Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray;
Along the cool sequester'd vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.When we first see Bathsheba Everdene (if I remember correctly), she's gazing into a mirror. She's a beautiful, but vain, young thing. She makes a lot of mistakes, and you may find her frustrating at times. But she also tries her best to be an independent woman looking out for herself in a man's world.
This is a love story, and Bathsheba has three men vying for her love -- all of whom are good in some ways, and flawed in others. Who will you be rooting for? What would you do if you were Bathsheba?
It won't be easy for her, though. Like all Hardy characters, she has to contend with the forces of fate. And issues of class. And the views of a narrow and close-minded society.
Enjoy your trip to a slower, gentler time in Hardy's Wessex countryside.
(Don't forget to leave your name when you blog.)
I just sat down to begin Far From the Madding crowd... I'm intimidated. It's wordy, and it's definitely not the type of book I'd pick up on my own accord. But I guess that's the point! C'est la vie.
ReplyDeleteCaroline Morrison
Ah, Caroline --
DeleteYes, that is the point. If you were to compare your summer reading list to others, you'd probably find that you are required to read fewer pages than many other students. (I think that a lot of AP teachers design their summer assignments for other teachers: "see what my kids are reading!" Whether their kids are actually doing all that reading or employing. . . other methods. . . well --)
I picked "Moon" partly because, as a play, it's short. (I also think it's truly powerful.) "Goldengrove" because it's contemporary, and by a woman, and thought-provoking, as well as being an easier read. (I do hope that you have enough time and love of reading that you are reading things just for yourself this summer. That's where my most productive reading came from in high school.)
But I also thought that you needed something canonical, and that would require some discipline to get through (self-discipline being an important trait to develop for college and/or life) -- so "Madding Crowd". But don't mistake me. I love and respect Thomas Hardy, and I think this is a great example of the 19th century novel. Stick with it! Good characters. Good conflict. And, as always with Hardy, cruel Dame Fortune.
Mr. Mac
I completely agree with you Caroline! Only a few chapters in, I am struggling to maintain the same amount of focus I had with the other two books. I think the wordiness definitely is a struggle. Along with the caliber of the words! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteChiara
I completely agree! I was reading this book on a plane and I had to struggle to remain focused. Hardy tends to use as many words as possible to describe something rather simple and I had to go back and read sentences/paragraphs a few times over to understand what he was actually saying. When George's son (dog) chased th esheep through the broken fence over the cliff, I was so confused about what just happened and why all the sheep were suddenly dead. I reread that passage three times before I got it. I mentioned the fact that I had many issues following the book to my sister and she told me that Hardy was paid by the word for his books so that made me understand his wordiness.
DeleteThat is SO interesting! I had no idea that he was paid by the word. Makes sense (: I also attempted to read this book on a plane--not the best idea. However, I got through it an absolutely LOVED it. I'm so glad that I stuck it out!
DeleteChiara
If we had to pay for every word in a book, the author would be rich and we would only be able to afford like five books in our entire lifetime, haha! I found that the part I dreaded reading most was the beginning of each chapter because that was usually when Hardy would describe in great detail the setting in which the scene would take place or the appearence of another character, or what a character was doing at the time. I hate to admit it, but I often found myself skimming those first few paragraphs of the chapter because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I agree, Chiara, I loved this book and am glad that I read it all the way through.
Delete~Brianne Gaudio
I did plenty of skimming also (: But a good book, it is true!
DeleteChiara this book is deffientely very wordy and hard to follow at times like Dani said! Brianne I agree with you also I had to do some skimming in the beginning of the chapters. There was just so much detail it was hard to stay focused.
Delete-Tori Cronin
I definitely did some skimming of those beginning paragraphs just to get to the action of the novel. Hardy's attention to detail was so exact one of my thoughts was "the audience he wrote this for has absolutely no imagination if he has to write out all of descriptions in such excrutiating detail" It reminded me of a movie script where they write out every little detail fo the scence, except that Hardy used really big words that no one uses in this day in age.
DeleteAlso I had no idea that they got paid by the word... he must have gotten a big check when he finished this.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm about 50 pages in and, honestly, I don't think this book is as bad as others have made it sound. I agree with Chiara in that this book is a lot more descriptive than others. Hardy uses beautiful imagery that may seem superfluous, but I think it's just something that has been omitted with time. This book is, after all, from the 1800s.
ReplyDeleteI find the character of Bathsheba to be intriguing. She is regal, decisive, and self-reliant. I like how Hardy wrote Gabriel's encounters with Bathsheba as purely coincidental: almost as though they were fated. For instance, the woman caring for the cows and the veiled woman who was the mistress of her own farm both turned out to be the same woman that Gabriel observed admiring herself in the mirror on a wagon.
So far, I am rooting for Gabriel to end up with Bathsheba; however, I thought his approach to winning her heart was too blunt and desperate. Bathsheba was honest and forthright in saying "I don't love you." Here is the difference between Romeo and Juliet and Far From the Madding Crowd. Bathsheba seemed to take far more interest in the mysterious shepherd who saved her barn from a blazing fire than in the grinning man who fell to his knees with love after she saved his life.
"Love is a possible strength in an actual weakness." pg 22. I liked this quote in particular, because of its veracity. Is it not true that though two people may have differences, love can be the force which overcomes them?
And finally, I just wanted to mention I predict that the brutal death of Gabriel's sheep is some sort of creepy foreshadowing of an event to come later in the story.
Amanda- I really like the quote you pointed out on page 22. I feel as though these words are carried out through out the whole novel as you follow Bathsheba's tangle of love affairs.
DeleteI wrote down that same quote too! I agree with how true it is...also I agree with your opinions about the imagery. I think it's nice to have, but i find myself getting lost in it as well.
DeleteAlso: Chiara and Caroline, I find that reading this book near a computer is helpful so I can look up words I don't know. Knowing these words may prove to be useful on the SAT- that's what I'm hoping for!
ReplyDeleteThis is such good advice! I found that it helps me understand much better! Thank you!
DeleteI agree, this book really is a vocab enhancer. No wonder we're reading it around the time we should be taking SATs!
DeleteI also agree with Amanda, Chiara, and Caroline. This book is a bit wordy and intimidating, making some parts difficult to comprehend and keep reading. I just finished this book today, and I must say that the second half of the novel is quite more intriguing as more of the scandals in the plot are unraveled.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how Thomas Hardy developed the character of Bathsheba Everdene through her independent voice, and unusual characteristic of women of the time. Her ability to speak her own opinions and run the farm without a bailiff. She is very ambitious which I believe leads to much of her success and failure through out the book. Her overly independent mind seems to cause a somewhat arrogant nature about her. Looking back on other works of literature I've read, arrogance usually does lead to a character's distress.
Finally, the biblical connection to Bathsheba's name really intrigued me, so I decided to research the relationship a bit. I discovered that Bathsheba, from the bible, was involved in many improper affairs with men, including King David. There are many similarities between the biblical Bathsheba and Bathsheba Everdene's lives. For example, both seem to attract the attention of many men, who battle in attempt to make Bathsheba their wife. When one husband dies, another man is waiting to marry her. I think it is interesting that Hardy chose this name and personality for the book.
~Martha Denisky
I looked up the biblical connection too! They both definately had men willing to do anything to have them as their wives. If anyone else is interested, the actual bible story concerning Bathsheba can be found in 2 Samuel 11. I think Bathsheba in Far From the Madding Crowd is a much stronger character than the biblical Bathsheba and that made for a much more interesting story.
DeleteI am definitely interested in looking up the actual biblical passage! Thanks Phoebe!
DeleteThank you Phoebe and Martha! I read the bible story and I have to wonder if maybe Hardy was inspired by the bible story to write a more modern version of it?
Delete~Brianne Gaudio
I completely agree with Martha. The novel may be super wordy but the second half of the novel was so much fun to read especially with scandals and secrets exposed. I just finished the novel and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the novel so much. It was a great book to read on vacation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amanda when it comes to Bathsheba choice of men. She ends up falling in love with Troy because he was the most mysterious and suave out of all of the suitors. But what she didn't account for was the fact that he is a complete jerk gambling away all of the money that she had and one top of that had major secret and her name is Fanny Robin. It is sad that even today in the 21st century that many women still fall in love with the mysterious or "Dangerous" type and they are complete morons.
In regards to your comment on Amanda's post, I agree with your generalization about which type of man women usually fall for. But if Hardy had Bathsheba initial fall for Boldwood or Oak instead of Troy, what fun would that be? Happily ever after doesn't always work for every novel and Hardy didn't make Bathsheba choose a man that was right for her on purpose. Her bad choice made her who she is at the end of the novel just as our bad choices make us who we are even if they bring us pain.
DeleteOk Phoebe, you make a good point, this novel would be no fun if Bathsheba fell for Boldwood or Oak at the beginning of the novel. I will admit that I was laughing when Bathsheba discovered Troy's relationship with Fanny. It felt like a scene from one of my grandmother's soap operas.
DeleteAnd I completely agree with you Phoebe, you do really see how Bathsheba's choice really molds her into a different person from the beginning of the novel. The whole Troy experience really humbles Bathsheba and she becomes a mature woman at the end of the novel.
~Rebecca Heilman
I also agree with Becca, Martha, and Phoebe. It seems to me that Bathsheba wants the mysterious men. At first, I thought Bathsheba wanted a man who didn't throw himself at her and beg her for marriage because she had become interested in Boldwood when he paid no attention to her while every other man did. Then as soon as Boldwood showed her affection, she seemed scared of what her actions had caused and no longer wanted Boldwood. I agree with Becca that women should really not go for the "mysterious" type. For all they know the man could have a whole other life that he keeps secret. I also agree that the "Troy experience" changes Bathsheba into a better person at the end of the novel. I think it's funny that the one person she could trust offered marriage but she turned him down only for that man to become her main support throughout the book and her husband at the end of the book.
Delete~Brianne Gaudio
I am in agreement with all of you that the "mysterious type" usually tend to have a hidden agenda, but I think that's what kept it interesting for me! Honestly, I had wanted Gabriel and Bathsheba to be together since the beginning, but the author kind of had me convinced it wasn't going to happen during the middle of the book. Obviously the ending surprised me and I was happy with it!
DeleteIn regards to her arrogance, I think for many women in that time they really weren't paid much attention to in certain matters. Bathsheba had various responsibilities like running the farm for a while, so in order to not get overlooked I think she had to have some sort of "ego" for lack of a better word, so I think she was justified.
Rachel Takes
Rachel,
DeleteI completely agree with you. Her “arrogance” was justified. If she didn’t have that sort of attitude about her, she wouldn’t have had the confidence to tend to her own business matters by herself. It was this attitude that got her through all of the hard work and it helped her overcome the fact that she was the only woman in this profession in the town. If she didn’t have such a head strong attitude, she would have gotten nowhere. Also, she probably would have gotten her heart broken many times if she wasn’t this way. The fact that she thought that she could always do better saved her from many men! She knew what she wanted, and she was determined to get it!
-Brianna Ricciardone
I'll admit; I saved this book for last. And to be honest, after reading the first two works (both of which I enjoyed very much), I dreaded "Madding Crowd". After reading the first 50 pages, I still wasn't entirely convinced. I think the real reason that this book is hard to get into is that since it takes place so long ago, it is hard to connect to many parts of it, such as the characters, the setting, and the dialogue. Unlike "Goldengrove" and "A Moon for the Misbegotten", there are really no family relationships to relate to, and it really isn't a modern story at all.
ReplyDeleteI am now on page 200 of this book, and while Hardy is definitely VERY descriptive (sometimes too much so for my taste), it has become easier to read. It is very interesting, if nothing else, to see how people lived so differently in this time period. Farmers were very common, and the scandals that Bathsheba encounters are so different from our high school "scandals". Now that I've been able to get to know Bathsheba and her three suitors, I am excited to read on and find out how the situation plays out. Bye for now!
~Courtney Schramm
Courtney I think everyone can agree Hardy uses description as a main weapon in this book. He throws it at us chapters at a time, sort of like Hawthorne did in the Scarlett Letter. I didn't enjoy that story at all, but I do think this book was a bit easier to get through.
DeleteAlthough the context makes me question my knowledge of the English language, the fact that Bathsheba ends up with the wrong guy kept me going through the book. I felt something needed to be corrected by the end of the story, and it was. It was like a movie where you know a key part of information that the main character can't figure out and you want to shout it out at the screen? But when they don't listen to your screams you just sit there impatiently and wait for things to correct themselves. This is how I felt reading Far From the Maddening Crowd. To be honest it was my least favorite book, maybe because its length wasn't worth the plot, if you know what I mean? We beat the idea of farm life and culture like a dead horse with Mrs. Morrison (Gone With the Wind, and especially in Of Mice and Men).
While this did provide an interesting aspect of love and betrayal (I liked the whole back story of Fanny Robbins and Troy because its nice to know soap opera drama was still going on back in the good old days) I wasn't bound to the story and had some trouble getting through it.
What makes Bathsheba frustrating for me is that she is very strong and independent when it comes to running the farm but is naive and careless when it comes to love and dealing with the emotions of her suitors. She didn't send Boldwood the valentine because she was interested in him, but because she could not stand the fact that he wasn't giving her the attention she was used to. She could handle the responsibilities of running the farm by herself, but she wasn't prepared for the responsibilites that came with teasing Boldwood. Vanity is most definitely Bathsheba's fatal flaw. It's very frustrating to see girls going after guys simply because they are "hard to get" and then dropping them when they are finally interested. You wouldn't think that situations from Far From the Madding Crowd would be so similar to those of the present day.
ReplyDeleteMarissa Bedard
Marissa,
DeleteI really like your points here. Vanity is definitely a terrible flaw in any character, whether from the past or present. Vanity may boost one's self esteem, but usually in a bad way, creating a very arrogant person. Thinking you can attract anyone and getting upset when one person doesn't respond to your beauty certainly shows how Bathsheba was going to run into many problems through out the book.
~Martha Denisky
Marissa and Martha, you make really good points about vanity. It is such a horrible flaw no matter how you look at it and I see this flaw everyday, especially in wonen. They play with men's hearts and when a better opportunity comes along, they ditch their men and move on with no consideration for the men's feelings.
Delete~Rebecca Heilman
I couldn't help but feel bad for Boldwood because he got played by Bathsheba. But, what made me furious was that when she realized that Boldwood was really serious about marrying her, she tried to wiggle her way out of making a solid commitment to making amends with Boldwood. Sure she said that she was sorry, but even she knew it wouldn't be enough. Bathsheba is definitely very immature and vain woman and I believe that after everything that happened from the valetine to Boldwood shooting Troy that she did learn something that actions have consequences.
~Rebecca Heilman
Wow! I really like how you put together and compared the two sides of Bathsheba: the responsible businesswoman and the immature flirt. Everyone acts differently depending on the situation and who they need to be. Because we see two different sides of Bathsheba, is it possible to really know who she is? When is she being herself and when is she putting on a false face?
DeleteMarissa: I completely agree with your assessment of Bathsheba. Knowing this about her personality, it does not surprise me that she ended up marrying Oak at the end of the story. Bathsheba could not bear the idea of anyone becoming bored with chasing her and moving on to another woman. This quote sums it up very well:
Delete"She [Bathsheba] was aggrieved and wounded that the possession of hopeless love from Gabriel, which she had grown to regard as her inalienable right for life, should have withdrawn just at his own pleasure in this way."
It is unfortunate that Bathsheba was conceited enough to believe that any man's unrequited love was her unalienable right. Her vanity in believing this ended up crushing her when she actually did end up returning the love of Troy, only to realize that his "love" was never aimed solely at her.
I agree with you Marissa. This situation is so similar to things what some girls do today. I found Bathsheba so frustrating because she wanted only what she could not have and as soon as she got it, she would let it go like she did with Boldwood because she was immature enough to only want them to admire her and give her attention, instead of settling down with one of them and losing all the attention from the other men. I think this is why Bathsheba agreed to marry Troy. He would always give her compliments and give her much of his attention- before they got married that is. Bathsheba's vanity definitely got in the way of her own happiness and the happiness of the other characters. And I think it was probably best that her pride got wounded by what Troy did to her, so that she could finally act more mature.
DeleteAmanda, I agree with you as well that her vanity caused her downfall when she married Troy. In a way, Troy beat Bathsheba at her own game because Bathsheba played with other men's hearts and Troy played with hers.
~Brianne Gaudio
I agree with all of you! I also found it a little strange that Bathsheba was completely capable of running the farm, but didn't seem to care about the feelings of her suitors. Whether intentional at the time or not, she persued every one of them at one point. I think she just likes the feeling of being in control of situations. This would explain her role running the farm, as well as in her relationships. She likes having men at her fingertips and when she doesn't feel she does it infurriates her. This is why she sent Boldwood the valentine when he wasn't swooning over her. She drew him in again, and at the thought of their marrige she wasn't so sure anymore. Gabriel was always pretty much there, so she never had to do anything too drastic. It is absolutely safe to say that vanity affects her, and I believe she has learned the art of using looks to her advantage as we have seen throughout the book. Not to say karma hasn't gotten to her, and taught her a lesson a few times.
DeleteRachel Takes
While I agree that many of Bathsheba's actions involving love seem juvenile, I think that they were congruent with Hardy's character development of Bathsheba. As an extremely independent and brave woman in a predominantly male society, I believe that she created her image after a strong family member, such as her uncle. While he may have been strong, brave, and independent, as is reflected through Bathsheba, perhaps his view of women or Bathsheba's personal view of women in society clouded these traits.
DeleteBecause of this, when it comes to the farm and the business, she is bold and self-governing, but when love enters her life, she assumes the characteristic role of women in those times. She becomes flirtatious, unthinking, and somewhat manipulative.
Her situation is quite a predicament, as I feel that she has the ability to stand up for herself and feel what true love is, but the times she was born in has restricted her potential and forced her into the expected mold of feminine society.
-Garret Tirrell
Going along with what everyone's saying about Bathsheba's "juvenile" attitude towards love... I think that Bathsheba was just one of those woman who liked chasing men and not actually having them. She thought of it like a game, she didn’t want them to want her right away because she enjoyed them trying to get to her heart. Maybe that’s why her and Oak worked out perfectly together. At first, she didn’t want him when he asked to marry her because she didn’t want it that easily, but then she subconsciously started to want him until she finally made her way to his home and they exchanged their feelings with one another.
Delete-Brianna Ricciardone
I just finished this book today and I definitely started to enjoy it more as the plot progressed and Bathsheba's relationships with the three men became more complicated. I am glad that Bathsheba made the decision that she did, but I think that she could have saved herself a lot of heartache by being more versatile when Oak first asked her to marry him in the beginning of the book. By sending Boldwood the valentine, she made him notice her and fall in love with her, simply because she couldn't stand to not be noticed by any man.
ReplyDeleteDespite a few of Bathsheba's undesirable traits, I admired her for being different. She insisted on managing her farm by herself and making other decisions regarding her house and fortune. While many other single women at that time felt that they needed to marry the first man that came along to be happy, Bathsheba was confident enough to wait for a man she truly loved. Although she married Troy on impulse and almost promised to marry Boldwood later on, she always said that she wanted to marry a man that she truly loved. I think that she was a very strong character and Hardy really captured her inner beauty as well as outer.
I agree completely with what you said about Bathsheba being a strong character. If she was willing to wait for a man she truly loved, why did she decide to marry Troy when she had planed to break off their relationship? Why did she agree to marry Boldwood in 5 years if she didn't love him? I think the pressure and persistance of both Troy and Boldwood scared Bathsheba into agree to marry and promise to marry them. I think because she was afraid she made these exceptions to her rule of only marrying someone she loved.
DeleteI agree that Bathsheba could have saved herself a lot of heartbreak by being more willing to marry Oak when he first asked, but this way we were able to notice the changes she underwent to finally get to the point of marrying Farmer Oak. I also agree that Bathsheba is a strong character. I agree with Phoebe that she was intimidated by Troy and Boldwood's persistence to marry her and that was why she agreed to it. I think this is why Bathsheba ended up with Gabriel in the end. Gabriel backed off when Bathsheba told him she did not want to marry and although Gabriel still loved her, he kept it to himself, rather than chasing after Bathsheba. Bathsheba, I don't think, was intimidated by him and therefore was able to marry him out of love rather than because she was scared into it.
Delete~Brianne Gaudio
I've been working on this particular book for quite a while. Whether it's taking so long because of the wordiness everyone else has noticed, or because I keep Facebook and my cell phone close by.. I'm only about halfway through. With that said, I've noticed trends that do keep my interest level up. I found Gabriel's interest in Bathsheba fascinating, especially his hobby of watching her come and go to milk the cow. When reading the exchange between the two regarding marriage, and Bathsheba denies Gabriel, I couldn't help feeling sorry for Gabriel. At the same time, I found the independence and strength of Bathsheba in wishing to keep her freedom very admirable.
ReplyDeleteWhat mostly keeps me interested is how the plot develops throughout the book, but I'll admit Hardy's writing style is very impressive. He has such unique wording and I can only dream of being able to get points across like he does. Here's an example of a line that I read, and then re-read, and then thought about for awhile before I realized that I liked it:
"For, as without law there is no sin, without eyes there is no indecorum."
I'll leave you with that but I'll be back soon!
☀Kᴀᴛʏ
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DeleteKaty, I like the quote that you mentioned as well. It is true that humans create many of their own problems, which I think is what the quote means. For exampl, Bathsheba created her own problem when she sent Boldwood the valentine and made him fall in love with her.
DeleteAlso, while on the topic of Hardy's impressive writing, I thought I would mention how magnificently he worded the thunderstorm.
"Heaven opened then indeed The flash...... sprang from the east, west, north, and south. It was a perfect dance of death. The forms of skeletons appeared in the air, shaped with blue fire for bones- dancing, leaping, striding, racing around, and mingling altogether in unparallelled confusion."
I feel that Hardy's use of metaphor and personification strongly capture Gabriel's fear at that given time, and the beauty and horror of the thunderstorm.
Well I found Goldengrove and Moon both pretty easy reads, and me being forever the optimist thought that this would be easy like that too. Not so much...I'm having trouble so far, its not hard to read, so much as it's hard to concentrate on the story. I actually find I do better if I place myself away from all distractions while reading this, and in a nice uncomfortable chair so I don't doze off...
ReplyDeleteI guess it'll take some time and a great deal of patience to finish this one.
I couldn't agree more. The other two I finished in a few nights each, but with this one I can't stay focused long enough. I'm only 5 chapters in and reading it is a becoming a chore. Like everyone else said it's unnecessarily wordy. It's almost as if he is trying to impress readers with his vast vocabulary. I'll read a complicated sentence and have to take a second to comprehend it in my head which makes it take a lot longer to read. I find myself losing focus when he gets into long, boring descriptions. I'll do that thing where you're reading but you're thinkig about something else, then you realize you have no idea what you read and you have to reread it. Hopefully it gets more interesting and grabs my attention more. I mean, all these books are about relationships and none of them I can relate to, but the others were just so much easier to read.
DeleteEthan Culver
Yeah I feel you dude, I honestly read this book with a dictionary app open on my ipod to look up words. I can't really say I'm impressed with it, Hardy lacks any understanding of economy of words and it honestly takes away from the work overall.
Delete-Chance Foster
I can't agree more with you guys. I'm totally dying over here. The plot is so well hidden under all of the words. I'm sparknoting the chapters before attempting to read them, that way I don't miss anything important.
DeleteAriel I completely agree. I had so many issues getting into the book because I couldn't relate to it, its too wordy, and I can't find a plot in it! This book put me to sleep about three times during the course of six chapters because my mind started drifting away with all the words going over my head.
DeleteEthan I wish I could tag you in this post because I totally agree with your part about having to reread everything. I find myself drifting off into space halfway through a page and when I come back to reality I have no idea what's going on. Makes me wonder if Hardy makes a habit of creating words to fill in the gaps in his sentences.\
DeleteNeal Dansky
I found that the plot wasn't too hard to follow, but the fact that it was published so long ago caused a lot of the descriptions and diolagues to get lost in translation.
DeleteBecause it was published in 1874, it would have been out of the ordinary for an author to write a book in the same style as the other two we read. So rather than Hardy displaying his vocabulary, as it may appear that he is doing in many chapters, I think he is actually just writing as anyone else would during his era.
Nonetheless, his writing style is very difficult to comprehend compared to the other novels and I did need a dictionary more times than I can count.
All in all, though, I enjoyed the plot and the characters and felt that Hardy did a great job of tying everything together.
-Garret Tirrell
I agree with Garret, I enjoyed the plot of this story greatly, probably the most out of the three books. I also agree with Ariel though that the good plot was hidden under so many words at points. I found that if I really tried to focus of each individual word in the story, I would space out and lose focus and keep rereading the same paragraph over and over again. I found the book to be easier to get through and understand when I skimmed over long periods of description and focused on the action and plot of the story.
Delete-Dan Gadoury
Im on the same boat as you guys, since i have a short attention span and lose interest in boring things easily i had a good amount of trouble finishing this book. I like had to go back to each page and find the plot between all of the words. After I read each chapter I read the sparknotes summery and that was very helpful. Oh ya i will see you all tomorrow bright and early...
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ReplyDeleteI have just begun to read the Madding Crowd, and I already feel sorry for Gabriel. He has already fallen in love with the independent Bathsheba, who has made it clear that she is in no mood to give up her personal freedoms to any man. Gabriel is clearly not going to give up, though, and will do whatever he can to be with this woman. I cannot, however, see this ending well, because I predict that his persistence will only drive Bathsheba further apart from Gabriel.
ReplyDeleteI feel very sorry for Boldwood. He clearly has feelings for Bathsheba, and is very excited about the letter written by Bathsheba to him saying "marry me" on the end. What Boldwood does not realize is that Bathsheba did not write this from the bottom of her heart. She only wrote this to help Boldwood feel confident about himself. Bathsheba clearly does not understand the power words can have on some people, since she has not been in many relationships. I can only predict Boldwood's heart to be crushed when he learns the horrible truth.
ReplyDeleteBoldwood has just gained my upmost sympathy. Just as he proposes to Bathsheba, she rejects his proposal. Instead of telling him that she wrote "marry me" as a sympathetic message, she agrees to "think about it.". She then takes out her anger on Gabriel because she also denied him any chance of a marriage. Bathsheba's immaturity will most likely get her in trouble by the end of the book. However, right now, it has gotten the best of poor Boldwood.
ReplyDeleteI seem to be in the exact same place as you. I also couldn't believe that she didn't just admit to what she did the minute it happened. It's almost like in movies when you're telling the characters what they could've done to avoid the drama that comes at the end. I'm very curious about what is going to happen to her.
Delete~Cayla Mitzkovitz
I agree; I think in both her reply to Boldwood and her taking out her anger on Gabriel was very childish of her. I don't understand how she feels she can act this way and then expect people to respect her as a businesswoman. Gabriel has begun to see he can be honest with her about how he and others in the town view her and Bathsheba sees that she can trust him for an honest opinion even if it isn't what she wants to hear.
DeleteMatt - I do feel that same sympathy for Boldwood that you do, but I believe that it is caused by a lack of knowledge, not a lack of maturity, in regards to Bathsheba.
DeleteIt is clear that she has spent her life striving to be an independent, strong woman in a world where masculinity dominates, and she has succeeded. However, because of this focus, she has not been able to love anybody because those feelings would interfere with her ultimategoal of self-reliance. Not to mention, she has no basis of a strong feminine personality to base her love life off of. Every other woman she knows assumes a secondary position to that of the man, and this pattern leaves Bathsheba without anything to base her feelings and emotions off of.
-Garret Tirrell
I finally finished Far From the Madding Crowd! Even though I was rooting for Gabriel through the entire book, I wasn't completely satisfied by the ending. Their love could never be as true and untainted as I wanted and anticipated based on their first meeting. Their final relationship was not full of the joy I believe they could have had if Gabriel was the only suitor in the story.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether Bathsheba's behavior towards her suitors was expected in her time or one of her unique characteristics but I couldn't see how she believed she could lead all three of them on and still believe she would end up in a happy marriage. I really couldn't stand how she would always answer a marriage proposal with "I'll think about it." What kind of answer in that, especially when you say it to three people?
When Boldwood received the valentine and learned that it was from Bathsheba, he immediately fell in love with her. Both Gabriel and Sgt. Troy whole-heartedly fell in love with Bathsheba within minute of first seeing her. My question is how can someone truly fall in love with someone without really knowing anything about that person? I guess it comes back to the question does love at first sight exist. Thomas Hardy probably says it does. I am a little bit more skeptical.
As many others have said, this book is a bit hard to comprehend. Thankfully, I read this book on my Kindle and was able to look up words easily. But I think I will have to use Amanda’s method of reading near a computer for Goldengrove since I can’t find an e-book.
I know I have been criticizing this book but I really enjoyed it. I just started to watch the movie released in 1998 that was based on this book. The scale of the entire story is much larger in the movie than I had imagined but I know this is just another interpretation of Hardy’s book. Bathsheba is portrayed younger that I imagined while Boldwood is much older. I’ll probably finish watching the movie tomorrow then move on to A Moon for the Misbegotten. Hopeful this play is even more enjoyable (and shorter) than Far From the Madding Crowd.
Phoebe,
DeleteI totally agree with all your points about love. It definitely is a key issue in Far From the Madding Crowd. I feel as though the ending was unsatisfying as well. Gabriel tried so hard to be always there for Bathsheba, yet she did not always return that favor. Toward the end, it seemed as though he had finally moved on, which made me happy. Then, I wasn't all that pleased when Gabriel and Bathsheba married. Originally I did want both characters to be happy, but Bathsheba's reckless flirting sort of turned me away from liking her.
I think the author set up Gabriel's character so that he would be the one we would like the most, although everyone has their own opinions. I felt bad when Gabriel never received the same love from Bathsheba that he held for her. Toward the end, I almost felt that even though Bathsheba had been through so much strife and problems, she did not deserve Gabriel. No matter how many times she hurt him emotionally or spoke to him bitterly, he was always there to help her. He was the true gentleman through out the story, unlike many of the other suitors, specifically Troy.
~Martha Denisky
Phoebe, I wasn't completely satisfied by the ending either. I feel that because of everything that happened between the time Gabriel first laid eyes on Bathsheba and the time they finally got together caused there to be a lot of tension in Bathsheba and Gabriel's relationship. In response to your comment "...how can someone truly fall in love with someone without really knowing anything about that person?" I don't think Troy truly loved Bathsheba. I think he was simply using her for money and to be able to brag about having her as a wife. Gabriel is a different story, though. We learn pretty early on that Gabriel is a very honest man, both with himself and with others. Gabriel isn't one to hold back what he feels and because of this, I think he truly did love Bathsheba- maybe not the first time he saw her, but certainly the first time they talked. Gabriel has a certain pureness about him that is shown in his wholehearted emotions and thoughts. After Bathsheba told him she did not want to marry him, Gabriel backed off simply because she asked him to. This shows the start of Gabriel's devotion to her. He would do nearly anything she asked. I think because of this purness and devotion that Gabirel reveals, it is believable that he did actually fall in love with her the first time they met.
Delete~Brianne Gaudio
I agree with all of you! From the meeting of Gabriel and Bathsheba, I hoped that Gabriel would face and conquer all the challenges he faced and eventually live happily ever after with Bathsheba. He fulfilled his role of being the “hero” in my mind because he seemed to always be the one who was logical and in control, and always knew what to do. Unfortunately even though they do live “ever after”, they aren’t as happy as I had wished. I pictured the two running into each other’s arms by the end of the book and Bathsheba saying she had always known they would be together. But that didn’t happen. And in a way I am glad that Hardy didn’t make his book predictable. Even though I was let down because of the lack of joy, I can understand why after all they went through it would be hard to have such a joyous life. But I am glad that they did end up together, at least.
DeleteAshley Childers
Phoebe,
DeleteYou are correct with the fact that Bathsheba's responses to her suitors' marriage proposals were wishy-washy, ineffective, and quite frankly lame! It's natural that those types of pathetic answers like "I'll think about it" would only cause more trouble. She really didn't consider the consequences. When I was reading, I often thought "Ohhh dear, this could get ugly". However, that's what made Bathsheba's character so fascinating to me.
I can't decide whether I think Troy deserved his fate or not. Sure, he treated Bathsheba pretty badly, and didn't return to her until he knew that she was still well off financially. He was extremely selfish and careless, like when he got everyone drunk before the big storm. He wasn't even faithful to Bathsheba. He wanted to give her money to Fanny, and he kissed Fanny's dead body in front of Bathsheba. However, Bathsheba never wanted him to be killed. She didn't even want to marry Boldwood. Can one ever deserve to die by another man's insane impulse?
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I can't decide is whether or not to feel sorry for Bathsheba in the end. Her husband has been killed, and another suitor is now mad and in prison. But, she did start the chain of events by sending Boldwood the valentine and then hastily marrying Troy after nearly promising herself to Boldwood. She brought many of her problems upon herself; should she not suffer the consequences? On the other hand, there was no way she could have known that Boldwood would completely lose his mind and develop an obsession with her.
What do other people think?
Marissa Bedard
I know this sounds terrible, but even before Troy and Boldwood died in the story I knew deep down that they both had to die in order for Bathsheba to end up with Gabriel as I wanted her to. I'm not saying that they deserved to die (or be locked up), but Boldwood's increasing insanity could never have been satisfied during his life even if he had been married to Bathsheba. How could it have been when she didn't even love him back? Bathsheba could never have been happy as long as Troy was alive because after discovering his affair with Fanny, she was infuriated and belittled by Troy's mere presence. And Bathsheba stated herself that she would never even think of divorce for fear of ruining her good name. So, for all pro-Bathsheba readers I feel that the death/imprisonment of these two lovers was inevitable.
DeleteIn the end, I feel sorry for Bathsheba. She didn't know that her childish behavior would lead to so much trouble. I don't remember her ever lying to anyone about loving them (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) and I think she just really wanted to have a marriage based on love. She really didn't deserve a dead husband or an insane suitor.
DeleteMarissa,
DeleteI completely agree with you about Troy not treating Bathsheba as a husband should treat a wife. He never really loved Bathsheba (I believe he was emotionally wounded after his relationship with Fanny) and it was unfair of him to lead her on.
However, I also think Bathsheba partly had a say in her fate. She foolishly sent Boldwood the valentine because she couldn't stand the thought of a man not noticing her. She pushed Oak away for so long because she wanted to find someone better. And she hastily married Troy because she was afraid of being alone. So, in the end, I did feel bad for Bathsheba, but I also believe she was partly to blame for the way things ended.
~Courtney Schramm
Marissa-
DeleteI agree with you on your thoughts about Troy's treatment of Bathsheba. It was not how a husband should treat a wife and it seemed as if he didn't really love her. He was more interested in the "chase". He wanted to prove to himself that he could "conquer" this desirable women and call her his own. There was definitely more of a physical attraction than an emotional attraction. He had selfish motives and played her for a fool while hurting Fanny at the same time. I don't see Troy as a very admirable character.
In regards to feeling any sympathy for Bathsheba, I can't decide whether to feel bad for her or not. I agree with Courtney's statement that she "partly had a say in her fate" because she sent the valentine and was just so vain. Her vanity was her fatal flaw and played a large role in all of her problems. In the end, things worked out for the best for Bathsheba, so I can't really say I feel bad for her. Gabriel was definitely the best of the three suitors and his relationship with Bathsheba was the strongest. Troy was still in love with Fanny and Boldwood, as we see later, had a few mental problems. So I don't completely feel bad for her because I think things could've (and should've based on her behavior) been worse.
I just finished Far From the Madding Crowd and I had to write down all of my comments, quotes, and opinions as I was afraid to blog until now for fear of reading a spoiler.
ReplyDeleteHardy's writing continued to impress me throughout the novel. It is clear to me that Hardy is well-learned in mathematics- or that he at least fakes it well- because many of his descriptions use math to describe nature. For example, he described the maltster's approach to the grave as "a parabolic curve approaches a line- sheering off as he got nearer till it was doubtful if he would ever reach it at all."
In this novel, Hardy precisely displayed the difference between infatuation, physical attraction and love through Boldwood, Troy, and Gabriel. Boldwood's approach to winning Bathsheba (as his name indicates) was very bold, and forthright. Boldwood literally went crazy over Bathsheba, but not once did he make an attempt to actually win her love. Rather, he desperately pleaded for it and threatened her into marriage as a reparation for her cruel valentine. And may I just mention how creepy it is that Boldwood had boxes of women's jewelry and dresses in his closet labled "Bathsheba Boldwood"? Yikes, that's like the modern day equivalent to photoshopping your face with someone else's to determine what your future children will look like.
Sadly, Bathsheba was desirable to Troy because she was desirable to other men. Her beauty temporarily blinded him from her love for Fanny, but as though this love were merely dust in his eyes, it eventually cleared away. Still, Troy felt territorial over Bathsheba, even when he left her. This is what drove him to return to her on that fateful Christmas Eve.
I previously mentioned that Gabriel's original approach to Bathsheba seemed too forthright. However, as I read farther into the book I began to get the notion that forthright marriage proposals were common. Even in Anne of Green Gables, which is set farther in the future, men propose to Anne without a formal courtship or relationship. I admired how Gabriel backed off chasing Bathsheba after she rejected him. I feel that this was the mature thing for him to do, and in the end the reason why he won Bathsheba.
Phoebe: I know exactly what you mean when you say that you wish Bathsheba's and Gabriel's love was more untainted. At the end, Bathsheba was by no means the same blushing girl admiring herself in the glass that Gabriel met at the beginning. Bathsheba grew up very quickly during her marriage with Troy. Her feelings are described as thus:
"She was conquered, but she would never own it as long as she lived. Her pride was indeed brought low by this despairing perception of spoilation by marriage with a less pure nature than her own."
To any woman (or man for that matter) with pride, it is the worst feeling in the world to be second to someone else in the eyes of someone you love above your own self. I can only picture the sting of inferiority in Bathsheba's heart and the shock and denial she felt when she gazed upon the bodies of Fanny and her child in the coffin.
Another place I say someone being second to someone else was at the dinner Bathsheba had after the shearing. She had allowed Gabriel to sit in Boldwood's place just because he wasn't present, but when he arrived, she made Gabriel move so Boldwood could sit where she had origanaly wanted him to sit. I felt so bad for him just as I felt bad for Bathsheba when she learned she was Troy's second choice for a wife. It's almost as if it is better to not be valued and recognized at all than to be second best. Being second to someone makes you ask why are they better than you. There's is never an anwser to that question that makes anyone feel good.
DeleteDid anyone catch how old Bathsheba was supposed to be? I know the age differences between some of the characters are mentioned but is an actual age ever given? I just want to put the responsibility and maturity of some of the characters into perspective.
ReplyDeleteAt the very beginning it is stated that Gabriel is 28. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Bathsheba is 8 years younger. That would mean she was 20 when she first met Gabriel. Yikes.
DeleteThanks! At least she was older than us. That would be scary.
DeleteFinding out the Bathsheba is 20 really made me realize how different things were a hundred years ago. 20 years old and marriage is the norm! Now-a-days, people get married in their late twenties after college. It's crazy to think that a hundred years ago i might be already be married and with kids!
DeleteI am about halfway through this book now, and I do agree with the majority that the wordiness does it make it difficult to focus while reading. However I also find it kind of amazing how much value every word has. I saw Bathsheba's name discussed earlier on, and I can't believe how much the thought behind her name describes about her in addition to the descriptions included in the novel. All of the small biblical references that appear very often are usually only one sentence long, not even, and the significance behind each of those also describes an instant in the novel even more than the author described himself. I think the fact that this book is from such an earlier time also plays a great role in the quality of the wordiness. I'm not sure if all books from this time were of the same quality, but I do think this setting, the characters, and the dramas that occur are something many people during this time could relate to. "Farm town life" would definitely be understood by many readers, and I believe many women at that time would have had secret wishes to control their freedom as Bathsheba does. With all this in mind, maybe it was more exciting to read many details on a community that seemed like your own so you could draw more comparisons. And maybe for women that couldn't really discuss their wants of freedom yet, it was somewhat thrilling to read in such depth about a woman doing all of these "socially unacceptable" acts, like riding her horse with a leg on each side, while controlling a farm, and appearing beautiful to many other people, while these readers themselves could only imagine. Just a thought!
ReplyDelete~Cayla Mitzkovitz
I like what you said about how in the earlier time period that this was written Bathsheba's control of freedom would be more exciting to women back then. It is interesting to think about how much more this would have related to their lives and how the details in wording that we overlook now may have been important or more interesting before. It just shows how time changes life and how we live it.
DeleteI am 100 pages into Far From The Madding Crowd and so far there are a lot of details. Reading the introduction really helped me understand more of what was going on. From the beginning, I understand that Bathsheba is a headstrong woman who is independent, which is unheard of in this time period. Gabriel Oak has deep love for her, and to his disappointment Bathsheba doesn't love him. I think he will continue his love for her throughout the book, and at some point in time you have to realize that some people aren't worth it--I hope he realizes that because she is independent. From reading a little of this book, it reminds me of Their Eyes Were Watching God because Janie is beautiful and confident like Bathsheba. I feel like Bathsheba is only in it for the chase, just like Janie chases one guy after another, looking for someone who can handle her wildness.
ReplyDeleteHey Anna!
DeleteI'd just like to pipe in and agree with you on your thoughts about the intro of the book. It definitely helps reading that intro before getting started. I'm only about 100 pages in, as well, but having the intro available to refer back to really keeps me on track. For anyone who hasn't started reading the book yet... I recommend reading that intro first! It's so much help!
I'm afraid to read all of these comments on this book just yet, because I don't want to ruin the story for myself. But I also wanted everyone who is struggling through the book to know that it REALLY helps to read this book and listen along to the audiobook. You can listen to it for free online with this link.... http://archive.org/details/far_from_the_madding_crowd_th_librivox
I am still trying to figure out how to put it on my ipod so I can listen to it and multitask... but it is so helpful! (Plus the man has a cool accent, which makes the book a bit more entertaining to listen to!)It's great for anyone who can't stay focused while reading this (like me!)Anyways, good luck everyone. I hope I could be of some help!
Toodles!
-Brianna Ricciardone
I actually did the same thing and listened to some on audiobook but also read some-I found the audiobook really helped me to stay focused and get through those long descriptions!!
DeleteRachel Takes
Thank you so much for this suggestion of the audio book! it helped a lot to get through those tough parts because after reading them I could re-listen to them and get a better idea of what was being said!
DeleteHavent started the book yet, but uh..
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of names are Bathsheba and Boldwood. lol I'm totally not down for reading this just by skimming the comments. Here goesss... D:
I just finished Far from the Madding Crowd, and I am happy with how the story ended. Troy's murder was very shocking, however; I always saw Boldwood as a man who struggled to find confidence, and I saw him as very persistent. I never saw him as a volatile man. I only thought Boldwood was just obsessive. I was, however, happy to see Bathsheba agree to marry Gabriel. This part of the story was not as shocking, since Bathsheba always turned to Gabriel for comfort throughout the novel. Also, it was nice to see Gabriel happy after all of the struggles he went through. Overall, I thought the ending was very satisfying.
ReplyDeleteWhen I finally reached the end of the book, I thought that Hardy ended the story well too. However, I thought that Troy's death was predictable and necessary. Troy hurt many women with his cheating lifestyle and even had a baby with another women when he was with Bathsheba. Bathsheba was very naive and could not see past Troy's womanizing lifestyle. I did not see Boldwood killing Troy though. His love for Bathsheba was so strong that he would do anything, even murder, to get closer to his goal. In the end, Gabriel proved he was the right person for Bathsheba. Bathsheba just had to learn what love was. Gabriel being with Bathsheba was inevitable and supported the belief that fate had brought them together. This is the best way the book could have ended.
DeleteNick Sardo
While Far from the Madding Crowd seemed like a really slow read, it was a story that seemed to represent in structure what its theme was. Throughout the story, one is observing the main action, but all the while Gabriel is ever-present, a constant in Bathsheba's life, while Boldwood and Troy are on and off, sometimes making rash decisions, often times with the badgering proposals of marriage. Gabriel, to put it plainly, does his time in order to earn Bathsheba's love, while Boldwood and Troy never seem to truly obtain it. To put it plainly, Bathsheba wouldn't marry Gabriel, so Gabriel decided to earn it. Boldwood and Troy mistakenly thought they could take it, and were never truly satisfied. Troy hated his marriage, and Boldwood never had it, but it can almost be foretold that he would have hated it as well.
ReplyDeleteIt is a story of great contrast, and Thomas Hardy clearly shows what side he favors.
I noticed that too. I love that Gabriel is always there for Bathsheba no matter what the problem is. He even tells her the harsh truths that she needs to hear at the risk of Bathsheba kicking him off the farm. And at one point she does and then takes him back because he is just a great asset to the farm. Gabriel definitely earns Bathsheba's love by the end of the novel.
DeleteYou make a good point Mike. The pace of the book may seem like a bad thing, but it is really a good tool for the characters. We all know that Gabriel is the best choice for Bathsheba, but Bathsheba is naive and needs to learn it on her own. She needs to learn that some of the best things in life are right in front of her. No one really learns a lesson the easy way and in this case, Bathsheba proves that by going through two different husbands before finding the right one. Another lesson in the book is that if you really want something, you have to go out there and prove that you deserve it. In this book, Gabriel really loves Bathsheba and tries his best to get her to love him back. But when Bathsheba strikes him down, Gabriel doesn't give up and, with the help of a little fate and coincidence, comes right back into Bathsheba's life again. This book has many lessons to be learned and the Hardy uses many literary devices to make the story mesh and still prove his point.
DeleteNick Sardo
I absolutely agree that Boldwood has earned Bathsheba's love. Like its been said he put in the time, took a few hits, and stayed with it. One part imparticular, in chapter 23 was just one instance. When Bathsheba, Boldwood and Oak were all sitting together eating, Bathsheba had Oak sit at the head of the table. When Boldwood returned, Oak moved and gave him that seat, so Oak accepted Boldwood's dominance at that moment. This shows Gabriel may not have always had his spot, but he was always there and it paid off in the end.
DeleteRachel Takes
Rebecca-
DeleteI agree with your feelings towards Gabriel. I think this is why he is the best person for her. He knows her better than Troy and Boldwood put together and he works hard on her farm. It's heartbreaking to watch him witness Bathsheba fall in love with these other men, but he sticks it out and is the winner in the end. As I was reading the book, I would notice how Bathsheba would always go to him for advice and ask his opinion on important decisions. He was her right hand man on the farm and they had a really special bond. He certainly earned her love, and I'm really happy they ended up together in the end.
I thought it was quite interesting how Gabriel was incapable of preventing his sheep's deaths and keeping his own farm from failing, but is the only thing that keeps Bathsheba's farm from succumbing to the same kind of fate. It seems to go with the theme in the book of people having what they want/need. Gabriel and Boldwood both want Bathsheba, but she feels no such attraction to either of them. Fanny Robin and Sergeant Troy both want each other, but seem to having great difficulty in making a wedding happen. Bathsheba seems to be the only one that can have what she wants, being able to choose who she marries and getting Gabriel to save her sheep.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, has anyone else realized that Tom Hardy is also the name of the actor that plays Bane in the new Batman? Coincidence? #Gotham'sReckoning
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anna that this story is a bit wordy and at times confusing. I myself, personally, enjoy ready tragic love stories. The story may be confusing, but i truely enjoyed the story. Hardy is a great author who put alot of detail and visualisations into his novel.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I did not like Bathsheba. Her personality was vain and shallow. She only cared about wealth and beauty. She turned down Gabriel for the reason that he was not wealthy enough for her, and that she did not "truely love him." Bathsheba really did not know what love is until the end of the story.
I felt that Bathsheba did not deserve Gabriel. He was a man of devotion, persistence, hard-work, and stong-will. Even when Bathsheba denied him he came back to help care for her sheep at the farm. He showed his devotion for her day and night. Gabriel knew of her vanity from the moment he layed eyes on her, yet he still loved her. If I were in Bathsheba's shoes I would have chosen Gabriel from the beginning. Her personality was one of a true man.
The only reason that both Boldwood and Troy fell in love with Bathsheba was because they were blinded of her beauty. Troy was truely in love with Fanny, but I agree with Kyle that Bathsheba always got what she wanted so she got Troy.
I felt that by Bathsheba marrying Troy she changing as a person, and she changed for the better. While married to Troy she realized he was a true jerk and a man who would not give Bathsheba any freedom as a wife.
In the end i was glad to read that she ended up with Gabriel. He was the man that would love her for who she was including her flaws and would treat her as an equal. Gabriel helped Bathsheba realize that love isn't about money, wealth and looks. Love is about how someone makes you feel when you are with them. Im glad that Bathsheba changed and became a less vain and shallow individual.
-Tori Cronin
Tori-
DeleteI really agree with the fact that you did not think Bathsheba deserved Gabriel. Although in the end I was glad that they both found happiness, I found myself feeling like Gabriel deserved more. He was a genuinely good person to her throughout the story even when she cast him aside to pursue other people. I felt as though he deserved someone that truly cared for him.
I agree with both of you! Gabriel repeatedly came back to Bathsheba when she needed him the most, despite being a victim to her harsh words. Reading as Gabriel returned to save the day when the sheep escape, I was convinced even more of his faithful nature, and wondered how Bathsheba couldn't see the kindness and devotion of the man who's been right in front of her all along. Gabriel certainly deserved more from our point of view. While I won't understand his affection for Bathsheba, she was all he wanted. As a Gabriel fan all the way through- it made me happy to see he finally got his wish in the end.
DeleteI can certainly agree with what many people have said about the details in this novel. The details in this book were helpful to paint such a vivid picture of the scenery, characters, and lifestyle. However, many times I found myself struggling to keep focus on this book. There seemed to be an endless amount of details, especially in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteDespite the extensive details, I did enjoy the story overall. I felt that once you got to know the character the story became more entertaining.
I found Bathsheba to be quite the interesting character. There were some points in the story where I really respected her independence on the farm and her work ethic. However, there were also many times I was annoyed with her behavior. I wondered how she could be so naive and weak with Troy.
I know that other people have brought up the biblical connection with Bathsheba. I found it quite interesting to research more to find out why Hardy chose to use that name. Both women were considered very beautiful and desired by the men of the time.
I read "Madding Crowd" immediately after "A Moon for the Misbegotten." I enjoyed seeing the differences in the timelines of the books. I found that the slower pace of Hardy's book developed more realistic character relationships.
I agree with what most people have said about the ending of the book. I did find Troy's murder a surprising twist that really added some excitement. I was also happy to see that Gabriel and Bathsheba ended up being happy together.
This book made me angry. Not only did it put me to sleep many times, I couldn't find a plot for the longest time. Also, Bathsheba was just a flirt that lead on men and couldn't make up her mind very well. I think Gabriel should've moved on and found someone better because he deserved someone better than the vain flirt.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the book was really slow, I did find a pretty complex plot. It just took me a little while to find it in the pages of description. And I'm not so sure if Bathseba is "just" a flirt who leads on mean, it seems to me that there's a lot more to her than just that (don't get me wrong she's still totally a flirt).
DeleteI've just started this book a few days ago and obviously this is a tougher book than the other two. I've noticed that Tom Hardy uses description very well but at times, he uses it too much. In the beginning of the book, I found it very difficult to find the plot. However, when I did find the plot, it proved to be a very interesting and surprising plot. When Gabriel saved the burning house, i did not expect it to be Bathsheba's house. Each character in this book has their own unique traits which helps form the plot and also cause controversy. For example, Bathsheba is an independent women who doesn't want to get married, but doesn't even know what love is. Her independence is honorable, but at times, it seems like she doesn't understand what to do with it. Bathsheba blocks out many offers of marriage and relationships because she wants to maintain her independence, but doesn't know what she is missing. For example, Gabriel cares for Bathsheba very much and does whatever is best for her, but she shuns him. She shuns him because she only sees his outside shell, a poor farmer, and not the love and affection he has for her. As I am reading this book, I see many instances of fate. For example, Bathsheba saved Gabriel's life and,later on, he saves her burning house. Surprisingly, I am enjoying this book when I read past the excessive description.
ReplyDeleteNick Sardo
During my latest read, I am beginning to see that Bathsheba only likes the chase with men. She told Gabriel to leave and then told him to come back to help heal the sheep. She smiled again (page 142) because she knew that he was going to say yes to staying with her before he even told her! It's a shame because Gabriel really loves her and she looks at him like nothing. Bathsheba is also playing Boldwood, and even when he spills his whole heart to her, she says "I will try to love you." You don't try to love someone, you love them. Bathsheba is beginning to annoy me and I hope she learns her lesson in the book.
ReplyDeleteAnna-
DeleteWhat kept frustrating me about the whole Bathsheba/ Gabriel ordeal was how great of a person Gabriel was, and how he had to suffer watching her change from simply an independent, naive young woman, to a flirtatious and misleading one. She made a simple error that many people today find themselves making, and put Gabriel in the friend zone! She does't quite mislead Gabriel(except for the small incident in the beginning), but the whole situation with Boldwood was just terrible to read about... She obviously had no intention of being with him, yet played him anyways either out of pity, experiment, or some other messed up reason she had in her mind.
Bathsheba is impulsive and immature in my opinion. While I believe she is quite capable of running her farm, throw in the drama of romance and all it entails and it's no wonder Bathsheba's strong character deteriorates throughout the story.
Without a doubt, this book was the most challenging for me to get through. The intricacy of all of the situations made it difficult for me to follow at times, especially when I would get confused and have to search through pages of description to find that one bit of action I was missing.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the fact that the plot was so complex and that the characters really became woven into a community. This wasn’t just a story about three people on a farm who talk and do farm things. The main characters are very developed, and their complexity gives the plot a solid base. Throughout the story I learned very well the personalities, morals, and tendencies of each main character.
Gabriel on one hand is a very static character, considering the fact that his temperament never changes and his morals always remain the same. He never wavers from his devotion to Bathsheba, and faithfully accepts and fulfills his duties as a shepherd. Emotionally he is static, while his whereabouts are always changing. The fact that he doesn’t stay in one place too long, for one reason or another, drills home to me just how unchanging he is. No matter where he goes, it’s always the same old Gabriel.
Then we have Bathsheba, who is just the opposite. She focuses on herself, what she has, what she wants to have, and what she has to do to get whatever she wants. The first time we meet her, when she sits on her wagon and looks at herself in her mirror, it is demonstrated to us that vanity will be a theme of the book. Another way I look at this is that she sets goals for herself, and does what needs to be done in order to accomplish her goals. However, while these facets of Bathsheba are both true, they are also very separate. When it comes to her personal life, she is as vain as vain can be. “Confident” is the understatement of the century. Her beauty rules what she does, and who she associates with. On the other hand, when the time comes for Bathsheba to put her mirror down and get to work, I can take her seriously. She is knowledgeable and intelligent. When something has to get done, she has no problem with doing just that. For example, when Troy and the other men are passed out drunk, and the rain threatens to ruin her farm, she has no problem getting on a ladder and working with Gabriel. I essentially see two people in Bathsheba, one who is all about looking pretty and “getting all the boys,” and then one who is a driven, motivated hard worker. While I look down on Bathsheba for her vanity and her problems with teasing men, I also recognize that there is a separate part of her that, when work needs to be done, she can focus and do what she needs to do.
Hayley Smith
I'd like to do a little character analysis on the ones Hardy presents us with in the story.
ReplyDeleteGabriel was my favorite character in the book because I didn't get frustrated with him. He consistently proves himself intuitive and hard working, whether it be beating out the hay fire near the beginning or covering the hay piles before the giant thunderstorm. In the end he runs not one, but two farms and gets the beautiful women. I guess good things come to those who wait; I'm very happy for him because he deserves it.
Francis Troy was probably not everyone's first choice for man of the year award but he gave the story whatever spice it had. His "go getta" life style was amusing and interested me, especially the fact that he has a baby with another woman. A question I constantly asked myself was, is Troy a good guy? Does he actually hurt all these women intentionally or does he just suffer from a short attention span? Like, does he know what he wants? Of course this does not begin to justify what he does to both Bathsheba and Fanny, but it could at least explain why he does what he does. His death at the end of the book was a very interesting twist.
Boldwood I did not care for at all. He came across as stuck up and full of himself until he fell head over heels in love with Bathsheba (which, by the way, came from a harmless valentine letter?). He lets his love totally drive his life and eventually kills Troy because of it. Like Bathsheba he starts off independent and eventually crumbles under the pressure of a tsunami of strong emotion.
Bathsheba I found intriguing. For a book I did not enjoy I can confess I respected her. She is such a strong, independent women at the beginning who is reduced to an emotional angry mess after her first marriage. Unlike for Boldwood, I maintained respect for her because her relationship was real with Troy, whereas Boldwood is sort of watching them unblinkingly from under the bed. I was happy she chose Gabriel because it gave the novel closure, and I think she will once again return to a strong, independent woman (this time with a husband who deserves her).
Neal Dansky
I agree that Gabriel was my favorite character, and that I was rooting for him throghout the book, and that I was glad things turned out like they did for him in the end. I am surprised that you were content with how it happended though, knowing you. I found it to be almost a little too quick for Gabriel in the end. Although I was glad he was rewarded for all his patience and wisdom throughout the book, I thought it came unrealistically easy at the very close of the book, almost as if the author was bored and wanted to wrap everything up and be done with it. I know how much you hate unrealistically easy victories. Do you agree that it was?
DeleteI just finished Far From the Madding Crowd. I think the book was quite wordy and difficult to read. I felt that some of the descriptions were must longer than absolutely necessary. I find I can at least sympathize with most of Bathsheba's actions. I believe that Thomas Harding's intention was to have the reader fall in love with the idea of Bathsheba and Gabriel to make Bathsheba's mistakes that much more damaging as the plot moved on. I also think that Bathsheba had the right idea. She wanted to marry for love, yet retain her independence. When Gabriel first asked her hand, she didn't know him. Yes, there were a few chance encounters that made it look to the reader as though they were fated, but Bathsheba did not know Gabriel and Gabriel did not know Bathsheba, as was evident from his actions. When she denied him, I believe she was testing him. She was completely honest in saying she didn't love him. I think she wanted him to fight for her. Yes, she was vain and arrogant and naïve. Yet she also was strong and independent and smart. I am under the impression that Gabriel gave up too easily in the beginning. By the end of the book, he, in my mind, had proven his worth and love. He stood by her constantly and helped her as much as he could through the trials in her life. I believe that was the fight she was looking for. Bathsheba brought many trials on herself. The whole debacle with Boldwood being evidence. While she did bring that upon herself with the valentine, I can perfectly understand her shock and incomprehension of the results. She was truly vain in her need for attention. I would like to bring up the fact that the valentine was not originally intended for Boldwood. It was intended for a child. As a matter of fact, Bathsheba was originally against sending it to Boldwood. It was decided by tossing a book into the air and seeing how it fell. She even changed the results. Originally, if the book fell open, the valentine would go to Boldwood and if it fell shut, it would go to Teddy, the child. Bathsheba even stated, "No; it's more likely to fall open. Open, Teddy- shut, Boldwood". It was Liddy who had brought up Boldwood's inattentiveness toward Bathsheba at church. She was the one who insisted the valentine go to Boldwood. Bathsheba, continuing the joke, as she saw it, picked the seal. Also, as Bathsheba did not know Boldwood well at that point, she could not possibly understand the consequences of that choice. It was even stated later on that no one could have perceived the consequence based on his previous actions. As to Bathsheba's marriage to Troy, I was not overly surprised. She was frightened by Boldwood's advances and unsure as to how to let him down gently. She always felt guilty about Boldwood. I believe that is why she never gave him a definitive answer when it came to marriage proposals. When Troy came and complimented her constantly, she was infatuated and turned a blind eye to his negative characteristics and actions. I believe that she fell for Troy because he gave her the attention her vain side craved, while supporting her strong, independent side. He should not have married her, when he was still hurting over his loss of Fanny and very much in love with Fanny. Throughout all of that, Gabriel resigned himself to never having her love. He accepted he would always be a hired hand or, at best, a friend she could rely on. I believe that he should have pursued her more forcefully and given her a third option. She only really had two. She could give in and marry Boldwood, who she never truly cared about and who was borderline obsessive, as was mentioned toward the end of the book. Or, she could marry Troy, whom she was infatuated with, yet barely knew. At the time, I believe she did what was best for her. I think she was a well-rounded character that was as easy to sympathize with as to hate. The book itself was difficult to read, yet well worth the effort.
ReplyDelete~Megan Tunila
I just started reading this book a few days ago and I agree with everyone that the large amount of details make it much more difficult to read. I find myself losing my train of thought while reading this book and I don’t think I’m picking up on the full meaning of the story the whole time. The straightforward titles do make it easier to know what is going on though, and I don’t think I have ever seen titles like this in any other book. In the book I’m glad that Bathsheba knows how to stand up for herself and that she has done what she has wanted to do, not what society expects. It also seems that she has gained a decent reputation and farm in Weatherbury. I think Gabriel’s job under Bathsheba is probably just going to lead to more drama, but I guess I’ll just have to see.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the chapter titles; they made me want to read the chapter to see how the event came to pass. When we read Huckleberry Finn last year, there was something similar to this in the edition I was reading. At the beginning of each part of the book, there was a list of the chapters and the event that happened in that chapter. This was SO useful when we wrote the journals last year.
DeleteThis was the last story that I read for the summer assignment. As countless others have stated, this book was difficult. My mother handed me the book the day I got home from work telling me that this was my summer reading book (the third and final). I stared at the book due to the large size of the edition. She assured me that it wasn’t that bad because the text was large. Despite the large print, it seemed to take a long time to read. The language was hard to understand and I found the story to be rather dry in comparison to A Moon for the Misbegotten and Goldengrove.
ReplyDeleteI found that this story was hard to understand. I think the flowery language used by Hardy was a major factor in this. One example of this occurred right in the first chapter, right on the second page of my edition.
“He had reached the time of life at which “young” is ceasing to be the prefix of “man” in speaking of one. He was at the brightest period of masculine growth, for his intellect and his emotions were clearly separated: he had passed the time during which the influence of youth indiscriminately mingles them in the character of impulse., and he had not yet arrived at the stage wherein they became united again, in the character of prejudice, by the influence of a wife and family. In short, he was twenty-eight and a bachelor. (Hardy 2)”
I would have been happier with just reading he was a twenty-eight year old bachelor.
Although a lot happens in this story and the plot should be exciting, it seems drawn-out. Obviously the language is part of this issue. It makes the characters – especially Gabriel Oak - seem kind of dull, despite all the action and tragedy.
Work Cited
Hardy, Thomas. Far from the Madding Crowd. New York: Knopf, 1991. Print.
When I first discovered that one of the crucial characters in the book was named “Gabriel Oak”, I couldn’t help but wonder if the last name was intentionally placed in reference to his personality. The imagined phrase “solid as an oak tree” came to mind. He certainly seems to fit such a description for a multitude of reasons. Despite his laborious lifestyle and intense emotional suffering that he endures throughout the duration of the book, he proves to be surprisingly resilient and manages to keep going as always. This resiliency eventually rewards him with the one thing he desired so dearly, Bathsheba. If he had not been so “solid” he might easily have moved far away from Bathsheba or been unable to cope with his life’s circumstances and plunged into a deep depression or shallow grave. In addition to his ability to weather harrowing circumstances, he is also unable to perceive the true nature of Bathsheba until it is too late. This folly ensnares him in an otherwise avoidable mess, a perfect example of his dense or “solid” nature. Just like any oak tree he too casts a plentiful amount of soothing shade on the beings around him. When Bathsheba is in dire need of assistance, he helps her in her times of need and provides the “shade” that she needs from the troubles of life. He is never quite able to move on after meeting Bathsheba and seems firmly “rooted” in place, unable to leave. His roots prove just as strong as those of the mighty oak tree. Clearly, Gabriel Oak shares a lot in common with this leafy monstrosity.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. As I was reading the book, the same thoughts passed through my mind. If Bathsheba's name was so important to her character, shouldn't the other character's names be important to their traits as well? Gabriel Oak is perhaps the best example, but what about Frank Troy and William Boldwood? Do their names have the same kind of significance as well? Frank may refer to Troy's personality and the way he communicates with Bathsheba, being very upfront about his feelings. "Boldwood" may refer to his bold acts of love toward Bathsheba. It always interests me how authors are able to name their characters so well and with so much meaning. Their names are, like Bathsheba's, sometimes an allusion or a piece of figurative language that the reader has to figure out for themselves. It really displays how much thought was put into this story and how every word has a meaning.
DeleteMary, I like your name analysis for Troy and Boldwood. An author picked those names for reason and your ideas seem very probable.
DeleteWell, after originally posting about how terrified I was to begin this book, I am finally back to share my thoughts. I have been done reading it for a week now, but I have struggled with what I wanted to say on this blog. Like many of you, and especially Martha, I was very interested in the meanings of the names of certain characters. One being Bathsheba, the other Gabriel. As Bathsheba's name has already been discussed, I will write about Gabriel. The name Gabriel in Hebrew translates to "strong man of God." I think this is interesting because Gabriel exhibits so many "christian characteristics" such as patience, cheerfulness, charity, etc. I also want to bring up a passage in the book on page 233 where Bathsheba observes Gabriel kneeling down to pray. This, to me, makes him a "strong man of God." Another passage in the book on page 104 where it describes Gabriel's actions, "And he took his shears and went away from her in placid dignity, as Moses left the presence of Pharaoh." Because the Bible describes Moses as a prophet of God, and here Gabriel is likened to Moses, this also is an example to me that Gabriel is living up to his name as a "strong man of God."
ReplyDeleteNow for my general thoughts about the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though I struggled at first with the old English and the wordiness, I ended up coming to appreciate both. I think they added to the tone of the story in a way that modern English never could have. I must admit that the fact that Gabriel ends up with Bathsheba pleases me. I have a love for all things romantic, especially stories. Jane Austen books are my favorite. So Gabriel's unrequited love for Bathsheba reminded me of Anne's love for Captain Wentworth in Persuasion; and Sergeant Troy's relationship with Bathsheba reminded me of John Willoughby's with Marianne in Sense and Sensibility. The plot of this book completely took me by surprise and drew me in. Like I said, I loved it.
I was also very impressed with Thomas Hardy's way with words; I think he truly understands the way the world works. Some passages such as, "his shyness, which was so painful as a defect.."(page 44, talking about Joseph Poorgrass) proves to me that Thomas Hardy really understands human nature. I can tell that he spent much time observing the way human beings work. I was very impressed by that.
All in all, Far From the Madding Crowd was my FAVORITE book of the three. I am glad that I was given this challenging, yet rewarding book to read!
Chiara
I totally agree with you! Although it was tough to get through and I may have been distracted a few times, this book is beautifully written and in my opinion, a true piece of art. Each word has a purpose and a meaning, and even though it may seem wordy, I wouldn't want it any other way. You said it best when you said "He truly understands the way the world works". His ability to show all the different actions and reactions and emotions and traits was just unbelievable. While reading, I was trying to think of essay topics and what I would choose to write about. The topic referring to the different kinds of love displayed in this work came to mind. Hardy did not only show different kinds of love, but different kinds of shyness and different kinds of sadness and different kinds of joy. At the beginning I never thought I would say this, but now I think I have to agree with you that this was my favorite of the three summer reading books as well!
DeleteYes! That is so true. Isn't it amazing how his words really did have purpose, despite there being so many? And I think what struck me the most was how true they were. At one point he described a January day as having "a summer face and a winter constitution." This really struck me because it is the perfect way to describe those bright and sunny January days that actually bitter cold. I think he was an excellent observer of both nature and human beings. He really did describe so many different levels of so many different emotions. I think your essay idea about the different kinds of love in this book is a great choice!
DeleteChiara
Blogspot decided to delete my huge long post >:( so im going to try and remember what i had before that happened.
ReplyDeleteI was not overly enthusiastic about this book. In fact, i really didn't like it very much at all.
My biggest issue was the writing style, actually. I could barely understand what was being said (even when i had a dictionary, and a thesaurus at my bedside), and i found myself having to re-read pages multiple times, because i would zone out from sheer boredom. I simply could not connect the words ro my brain in order to make a mental image. It was very much like reading a foreign languange and not knowing whats being said, even though you might be able to sound out the words.
Additionally, wordiness where wordiness is not necessary tends to be annoying and very frustrating. Unfortunately, wordiness was rather commonplace in this book. I would go 5 pages past my tolerance level, LONG after i had gotten the picture (or as much as i could understand -_-) and wanted to move on. I often found myself mentally screaming at the book to "JUST GET ON WITH IT!!!"
I don't know if that makes me stupid, or lazy, or both. (but in my opinion it was just the abhorrent writing and vocabulary)
When i COULD understand what was going on, it was equally as infuriating, because the storyline was predicitable or overwhelmingly convenient. It was a soup of impalusibilities and conviently placed events.
As someone mentioned earlier, reading this book became a chore. An unbearable chore.
Eventually, i gave up. I relented to the fact that i was not going to gain anything from this book except frustration and some outdated vocaulary.
But hey, thats just MY opinion.
not-so-impressed,
Richter
Just one problem with this book: WHAT IS BATHSHEBA'S ISSUE?!
ReplyDeleteBesides the fact that the book was very hard to get into for me, I couldn't help but be frustrated with the way Bathsheba treated the people around her. Not only does she toy with the hearts of both Gabriel and Boldwood, but she is manipulating of her servants (such as Liddy), AND she is stubborn as a rock and thinks that she can handle the farm all by herself without a bailiff.
I understand that she may be drawn to Boldwood because of his mysteriousness and indifference to her, but that doesn't give her the right to send him a valentine asking him to marry her when she has no intentions of doing so. She flipped Boldwood's world upside down and it changed the course of the story. As for Gabriel, it tortures him to be kept so close to Bathsheba but not be able to have her (until the end of course), and she was cruel in flirting with I'm so much and then refusing to marry him.
It also made me angry how Bathsheba treated Liddy. As Liddy states in one line "If I say No, you don't believe me; and if I say Yes, you rage at me!" Although Liddy is very feeble minded and can't stand up for herself for more that a minute, that doesn't mean that Bathsheba can use her to justify her thoughts about other people just because she knows Liddy won't disagree with her.
As for Bathsheba's stubbornness, if it weren't for Gabriel on several accounts, the farm would be ruined. One example is when he covered the rickets when everyone else was passed out when a huge storm was coming. She is not as appreciative as she should be towards him, and throughout the story I feel bad for Gabriel.
Chris
Chris,
DeleteI couldn't agree more, Bathsheba was one of my least favorite characters I've ever had the misfortune of reading about. Throughout the whole thing I feel as if she has a superiority complex and needs to toy with people just to feel like she's in control. Whether it's the men in her life or as you said, her servants, the woman is a power hungry monster.
As for Boldwood and the valentine, can you say tease? I mean honestly, you can't just ask someone to marry you and when they say yes reply with, "Actually...nah." This just shows yet again how she toys with people for her own amusement. With Gabriel the entire time I was thinking, this guy has been friend zoned, and although it made me somewhat happy for him that he ended up with Bathsheba, I could not help but still hate her.
Ryan
Just with sending that letter to Boldwood she did ruin his life, it drove him crazy to the point where he killed Troy. She really showed no sympathy for him, the only reason i kinda liked her is because she did end up making Gabriel happy.
DeleteFar From the Madding Crowd was a very descriptive book, and some descriptions tended to drag out and distract me from the plot of the story. However, I was fascinated by the description of the thunderstorm that engulfs Gabriel and Bathsheba.
ReplyDeleteIt vividly put the thunderstorm in my mind, and the personifications that Thomas Hardy gave to the thunder and lightning was incredible. For instance, the storm "sprang" from east, west, north, and south and was the perfect dance of death. The lightning was described as skeletons shaped with blue fire for bones dancing, leaping, striding, and mingling altogether in unparalleled confusion. Also, undulating snakes of green were intertwined with those. To cap it off, Hardy wrote that everything human seemed small and trifling in such close juxtaposition with an infuriated universe.
I was captivated by this passage on page 287 I urge you check it out. It was definitely one of the highlights of the book for me.
Chris
Far From the Madding Crowd was by far my least favorite of the assigned works this summer. It took me what felt like an eternity to finish and not just because it was the longest of the three but simply because I continuously had to put it down. At times I would read three pages and realize I hadn't been paying attention at all and was completely lost, so I would go back and reread that section. A mix of the wordiness and my simple lack to care for anything that was going on in the story made this a very frustrating read. At times the descriptive nature of the book was impressive, as Chris mentioned above me the thunderstorm of Gabriel and Bathsheba was so well written it was almost second nature to picture it clearly as if it was right in front of me. However, at other times it seemed as if Mr. Hardy was adding in details and wordy sentences just for the sake of being able to do that. Many times I thought, "There's a much easier way to write this that doesn't take away from the story at all."
ReplyDeleteThe story also seemed to drag on at parts and I think that this book could have easily been condensed into about 250 pages or so. Many pages seemed to almost repeat themselves, as if Thomas Hardy was simply taking what he had just written, copying it and pasting it onto the next page, but editing a few words here and there to make it (air quotes here) "different." Perhaps the characters were well flushed out and you could form a bond with them but honestly I just couldn't. Whether it was his over description of them or just boredom with the story in general I felt nothing when Troy was shot. There was no sadness, there was no feeling of victory that Boldwood was going to jail, nothing. I honestly can't say I have anything good to say about this book so I'm going to stop my rant here. I feel like maybe I should give it a second chance later on in life, but to be honest I doubt I will even get to page 40 before I get fed up with it and put it down.
Ryan
Well this was quite the journey to finish and I can't say I enjoyed it. I'm sure it built some character along the way but thats about it. The plot wasn't actually that bad, but it was just masked by an awful writing style. Hardy lacks the ability to use fewer concise words, instead he chooses to drag on long descriptions and take away from the overall feel of the book. Definately not my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteI was happy with the ending I guess I mean Gabriel was kinda out of the blue in my opinion. He kinda just shows up and they end up together. I hated Troy so I was happy he got shot. Well not happy, but satisfied. Hope that doesn't sound too cold...But overall if I had to rate the story out of 5 stars, I'd give it like a 1.5. And thats on a good day. Too many words and too drawn out. I've read better in my days.
Chance Foster
Word home slice. This was indeed a drag. It sucked to read and the plot didn't compensate for that. Im not saying the plot was bad, it was just so cliche. Oh she chose Gabriel, the nice and hard working man, in the end? Yup that was sure a shocker. You know what? I'm proud of Gabriel. He got friend-zoned hard and he stuck with it until the end and made it out of the friend zone. That is much easier said than done, so props to him. So Bathsheba ignored a nice guy and went for the mysterious guy and the jerk, then went back to the good guy in the end. Nobody can say that is not a huge cliche. It's pretty common and does make for a decent plot, and the author went about it in a pretty original way, but it still wasn't enough to overcome the excessive wordiness.
DeleteI agree with you guys but I though it was interesting that if she had just gone with Gabriel in the first place and not been so vain Sheba wouldn't have had to deal with the ridiculous amount of crap she ended up going through, and everyone would have been happier. Especially Troy, Boldwood, And Fanny. And Fanny's child. And all her employees. And Gabriel. And some sheep. Basically don't be vain and you won't have a ridiculously long novel written about you.
DeleteI think Hardy did put a lot of human traits in the characters though. They all had certain traits that were extremes. No middle ground really, either all or nothing. For Sheba it was her vanity, and we saw how it was her bane. Troy had his apathy. Except for Fanny he didn't care for anyone and used people. Boldwood was obsessive and in love. Love is also what started the Trojan War so I don't think you can underestimate that as a trait.
DeleteChance Foster
This book was one that was better when looked back upon than during the read. As a whole, the plot was decently interesting to me, yet often lacked engagement during the read due to dragged out rising action as well as lengthy and wordy descriptive segments that were very difficult to focus through. I agree with others who said they sometimes realized that they had been zoning out over a large part of the book without noticing until things picked up again. I did enjoy the characters of the story however. They all seemed to have their own multi-dimensional twists to keep you on your toes.
ReplyDeleteTroy, for example, when introduced could have been described as a dangerous womanizer who carried no feelings for anyone besides himself. Hardy then, however, throws in the element of Fanny Robin as a character in Troy's life who he honestly cared about and was hurt by, making you reconsider his motives and character as a whole.
Farmer Boldwood is introduced into the story as a respected, level-headed gentleman, described as the closest thing Weatherbury had to "aristocracy". Hardy then throws unexpected love into his life when Bathseba mischieviously sends him a care-free valentine. From then on, Boldwood is inflamed by love and turns entirely upon his old character, becoming a wild card from which you have no idea what to expect next, leading up to the passionate murder of Francis Troy.
Dan Gadoury
Well I just finished the book today, and I have to say, I am not thoroughly impressed. Maybe it was my short attention span, or the fact that I don't read a lot, but something about this book made me want to take a nap.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let me say that this book could not keep my attention at all which made it VERY HARD to get through. The fact that scandal was abound throughout the book was not enough to make me want to keep reading, like the scandal in Goldengrove did. Everything seemed too soap opera-esque to me. What with the sudden arrival of the lovely Bachelor Boldwood, his infatuation for Bathsheba, the revelation of Troy's true nature eventually leading to his dramatic murder and Boldwoods sentencing. And OF COURSE she ends up with the right guy in the end.
Nothing about this book interested me very much at all.
Yes, I agree that the immense amount of scandals going on did not overcome the wordiness, nor the difficulty of reading the book. It was definitely cliche that she ended up with the guy she should have chosen in the first place.
DeleteI must admit, I was pretty relieved when I finished this book. Its lengthy and has some difficult vocab, and to top it off it it's set a couple hundred years ago! However, I was surprised to see a lot of issues in this book that are still issues today.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I really liked Bathsheba's character. I believe she used her good looks to her advantage and let it get to her head. After all, love at first sight occurs a couple times throughout this book, for instance when Troy sees her. I also didn't like how she led all three of these men on for most of the book. Granted Oak wasn't persistant with marrige proposals or telling her how beautiful she was, I still think he loved her throughout the book. But poor Boldwood, she sent him a valentine then when he spoke of marrige she wasn't sure! She just didn't like how he wasn't showering her with attention anymore and she had to luer him back in. Bathsheba liked the idea of all the attention from the men, even if she wasn't seriously interested in them. I admire her independant spirit, and her confidence to run the farm though. Knowing this wasn't typical of women of this time, I think she was justified in having some arrogance as to not get completely run over by the men at the farm.
Another character I didn't really like was Troy. I think he was a leach to be honest. Bathsheba just inherited a large sum of money and that doesn't have something to do with this?? Infact, he even asked Bathsheba for 20 pounds at one point. He is also a shady character when he was in disguise at the performance, and didn't want Bathsheba to know it was him. This is his wife who is in mourning over his death! He wasn't even a good husband when he was with Bathsheba and he didn't treat her right. He even said "you can only surse at a woman or tell them what they want to hear". Wow. I think what it really boils down to was purely a physical attraction and he wanted to "conquor" her because she was desirable to other men.
Rachel Takes
Rachel, I completely agree with your view on Bathsheba and Troy! I was especially put off when she sent Boldwood the valentine. She should have known that the valentine would mean a great deal to him. I don't know what possessed her to think that she could just send the valentine and then refuse his marriage! Also, I honestly believe that Boldwood wouldn't have been as obsessed with Bathsheba if she hadn't sent the valentine in the first place.
DeleteRight from the beginning I had a bad feeling about Troy. I knew the relationship between Bathsheba and Troy wouldn't work out because they never really loved each other, and they only had a physical attraction, like you said. Troy was also shown lying on multiple occasions, and frequent liars are never good people. So, I wasn't sad at all when he was shot, because in my opinion, he got what he deserved.
~Meera
Rachel, i completely agree with you and I really like your description of Troy as a "leach." I never really understood why Bathsheba agreed to marry Troy after such a short amount of time when she kept asking Boldwood for more time to think about his proposal. It was strange that Bathsheba, being such a strong character, was made weak by Troy. I also agree that Bathsheba did deserve to have some arrogance because of all the hardships she had conquered and so that the men would not think of her as incapable or too weak to run the farm or handle herself in general. I also agree that Bathsheba was not a very favorable character. She frustrated me with her behavior with both Boldwood and Gabriel Oak. It seemed to me that she wanted their affections only at times when it was convenient for her.
Delete~Brianne Gaudio
Far from the Madding crowd was my favorite of the three novels,mostly because of Hardy's brilliant writing and characterization. I found his writing style descriptive and engaging which is what I enjoy in books I read for pleasure, and this allowed him to flesh out such vivid characters. I found Bastheba fascinating character, for she seemed to be manipulative, impulsive, and yet still manages to have some sort of sincere feeling for each of her suitors. I found it interesting that Bastheba couldn't help but play with the emotions of men whose affections it would be almost dangerous to play with, especially Farmer Oak and Boldwood's. In Seargent Troy I belive that she found someone who was equally manipulative with people's affection. Fanny reminded me very much of Lydia Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, for both women fell for a soldier who was a manipulative seducer of women. I would definitely read this book again.
ReplyDeleteEva,
DeleteHave you read any other Thomas Hardy novels? What I find interesting is that his female characters all have many character traits (or flaws) that you have described Bathsheba as having. "manipulative, impulsive, and yet still manages to have some sort of sincere feeling for each of her suitors." In Hardy's novel, Under the Greenwood Tree, Fancy Day, the main character, reminds me so much of Bathsheba. She also has 3 suitors. One of which she thinks is below her, but she ends up with in the end. Another is controlling and manipulative, and the third is a rich farmer without a wife. Fancy, like Bathsheba, manipulates her suitors and schemes as to which one will give her the best. I found so many similarities between these two Thomas Hardy novels. Your response really captures Bathsheba's character, and gave me the perfect chance to talk about Hardy's other novel! Thanks!
Chiara
This is the last book I read during the summer. It was definitely a hard book for me to read and I was very intimidated by it. Overall, I really didn't like Bathsheba because I felt she represented what is wrong with our society, and has been wrong with our society from the beginning of time. First of all, she has no problem with playing with emotions of Gabriel, Troy, and Boldwood, something that I see people do every day. Secondly, she represents people who are pretty on the outside and sadistic on the inside. I am a little angry, however, with Gabriel for waiting for Bathsheba, even after witnessing her tricks, seeing her with two other men, and being rejected by her. The third thing messed up with society is humankind can be so determined to do anything to achieve what they want, even if it is wrong. Boldwood goes as far as killing Troy in order to maintain his "marriage" with Bathsheba. Overall, the whole story disgusted me in terms of how the characters acted and behaved, such as how Sergeant troy fell in love with Bathsheba after he had impregnated Fanny and promised to marry her, but the same driving force in the story reminded me that this same determination is also what allows humans to make revolutionary change, and help the world.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note Bathsheba sought after anything that could benefit her. She went after things that shined and was an obvious gold digger. She went after Sergeant troy because he had impressed her with his swordsmanship and his good looks. She decided to marry Boldwood because she believed her love, Troy, had drowned, and she knew that Boldwood had money and riches to offer her. She married Gabriel only after Troy was dead, Boldwood was incarcerated for life, and Gabriel had become a prosperous bailiff.
I agree completely, I never once felt bad for Gabriel. The woman he was after didn't have really appealing characteristics, besides her beauty. After reading your post, I'm starting to respect Gabriel a little less.
Delete-Bruno
As the book is coming to an end for me, I find it to be something I enjoy more in retrospect. The plot stands out better in my mind when I'm not skimming through the pages of descriptions to find it. Overall, this book did surpass my expectations, mainly because I was seriously dreading it and totally putting it off. However, it was well written and interesting, I just had to adjust to reading it at first. I found it very helpful to have sparknotes ready for me with every couple of chapters, just to be sure I didnt miss anything important haha.
ReplyDeleteOne issue I had with the book was the lack of dimensional characters. It felt to me as if Bathsheba was always this headstrong, independent woman with her leader-lady attitude, Oak was this generally good guy throughout, and the other characters were flat enough to have suddenly be infatuated by some woman, even if it didnt directly fit their established characters. For example, Boldwood, I felt, was just some random guy without much of a personality, so it was easy for the author to create some sort of plot for him, because he didnt have an established place in the story. There weren't any determining features to him, allowing him to be thrown into the growing Bathsheba fan club.
Other than the characters unrealistic personalities, I enjoyed the book.
I think Bathsheba had a realistic personality, a vain person who suddenly inherits a farm and becomes successful becomes even more vain. This causes her to not take love so seriously.
DeleteBoldwood's shell of a personality is who he is. He becomes so easily infatuated because of his understanding of love, like Bathsheba, it is incomplete, but unlike her, he places too much importance on the idea of it. I don't think he's unrealistic, people like him do exist.
-Bruno
I agree with the characters lacking dimension to an extent. I think that all of the characters were so well described, like everything else in the book, but they tended to lack growth. They were always making the same choices and the only thing that was ever surprising was a new suitor coming into the picture. The only thing I could possibly give credit to Bathsheba for is her growth in finally settling with Gabriel. I felt that for once she made a mature choice that she would benefit from. Other than that I found it hard to find growth or progression in any of the characters’ personalities. As for Boldwood, I feel similarly, nothing really stuck out about him. I feel that he was just another person put in the “Bathsheba fan club” that was put in the way of Gabriel’s pursuit of Bathsheba.
DeleteAshley Childers
Besides the fact that the book was very hard to get into for me, I couldn't help but be frustrated with the way Bathsheba treated the people around her. Not only does she toy with the hearts of both Gabriel and Boldwood, but she is manipulating of her servants (such as Liddy), AND she is stubborn as a rock and thinks that she can handle the farm all by herself without a bailiff.
ReplyDeleteI understand that she may be drawn to Boldwood because of his mysteriousness and indifference to her, but that doesn't give her the right to send him a valentine asking him to marry her when she has no intentions of doing so. She flipped Boldwood's world upside down and it changed the course of the story. As for Gabriel, it tortures him to be kept so close to Bathsheba but not be able to have her (until the end of course), and she was cruel in flirting with I'm so much and then refusing to marry him.
It also made me angry how Bathsheba treated Liddy. As Liddy states in one line "If I say No, you don't believe me; and if I say Yes, you rage at me!" Although Liddy is very feeble minded and can't stand up for herself for more that a minute, that doesn't mean that Bathsheba can use her to justify her thoughts about other people just because she knows Liddy won't disagree with her.
As for Bathsheba's stubbornness, if it weren't for Gabriel on several accounts, the farm would be ruined. One example is when he covered the rickets when everyone else was passed out when a huge storm was coming. She is not as appreciative as she should be towards him, and throughout the story I feel bad for Gabriel.
Melanie Clarke
I completely agree with Mel that the way that Bathsheba treated the people around was cruel. Gabriel was nothing but sweet, generous, and caring toward Bathsheba, and in return she gave him the cold shoulder. As Mel said she was such a flirt toward Gabriel, but she always refused to marry him. Then with Boldwood she completely led him on with the valentine asking him to marry her yet knew she never would because she really didn't love him. Bathsheba was a very confusing women throughout the story!
Delete-Tori Cronin
I'll start like everyone else, saying that this kind of writing is not for me. I could have done without all the concise information on farming. However, Hardy's descriptiveness does enhance the setting nicely. George Vicat Cole's "Harvest Time" was a perfect image for the cover of the book.
ReplyDeleteDespite its wordiness, I think this book had the most interesting story. Bathsheba's strong independent yet easily flattered and vain personality, along with her three suitors' vastly different brands of love are my favorite characters in any of the summer reading books. Bathsheba's leading independence on the farm, not typical of women in her era, contrasts sharply with her inexperience with love in her romantic and social life. This may be frustrating to some, but it does make sense, the two settings are completely different from each other psychologically. Bathsheba doesn't need a marriage to keep her position as a successful farm owner, so she doesn't appear to be capable of taking the idea too seriously.
Of the three suitors, it is quite obvious that Gabriel is the most sane. Boldwood seems to be completely and unhealthily infatuated with Bathsheba to the point where it ruins him. Troy is conflicted about his morals, and paired with his vanity and irresponsibility, his characteristics are extremely unlikable. Gabriel has a respect for Bathsheba that no other character seems to have; he is devoted.
-Bruno
I finally pulled through and finished this book at the last second, and even though it took me a while, I actually liked Far From the Madding Crowd. The fact that it was so... dense made it a chore to read which sucked because I thought that of all the books we were assigned this summer this one had the most interesting plot. The characters were so detailed they were practically real and the tragedy of the story was profound and incredibly sad. Troy actually came out and said what would turn out to be one of the main themes when he said that a woman like Bathsheba or "Sheba" causes more pain than joy on the average because of the countless men that can't have her and the one man that will. The amount of pain eventually caused by Sheba and Troy was biblical (get it) and maybe a bit over dramatized but that serves to make it more heart wrenching. Even the happy ending that everyone was rooting for was spoiled by the events that happened before. I detected a slightly sexist tone there actually because Sheba made a decision to stay a strong independent woman by not marrying Gabriel in the first place but because of her decision she became the center of a Hardy novel. Maybe that's just me though.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I saved this book for last and was ever relieved to be done with it. At least I know I am not the only one who struggled with it. There always seems to be one book for summer reading that is challenging and long and this was the one. My feelings toward the book were that I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. The only thing that I disliked was the excessive use of an expanded vocabulary. I felt that having to look up words way more than normal took away from the flow of the book.
ReplyDeleteI must say though that overall this book was like a soap opera drama for me! It did always have me curious about who would show up next into Bathsheba's life. People especially the men were always flipping her world upside down when they were with her. Between Gabriel, Troy and Boldwood constantly vying for her attention and love it made for quite a tale. Bathsheba got herself caught up in quite a (deadly) love triangle. As flattering as it must have been for her to have multiple men contending for her she should have flat out made a decision to put an end to all the drama. It wasn't fair for anyone otherwise. I feel it was very selfish and conceited of Bathsheba to keep going from man to man.
She was a strong woman character on the other hand, who refused marriage by two men because she wasn't in love. I do give her credit for doing that because it takes a lot of guts. She said she was waiting until she felt she was actually in love. Ironically, Gabriel, the first man she refused to marry, was the one she ended up with at the final chapter of the book!
Samantha Riley
Sam, I hated the vocabulary as well. I also found that stopping to look up a word caused me to lose my focus on what was happening in the book and rather focus on what word gave me trouble. The book was kind of like a soap opera. I didn't like how Bathsheba kept going from man to man either. Bathsheba is definitely a very strong character and did everything in her way rather than follow what society expected of her. She probably ended up with Gabriel because he stuck with her through all the drama and didn't push her to marry him.
Delete~Brianne Gaudio
After finishing this book I still have a lot of mixed feelings about it. I did struggle to get through it, only because the vocabulary and wording was hard for me to focus on, but after getting by all that I did enjoy the plot. I feel like this story could be written in a modern way and the plot would still have a general relevance today.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning I was rooting for Gabriel to end up with Bathsheba even though at the same time I wanted her to stay single because I thought she demonstrated great strength for a woman to be so independent during her time. It seemed like Gabriel was always in the background, there if anything went wrong, and he always knew what to do. He was constantly stepping in as the hero of the story. Troy was too immature, deceitful, and insincere to ever be a suitable husband for Bathsheba, in my opinion. As for Boldwood, he still confuses me. He was unable to fall in love with anyone until Bathsheba sent him an unintentionally consequential valentine, and then he fell madly in love with her and turned crazy. That may be over simplified, but it still seemed a little outrageous to me.
Ashley Childers
I totally agree with you about rooting for Gabriel from the beginning. He seemed like the guy that was always there for her whether she knew it or not. It proves how many people often look over the ones that are right by their side in order to find someone to love, even though their soul mate has been there the entire time. This was like a fairy tale ending with them ending up together in the end and I can't decide if I like that or would rather a more realistic ending. I feel like people only end up together like this in movies or books.
Delete-Jackie Wolff
This book displayed the many facets of love through each man in Bathsheba's life. They all seemed to take a different approach when it came to competing for Bathsheba’s affection. Gabriel admired from afar, as he was the least confrontational of the three suitors. He remained loyal to Bathsheba, keeping his ties with Bathsheba on the farm, which she seemed to have taken for granted. Boldwood was more aggressive towards Bathsheba. He was absolutely obsessed with the thought of marriage. He went to extreme measures to ensure that Bathsheba had interest in him. First he approached Troy and attempted to persuade Troy into marrying Fanny. Then, after Troy’s death, Boldwood did not hesitate a second before approaching Bathsheba and suggesting they now wed. Troy was the most charismatic man (which is probably why Bathsheba fell in love with him). However Troy, being as charming as he was, should have raised some eyebrows as to what his real intentions were. A pregnant Fanny is a prime example.
ReplyDeleteI thought Bathsheba’s character was brilliantly written, and I appreciated Hardy’s ability to display Bathsheba as an impulsive, yet independent woman. What did Bathsheba think was going to happen if a beautiful woman she sent a “Marry me” valentine to a single man…?! That impulsiveness is what I loved about Bathsheba’s character.
Hannah Fay
Hannah,
DeleteI completely agree that Bathsheba’s character was brilliant. Her impulsive behavior made her seem more relatable. Although she showed many faults throughout the whole book, sending the “Marry Me” valentine was the first one that stood out to me. It pointed out that even someone as strong and confident as her can still make mistakes.
Melanie Clarke
This book was by far the hardest book for me to get through. I started it second and found with all the detail and everything I needed a quiet environment to read in. I had been on vacation at the time and found reading it at the beach was not working well, I then switched to Goldengrove and finished Far from the Madding Crowd after.
ReplyDeleteAs I was just saying in the comment I wrote on Ashleys post, from the start I wanted Bathsheba and Gabriel to end up together. Everytime he moved somewhere I was hoping he would find her there. At the fire that Gabriel helped to put out, I sat reading that part just hoping that Bathsheba would walk out and that was her land. I was so interested in following them throughout the book even if they didn't know anything was happening between them.
I sort of think that Bathsheba knew from the start that she liked Gabriel but didn't want to like him back. For some reason she didn't want to accept the fact that they were meant to be together. Just think, as soon as he asked her to marry him she left. When he came back she went out of her way to lead Boldwood on. Then she went after Troy. She did everything to make it so she wouldn't end up with Gabriel. In the end they do end up together and she realized he had been there from the start.
-Jackie Wolff
I was thinking the same thing when reading the book. It is almost as though Bathsheba thought that Gabriel wasn't good enough for her. It seems like she knows they should be together but wants to fight it. When she finally marries him, he has become successful and maybe then she sees that he is "worthy" of marrying her.
Delete-Carrie LaSala
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI just finished this book and I also found it difficult to get through. Certain aspects of Hardy's writing, such as how we learned about a character's traits And their past life after we had been introduced to them made it hard to keep track of how people were connected in the story. I also found it hard to know exactly what each character's goal was.
ReplyDeleteI also had trouble locating this blog and for some reason can only get it on my phone, but reading through the comments has helped me to understand the novel a lot more. Much earlier Marissa commente that Bathsheba deserved her fate. I slightly agree but I can also see how in her naive mind the thought of sending such a silly valentine could in no way actually produce an infatuation of her from Boldwood. But I believe this I a sort of karma from when she so rudely turned Oak down, for almost no reason at all.
ReplyDeleteFar from the Madding Crowd was a decent book, but a bit drawn out to say the least. The author is very descriptive and paces the book incredibly slow. The characters are well created though, each having their own unique personality and motivation. This book seems to chronicle the life of normal people, but the plot in mainly propelled by random acts of fate, like Bathsheba saving Gabriel’s life and Gabriel saving her house later on. While written very ornately, and with many different characters, the very root of the entire story is one that most have heard before. Good guy gets girl, happy ending for all. Even the characters that never got what they truly wanted were not totally forgotten. Troy was reunited with the one he truly loved, albeit in death, and Boldwood is not executed. The way fate is the cause of most of the plot progression distanced me from the book in that the characters had relatable personalities but were placed in extraordinary situations. That coupled with the ornate writing style turned me off from the book. It was not a terrible read, but I doubt I would have read it under normal circumstances.
ReplyDeleteZach,
DeleteI completely agree with you, in my honest opinion Hardy could have cut out 100+ pages and the book wouldn't have lost anything of importance. Also, like you said, this story doesn't bring anything new to the table. It's the same thing we've all come to know through any book. Although the characters were fairly well developed and they all seemed to have some form of closure in the end, they still would have been fine with some of the detail Hardy incorporated just completely cut out. I feel as though if Hardy had gone back and adapted this to our current, fast paced world, it would have made for a much easier and better read.
Far From the Madding Crowd is unquestionably my favorite of the 3 pieces we were asked to read. I would much rather read a wordy novel like this than a skimpy one like Goldengrove. I never really felt like I was reading a novel written in 1874, and I consistently found myself reading back certain passages that I thought were written wonderfully. I thought Hardy did a wonderful job of managing all of the characters, and putting bits of information at just the right time. I didn't expect a wide range of emotions to be had from reading an 1800's Thomas Hardy novel, but I still found myself occasionally laughing or cringing. I never really rooted for any of the 4 main characters, as I felt they were all pretty heavily flawed, and I think that was part of the fun. I was sort of just an innocent bystander enjoying the ride, curious to find out what would happen. Honestly, the only piece of literature of the 3 that I am glad to have read.
ReplyDeleteI was honestly very relieved to finally finish Far From the Madding Crowd. At times I found it hard to understand and difficult to stay focused while reading it. I didn't hate it, but I honestly think the novel could have been condensed. I don't know if I'm just awful at interpreting small details, but I found most of the long descriptions unnecessary. I also found the ending to be very predictable. From the second Gabriel was introduced, I knew Bathsheba would end up with him. I think because I found the book so predictable, I wasn't as motivated to finish it.
ReplyDeleteThe only character that I was especially fond of was Gabriel. In my opinion, he was the only character that was consistently portrayed as benevolent. He always seemed to have good intentions too. He was also portrayed as hard-working. When all the workers were drunk with Troy, Gabriel covered the crops because that was the right thing to do. He also was given a bad situation( His sheep were killed) and he worked hard to become successful. He could have wallowed in self pity, but he didn't.
I just finished this book and despite the book’s wordiness and difficult vocabulary and references I thought it was a good book. The plot was very interesting once it began to pick up in the beginning, and it wasn’t too predictable or simple. It was strange that in the end it went back to the beginning with Gabriel and Bathsheba talking about marriage. If she had just said yes to him in the beginning she would have avoided this whole mess she made. She even admitted to liking him in the beginning, but she just acted stubborn and was also naïve about love. Even throughout the book Gabriel was extremely loyal and helpful to her on the farm, even after she fired him. She would go to him for advice as well and still couldn’t see that she should marry him.
ReplyDeleteI became annoyed with Bathsheba’s need for admiration as the book went on and the way she just left her problems. She should have strongly told Boldwood she was sorry and that she would never marry him instead of letting him keep dreaming by saying she would think about it. I felt extremely bad for Boldwood and I wish he could have just gotten over Bathsheba. I was surprised how crazy Boldwood got though, because in the beginning he seemed normal and grounded. After everything Bathsheba did and caused, I am surprised that Gabriel still wanted to marry her in the end, but I’m glad that they both seemed happy. It was also strange how all the characters fit together. Bathsheba married Troy, who had been a lover with Fanny, who Boldwood had helped, and Boldwood was obsessing over Bathsheba, they were all interlocked with each other.
One thing I liked was when Troy was telling Bathsheba that out of a hundred men that fall in love with her she could only marry one and the rest would react in different levels of sorrow, but that they would all be different without her or hope of her. It was sweet to use that to say her beauty would stay forever with people, but it also foreshadows the mayhem that occurs from her beauty and actions, and I’m glad Hardy included it in the story.
Melissa,
DeleteI also think Bathsheba was in constant need of admiration. She kept telling her suitors that she'd decide if she wanted to marry them in many months. Why did she need that long? I too am surprised Gabriel still loved her. I honestly think he could have done better. He's so noble and kind, and I felt that he deserved a woman that wouldn't throw him on the back burner, like he's a last resort. I felt like she married Gabriel because he was the only one left. Bathsheba never thought about anyone else's feelings. You can't just send a valentine because you feel like it! She should have thought of the repercussions and how it would have affected Boldwood.
~Meera
Out of the three books we were told to read I think I connected with the characters in this book the most. When I began reading it was challenging for me to get into the story because of the wordiness and level of imagery in the first few chapters. Slowly though, I began to appreciate the way the novel was written.
ReplyDeleteWhen the book starts out, the imagery sets the scene and gives you the feeling of the place Gabriel is living in and what kind of person he really is. Like many others though, this was very intimidating when I first started reading the book. Over time I found I was drawn to Gabriel Oaks character. I guess in some ways I am a lot like him. Out of all of the characters, he seemed the most innocent. His intentions seemed always very good and the love he felt for Bathsheba was genuine. Bathsheba on the other hand was extremely annoying to me throughout the novel. I felt that although all the men were somewhat flawed in one way or another she played with the emotions of every one of them. I felt pity for both Boldwood and Oak during their doings with Bathsheba. On the other hand I felt bad for Bathsheba during her relationship with Troy. I think that she deserved to know the truth about Troy and that Gabriel should have told her. I think he was worried about losing their relationship by telling her the truth. He knew it would seem like he was trying to get her out of the relationship with Troy because he still loved her. But because he still loved her, he should have done the right thing and told her the truth. I found Bathsheba was extremely immature. She seemed selfish and she didn’t really care about the one person that actually cared for her. Instead, she chased after the one person that did not feel love for her at all. Her immaturity is also shown when she sends the valentine to Boldwood. She was innocent in her sending of the note and did not foresee that that action would cause so much drama and eventually the death of her husband and the arrest of Boldwood. The words that Gabriel said in the beginning of the novel about Bathsheba seem to have come true. When he first meets her he says that vanity is her biggest flaw. This is shown true by the immaturity of her actions and her obsession with her image and her selfishness throughout the story. In the end when she finally marries Gabriel I felt mixed emotions. I was glad that Gabriel finally got the women he wanted but I felt that Bathsheba did not deserve Gabriel as a husband. He was the only man that truly loved her and he loved her when she had nothing. But it seems as though she did not love him because it was not convenient for her at that time. When they are finally married it is because of his success and the fact that all her other options are now gone.
-Carrie LaSala
eehh this book was way too long. Like everyone else pointed out Hardy used too many words and seemed to repeat himself. The plot was actually exiting and I feel that if it was more to the point it could have been an excellent book. Out of all of the people, I hated Troy the most he was just a womanizer who I feel deserved the fate that he had. I also didn't like Sheba she was way too self centered and naive. I do not see how she could be so blind and not notice Gabriel. I almost wished that Gabriel would have found someone better than her. But if she made him happy good for him. I feel bad for Boldwood, he was very obsessive and that was his downfall but I cannot blame him for being a little obsessed. She did ask him to marry her. I dont know it was a decent book but I am done reading it
ReplyDeleteHello there everybody!
ReplyDeleteI have yet to read everybody's posts on this book, because I want to write about my initial feelings about this book...so here goes nothing!
Basically, I LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down. I started it while I was on a cruise... yeah, that was a bad idea. It is definitely a hard book to follow if you do not put all of your focus into it! I picked it up a few weeks after starting it and instantly was intrigued.
As I skim everyone's posts, I see that almost everyone has commented on Hardy's wordiness... I LOVED IT. I don't know what else to say regarding it! His descriptive style hooked me from the very first page. (I treated the sentences like they were in code, and I found it very entertaining to try and crack each one!) At first, I felt like I would never be able to understand what was going on, but then I got used to it and started to feel like I'd accomplished something when I knew exactly what Hardy was trying to say.
It took me only two days to read this book (because I just couldn't stop reading!)The story was so interesting. I found myself wanting to know more about the characters, and I couldn't put it down!
Let me just point out that I couldn't stand Bathsheba. As I read, I found myself wanting to hear more about Farmer Oak instead of her. She was so vain and it really bothered me. Especially when she sent Boldwood the fake valentine saying "Marry Me" in the wax seal. How rude! She was conceited enough to mess with another man's heart, just so she could get his attention next time they went to market. Even before that, I felt that she was rude to Farmer Oak. She turned him down for marriage because she must have thought that she could to better... but, in the end, she ends up madly in love with him & marries him anyways! How ironic. I expected her to be pretty vain from the beginning (partly because I read the preface and partly because she was staring at herself in a mirror when she thought no one was looking...) The only part I liked about her character was the fact that she always took matters into her own hands and she was a very independent woman. She worked and took control of her Uncle's farm, and she was the only woman in the town to do so. Props to her! But I still don't care for her as a person. Farmer Oak is still my favorite character. With each new lover that Bathsheba brought along, I felt even worse for Farmer Oak. He was truly in love with her considering he kept quite and gave her advice with her relationship even though he still had feeling for her. I knew he was really in love with her because he just wanted to see her happy. I was so thrilled when everything worked out for him by the end.
( this blog site said it was too long, so I'm just gonna split my post into 2! sorry for the inconvenience!)
-Brianna Ricciardone
I totally agree with you and your opinion on wanting to know more about Gabriel Oak! I was always thinking about how he would react to every choice that Bathsheba made. I feel like he drew the sympathy of the reader, which is normally act of the main character. It was weird that Bathsheba was the main character and the reader came to almost hate her for her vanity and ability to toy with people's feelings. But I do also agree with your opinion on Bathsheba. I really respect her for her independence. She doesn't need a man to run a farm! I think that is monumental for her, especially during that time.
DeleteAshley Childers
(Post 2!)
ReplyDeleteOne part of the book that really bothered me was Bathsheba's reaction to Fanny's death. When Bathsheba discovered that Fanny had a child and the child was Seargant Troy's, Bathsheba acted so immature. I understand that it was a lot of confusion to handle in one moment, but she was being quite rude and disrespectful to Troy and Fanny. She went wayyyyy too far when she took it upon herself to open up the lid of Fanny's casket. She did not have the right to do that... she barely even knew the girl.
Then, when Troy went off and "drowned" I became confused because all of a sudden, Bathsheba wanted him back. I couldn't tell if she really loved him, or what? I couldn't figure it out. Before he left her, she said she hated him and she even isolated herself from him because she was that disappointed. Yet, once he was "dead" she wanted him back and he was "hers" and she "loved him". Maybe it was just an excuse to keep Boldwood off of her back for a little while, or maybe not. I couldn't quite figure that part out. I was just happy that Troy got shot in the end and that Boldwood was the cause of it. That event really killed two birds with one stone. Then, Bathsheba didn't have to remain in an unwanted relationship with Troy, and because Boldwood killed him and turned himself in, she didn't have to deal with Boldwood's marriage offer any more. So, she was free to do as she pleased.
As I read, I highlighted numerous quotes that I felt really described characters or key events...
On page 101 Hardy wrote, "Of love as a spectacle Bathsheba had a fair knowledge; but of love subjectively she knew nothing." At first, she only liked to have men want her, she wasn't serious about love... because she didn't know how to love! All she could do was flirt. And that is what bothered me about her the most. She wasn't able to see the trule love that was right in front of her the entire time! It wasn't until Farmer Oak and her got married that she found the true love.
But, she had to go through all that trouble and all of those men before being able to realize this. (But that's okay, because it made for a great story!)
I don't really have much more to say about this book, but I'm sure that I will after I read everyone's blogs. Toodles!
-Brianna Ricciardone
One thing I have to say is I'm so happy Gabriel ended up winning over Bathsheba...I agree with most of you in saying how stubborn she was and how it was so wrong for her to yank all these men's hearts around, but in the end I'm very happy she decided on Gabriel. He's the one who's always admired her and then helped her so much on her farm. She definitely would've had trouble without him like with the fire and her sick sheep. Also he cares about her interests and goals and helps her even if she doesn't know he's doing it. Some may just do nice things for her while she's watching but the narrator tells us he makes nightly rounds to check on the entire farm. Bathsheba didn't know about this but Gabriel always wanted the best for her. While I don't know how Gabriel managed to put up with so much from her, I'm just glad that, in my opinion, the most honorable, generous, and real character has a happy ending!
ReplyDeleteI wrote down some notes on what to blog about as I was reading so here we go!
I found it was difficult to get into the story with all of the description and the old language of the book. I had to infer a lot of farm terms and even look some up, like bailiff. I also looked up what a madding crowd was before I got far into the book, so I was able to keep in mind that it is a frenzied group of people panicked by the "crowded world of human activity and strife" (www.merriam-webster.com). That sounds a lot like something I can relate to being a very busy girl! haha I compare the slow pace of this book to "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold, another book I read this summer. I saw the movie and loved it and heard the book was even better, but I found myself skimming and skipping sections because it seemed like pointless description and I just wanted to get to the end. I don't know if anyone else has read it too but if anyone has any opinions let me know!!
Right from the start on page 11 Hardy put an emphasis on vanity (by Gabriel saying it was Bathsheba's greatest fault), and I knew that was going to be central to this story. I looked up a definition to further understand the full meaning of the word and found synonyms like egotism and pride. I also saw explanations like lack of real value, excessive pride in appearance, abilities, achievements, etc., and one definition even compared it to hollowness. I kept this in mind as i read the book and also thought back to the other two books looking to connect it to them as well.
A couple more mechanical traits of this novel that I thought were interesting were Hardy's tempo of the plot and the points of view he developed. Certain chapters seemed like all imagery detailing down to the amount of teeth in someone's mouth (in the Malt shed) but some chapters were all dialogue between Bathsheba and one of her suitors that would really move the plot along revealing interesting twists and information, like the second time Bathsheba and Troy meet and talk in the field. You had to try and keep some focus on the passage of time as this pace changed. Also, while Bathsheba is the protagonist we didn't really look through her eyes at the story. I really saw this in the beginning when we were just focusing on Gabriel on his farm. As most of the conflicts surrounded Bathsheba later in the story, I wondered why little emphasis was put on her at times. I speculated that maybe Hardy wants us to see Bathsheba as the other townspeople do rather than her reasoning. Maybe this way we can try to understand her odd relationships and foolish choices as others surrounding her in the story had to.
Just some thoughts!! :)
I guess it's safe to say I finished this book just in the nick of time! Although, its wasn't much procrastination, just always busy working! Crazy, crazy!
ReplyDeleteJust like everyone has said, Far From the Madding Crowd was A LOT wordier than Goldengrove and A Moon for the Misbegotten, but that was the beauty of it! Every detail was perfected & I wouldn't have enjoyed this novel as much as I did without everything.
I thought it was a nice change from Goldengrove and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Although I did like each of those books very much, and found myself quickly turning pages, I enjoyed the slower pace Far From the Madding Crowd gave me. I had to spend more time comprehending everything in this novel unlike in the other two easier reads.
Just like Joey said, "I never really rooted for any of the 4 main characters, as I felt they were all pretty heavily flawed, and I think that was part of the fun. I was sort of just an innocent bystander enjoying the ride, curious to find out what would happen." So true! Usually, I'm forced to choose a side, but in this book I could really just play along with everyone.
Well, the blogging is finally finished and school's tomorrow! Can't wait to see everyone's beautiful faces in the morning; goodnight!
-Tori Withee
I never really thought of it like that! but it is so true how you said that usually you are forced to choose a side but in this story you're just kind of going with the flow! That is the beauty of the writing in this story. It isn't just another romance novel, it becomes more than that with the characters and the fact that there are multiple main characters, all with flaws and all with one reason or another to dislike them!
DeleteI really enjoyed the book for the most part especially descriptive nature. It made the book feel realistic and it easier to picture the events. One thing that I didn't like the constant switching of the point of view which made to hard to follow in part. Also I wasn't a big fan of the slow slow then fast then slow again which made it harder to pick out pivotal events such has fanny may getting the church wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe aspect of the book I enjoyed was the plot. I was extremely happy at ending as Gabriel deserved Bathsheba for all his hard work and loyalty. I found the way the author introduced Gabriel then only periodically mentioned him until the end very innovative and it really made you wonder if Gabriel would ever get the girl. I also enjoyed all the chance occurances that had to happen in order for Gabriel to marry Bathsheba.
-Connor Hill
This story had so much drama in it! wow! I have to agree with most other people that this was probably my least favorite book. It took me awhile to get into it at the beginning 50 or so pages. When I was reading the other books I felt as though they could be books that I might pick up on my own but this one... not so much. Not to be cliche or repetitive but I agree that the book was a bit wordy. I loved that Bathsheba ends up with Gabriel though! It was one of those books where things worked out just like the reader wanted! (Although I can say most likely no one wanted Troy to die) This was also a long book which could be part of the reason why I wasn't a big fan. I also thought it was interesting how the author had Troy "supposedly dead." It was an interesting plot twist that I very much enjoyed! Also, I got very frustrated with Bathsheba but I believed it was more thought provoking because I started to imagine what I would do in Bathsheba's situation. I got frustrated with her and thought about how I would do things differently! that probably sounds weird but its true! Though it was my least favorite book of the three I didn't mind it as much because of all the suspense and the plot twists.
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