Essays on Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Set in the Victorian age, Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a poignant tale of a common country girl who experiences cruelty from two very different men. Thomas Hardy is often portrayed as being pessimistic and rather realistic in illustrating the double-standards and hypocrisy of his age. The novel encompasses many themes, such as hypocrisy, fatalism, and the relationships between man and woman. In this essay, the topic of whether Tess was a victim of male cruelty, her own conscience, or other ...

Sometimes the smallest actions can lead to the most significant outcomes. For example, one who does a good deed may inspire another person to pay it forward until there is a chain of positive reaction. The smallest deed can serve as a catalyst and create a domino effect, impacting the lives of one or thousands. However, this idea works both ways in that an inconsequential incident can also lead to complete destruction and the collapse of an entire system. This idea is explored in Thomas ...

In the book, Tess of The d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, the main character, Tess is put into dire situations more from fate than her own decisions. For much of the story, Tess is impacted by events that are very much outside of her control and these events lead her to situations in which she makes decisions that ultimately impact her negatively. Had it not been for fate, Tess would never have been set down the path that she was set down and so she would not have found herself in the situations ...

Tragedy in our lives is caused not only by our direct and indirect relationships to people and events, but also by our feelings of disgust, longing, and depression over a long period of time, "Tragedy may also be created by an opposing environment either of things inherent in the universe, or of human institutions" (1895 Thomas Hardy). Whether the people or events consist of only small annoyances, they can escalate into large problems that can create, not only depression but death in one's ...