A Study Of The Outcast In Silas Marner By George E Essay, Research Paper

Raveloe and Maycomb, the two towns in the novels, are both cut off from the world, isolated in the middle of the country. Both have strict caste systems, with religion playing a big part in life. Raveloe is a distant rural community, where everyone knows everyone. When Silas invades this closely knit town, he feels rejected and he doesn t invite anyone in, or visit the town centre very often. As Silas moves in, he seeks only the comfort of himself and his loom, reducing his life to the unquestioning activity of a spinning insect .Silas has come into the village with his reputation and his trust in God and people severely shaken. With his fianc e marrying his deceitful and fraudulent friend, this outlook of distrust could be justified. His name was smeared and he could not bring himself to trust another human – only his weaving loom keeping him company. He works like the town he had come from, like a machine, very industrially and turns over good quality linen. All his effort goes into producing cloth, all his time into making money. The people can t explain this behaviour, and what they don t understand, they taunt. They try to explain and account for the weaver with his strange ways with his fits and loneliness with stories and tales of chants with the devil .When Silas cures Sally Oakes, out of the kindness of his heart, he has his first chance to become integrated with the community, by helping them. However, he turns the people away in droves, which heightened the repulsion between him and his neighbours, and made his isolation more complete. He turned to his loom, the instrument that was turning him into a creature of habit. The money is piling up, but Silas is closing in on himself. He is losing all of his social interacting skills, and his appearance slowly started disintegrating, and withering down. His eyes become fixed, and short-sighted, his limbs bent, and crooked, reflecting his inner self. He has become obsessed about money, being the only thing that keeps him going, just to make that pile a little larger, just a little more. In Lantern Yard, Silas loved money for what it could achieve – now only what it is.When Silas money was taken by Dunstan Cass, he was devastated. His only life-line, his only connection to outside was ripped away. He had to go and share this terrible tale with someone, so he went to the community, the Rainbow. George Eliot portrays the community as a life-giving spirit, that at the bone they are good people. She trys to put forward that if Silas was accepted by the community, his problems would end. The Rainbow symbolises the community, the way they welcome him into the pub, and listen to Silas, give him a second chance to be accepted. The way George Eliot, describes the pub and its people trying to help Silas to integrate more into the town life, by two people going out with him, attempts to show the kindness, and willingness to accept him. The way that the people of Raveloe try to help Silas over his difficulties, and immerse him back into his social life, with help and sympathy shows that the writer is pushing forward the fact of forgiveness. Even though the community don t fully accept Silas yet, they could see he is human, with the pain and discomfort he is suffering. Although they pity him, calling him a poor mushed creatur , it is better than fear, and they offer their sympathy, and come to his cottage to hear his tale. Silas is responding to the community, and because of their actions, he is becoming integrated once more. Mrs. Winthrop has done the most with Silas, and is bringing him cake, as well as support and understanding. She tries to get Silas back to church, but doesn t realise about Silas previous misfortunes. When Aaron sings the Christmas carol, George Eliot could have chosen any one. However, she does select one that symbolises hope and forgiveness.However, the real breakthrough came when Silas found Eppie. Silas gained at least respect from the mothers when he decided to bring up Eppie as his own daughter, and the pity turned to sympathy. The Raveleo community finally realises that Silas is someone who can love, care and look after someone but himself. Dolly Winthrop helps a lot and keeps on popping round, which means Silas is having contact with the outside. Because of the little girl, Silas forged links with the community, and she forced him to do something but weaving. Once again, making cloth was just a job instead of a way of life. Silas starts to accept help, and becomes integrated with the community. He begins to accept the ways of Raveloe when he decides to have Eppie christened. She was the bridge to [Silas ] salvation . Instead of focusing on the coins and money all the time, Eppie forces Silas to change his perspective, making him look outwards, instead of in all the time. When Godfey finds the money and Dunstan along with it, Silas is not interested anymore. His life now focuses on something much more worthy of his attention, a human child. Silas life has unfolded and trembled gradually into full consciousness . Molly Farden is described as a sad pathetic creature , which the author trys to put her forward as. Although she takes drugs, and is hooked on opium, we are meant to feel sorry for her. This woman still has a message for today s generation, with her dependency on drugs. Molly s heart, mind and spirit are described as poisoned chambers, overtaken and conquered by the stupefying substances. Molly spends all her money to get a dose more opium, and so lives in squalor, forcing herself even further outside society. Even though she is married to Godfey, she is his mistake, and must live like an outcast. If anyone found out about her and Godfey, he would lose Nancy, his reputation, money and house. Dunstan would get everything, and Godfey be forced to live like an outcast. The way Molly dies in the snow, out in the cold, means something both physically, and symbolically, as she was rejected from society. Eppie herself is an outcast, and her redemption mirrors Silas, both growing up in the community, and when her mother died, running from the cold into the warm. Often large groups of people misunderstand certain unusual individuals. Sometimes they stereotype the person; other times, they simply do not bother to find out the truth. When such this happens, the person could be viewed as an outcast, and their actions become unfairly misinterpreted or not understood at all. Sometimes rumours are spread about the individuals, that might then be assumed as the truth. In To Kill A Mockingbird, as well as Silas Marner, Tom, Boo and Silas are all outsiders to the white, normal society of the communities. Tom, Boo and Silas share generous natures that are misunderstood; they hold little social value, and are generally assumed guilty in whatever they do. The first parallel in the lives of these people focuses on their property. Tom lives in the nigger nest near to Mr. Ewell but outside the town. While in court, Mr. Ewell says, I ve asked this county for fifteen years to clean out that nest down yonder, they re dangerous to live around sides devaluin my property . A person s status in the community often is directly linked to his property, and the property s value is often based on the owners of the land. In Maycomb county, the black community lives in the least wanted property. On the other hand, the people in the best part of town are always white and upper class members of society. Mr. Ewell lives directly next to the town dump, yet he considers the blacks that he lives near a larger threat to his land than town s rubbish. Most people in the better parts of town might even agree with him, because they assume that the black people are a constant threat to white society, and even being near them endangers one s life.The Radley property also threatens the lives of people brave enough to go near it. The children believe that anything that comes from the Radley s soil is poisoned, including the nuts and fruits on the trees. Jem yells at Scout once saying about the Radley property: Don t you know you re not supposed to even touch the house over there? You ll get killed if you do . Jem also goes so far as to say, if Dill wants to get himself killed, all he had to do was go up and knock on the front door . No one has ever died from touching something on the Radley property, yet the children continue to believe it to be true. They see Boo as a horrible beast that eats squirrels and rats with his bare hands who loves to kill children. Near to the end of the novel, the reader discovers that Boo comes out as a timid man who would never consider hurting a child. Like the children in Silas Marner, the children do not know or understand Boo, so they think his property threatening and evil and something that symbolises and represents fear and misunderstanding.

Society shows all of these misunderstood people as amoral and threatening. Therefore, no one wants to go on the land they own, because their values and lives could be risked by simply being near such a type of person. Tom, Silas and Boo live outside the bounds of their town, and because of the life they lead, what their property represents becomes a threat to everyone. Another similarity of their lives exists because most people assume their guilt. Without any evidence or reliable knowledge of the situation, Jem, Scout and Dill believe the stories of Boo attacking his father are true. In one of their children s plays, Dill would walk by, cough at Jem, and Jem would fake a plunge into Dill s thigh. From where I stood it looked real . Children who have only heard shady stories of such an incident, from a known gossip, put it on display for everyone to see. They do not ask their father if the story ever happened or ask the sheriff, who was supposedly involved. They simply assume his guilt. Once they hear a story they want to believe, they refuse to look at any evidence proving them wrong. Tom Robinson s trial is another let down of the justice system. For most of Maycomb county, his guilt never comes into question during the trail. Atticus says that the trial had an inevitable verdict . The mob that wanted to lynch Tom also assumed his guilt. They do not wait until he can have his day in court but they want to execute the punishment they deem right. The leader of the mob challenges Atticus saying You know what we want … Now get aside from the door Mr. Finch . In the 1930 s, black people were assumed to have committed anything the white members of society accused them of, without looking at evidence or even hearing the black persons side of the story. In Tom s case, the mob believes Bob Ewell s story of Tom raping Mayella Ewell, without having any hesitation about the truth, and they are unwilling to look for any proof indicating Tom did not commit such a shocking crime. Silas too gets accused of something he didn t do, which is the reason that he left Lantern Yard in the first place. Although he believed in the system of lots, he soon found out that it is a very unfair way to deliver a verdict. The only evidence the prosecution had was that the bag that did hold money was found in his house. Normally today, the case would get thrown out because of the lack of evidence, but the very religious people believed that God would tell them the true result. Silas fianc e left him without even bothering to find out his side of the story, and nobody else bothered either. In both books, there appears to be a clear message that the justice systems seem to be flawed in all cases. People different from the normal citizens in a society often become misunderstood because they do not share the same values and beliefs as the rest of society. Boo happens to be a recluse whose recent appearances in society can be counted on a single hand. For fifteen years nobody outside the family saw him. The children, do not understand why he feels it necessary not to venture out into the world and become a part of community. They do not understand his logic, so they think he must be a lunatic without human notions. In Maycomb County, the average white person does not trust any black man around an unaccompanied white woman. When Bob Ewell accuses a black man, Tom, of raping his daughter, the town only needs the slightest suspicion to believe Tom has become dangerous enough to die. It doesn’t matter what the reputation Bob has as a drunkard and waste on society, they will still believe him over any black man. In both of these cases, society believes the stories about them as the truth, without looking at the evidence. Silas also fits into this category, in the way that he works so hard, like a machine for days at a time, keeping away from socialisation and interaction with the community. Both authors push forward the community spirit that must be there for a place to survive, but in To Kill a Mockingbird, that community is flawed.The last parallel concerns the three men s generosity. Tom makes it clear in his testimony at court that on several occasions he performed certain chores for Mayella free of charge. Atticus asks Tom if he had been inside the Ewell s fence at anytime, and Tom s answers Seemed like every time I passed by yonder she had something for me to do – choppin kindlin , totin water for her . By almost any social standard at the time period of the novel, the Ewells remain the higher class when compared to any group of blacks. Tom works hard every day of his life in a physically demanding job, and after all of his efforts he still performs chores for Mayella without taking any money. He realises the suffering and burden that Mayella carries, so he helps her when he can, even though he does not always receive any gratitude. Boo Radley s generosity is very obvious to Jem and Scout. The gifts Jem and Scout receive are never directly blamed on Boo, but all the evidence points towards him. The gifts include, a pocket watch that wouldn t run [and] a gold chain with an aluminium knife . Boo has very little, as his gifts show, yet he gives some of his possessions to the children anyway. More surprisingly, he gives them to children that have harassed and pestered him. Maybe, in a way of trying to get the children to appreciate him, he leaves gifts for them. The little things that Boo does, like trying to fix Jem s trousers when he catches them on the fence, and when he puts a blanket round Scouts shoulders. However, Jem and Scout never express their gratitude to Boo. In the only way he knows how, Boo tries to brighten the children s lives through his presents to them. You can see Silas generosity at the beginning of the novel when he cures Sally Oakes. He does this out of the kindness of his heart, as he feels sorry for her. Although Silas turned away the other people that wished to be cured, he did this because he didn t like the attention. The other act of generosity shows when Silas took in Eppie. Although he didn t know it at the time, he cared for her and looked after her for Godfey as well as Molly. He looked after and cared for the little child until she grew up, showing his love and affection for her. He could have sent her away to the parish but he cared for her.Society as a whole considers Tom, Silas and Boo as outsiders and miscreants, but the men s generosity far exceeds most of that of the high class in Maycomb county. The three people have never met yet seem to share certain aspects of their lives, and do what they can for people that may not always appreciate it. Their actions often go unnoticed and without any direct appreciation, but their generosity continues. These men are on the outskirts of society, and their lives have certain resemblance s because of that quality. They are generally not trusted, deemed a threat, and people fail to understand them. Harper Lee and George Eliot created such unique characters with a very definite purpose in mind, but their motivation for their creations deserves the attention of an entire book. Boo s reclusiveness makes him into the local monster that becomes of the focal point of the children s imagination. Tom lives as a black person in a society when the general public thought of blacks as inferior human beings and Silas works and lives alone. The only difference is that Silas wants to be reintegrated with the community, and live a normal life again, and succeeds. Boo, however doesn t. He has lived too long alone and without social interaction. However, maybe Boo is the smartest one of all. To Kill A Mockingbird was written to show the simple hell that people can give each other, when they don t understand each other, because of race, religion, sex or social differences. Maybe Boo just wanted to live alone for that reason. All the men become the subject of horror stories to the respective group of people that do not understand or attempt to understand them. Like Atticus said, You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-….until you climb into his skin and walk around in it If people tried to understand each other, there would be much less friction in this world. All these men, Tom, Boo and Silas, are like mockingbird figures in these novels. They don t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That s why it s a sin to kill a mockingbird They don t do anything bad, but still get shot down by the words and actions of thoughtless people. Even though they never met, Tom, Boo and Silas similar situations cause them to share many aspects of their lives.

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