Compare and contrast two stories by Thomas Hardy which deal with the
theme of fate?
The two stories that I have chosen that deal with the them of 'fate'
are Old Mrs Chundle and The Withered Arm. Both of these stories are
written by Thomas Hardy, and in both of these stories he is dealing
with the theme of 'fate'.
Both of theses stories are about little accidental happenings which
govern and determine peoples lives. This is just like real life
situations. It is the accidental happenings that determine which road
our lives should take, and this judges what will happen to us in the
future.
Our lives are shaped by the character that we have adopted, and how we
get on in life. Everyone is different in many ways, and it is this
individual character that each of us have that will show the way for
are future life.
'Character is fate' is what Thomas Hardy stated, and this is true in
both the stories I read.
The first story that I read was Old Mrs Chundle. Old Mrs Chundle is a
lonely woman, who isolates herself from the outside world. She lives
in a small stone-built cottage, which has a vegetable patch out the
back were she grows her own greens. She doesn't go to the local Church
as she feels there is no need for her attending.
There was a Curate who had accidentally bumped into Mrs Chundle. After
chatting to Mrs Chundle he soon becomes to discover that Mrs Chundle
belongs to his parish. She tells him that she attends Church every
Sunday, but in fact she never goes to Church at all.
Later on the Curate mentions to the rector of his encounter with Old
Mrs Chundle. The Curate explains to the rector that Mrs Chundle is
part of their parish and attends regularly. The rector is shocked to
hear this, as...
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lives of others. If Farmer Lodge had not been as raunchy towards
ladies then this situation of the two deaths would never of occurred.
Farmer Lodge moved from a relationship with an older lady, to a
relationship with a young and pretty women. If Gertrude had not liked
older men then this also would not be the situation. But it is clear
she did, and this eventually led to her own death, and the death of
Rhoda's son.
Overall my favourite story from these two had to be 'Old Mrs Chundle'.
I thought this was a very exciting story compared to 'The Withered
Arm'. Both these stories ended in deaths, one a lot more tragic than
the other. From reading these two stories, I now believe that it is
the character that we lead, that will determine how we go about
living. We are all 'born under a blided star' and we can't control
what is going to happen to us.
Early on in the story, there is a phrase about an older woman explaining an image. It says, “A woman with shorn white hair wearing tennis shoes and a shapeless gray sweater over a summery calico dress. She is small and sprightly, like a bantam hen; but, due to a long youthful illness, her shoulders are pitifully hunched.” She dresses comfortable but we know
First, the story takes place in the 1900s on Tol and Miss Minnie’s farm. They have crops, gardens, and livestock, and are avid in what they do (Half-Pint of Old Darling 124).
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like, if the young woman did decide to have sex with the man then she
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‘To His Coy Mistress’ is a poem about a man trying to persuade a shy
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again I'm used to it by now, if you can get used to folk talking the
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I handed my school photograph to my mother. She stared from the photograph to me. Lord sweet Lord how come she so ugly. UGLY. UGLY.'
Thomas Hardy's The Withered Arm. Introduction ------------ "The Withered Arm" is a pre-twentieth century short story written by Thomas Hardy. This story was published in 1888, appearing in "The Blackwoods" Magazine.
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