Far From the Madding Crowd

far from the madding crowd and essay technique

Main characters

Main characters

Bathsheba Everdeene/Troy/Oak

Gabriel Oak

William Boldwood

Frank Troy

Main plot

3 guys fall in love with Bathsheba. Bathsheba owns a farm and is self sufficient. She is also very whimsical. She turns down Oak when he asks to marry her, drags Boldwood along and makes him think she will marry him, and she actually does marry Troy. Troy turns out to be a terrible husband who also had a child out of wedlock. So, Troy decides to stage his death, but he eventually comes back. Boldwood shoots and kills Troy because he is mad and wants to marry Bathsheba. Boldwood is meant to be killed, but Oak convinces the state that he is insane and should go to an asylum instead. Oak marries Bathsheba.

Important factors to remember

Set in 1800s - sexism is rife and generally seen

Bathsheba at the time would have been very controversial

Women were expected to marry

There were many expectations for both parties in marriage

Topic sentences

must show something and must be specific

‘The quote ___ is interesting. It shows…’ - bad topic sentence

“The quote ___ uses ----- to show how Troy is depicted as an idealised hero.” - good topic sentence

Conclusion

don’t simply write a list

bring your points together

hone in on one particular point

answer the initial question