Far From The Madding Crowd

Hardy, Thomas (1874)

  • The Opening of the Novel — True or false questions, analysing the opening

    True or false?   Gabriel Oak complains about Bathsheba’s vanity in the first chapter. Gabriel Oak is a shepherd NOT a farmer at the beginning of the novel. Oak rescues Bathsheba from dying of suffocation in his hut. Bathsheba doesn’t want to marry Oak because she does not love him. Oak would have been financially […]

  • How successfully does Hardy open Far From The Madding Crowd?

    Learning Objectives To learn about the techniques Hardy uses to create a suspenseful opening to Far From The Madding Crowd To learn about the contexts of Hardy’s novel An important point Starter activity: put these elements of the opening in the correct order Gabriel Oak loses his sheep Oak is rescued from suffocation in his […]

  • Complications leads to a crisis, chapters 24-43, attraction

    Learning Objective: To explore the concept of attraction and explore what it is… What makes a person attractive? Rank these qualities and add your own, with the most important first Good looks? A kind and generous personality? A dangerous and risk-taking personality? A high-status, respectable profession such as lawyer/celebrity A dangerous, romantic profession such as […]

  • Far From The Madding Crowd – complications, chapters 13-26

    Learning objectives: to learn how Hardy develops complications in Far From The Madding Crowd Hardy takes some time to ‘open’ the novel – justify your answers Why is this? Because he was a writing in serial form and therefore needed to put cliffhangers in his opening which meant it was longer than most modern openings. […]

  • Far From The Madding Crowd — CHARACTERISATIONS

    Learning objectives To learn how to answer exam questions To learn about CHARACTERISATIONS as opposed to CHARACTERS Important definition – COPY THIS, LEARN IT! CHARACTERISATION is how and why an author presents a character in the way he does. CHARACTER is a person in a novel WHY does more sophisticated analysis discuss CHARACTERISATIONS as opposed […]

  • Betrayal — Chapters 27-46

    What is betrayal? What’s your definition of it? Situations – what would you do? You learn that your partner is havinng an affair You learn after you have committed to each other that you partner had an important relationship they haven’t told you about You learn your partner has a secret love child An attractive […]

  • Complications — The intrusion of Serjeant Troy

    Complications – The Intrusion of Serjeant Troy   Revision of Chapters 1 – 24 Who did what? STARTER ACTIVITY   Caused a stir in the Casterbridge Corn Exchange and set the farmers’ pulses racing. Lost his sheep, became a tramp and then got a job as a shepherd. Missed a wedding because of going to […]

  • Quiz questions on Far From The Madding Crowd

    Oak 1. In brief, how does Gabriel Oak’s social position change in this novel from the beginning to the end? 2. What are the most important aspects of Oak’s character? 3. When does Oak come to Bathsheba’s rescue and why? 4. What does Oak warn Bathsheba of? 5. What was Hardy trying to say when […]