Pessimism in The Mayor of Casterbidge

Thomas Hardy's novel The Mayor of Casterbridge is a story of tragic hero who from hay-trusser becomes the mayor of Casterbridge and dies again being a hay-trusser which obviously adds to pessimism. Moreover, the recurrence of coincidences and play of fate upon characters do reinforce pessimism. Likewise, the images and symbols such as dark places, rain, skimitty-ride, dead caged bird etc. all contribute to pessimism. In subtle study, setting, character portrayal etc. do indicate pessimism in the novel.

            When once ends where one had begun, everything whatever done in between loses significance nullifying importance of attempts made brings pessimism in one's life. Michael is seen as a hay-trusser at the beginning of the novel. After 18 years, he's shown to be the mayor of Casterbridge, a prestigious, famous, well-to-do, well mannered, popular or successful person. But when the novel ends, Michael dies a death of hay-trusser. In this way, Michael's journey ended where it began from. Whatever happened in between was as if just dreams dreamt in broad day-light or at least, they aren't pleasing, they are just traumas. On the other hand, Michael falls because of hubris. He didn’t' cause his fall consciously or because of vice. His fall was because of his excessive pride, jealousy, anger, ego etc. if he had fallen because of obvious vices, we wouldn't have sympathy over him. But he falls despite having so many virtues. In this way, his ending in the same place where he began and our sympathy towards him adds pessimism.

The novel is full of coincidences. From selling of Susan and Elizabeth to Michael's fall all are not planned, programmed or motivated. They just happen in the course of time. Susan and Elizabeth weren't sold and bought purposefully or with a plan. Had Newon not happened to be crossing through when people at furmity were joking with Susan's selling and buying it would have been just a joke. But it was a coincidence that Newson was crossing through he same way. Michael's becoming of mayor is also not planned but circumstantial. Farfrae's becoming of the manager is also coincidence as he overheard Michael's announcement of someone who could handle wheat and corn problems well when he was passing by the same way. There are a lot of such coincidences which signify that people don't have control over their lives. They are a lot of such coincidences which signify that people don't have control over their lives. And when life runs circumstantially, people become mere passive recipients, such a situation of human beings is really pessimistic.

The image of rain also adds to pessimism. The rain represents gloominess and tear. The rain on national day foreshadows Michael's ruin, gloominess and tear. The amphitheatre, where Michael and Susan met was also dark. The darkness foreshadows their dark future where Susan dies and Michael falls. Likewise, the dead caged bird symbolizes Michael's imprisonment in the cage of fate. He is guided by chances and coincidences. Just like the bird is caged and can't move freely so as Michael is caged by fate, chance and coincidences. He also can't move independently. In the same manner, skimmity-ride symbolizes public condemnation. Since the characters are highly deterministic, the condemnation brings pessimism in their life. 

Huck Finn As A Trickster 

By satirizing civilization, education, superiority of white, intelligence and logicality of adults, Mark Twain in his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn prevents the protagonist as coming-of-the-age, highly reactive or circumstantial yet realist and practical by showing him as a trickster. The whole novel revolved around the tricks of Huck. Actually, the novel becomes adventurous because of Huck's tricks. Tom's slipping away from room to join Tom Sawyer's gang. His taking oath of secrecy by bribing one of friends, his selling of fortune to refrain his father away from it, his staging own death and running away from the cabin, his disguising as a girl and collecting information that Jim was being searched, his stealing away the boats of robbers, saving Jim from slave catchers by telling that his father was sick with smallpox his pretending to be Tom at Phelps are the few examples of Huck’s trickiness.

At the opening of the novel, Huck, finding difficult to adjust to the new environment, one night, when Tom signals him with Cat’s mew-yaw sound, he slips away from the room to join Tom Sawyer’s gang. His trick lies in being able to trick so called civilized people. Likewise, at the time of taking oat of secrecy amongst his friends in the came he bribes one of his friends and takes oath. Here, also he is over smart than friends of the same age. Most importantly, he sells his fortune or 1 dollar to Judge Thatcher who agrees to safeguard his money instead of buying it. His trickiness lies in refraining his father away from the money and making Thatcher keep it safely. The most ideal trick he does is his staging of his own death to slip away from the cabin at Illinois shore and to get rid of tortures of his drunkard father. He is able to make people believe that he was dead. Even Tom, the idea master, is convinced that Huck is dead. After this trick he moves to a totally free world.

When he was on Jackson’s Island, he disguises himself as a girl and goes to a village nearby where he tricks a woman and acquires information of Jim’s search. His trick is evident as he is able to trick a woman. On their course to Ohio, Huck steals a robbers’ boat. Robbers are themselves very cunning but Huck is found to be smarter than them. He saves Jim from slave catchers by telling a lie that it was not Jim on the raft, rather it was his ill father with smallpox. And toward the ending of the novel, he pretends to be tom when he reaches at the house of Tom’s uncle and aunt.

            In this way, Huck is able to outwit adult, educated, or so called civilized people. In a sense he is in the state of coming-of-the-age. That’s why, all his cunning actions are seen as tricks. If these actions were done by a professional, they wouldn’t be called tricks. But since a boy of 13 is doing all these, they are tricks. Likewise, Huck’s trickiness lies in his instant, swift, spontaneous and right reactions to the circumstances. He reacts to them rightly without any pre-plan, practice, intension, knowledge, experience, purpose etc. Because of all these Huck is called a trickster. 

Irony and satire in Hard Times

            Charles Dickens' Hard Times depicts a picture of Victorian times in which there was an alarming contrast between the owners and workers of industries, among whom the workers were at hard tiems because of labour-exploitation. Dickens uses irony and satire to show Victorian society's hypocrisy, avarice, lutilitarianism, labour exploitation by industries. Dickens' irony lies in his portrayal of some characters such as Mr. Bounderby, Mrs. Sparist, James Harthouse, Tom Gradgrind whose appearance and reality constrast. On the other hand, Dickens satires against Victorian society's values on fact guided education, utilitarianism, capitalism, industrialism or against Victorian morality and hypocrisy.

            Dickens wants to expose mainly Victorian society's hypocrisy though the use of irony. Mr. Bounderby claims to be a self-made person. He has fabulated a story of his own success. He says that he was born and abandoned in a ditch by his mother. He was raised by his alcoholic grandmother but in reality he had become rich by disowning his mother. His mother hadn't abandoned him rather he had abandoned her. In this way, the irony lies in the contrast between his appearance and reality. Likewise, Mrs. Sparsit is the housekeeper to Mr. Bounderby. Though she appears to be in the service of Mr. Bounderby, she always wants to be his wife by breaking the relationship between Mr. Bounderby and Louisa. She also contrasts in her appearance and reality. Another character James Harthouse is also a hypocrite. He seems good, gentle, civilized, educated aristocrat but he secretly plans to seduce Louisa. In Harthouse also irony can be found as he shows difference between his appearance and reality. Finally, Tom Gradgrind is also ironic character. He is the manager of Mr. Bounderby's bank. He is supposed to manage the bank. But he robs the bank. Although in appearance he is the prestigious manager, in reality he is the robber of the bank. Thus, irony is evident in his dualist character.

            Dickens aims the novel to satire mainly against Victorian society's hypocrisy, avarice, fact-guided education, utilitarianism, labour exploitation. Through dualistic characters of Mr. Bounderby, James Harthouse, Mrs. Sparsit, Tom Gradgrind, Dickens wants to show Victorian people's hypocrisy. And obviously Dickens aims at satirizing such dualistic character of people. More importantly he satires against fact-guided education which produced a robber like Tom, a disastrous character like Lousia. The very advocate of fact Mr. Gradgrind suffers the consequences of his own philosophy of fact and utility and at last adopts fancy. Although industrialism and capitalism promised labourer's betterment, it actually turned out to be exploiter of the laborers like Stephen Blackpool. Obviously by showing cruel and avaricious Bounderby and poor Blackpool, Dickens wants to satire against industrialism and capitalism.