English 101

‘The tale of “Silas Marner”,must be read and understood Symbolically and Literally as well.’

In the light of the above statement,discuss the following characters,and what do they symbolize?

1) Silas Marner

2) Eppie

3) Dunstan

Write minimum of 200 words paragraph on each character, clearly explaining symbolism related to each character.

Total 600 word count.

ANSWER

Silas Marner

Silas owns a solitary weaver, is aged approximately 39 years, who was living in Raveloe in English for fifteen years. He is a lone person who enjoys his own company. At Raveloe, his neighbors always treated him as someone suspicious and were curious about his moves.  Silas spent his time working in his weaver and made no effort to interact with the villagers and know them. His physical appearance is odd; he is bent due to working for long hours at the loom, his eyes are frightening, and looks older than his age. Also, he possesses knowledge of medicinal herb, which scares the neighbors more.  Hence, Silas was an antisocial person, but deep inside, he has a kind heart and is honest. In the entire novel, he does not say anything miser or selfish comment. However, he loves money and works effortlessly to raise Eppie. His outside status makes him the main character. In Raveloe’s, he is seen as an outcast due to his outsider status and look but later becomes an exemplary citizen. He is shown as the connection between the community and an individual. His solace demonstrates the faith and trust in the religion.

Eppie

Eppie is Silas’ adopted daughter, and she has blue eyes and fair hair. She is a beautiful girl, and her beauty captives everyone who meets her. In the novel, she appears as a small child, and nobody cares about her except Silas. As a young girl, she is mischievous since Marner does not punish her in any way. Her hair is linked to gold color stolen from Silas. Both Marner and Silas form a strong bond between them. As a child, she has the expected behavior that is exhibited by the child and cuteness. She plays a crucial role in enabling Silas to be close to his neighbors.  As a child, Silas is determined to make her happy and have a fruitful life. Eppie becomes a sweet-tempered woman who loves his father and obeys him.  She has a kind heart, shown by willing to support Silas even after realizing it was not his real father.  Eppie went to the extent of refusing to stay with his birth father, Godfrey, once he realizes the truth. She has strong principles and is shown as someone passionate. Her passion is shown at a young age by how she loves animals. In the novel, she is used as someone vital to Godfrey and Silas’s presence of life.

Dunstan

He is Godfrey’s brother, who is introduced in the novel as someone drunk, and only looked at himself.  Dunstan is immoral, dull-minded, and forces his brother to give him money, so he does not reveal it. His brother Godfrey was married to Molly, a common woman, and they breed together.  He is a bad person who is selfish and lacks good virtue. He is similar to his brother Godfrey who only does what he wants and does not care about other people. It is shown by how he steals gold from Silas and accidentally falls into the stone pit, where he dies. Dunstan suffers from narcissism disorder, where he fears his importance and what others will think of the subject. The disorder is symbolic in the novel as it gives a better picture of Godfrey than his own. In the novel, he is used to fulfilling a certain role. Dunstan is different from Godfrey by how he reacts and shows how Silas is important. Also, he is a reminder to Godfrey that the truth will be known to everyone in the community one day.  He is not an important person in the story, and if he is to be removed, nobody can miss him.