People often act impulsively based on what they believe in, despite the consequences. For literary characters, their impulsiveness creates conflicting sides to their personalities which could help develop their character or undermine their roles in their novels. In the novel, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, the characters, Rachel Verinder and Godfrey Ablewhite, contain two different sides to their personality which develop their roles in the novel.
Rachel Verinder’s hostility toward the investigation and indifference toward those who are helping her, help her role in the novel as one of the major suspects in the mystery of the missing Moonstone. After news of the Moonstone’s disappearance spreads, Rachel immediately locks herself in her room
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instead of helping search for it. Her mother comments that she has never “seen her so strange and so reserved as she is now” (37). This raises some suspicion as normally when people lose possessions, they will look until they find them. As the Superintendent and Sergeant Cuff start working on the case, Rachel begins to look more like the culprit. At one point, Rachel’s temper explodes and she yells that “[her] Diamond is lost [… and] Neither [he] nor anybody else will ever find it” (40). Rachel does not help the investigation when she refuses to have her wardrobe searched or when she decides to leave the house, ending the investigation. Her hostility continues when she blatantly refuses to speak to Sergeant Cuff and Franklin Blake as she leaves the house. Her certainty that the Moonstone is forever lost, her unwillingness to help the investigation, and her hostility toward everyone makes Sergeant Cuff think she is the culprit. Rachel’s refusal to help the investigation and her hostility towards everyone strengthen her role as a suspect in The Moonstone as her behavior raises questions as to how much she really knows about the Moonstone’s disappearance. In the second half of the novel, Rachel begins to show a different, more caring side to her personality.
After finding out that everyone believes Godfrey has pawned the Moonstone, Rachel becomes frantic and declares that “This is [her] fault [… and she] must set it right” (96). She then says that she knows “the hand that took the Moonstone”, but does not reveal his name (97). Her determination to clear Godfrey’s name reveals that she cares about others and is not mean as she appears earlier in the novel. It also adds to the mystery of the novel since Rachel claims that she knows who has stolen the Moonstone. This revelation does not help her as a suspect as it appears that she has stolen her own diamond. However, Rachel’s caring side clears her as the criminal when Franklin goes to confront her at Mr. Bruff’s house. She reveals that Franklin has stolen the Moonstone; however, she has “kept [his] infamy a secret” (158). After Franklin asks her why she did not confess, Rachel explains that she could not tell the truth about him and the Moonstone because “there was some infatuation in [her] mind which [would not] let [her] give [him] up” (163). Because of her love for Franklin, Rachel refuses to expose the truth about what happened to the Moonstone. As a result, it causes much confusion during the investigation. It also explains why she acts so hostile toward everyone during the investigation; she is angry at Franklin for not confessing but also wants to protect him. Rachel’s …show more content…
caring side contradicts her antagonistic behavior previously shown, helps add mystery to the novel, and ultimately clears her as a suspect. Godfrey Ablewhite appears to be a respectable, likable man, which helps his role as the culprit as it prevents everyone from suspecting him.
Betteredge describes him as “a barrister by profession; a ladies’ man by temperament; and a good Samaritan by choice” (25). This helps him become popular in the community along with the fact that he is a part of several charities such as the Ladies’ Charity. Betteredge claims that “[Godfrey] love[s] everybody […and] everybody love[s] HIM” (25). Because of his charm, likability, and popularity, it is hard to believe that he could take the Moonstone. After the Moonstone goes missing, Godfrey willingly cooperates with the investigation, giving no suspicion. When Sergeant Cuff asks to search all of the wardrobes in the house, Godfrey hands over his keys without any hesitation. There is very little evidence against Godfrey as the criminal other than the fact that he is in the house on the night of the crime. His likability and good nature essentially remove all suspicion from him which helps him get away with the crime for so long. Godfrey’s charismatic nature and his popularity help his role as the culprit as it prevents anyone from suspecting
him. In the second half of the novel, everyone discovers that Godfrey leads a double life and that his charm and attractiveness are a façade. After his death, all of Godfrey’s private affairs come to light. He has serious debt piling up after spending his trustee’s fortune. In order to pay off his debts, he decides to marry Rachel as it would be “the end of all his money anxieties” (211). However, Rachel refuses and Godfrey is forced to find a way to pay back all of the money. The growing amount of debt provides a motive for Godfrey to steal the Moonstone Franklin, under the influence of opium, takes the Moonstone and gives it to Godfrey asking him to keep it safe. Godfrey decides that the Moonstone “[stands] between him and ruin” and instead of returning the diamond, he takes it (212). Godfrey’s secret life helps develop him as the role of the culprit as it gives him a motive to steal the Moonstone. Because of his excessive spending, he is forced to pay back his extreme debts without being publicly shamed. Godfrey is able to hide the fact that he is in a large amount of debt behind his façade, which prevents almost everyone from guessing that he has taken the Moonstone. Godfrey’s secret life causes him to reveal a different side to his character, a felonious one that creates criminal life for him. Rachel Verinder and Godfrey Ablewhite reveal two different sides to their personalities. Rachel starts out hostile and mean but then reveals her caring side. Godfrey appears to be charming and attractive but turns out to be a felon. These differing sides help strengthen their character roles as Rachel is under suspicion until she reveals her caring side. On the other hand, Godfrey is almost under no suspicion until the truth comes out at the end. Because Rachel and Godfrey have their different sides to their characters, they both drive the mystery forward, leaving the reader guessing who the perpetrator is.
“To climb…you have to be completely selfish”(pg.182). Though it may not always be true, to some degree it is. But it’s not just when you’re climbing, every single action that you take could be the difference between trust and suspicion, between death and life, between rising glory and simmering rage. People tend to be self-centered all the time, and sometimes, it really is the appropriate time to be selfish. On the other hand, it’s not always the best choice to be so selfish.
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At this point, a woman named Maddy who is a journalist doing a story on blood diamonds is introduced to Solomon. Solomon agrees to lead them to the diamond with help from Maddy exposing the world to the terror of blood diamonds. They make their way back to the diamond field where they are able to retrieve...
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He puts it in the hands of Mr. Franklin Blake to deliver the stone to Rachel. When Mr. Blake arrived at the Verinder house, there were words about Indians that were disguising themselves as jugglers and magicians in order to try and get information on the whereabouts of the moonstone in hopes of getting it back and returning it to its rightful owners, the Indians themselves.