The Sons Veto Essay - 1194 Words

The Sons Veto Thomas Hardy was a novelist and a great poet. He was born into the working class until he married into the upper class, forgetting about his past because of the embarrassment it caused him. He was born in 1840 and died in 1928. Sophy is an upper class woman with a lower class background who is used to working class expectations and not up to the standard of the upper class. Sophy had worked as a maid in the house of the reverend as a young girl and after his first wife died had stayed to look after the reverend. After an accident which left her partially lame, the reverend asked her to marry him. Her life would have been happier if she had married Sam instead. She would not have been caught between†¦show more content†¦After Rev Twycotts death, Sophy spent two long lonely years until she met Sam Hobinson. When she joined Sam for a ride, she took drastic measures not to be seen wrapping herself up in cloak and veil, not a soul was visible. They met in secret as social expectations would not allow them to meet. Sophy asked her son Randolf if she could have a life with Sam, his reply was that he hoped his stepfather would be a gentleman. This ruled out any hope for Sophy as Sam clearly was from the wo rking class. Hardy depicts Sophy as a victim of society throughout the short story. The Victorian society is portrayed as rigid, judgemental and prejudiced against the working classes. However, Sophys character is shown as having certain weaknesses that can be said to have contributed to her tragic end. Sophy is shown as a weak character with low self esteem. She also lacks the confidence to reprimand her own son when he rudely corrects her grammar Sophy hastily adopted the correction. The word hastily shows how she readily pleased her son due to her low self esteem. He seems to belong so little to me à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I do not feel dignified enough to be his mother. This implies how little confidence in herself Sophy feels. Also I think that if Sophy had a higher self esteem she would have invited her family to the wedding and not allowed Rev Twycott to marry her in secret. Hardy also portrays Sophy as indecisive yet a person who can make rash decisions. This isShow MoreRelatedThe Sons Veto Analysis1528 Words   |  7 Pagesinterpreted from the evidence that Sam is a loyal, faithful and hard-working man who is determined to get Sophy’s hand in marriage, but ultimately failing. Theme Class division and inequality is a recurring theme in The Son’s Veto. Immediately from the start, it can be seen, when Sophy rejects Sam, who is of the same class as her, only to accept Reverend Twycott’s proposal, simply because he is of a higher class, and not because she loved him, which can be seen when HardyRead MoreThe Sons Veto by Thomas Hardy Essay1314 Words   |  6 Pagesin the news papers at that particular time. Hardy would set stories much earlier and use different names and places so he wouldn’t upset anyone. â€Å"The Son’s Veto† Was based on Hardy himself and stemmed back from his own experience with this mother. She works for a vicar at the time of class distinction and snobbery. In â€Å"The Son’s Veto† the marriage of sophy and twycott takes place this is convenient for sophy. â€Å"Well – do you want to marry? Not much. But it would be a home for me andRead MoreCharacterization Summary Themes of the Sons Veto1732 Words   |  7 Pagesshe realizes that she would have been happy with Sam but Randolph does allow her the freedom to make her decision and follow it. Too long Sophy has allowed others to control her life. Her immobility becomes a symbol for her dependence in life on her son’s will. Randolph Twycott: Randolph is a poor specimen of humanity. Even as a young boy he displayed a rather bad attitude towards his mother that bordered on impatience. As he grows up, he becomes acutely conscious of the difference in their statusRead MoreComparing the Suffering Between Rhoda in The Withered Arm and The Sons Veto651 Words   |  3 PagesComparing the Suffering Between Rhoda in The Withered Arm and The Sons Veto in the tale The Withered Arm in the story The Sons Veto are both very lonely women. Both of these women and have been mistreated by men, but none of them ever speak out for themselves to tell the men that their behaviour is unacceptable. Women who were treated by men were just expected by their fathers (if the husband is rich) to just keep quiet and be happy that they are financially supportedRead MoreEssay about Sophy Twycott In The Sons Veto as A Victim of Society1356 Words   |  6 PagesSophy Twycott In The Sons Veto as A Victim of Society The Sons Veto, tells the story of Sophy Twycott, a working class girl who marries an upper-class man, Mr Twycott, a vicar who she was a maid for and they have a child together and moved to London in order to escape gossip. Mr Twycott then dies, paying for the Sons education and preparing a villa for Sophy. Years later Sophy sees Sam Hobson again, the man who she was going to marry years ago but instead chose Read More Thomas Hardys The Sons Veto, Graham Greenes The Basement Room and alan Sillitoes Uncle Ernest1496 Words   |  6 PagesThomas Hardys The Sons Veto, Graham Greenes The Basement Room and alan Sillitoes Uncle Ernest In each of the three stories, The Sons Veto by Thomas Hardy, The Basement Room by Graham Green and Uncle Ernest by Alan Silitoe, the respective writer conveys a sense of isolation regarding the central character. There are numerous similarities between the characters based on their common plight, but each story differs in the portrayal of these characters. The writers effectively presentRead More Comparison Between The Sons Vito and Kiss Miss Carol Essay1256 Words   |  6 Pages Comparison Between The Sons Vito and Kiss Miss Carol The differences in both stories are style and language, settings and culture against the social class. The similarities in both stories are feeling that you dont belong to a certain place or area, feeling isolated and trapped, and being unable to do anything because of someone who has more power and are controlling you. Other similarities are the love for their birthplace, education, making important decisions,Read MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Sandpiper And Sophy On The Son s Veto 1170 Words   |  5 PagesHow could, both the narrator in ‘Sandpiper’ and Sophy in ‘The Son’s Veto’, evoke feelings of both sympathy and frustration? –DRAFT-4 Manzar â€Å"The chaired lady†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ This is one of the first impressions of Sophy that Hardy presents to readers. The word ‘chaired’ suggests a sense of weakness, inability and insignificance. These ideas are crucially embedded through Sophy in â€Å"The son’s veto† and the narrator in â€Å"Sandpiper†. The authors do this to emphasise the tragic lives of the characters and how theyRead More Analyse the relationship between the mother and her son in The Sons1513 Words   |  7 PagesAnalyse the relationship between the mother and her son in The Sons Veto by Thomas Hardy showing how their behaviour and attitudes were affected by society. The Sons Veto is a short story that focuses on a woman, Sophy, who is torn between two conflicting social classes. Sophy is an uneducated parlour maid who marries a man above her class to secure her future. The son that is the outcome of the marriage is arrogant and self centred. He acts as thought he is superior to his mother becauseRead MoreWithered Arm Analysis Essay1188 Words   |  5 Pagesfamily members around him. Many of hardy’s stories are loosely based on his own life and experiences. ‘The withered arm’ is ‘full of memories of Hardy’s youth’ and includes some of his experiences. Thomas Hardy once told an ‘admirer’ that ‘The son’s veto’ was his ‘best short story’. This is most probable because it is a story which shows strong feeling against class distinction, prejudice and snobbery. This is why I’ll be choosing these two stories out of Hardy’s vast collection to analyze the way