Thomas_Hardy_Wide_Reading_Task

Wide reading task – The Thieves who couldn’t help but Sneezing The Thieves who wouldn’t help but Sneezing was written by Thomas Hardy in 1877. This short story outlines the consequences gathered from those who commit crimes and the comeuppance they receive. Being written in the 19th century the story reflects upon upper class of society and the working class. The main character of Hubert is the son or a passionate yeoman and loving father. Situated in Wessex England, cultural influences of the text are depicted through the motif of family and the everlasting tradition of Christmas. The text is an example of a light cosy school story. Hubert being the main character of the story becomes the cunning detective without even knowing it. Set in the country of Wessex the suspects are known to Hubert but not the upper class family with which Hubert is later familiarised with. Even though the perpetrators are known to the audience at the beginning of the story, it is the introduction to the rich English family that will determine the circumstances of their actions. The conventions which reinforce the cosy school influence is Hardy’s interpretation of a close knit English society as “young men and women were married sons and daughters of the old couple, who had come that day to spend Christmas with their parents.” The text is an example of cosy school as it interprets a crime based upon the actions of others who are Sir Simon and Hubert. Crime conventions which are displayed in the short story are the passionate boy Hubert disguised as a detective and the persistent Sir Simon Hubert’s right hand man. The trickery set by Hubert to subtly convince the house of thieves demonstrates clues of cosy school crime. The technique applied by Hubert provided audiences with relief for the thieves to achieve their comeuppance. Thomas Hardy purpose is reflecting upon the social classes of society. The upper class, working class and the poorer of English society depicted as the three thieves. Hardy is purposely directing the audience to make judgements and a witness to the crime taken by the thieves. The audience in the end has the choice to either feel saddened for the thieves because they are trying to make a living through stealing or either congratulate Hubert for recovering the family’s treasures and rescuing his horse. Thomas Hardy is commenting on the social structure and encouraging relationships to be shared between upper class and working class; like the friendship gathered from the unlikely Sir Simon and Hubert. Hardy uses Naturalism to reflect upon the realism style. Considered a Realist writer, Hardy examines the social constraints that are part of the Victorian status quo, suggesting these rules hinder the lives of all involved and ultimately lead to unhappiness. The text also satirizes the perpetrator through clumsy decisions and silly circumstances. The representation of the social class is significant to the plot of the story because it impacts on the resolution and evaluation of actions. Working class depicted as Hubert and his father reflect the passionate attitude of workers while Sir Simon and his family of married brothers and sisters reflect upon the carefree adventurous attitude of the rich. It is relevant to the plot because it establishes a familiarisation with somebody not of your own standard. This is shown when both social classes work together to recover stolen heirlooms and Hubert trusty steed. The representation good vs. evil can be dual as the perpetrators represent the poorer class on England. These impacts on their way of life as they must steal to earn a living. Although this is may impact on the plot the order or crime is established through Hubert and Sir Simon’s collaborative disguised detective work. The comeuppance of the thieves reinforces the value of income. Your income reflects upon your lifestyle. From first glimpse the title appears to be a metaphorical statement but when finished reading the story, the statement become an actual occurrence in the text. It deliberately enables the audience to pay close attention to the story as it gives an idea to what the text will be about. The naturalism used by Thomas Hardy creates a unique setting as it describes the country setting experiences by the working class and the rich landscape of the upper class. Strong simile is conveyed in the first paragraph; “when oak trees now past their prime were about as large as elderly gentlemen's walking sticks”. This produces a sense of setting as it describes how long Hubert and his father have lived in Wessex. The mansion in which Sir Simon and his family live is described through personification of the daunting surrounding. Hubert describes the area with caution as he has never experienced the lifestyle of the upper class. The personification outlines the gables, battlements and towers to be demoralizing as they watch him pass. This creates a sense of intimidation and allows the audience to feel the same as Hubert in his journey. Hubert is initially just the son of a yeoman but later in the text his character is created to be more than just a loving son. His trickery aimed at the three thieves disguises him as a clever detective. When first met by Sir Simon and his family he is mistaken for another thieve but then encourage the family to witness his magic skills. Hubert, aware of the thieves’ occurrence in Sir Simons home displays his cunning wits to show the family there are indeed thieves in their home. Hubert is meant to display the down-on-his luck detective as he is first familiarised with the thieves when they steal his horse. He then realises his must set the thieves straight and expose them to Sir Simon and his family. Although the text does not consist or a gruesome murder or a whisky drinking detective it uses the simple plot to convey the right and wrong of English society with attention drawn to the characters and the simple crime if thievery. The text uses the crime of thievery to establish a reason for revenge and trickery played by Hubert against the three thieves. The short story uses childlike influences such as noble animals and unlikely friendships to create an example of crime writing. The resolution ends in happiness which impacts on the crime committed by the thieves. The story’s underlying message is that those who commit crime will always get their comeuppance which enables this story become a simple cosy school crime tale.