Gabriel Oak Outline: Far From The Madding Crowd
James Schwartz
Mrs. Muir
AP English IV
August 27, 2014 Heroic traits of Gabriel oak outline:
“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom” this was once stated by Bob Dylan. “Far from the Madding Crowd” is a novel written by Thomas Hardy and takes place in 19th century England. Gabriel Oak is the admirable hero of this topsy-turvy love story that involves a mistress named Bathsheba Everdene, a profitable farmer by the name of William Boldwood, and a young soldier by the name of Sergeant Francis Troy, lastly is Gabriel Oak a meek and frugal farmer. Gabriel meets Bathsheba because her aunt is a neighbor to this fine young man. After getting to know Bathsheba a little better and the fact that she saved …show more content…
his life Gabriel finds himself falling in love with this young maiden. But soon his luck runs dry after Bathsheba dismisses his marriage proposal and leaves; and after that a young pup drives his sheep off a cliff and Gabriel is left penniless after settling all his debts. Gabriel wanders town to town looking for a job and happens to walk past a fire and quickly uses his wits to put it out. The farmer who’s land the fire had occurred on turns out to be non-other than Bathsheba who gives Gabriel a shepherding job on her inherited farm. Gabriel oak is a hero because of his actions and traits, these characteristics of Mr. Oak include his trustworthiness, his sense of duty, straightforward honesty, and his ability to take action in vexing situations.
Mr. Oak is a man that all who know him come to rely on his trustworthiness, Oak does a rather good job of keeping his word and when Miss Everdene needs any help she comes to him. In a certain instance Miss Everdene’s sheep contract bloat from eating bad clovers and reluctantly she calls for Mr. Oak to save her sheep knowing that he is the only one that knows what he is doing ( #Hardy). Gabriel is a man of good timing and an incredible ability to save Miss Everdene’s livelihood. Trustworthiness is a heroic trait that is important because without the quality of being trustworthy one cannot rely on a hero. Often times a hero will be chastised for not following on his word and will never be called upon again.
The sense of duty a man possesses can describe his attitude towards all things. For example, when a man believes his duties to be a light of heart the work ethic he possesses is lazy and many things go undone, but when a man does his work with a sense of urgency it is done to high standard and all is completed in a timely manner. This sense of urgency flows throughout Gabriel, “he having virtually exercised that function for a long time already, the change, beyond the substantial increase of wages it brought, was little more than a nominal one addressed to the outside world” (# Hardy) Although only hired as a shepherd Gabriel fulfills the job of bailiff for Miss Everdene’s Farm and Later for Mr. Boldwood’s Farm as well. Gabriel sets his duties to high standards throughout the book and keeps Miss Everdene’s farm in tip top condition which helps to increase Miss Everdene’s wealth. In one instance Gabriel’s sense of duty shines when a storm starts to brew over the Everdene farm and all eight hayricks have been left out to be soiled by the impending storm. Discovering that all shepherds and farm hands have passed out from inebriation, Gabriel takes it upon himself to store all eight hayricks personally and does so in good time (# Hardy). The act of saving Miss Everdene’s livelihood appears once again as Gabriel is the unsung hero when the plot thickens.
All that know Gabriel Oak in the novel refer to his straightforward honesty as something a Christian would possess. Gabriel is never afraid to speak his mind especially when the audience is in need of a wakeup call in honesty, “I have lost in the race for money and good things, and I am not such a fool as to pretend to ‘ee now I am poor, and you have got altogether above me. But Bathsheba, dear mistress, this I beg you to consider- that, both to keep yourself well honoured among the workfolk, and in common generosity to an honourable man who loves you as well I, you should be more discreet in your bearing towards this soldier” (173 Hardy). In this particular argument Gabriel admits that he will never be rich or possess all the best types of merchandise out there, but he knows that wanting things that sound too good to be true only lead to an unhappy life. Miss Everdene goes into a rage when she hears exactly what she didn’t want to hear, which happens to be the cold, hard truth. Sometimes the truth hurts but this does not stop Gabriel from telling it like it is; proving that his honesty outweighs any situation in which a lie could be told to encourage a love-struck Miss Everdene to follow her passion.
A shepherd during the 19th century is expected to tend to the animals and make sure the farm profits from these animals.
Shepherd Oak, while looking for work, happens to stumble upon a fire that threatens to destroy a farm. In an instant Shepherd Oak sets out to put this fire and sacrifices the only clothes he has left to eventually cease all flames all for a random farm owner he has never met (Hardy). The action Shepherd Oak took saved the livelihood of this stranger, who later turns out to be Miss Everdene, soul heiress to her uncle’s profitable farm. Shepherd Oak being the admirable human being that he is has now saved the livelihood of Miss Everdene three times. Shepherd Oak never asked for praise or a legend of his bravery to be made because Shepherd Oak would want someone to save his farm under the same situations. Not all situations require bravery, for example, when a man by the name of Jacob Poorgrass decides that the task of bringing the dead Fanny Robin to the church to be buried before sun down can be done while inebriated. This task proves too daunting for the meek Poorgrass, and Shepherd Oak goes out on his own accord to bring the gig holding the coffin to the church before dark (Hardy). The act of going out to find the coffin of a dead girl he hardly knew solidifies the claim that Shepherd Oak is a kind, selfless, hero who takes action for the good of the
community.
Gabriel Oak possess all the traits of a hero without being any more than an average human being that focuses on the advancement of humanity as a whole rather than just his own. Gabriel’s heroic accolades include: saving a farm from destruction, sheep from a painful death, warning a young mistress of heartbreak with nothing more than honesty, and properly laying a young servant to her infinite resting place. The Author of the novel, Thomas Hardy, instills certain traits in Gabriel that make him a morally sound man, and because of these simple traits Gabriel looks like an angel among men. The most important thing the reader can gain from Gabriel’s admirable decisions and personality is this: do to others as you would have them to do to you.
Mrs. Muir
AP English IV
August 27, 2014 Heroic traits of Gabriel oak outline:
“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom” this was once stated by Bob Dylan. “Far from the Madding Crowd” is a novel written by Thomas Hardy and takes place in 19th century England. Gabriel Oak is the admirable hero of this topsy-turvy love story that involves a mistress named Bathsheba Everdene, a profitable farmer by the name of William Boldwood, and a young soldier by the name of Sergeant Francis Troy, lastly is Gabriel Oak a meek and frugal farmer. Gabriel meets Bathsheba because her aunt is a neighbor to this fine young man. After getting to know Bathsheba a little better and the fact that she saved …show more content…
his life Gabriel finds himself falling in love with this young maiden. But soon his luck runs dry after Bathsheba dismisses his marriage proposal and leaves; and after that a young pup drives his sheep off a cliff and Gabriel is left penniless after settling all his debts. Gabriel wanders town to town looking for a job and happens to walk past a fire and quickly uses his wits to put it out. The farmer who’s land the fire had occurred on turns out to be non-other than Bathsheba who gives Gabriel a shepherding job on her inherited farm. Gabriel oak is a hero because of his actions and traits, these characteristics of Mr. Oak include his trustworthiness, his sense of duty, straightforward honesty, and his ability to take action in vexing situations.
Mr. Oak is a man that all who know him come to rely on his trustworthiness, Oak does a rather good job of keeping his word and when Miss Everdene needs any help she comes to him. In a certain instance Miss Everdene’s sheep contract bloat from eating bad clovers and reluctantly she calls for Mr. Oak to save her sheep knowing that he is the only one that knows what he is doing ( #Hardy). Gabriel is a man of good timing and an incredible ability to save Miss Everdene’s livelihood. Trustworthiness is a heroic trait that is important because without the quality of being trustworthy one cannot rely on a hero. Often times a hero will be chastised for not following on his word and will never be called upon again.
The sense of duty a man possesses can describe his attitude towards all things. For example, when a man believes his duties to be a light of heart the work ethic he possesses is lazy and many things go undone, but when a man does his work with a sense of urgency it is done to high standard and all is completed in a timely manner. This sense of urgency flows throughout Gabriel, “he having virtually exercised that function for a long time already, the change, beyond the substantial increase of wages it brought, was little more than a nominal one addressed to the outside world” (# Hardy) Although only hired as a shepherd Gabriel fulfills the job of bailiff for Miss Everdene’s Farm and Later for Mr. Boldwood’s Farm as well. Gabriel sets his duties to high standards throughout the book and keeps Miss Everdene’s farm in tip top condition which helps to increase Miss Everdene’s wealth. In one instance Gabriel’s sense of duty shines when a storm starts to brew over the Everdene farm and all eight hayricks have been left out to be soiled by the impending storm. Discovering that all shepherds and farm hands have passed out from inebriation, Gabriel takes it upon himself to store all eight hayricks personally and does so in good time (# Hardy). The act of saving Miss Everdene’s livelihood appears once again as Gabriel is the unsung hero when the plot thickens.
All that know Gabriel Oak in the novel refer to his straightforward honesty as something a Christian would possess. Gabriel is never afraid to speak his mind especially when the audience is in need of a wakeup call in honesty, “I have lost in the race for money and good things, and I am not such a fool as to pretend to ‘ee now I am poor, and you have got altogether above me. But Bathsheba, dear mistress, this I beg you to consider- that, both to keep yourself well honoured among the workfolk, and in common generosity to an honourable man who loves you as well I, you should be more discreet in your bearing towards this soldier” (173 Hardy). In this particular argument Gabriel admits that he will never be rich or possess all the best types of merchandise out there, but he knows that wanting things that sound too good to be true only lead to an unhappy life. Miss Everdene goes into a rage when she hears exactly what she didn’t want to hear, which happens to be the cold, hard truth. Sometimes the truth hurts but this does not stop Gabriel from telling it like it is; proving that his honesty outweighs any situation in which a lie could be told to encourage a love-struck Miss Everdene to follow her passion.
A shepherd during the 19th century is expected to tend to the animals and make sure the farm profits from these animals.
Shepherd Oak, while looking for work, happens to stumble upon a fire that threatens to destroy a farm. In an instant Shepherd Oak sets out to put this fire and sacrifices the only clothes he has left to eventually cease all flames all for a random farm owner he has never met (Hardy). The action Shepherd Oak took saved the livelihood of this stranger, who later turns out to be Miss Everdene, soul heiress to her uncle’s profitable farm. Shepherd Oak being the admirable human being that he is has now saved the livelihood of Miss Everdene three times. Shepherd Oak never asked for praise or a legend of his bravery to be made because Shepherd Oak would want someone to save his farm under the same situations. Not all situations require bravery, for example, when a man by the name of Jacob Poorgrass decides that the task of bringing the dead Fanny Robin to the church to be buried before sun down can be done while inebriated. This task proves too daunting for the meek Poorgrass, and Shepherd Oak goes out on his own accord to bring the gig holding the coffin to the church before dark (Hardy). The act of going out to find the coffin of a dead girl he hardly knew solidifies the claim that Shepherd Oak is a kind, selfless, hero who takes action for the good of the
community.
Gabriel Oak possess all the traits of a hero without being any more than an average human being that focuses on the advancement of humanity as a whole rather than just his own. Gabriel’s heroic accolades include: saving a farm from destruction, sheep from a painful death, warning a young mistress of heartbreak with nothing more than honesty, and properly laying a young servant to her infinite resting place. The Author of the novel, Thomas Hardy, instills certain traits in Gabriel that make him a morally sound man, and because of these simple traits Gabriel looks like an angel among men. The most important thing the reader can gain from Gabriel’s admirable decisions and personality is this: do to others as you would have them to do to you.