Silas's Spiritual Life In Lantern Yard example essay topic

The book Silas Marner is about a man who goes from being a member of a tight-knit community to being absolutely alone and then back, to being a member recognized member of another community. The writer uses this character to show the relationship between the individual and the surrounding society. In the book, George Eliot, the writer proves that love of a person is more gratifying than love of money through the major character Silas and various incidents. This theme is shown throughout the book. It seems strange that after fifteen years of confinement, Silas can trade his love of gold for his love of a child.

The reader can see that his change of heart is a direct and immediate result of Eppie's arrival. Eliot portrays the general theme that man cannot live in isolation and be in high spirits. Though Silas finds some satisfaction in his persistent weaving and hoarding of gold, he only discovers true happiness after he dedicates himself to personal relationships. Though being sent away from Lantern Yard proves devastating to his self-confidence and trust in others and God, fifteen years later Silas makes a full recovery, after adopting Eppie who replaces his love of money with love of a daughter. ' The fact that Lantern Yard has disappeared years later when Silas and Eppie go to visit it suggests that this town is no longer emotional valued to Silas. In fact the removal of the town serves as a metaphor for Silas's ability to find happiness outside his past.

The writer uses a large number of literary devices such as imagery, allusion, symbolism and irony in order to give the reader a better grasp of the story. She makes use of religious and rural imagery and religious, superstitious and Bible allusions. Some example of religious imagery can be seen on page 7 "whose un nurtured souls have been like young wings, fluttering in the twilight" and also page 12 " altar-place of high dispensation". Both of these quotes refer to Silas's spiritual life in Lantern Yard. The first one was stated in the story while Silas was still a member of the Lantern Yard gathering while the second was comparing his new residence to the his past life in the Yard. Rural imagery is used a lot in the story some examples are page 13 "- orchards looking lazy with neglected plenty; ... ". and page 14 "He seemed to weave like a spider, from pure impulse, without reflection".

The first example displays the use of personification and the other is a simile, which compares Silas to a spider. Another device used is allusion; use of religious allusion can be seen on page 7 .".. it was custom of their Lantern Yard brethren to call them David and Jonathan". This is a comparison of William and Silas to the two Biblical men. Superstitious allusion can also be seen on page 15 When Doctor Kimble gave physic, it was natural that it should have and effect; but when a weaver, who came from nobody knew where, worked wonders with a bottle of brown waters, the occult character of the process was evident. This alludes to the devil and the occult, which shows how superstitious the people of Ravel oe were they associated any thing they didn't know about with evil. There was also symbolism used in this book.

The major symbols were Silas's Loom, Lantern Yard, Dunstan, Godfrey and The Hearth. These objects and characters were used to represent abstract ideas in the book. On a literal level, the loom is Silas's livelihood and source of income. The extent, to which Silas's obsession with money deforms his character, physically noted by the bent frame and limited eyesight he develops due to so many hours at the loom. Additionally, the loom, constantly in motion but never going anywhere, is compared to the unceasing and unchanging nature of Silas's work and life. The place where Silas was raised in a tight-knit religious place, Lantern Yard is a community of faith, held together by a narrow religious belief.

Lantern Yard is the only community Silas knows, and after he is thrown out, he is unable to find any similar community. Throughout the novel Lantern Yard functions as a symbol of Silas's past, and his gradual coming to grips with what happened there. When Silas finally goes back to visit Lantern Yard, he finds that the entire neighborhood has disappeared, and no one remembers anything of it. There is a large factory in the spot where the chapel once stood. This break with the past, signals that Silas has finally been able to move beyond his history, and that his earlier loss of faith has been replaced with newfound purpose. The hearth represents the physical center of the household and symbolizes all of the comforts of home and family.

When Godfrey dreams of a life with Nancy, he sees himself "with all his happiness centred on his own hearth, while Nancy would smile on him as he played with the children". Even in a public place such as the Rainbow, a person's importance is measured by how close one sits to the fire. Initially, Dunstan Cass symbolizes greed in this story. He uses all dirty tricks to get through in life and in the end he got what he deserved. After stealing Silas's gold he died shortly after while he was escaping.

The unjust way of life never pays the good will always succeed. Godfrey was a symbol of deceit, he thought after Eppie mother's death he had gotten away but his conscience played on him after he say his brother's penalty. He decided to tell the truth because he knew one way or the next the truth always came out. One of the most important devices used was Irony. There are many uses irony such as the way in which Godfrey rejected Eppie when she needed him most to care for her. Now that she is an adult and has grown to love Silas as her one and only father he now wants to be part of her life.

It can also be said that his gold destroys him and then it also brings him back which is very ironic. When Silas was working and gathering all the gold he stayed in house and never socialized with the members of the town but from the night his gold was stolen he was drawn out of confinement. From there he never turned back, and at the end he is the centre of all attention. The major irony in the story is the way in which one brother took something from Silas and the other gave him something in return which ended up benefiting him.

Dunstan took Silas's gold, which was very wicked but in return Silas received Eppie who was a Godfrey's child. In the end Silas had both the gold and Eppie and both was his for ever. Near the conclusion of the story, the " cataleptic fits" that Silas seem to have suffered from seem to have subsided. This makes sense because since the weaver has recovered and Eppie has opened his eyes to the reality of the world again, his soul is no longer separate from his body. While before he found Eppie, his soul used to leave him, now his spirit is alive and well. Although he still has relapses, suggesting that the fifteen years of self-torture have left permanent scars on his soul.

A less significant theme in the book is in regards to the Cass family. Eliot, through her representation of Godfrey and Dunstan as wealthy, selfish men who try to use one another and others to their personal advantage, shows that the upper class has damaged the society. While the Cass family, thinking that their wealth gives them unjustifiable privilege and rights to property (Godfrey's attempt to take Eppie from Silas), seems really careless of the feelings of others. Silas, representing the lower class, is seen as a humble victim of class inequality. Even religion is showed to be unjust and hypocritical in the book, during the casting of lots, which finds Silas guilty. At the end faith is recovered, following Silas's return to church and baptism of Eppie.

No matter what the circumstances, Silas learns that his faith can strengthen him.