Review of Far from the Madding Crowd :: Thomas Hardy Far from the Madding Crowd Essays

Review of Far from the Madding Crowd At the start of the story, we are told by Liddy that Boldwood "took her and put her to school and got her a place here with your uncle." And that "he's a very kind man." With this, we can see that Boldwood is regarded highly in the eyes of the country folk. However, when he fell for Bathsheba, he became an emotional wreck and his hay ricks ruined as he didn't collect them in before the storm. By doing this, he is shirking his responsibilities. As Gabriel said, "A few months earlier Boldwood's forgetting his husbandry would have been as preposterous as a sailor forgetting he was in a ship." Boldwood forgetting his hay ricks was a huge clue to how much Bathsheba's marriage had affected him. At the end of the story, he tried to take his own life and was only stopped by his worker Sam. Compared to the dignified and respected Boldwood we saw at the start of the novel, this is a drastic change. Similarly, Troyshirks his responsibilities and drags the rest of the workers down with him as well by practically forcing them to drink. He tells them that "If any of the men show the white feather, let them look else where for a winter's work." By saying this, the men had been left with no choice but to do what he told them to. He shows contempt towards Gabriel's suggestion that the hay ricks should be covered in order to protect them from the rain. In the end Gabriel had to do it all by himself as the workers had been too drunk to work. "He saw at once that if the ricks were to be saved that night, or even the nest morning, he would have to save them with his own hands." The author has shown a contrast in the attitudes if Frank Troy and Gabriel Oak. Clearly, Troydid the worker's harm more than good. Therefore, their working relationship with the workers show their worth or lack of worth. Also, the author makes it clear that the workers are not to blame in this matter as they had been suitably apologetic and embarrassed the day after. "the others shambled after with a conscience stricken air." Move plot along. At many points of the story, the major characters find out many things that have affected the way the story has been played out from the minor characters. Therefore, although these characters are 'minor', and never actually gets much attention from the reader in the story, they are always somewhere in the background Thomas Hardy has painted