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Characters in The Withered Arm Essay

Decent Essays

What was Thomas Hardy trying to show through his characters in The
Withered Arm?

In this essay I will write about what Thomas Hardy was trying to show through his characters in 'The Withered Arm'. The characters I will write about are Rhoda Brook, Gertrude Lodge, the boy and Farmer Lodge.
I will write about these characters because they were the main characters in the story.

The short story 'The Withered Arm' is written by Thomas Hardy. 'The
Withered Arm' is a lady called Rhoda Brook who was partners with
Farmer Lodge and they had a child together, which Farmer Lodge leaves
Rhoda to bring up on her own. Later Farmer Lodge weds to Gertrude
Lodge. Rhoda Brook becomes jealous because Farmer Lodges' new wife was younger and …show more content…

Also through the description of where she lives shows she lives far away from the rest of the village.

"their course lay apart from that of the others"

This meant she lived away from the others. Also her intense jealously of Gertrude shows how she looked up to others, as she is unhappy with herself and alone.

"the figure thrust forward it's left hand mockingly, so as to make the wedding ring it wore glitter in Rhoda's eyes"

The end of the story concludes Rhoda's loneliness when still no one communicates with her even after the recent death of the son.

The Boy is also a very important character because of the way Thomas
Hardy chooses to not give him a name because his mother and father both reject him. The father goes on ignoring the boy.

"took no outward notice of the boy whatever"

This obviously makes the boy feel rejected and lonely because his father describes him as "one of the neighbourhood". The boy's mother uses him as a spy and treats him as a slave.

"hold up the net a moment"

This shows how the boy was shown no love towards him but only used as a spy or to do errands. The story ends with the death of the boy, but
Hardy portrays the boy's innocence throughout the story and you feel sorry for him because he might have been innocent but there was no one to stand up for him. Eventually the boy dies a

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