man, although it could really be either) who is very old and looking at his wasted frame in a mirror. The narrator is grieving, not because he is old, but because his heart is still strong and full of feelings. He wishes that his heart had withered like his skin so that he wouln't have to feel the loss of all his loved ones, the "hearts grown cold to me" he mentions in the poem (ILIMG, line 6). The narrator blames a personification of time for this, saying "Time, to make me grieve,/Part steals, part lets abide" (ILIMG, lines 9, 10). Strength and vitality have been stolen from him while his heart has remained youthful. Emphasis in this poem is on the emotional rather than on the physical because the narrator values his emotions over his physical state. This does not mean that the narrator is indifferent to his condition. Just as much as he wishes his heart could be as frail as his frame, so does he also wish that his frame were a match for his heart. When he says time "shakes this fragile frame at eve/ With the throbbings of noontide" he means that his heart is still throbbing with the desir...
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...ur own fate. Henchard dies friendless and alone not because it was part of God's plan, but because he cannot see that he operates under his own free will.
Hardy's loss of faith in his own life is apparent in all of his writing, especially in the poems "I Look Into My Glass" and "Going and Staying" and the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge. Here he explores his ideas about chance and fate and ultimately comes up with the conviction that each man controls himself. It can be surmised that this was a frightening thought for Hardy since much of his work deals with his disillusionment over religion. Whether Hardy wanted to enlighten the multitudes with his writing, or if he just wanted them to see his suffering and pity him is a question only he can answer.
Works Cited:
Hardy, Thomas. The Mayor of Casterbridge. Ed. Phillip Mallett. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001.
A review of his methodology shows the time and energy that entering this book. He uses a variety of sources for his research and evidence of good sources such as newspapers; memoirs; diaries; census figures; real estate listings; private letters and documents; journals and memoirs; public records and statements; the federal and local
Dorsett, Lyle W. Billy Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Pub, 1991.
Ellis, Edward Robb., and Jeanyee Wong. The Epic of New York City. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf, 2005. Print.
8. Berrol, Selmacantor. The Empire City: New York and Its People. West Port, Conn: Praeger, 1997.
Jacobs, Jane. "12-13." The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House, 1961. N. pag. Print.
Vegetarianism is becoming more widespread, particularly because of the belief people have that meat can potentially harm the body. The term ‘vegetarianism’ is used to describe people who avoid eating eat or seafood and possibly dairy foods or eggs. According to Nutrition Australia, the term is not well defined and it includes “people with a wide range of attitudes and eating behaviours with respect to foods of animal region” (para. 3). There are a broad range of vegetarians based on how much food is derived of plant origin, from animals and other sources. Thus, there are five types of vegetarians; Semi vegetarian diet excludes red meat and consumes poultry with/or fish, eggs and dairy food. Lacto vegetarian diet avoid meat, poultry, fish and consumes dairy foods. Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet excludes meat,
The author applies sight and personification to accentuate the mirror’s roles. The declaimer of the poem says “I am silver and exact [and] whatever I see I swallow” (1, 20). The purpose of these devices is to convey the position of the mirror in the poem. As an inanimate object, the mirror is incapable of consuming anything but the appearances of entities. Furthermore, the glass’ role accentuates an inner mirror, the human mirror which does not forget instances of misery and contentment. According to Freedman, the mimicking image emulated by the mirror elicits “… a look for oneself inside” as observed from the life of the elderly woman in the sonnet (153). Moreover, as the woman looks into the lake, she commemorates her appealing and attractive and pleasant figure as a young girl. As time passes, the inevitability of old age knocks on the door of the woman, readily waiting to change the sterling rapturous lady perceived by many. One’s appearance can change; it is up to an individual to embrace it or reject it.
...them anxious and does make them act compulsively” (Dokoupil.) Larry Rosen, a California psychologist adds it “encourages and even promotes insanity” ( Dokoupil.) For this reason, it is true social media can lead to insanity. The overnight popularity, negative exposure, rude comments and the fact how cruel and hateful people can be especially online can drive anyone insane. Given these points, The Gold brothers Joel, a psychiatrist at New York University, and Ian, a philosopher and psychiatrist at McGill University are investigating technology’s potential to sever people’s ties with reality, fueling hallucinations, delusions, and genuine psychosis, much as it seemed to do in the case of Jason Russell (Dokoupil.) Under those circumstances, I think it is unfortunate that there is nothing done about this. At the end of day, social media is still ours to shape.
Clarke, R. (n.d.). The Poetry of Thomas Hardy. rlwclarke. Retrieved February 1, 2014, from http://www.rlwclarke.net/Courses/LITS2002/2008-2009/12AHardy'sPoetry.pdf
...ing properly from all the vegan friendly food groups to ensure there are no deficiencies in protein, vitamin B or D, calcium and iron. As long as the vegan diet includes all of these necessary items than it is a completely healthy diet and way of life, the options for the vegetarian eater have become much more plentiful over the last 10 or so years and therefore makes it much easier to enjoy this type of lifestyle healthfully.
Hardy originated from a working class family. The son of a master mason, Hardy was slightly above that of his agricultural peers. Hardy’s examination of transition between classes is usually similar to that of D.H. Lawrence, that if you step outside your circle you will die. The ambitious lives of the characters within Hardy’s novels like Jude and Tess usually end fatally; as they attempt to break away from the constraints of their class, thus, depicting Hardy’s view upon the transition between classes. Hardy valued lower class morals and traditions, it is apparent through reading Tess that her struggles are evidently permeated through the social sufferings of the working class. A central theme running throughout Hardy’s novels is the decline of old families. It is said Hardy himself traced the Dorset Hardy’s lineage and found once they were of great i...
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy is a novel about the rising and plummeting of a complex man named Michael Henchard. Michael Henchard does not just have one characteristic or just one personality for that matter. His personality can be described as thoughtful and strong-minded but also as ruthless, stubborn and cold. Henchard's impulsiveness, aggressive attitude, childishness and selfish nature made failure and misery inevitable in his life. The essence of his character is the root of his demise and misery.
...Based on research, it seems that all vegetarian diets other than strict vegetarian, macrobiotic diets and fruitarian diet provide the body with essential proteins derived from animal products. In any type of diet, the individual must follow the requirements in order for it to have good benefits to health.
Dislikes direct eye contact, and can’t read body language. If he could read body language, he wouldn’t need the dreaded “safe word” would he?
Thomas Hardy was a famous author and poet he lived from 1840 to 1928. During his long life of 88 years he wrote fifteen novels and one thousand poems. He lived for the majority of his life near Dorchester. Hardy got many ideas for his stories while he was growing up. An example of this was that he knew of a lady who had had her blood turned by a convict’s corpse and he used this in the story ‘The Withered Arm’. The existence of witches and witchcraft was accepted in his lifetime and it was not unusual for several people to be killed for crimes of witchcraft every year.