Sunday, February 8, 2009
Jude round 1
So, far Jude the Obscure is a lot better than Persuasion. Not only is the language easy to read through but the story seems to move along pretty quickly. Within the first 100 pages Jude has been a child, learned to read in a few languages, learned stone carving, been married, divorced (sort of), and moved to a new city. Something about the way it progresses makes it pretty enjoyable. At the same time, so much has happened that I'm wondering what else could possible occur. In that way there is a suspense to it that makes me want to keep reading. Another aspect of the writing that makes it attractive is that the author is following Jude very closely. He mentions other characters' emotions and actions but everything Hardy mentions is focused on how Jude is affected by them.
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I definitely agree with the page-turning aspect. Someone in class commented that there isn't enough dialogue, but I'd rather be able to study a character through their thoughts and things that affect them. I also like that the character is followed closely, without subplots about other characters. You get a better feel for the character with a timeline like this, rather than just a limited window of time in their life. In one of the introductions, however, the writer says that the final title was criticized for making the book appear to be just about Jude and not enough about Sue (Original title: The Simpletons), so I'm expecting Sue's character to get more involved. I'm at the part where Jude suspects a relationship between Sue and Phillotson.
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