The Vicar of Wakefield

-Oliver Goldsmith

Author’s Introduction:
Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728– 4 April 1774) was an Irish
novelist, playwright and poet, who is best known for his novel The Vicar of
Wakefield (1766), his pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770), and his plays
The Good-Natur'd Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer (1771, first
performed in 1773). He is thought to have written the classic children's tale The
History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765).
A he virtuous, prudent, and intelligent vicar of Wakefield lives happily his
family, which consists of his wife Deborah, his sons George, Moses, Bill, and
Dick, and his two daughters Olivia and Sophia. They live a cloistered and
genteel life, and are preparing for the eldest son George to marry a lovely
neighborhood girl, Miss Arabella Wilmot.
Unfortunately, Mr. Wilmot cancels the engagement after the vicar
offends him in a philosophical argument about marriage, and after the vicar
loses his fortune to a shady merchant who proved to be a thief. Now destitute,
the family is forced to move to a more humble area.
In their new neighborhood, the vicar works as a curate and farmer. The family
sends George, who had been educated at Oxford, to London in hopes that he can
earn a living there to supplement the family's income. The new area is
comfortable and pastoral, but the women in particular find it difficult to
acclimate to a lower level of fashion than they are accustomed to.
The vicar befriends a handsome, erudite, and poor young man named Mr.
Burchell. After Burchell saves Sophia from drowning, it seems clear that she is
attracted to him. Meanwhile, the family also hears word of their new landlord,
Squire Thornhill, reputed to be a spoiled brat who lives off the generosity of his
uncle, Sir William Thornhill, while living a reprobate lifestyle.
Eventually, the family meets the much-discussed squire, who proves charming,
attractive, and amiable. The vicar quickly forgets his reservations as he notices
the squire's interest in Olivia, and the family begins to hope that their fortunes
might change. Meanwhile, as he anticipates a new social status, the vicar
becomes less pleased with Mr. Burchell's attention to Sophia. He does not want
her marrying a man of no fortune.
They lose their simple manners and grow more prideful and vain as their hopes
for Olivia and the squire increase. However, the more they attempt to present
themselves as above their station, the more embarrassments they encounter. For
instance, both the vicar and Moses are duped when attempting to sell the
family's horses in exchange for more fashionable ones.
The squire introduces the vicar's daughters to two fashionable ladies, who
suggest they might find positions for the girls in the city. The family is pleased,
but incensed when they discover that Mr. Burchell has written a letter
ambiguously threatening the girls' reputations. Because of this letter, the plan to
move the girls to town is foiled. Mr. Burchell is banished from the house.
Deborah tries to prompt the squire into proposing to Olivia, by vaguely
threatening to marry the girl to a neighbor, Father Williams. Though the squire
is clearly upset and jealous by the latter's man presence, he makes no effort to
propose, and the family prepares to marry Olivia to the farmer.
However, right before the wedding, Olivia flees with Squire Thornhill. This is a
heartbreaking blow to the family, since it means Olivia has sacrificed her
reputation (which was no small virtue in this time period). The vicar sets out
after her, hoping to save and forgive her. He finds Squire Thornhill at home,
and then suspects Mr. Burchell of the crime.
The vicar's journey and anxiety are taxing, and he falls ill while far away from
home. He rests for three weeks at an inn, and then heads back towards home,
meeting a traveling acting company along the way.
When they arrive at the next town, he meets a intelligent man who invites him
to his home for a dinner party. The vicar agrees, and is astonished by the man's
magnificent mansion. To his shock, however, he discovers that this man is
actually the home's butler when the true master, Mr. Arnold, arrives. It also
turns out that Mr. Arnold is uncle to Miss Arabella Wilmot, who is overjoyed to
reunite with the vicar. Her love for George has clearly not abated, although
there are rumors that she is preparing to marry Squire Thornhill.
The vicar stays with the family for a few days. In an amazing turn of events,
they attend the acting company's show to discover that George himself is acting
with it. Later, George reunites with his father and Arabella, and tells of his
many misadventures since parting with his family. His many missteps ended
with him attempting to act, and none of them yielded much fortune. Along the
way, he had reunited with an old college friend - who turned out to be Squire
Thornhill - but was ruined when he fought a duel for the squire and was then
repudiated by Sir William for that base behavior.
The squire soon arrives at the Arnold house, and is surprised to see the vicar and
his son there. After some time, noticing the renewed feelings between Arabella
and George, the squire procures a job for George in the West Indies. Since he
has no money and no one suspects the Squire of ulterior motives, George gladly
departs.
The vicar prepares to return home. Along the way, he stops one night in an inn,
and coincidentally discovers that Olivia is there as well. They reunite in a
tumult of emotion, and Olivia explains how the squire seduced her, married her
in a fake ceremony, and then left her in a de facto house of prostitution. She
finally escaped his clutches, and has since lived at the mercy of the innkeeper.
The vicar brings Olivia home, but leaves her at a nearby inn so he can
emotionally prepare the family for her return. Unfortunately, he finds his home
engulfed in flames, with the two youngest sons trapped inside. He rushes in and
saves them, but terribly injures his arm in the process. This proves a terrible
blow to the family, and in light of it, they all easily forgive Olivia, who
nevertheless remains broken-hearted.
The family tries to return to normal, even after they hear of the engagement
between Arabella and Squire Thornhill. One day, the squire finds them outside,
and the vicar insults him. The squire threatens to avenge himself on the vicar,
and the next day sends two officers to collect rent the vicar owes on the house.
The vicar cannot pay, and is arrested.
They travel together to the jail. The ladies take up residence in a nearby inn,
while the sons stay with him in his cell. In prison, the vicar makes a friend
named Ephraim Jenkinson, who turns out to the be the man who swindled the
vicar and Moses of their horses. He has since repented for his sinful life, and the
vicar forgives him. In prison, the vicar sets out to reform the other prisoners,
eventually winning them over with sermons and kindnesses. He tells Jenkinson
what has happened to him, and the man resolves to help however he can. They
send a letter to Sir William explaining how the man's nephew had wronged the
family.
Though both Olivia's health and the vicar's own health are fading, he refuses to
make peace with Squire Thornhill until Jenkinson brings word that Olivia has
died. Anguished, the vicar sends a letter of peace to Squire Thornhill, who
refuses to compromise because of the letter the vicar sent to Sir William.
The vicar then learns that Sophia has been abducted. Almost immediately
afterwards, George is brought to the jail as a prisoner, after having heard of
Olivia's shame and then challenging the squire to a duel. The squire's servants
beat him instead. Horrified by this succession of misfortunes, the vicar steels
himself and delivers a sermon on fortitude to the entire prison.
After the sermon, Moses brings news that Mr. Burchell had rescued Sophia.
They arrive, and the vicar apologizes to Burchell for his previous resentments,
and offers his daughter's hand to the man despite the latter's poverty. Burchell
makes no answer, but orders a great feast which the family enjoys until word
arrives that Squire Thornhill has arrived and wishes to see Mr. Burchell. The
latter then reveals that he is actually Sir William Thornhill.
Sophia describes the man who kidnapped her, and Jenkinson realizes who the
scoundrel is. With Sir William's blessing, the jailer gives Jenkinson two men
with which to apprehend this criminal. Meanwhile, Sir William realizes who
George is, and lectures him about fighting. He comes to understand the
behavior, if not condone it, when he learns what George believed about his
nephew.
When Squire Thornhill arrives, he denies everything. The vicar has no hard
evidence to support his claims until Jenkinson triumphantly returns with the
criminal who kidnapped Sophia at the squire's behest. The plan was for the
squire to mock-rescue her so he could then seduce her.
Arabella and Mr. Wilmot suddenly arrive at the jail, having learned from one of
the young boys that the vicar had been arrested. The new discoveries quickly
convince Arabella to end the engagement, but the squire is unfazed - since he
had already signed the contract ensuring him Arabella's dowry, he has no need
of the actual marriage. Though everyone is dismayed, Arabella and George are
mostly overjoyed to be reunited, and plan to marry anyway.
However, many great discoveries save the family. First, it turns out that Olivia
is not dead; Jenkinson lied in order to convince the vicar to make peace with the
squire. Secondly, Jenkinson, who acted as the priest in what the squire thought
was a fake wedding to Olivia, actually and legally married them. It turns out,
then, that Olivia and the Squire are legitimately married, and so the squire is not
entitled to Arabella's fortune.
Squire Thornhill, now completely ruined, begs mercy of his uncle and is granted
a small allowance. Once he leaves, Sir William proposes to Sophia, who
accepts.
In the conclusion, George marries Arabella and Sir William marries Sophia.
The squire lives with a melancholy relative far away. The vicar's fortune is
restored when the merchant who stole it is caught. Happiness and felicity reign,
and the vicar hopes he will be as thankful to God during the good times as he
was during the times of adversity.

the vicar The protagonist and narrator of the novel,

Deborah
The vicar's wife
George
The vicar's eldest son,

Olivia
The vicar's eldest daughter

Sophia
The vicar's second eldest daughter,
Moses
The vicar's second eldest son, Dick
Dick Primrose is one of the vicar's two young sons.

Bill
Bill Primrose is one of the vicar's two young sons.

Mr. Burchell
Initially introduced as a handsome and intelligent

Squire Thornhill
The Primrose family's young, handsome, and roguish landlord,
Ephraim Jenkinson
A scoundrel and a trickster,

Silas Marner
-George Eliot
Author’s Introduction:
A Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880;
alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was
an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of
the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels, including Adam Bede (1859), The
Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–63),
Middlemarch (1871–72), and Daniel Deronda (1876), most of which are set in
provincial England and known for their realism and psychological insight.
Although female authors were published under their own names during
her lifetime, she wanted to escape the stereotype of women's writing being
limited to lighthearted romances. She also wanted to have her fiction judged
separately from her already extensive and widely known work as an editor and
critic. Another factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire to shield
her private life from public scrutiny, thus avoiding the scandal that would have
arisen because of her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes
Eliot's Middlemarch has been described by the novelists Martin Amis and
Julian Barnes as the greatest novel in the English language.
The novel is set in the early years of the 19th century. Silas Marner, a
weaver, is a member of a small Calvinist congregation in Lantern Yard, a slum
street in Northern England. He is falsely accused of stealing the congregation's
funds while watching over the very ill deacon. Two clues are given against
Silas: a pocket knife, and the discovery in his own house of the bag formerly
containing the money. There is the strong suggestion that Silas' best friend,
William Dane, has framed him, since Silas had lent his pocket knife to William
shortly before the crime was committed. Lots are drawn in the belief – shared
by Silas – that God will direct the process and establish the truth, but they
indicate that Silas is guilty. The woman Silas was to marry breaks their
engagement and marries William instead. With his life shattered, his trust in
God lost and his heart broken, Silas leaves Lantern Yard and the city for a rural
area where he is unknown.

Marner travels south to the Midlands and settles near the rural village of
Raveloe in Warwickshire, where he lives isolated and alone, choosing to have
only minimal contact with the residents beyond his work as a linen weaver. He
devotes himself wholeheartedly to his craft and comes to adore the gold coins
he earns and hoards from his weaving.

One foggy night, the two bags of gold are stolen by Dunstan ("Dunsey") Cass, a
dissolute younger son of Squire Cass, the town's leading landowner. On
discovering the theft, Silas sinks into a deep depression, despite the villagers'
attempts to aid him. Dunsey immediately disappears, but the community makes
little of this disappearance, since he has vanished several times before.

Godfrey Cass, Dunsey's elder brother, also harbours a secret past. He is married
to, but estranged from, Molly Farren, an opium-addicted working-class woman
living in another town. This secret prevents Godfrey from marrying Nancy
Lammeter, a young middle-class woman. On a winter's night, Molly tries to
make her way to Squire Cass's New Year's Eve party with her two-year-old girl
to announce that she is Godfrey's wife. On the way, she collapses in the snow
and loses consciousness. The child wanders away and into Silas' house. Silas
follows the child's tracks in the snow and discovers the woman dead. When he
goes to the party for help, Godfrey heads outdoors to the scene of the accident,
but resolves to tell no one that Molly was his wife. Molly's death, conveniently
for Godfrey and Nancy, puts an end to the marriage.

Silas keeps the child and names her Eppie, after his deceased mother and sister,
both named Hephzibah. Eppie changes Silas' life completely. Silas has been
robbed of his material gold, but thinks that he has it returned to him
symbolically in the form of the golden-haired child. Godfrey Cass is now free to
marry Nancy, but continues to conceal the fact of his previous marriage—and
child—from her. However, he aids Marner in caring for Eppie with occasional
financial gifts. More practical help and support in bringing up the child is
provided by Dolly Winthrop, a kindly neighbour of Marner's. Dolly's help and
advice assist Marner not only in bringing up Eppie, but also in integrating them
into village society.

Sixteen years pass, and Eppie grows up to be the pride of the village. She has a
strong bond with Silas, who through her has found a place in the rural society
and a purpose in life. Meanwhile, Godfrey and Nancy mourn their own childless
state, after the death of their baby. Eventually, the skeleton of Dunstan Cass—
still clutching Silas' gold—is found at the bottom of the stone quarry near Silas'
home, and the money is duly returned to Silas. Shocked by this revelation, and
coming to the realisation of his own conscience, Godfrey confesses to Nancy
that Molly was his first wife and that Eppie is his child. They offer to raise her
as a gentleman's daughter, but this would mean Eppie would have to forsake
living with Silas. Eppie politely but firmly refuses, saying, "I can't think o' no
happiness without him."

Silas revisits Lantern Yard, but his old neighbourhood has been "swept away" in
the intervening years and replaced by a large factory. No one seems to know
what happened to Lantern Yard's inhabitants. However, Silas contentedly
resigns himself to the fact that he will never know and now leads a happy
existence among his self-made family and friends. In the end, Eppie marries a
local boy she has grown up with, Dolly's son Aaron, and they move into Silas'
house, which has been newly improved courtesy of Godfrey. Silas' actions
through the years in caring for Eppie have apparently provided joy for
everyone, and the extended family celebrates its happiness.
Characters:

"Silas Marner: lower class by birth, a weaver who is betrayed at Lantern Yard
Squire Cass, Lord of the Manor of Raveloe and host of the party on the night
when Eppie comes into Silas's life so unexpectedly.
Godfrey Cass: upper class by birth but troubled by money, eldest son of the
local squire
Dunstan Cass: second son of the local squire.
Molly Farren: Godfrey's first (and secret) wife,
Eppie (Hephizibah): daughter of Molly and Godfrey
Nancy Cass (née Lammeter): Godfrey Cass' second wife
Priscilla Lammeter, Nancy's plain, unmarried older sister, who supports Nancy
and their father.
Aaron Winthrop: son of Dolly,
Dolly Winthrop: mother to Aaron,
Ben Winthrop, wheelwright, largely invisible in the novel.

Treasure Island
- Robert Louis Stevenson
Author’s Introduction:
Robert Louis Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a
Scottish novelist and travel writer, most noted for Treasure Island, Kidnapped,
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and A Child's Garden of Verses.
Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious
bronchial trouble for much of his life, but continued to write prolifically and
travel widely, in defiance of his poor health. As a young man, he mixed in
London literary circles, receiving encouragement from Andrew Lang, Edmund
Gosse, Leslie Stephen and W. E. Henley, the last of whom may have provided
the model for Long John Silver in Treasure Island. His travels took him to
France, America and Australia, before he finally settled in Samoa, where he
died.
A celebrity in his lifetime, Stevenson attracted a more negative critical
response for much of the 20th century, though his reputation has been largely
restored. He is currently ranked as the 26th most translated author in the world.

PART I—"THE OLD BUCCANEER"

An old sailor named Billy Bones comes to lodge at the Admiral Benbow Inn on
the West English coast during the mid-18th-century, paying the innkeeper's son,
Jim Hawkins, a few pennies to keep a lookout for Long John Silver, "a one-
legged seafaring man." A former shipmate with intact legs, but lacking two
fingers, shows up to confront Billy about sharing his treasure map. After
running the stranger off in a violent fight, the drunken Billy has a stroke and
tells Jim that his former shipmates covet his map to buried treasure. An evil
blind man named Pew visits to give Billy "the black spot" as a summons to
share the treasure map, so Billy has another stroke and dies. Jim and his mother
(his father has also died just a few days before) unlock the sea chest, finding
some money, a journal, and the map. The local physician, Dr. Livesey and the
district squire, Trelawney, deduce that the map is of the island where a deceased
pirate, Captain Flint, buried his treasure. Squire Trelawney proposes buying a
ship and going after the treasure, taking Livesey as ship's doctor and Jim as
cabin boy.

PART II—"THE SEA COOK"

Several weeks later, the Squire introduces Jim and Dr. Livesy to "Long John"
Silver, a one-legged Bristol tavern-keeper whom he has hired as ship's cook.
(Silver enhances his outre attributes—crutch, pirate argot, etc.—with a talking
parrot.) They also meet Captain Smollett, who tells them that he dislikes most
of the crew on the voyage, which it seems everyone in Bristol knows is a search
for treasure. After taking a few precautions, however, they set sail on
Trelawney's schooner, the Hispaniola, for the distant island. During the voyage,
the first mate Arrow, a drunkard, disappears overboard. The evening before the
island is due to be sighted, Jim—concealed in an apple barrel—overhears Silver
talking with two other crewmen. Most of them are former "gentlemen o'fortune"
(as Long John Silver refers to pirates) from Flint's crew and have planned a
mutiny. Jim alerts the captain, doctor, and squire, and they calculate that they
will be seven to 19 against the mutineers and must pretend not to suspect
anything until the treasure is found when they can surprise their adversaries.

PART III—"MY SHORE ADVENTURE"

After the ship is anchored, Silver and some of the others go ashore, and two
men who refuse to join the mutiny are killed—one with so loud a scream that
everyone realizes that there can be no more pretence. Jim has impulsively
joined the shore party and covertly witnessed Silver committing one of the
murders; now, in fleeing, he encounters a half-crazed Englishman, Ben Gunn,
who tells him he was marooned there and that he can help against the mutineers
in return for passage home and part of the treasure.

PART IV—"THE STOCKADE"

Meanwhile, Smollett, Trelawney, and Livesey, along with Trelawney's three
servants and one of the other hands, Abraham Gray, abandon the ship and come
ashore to occupy an old abandoned stockade. The men still on the ship, led by
the coxswain Israel Hands, run up the pirate flag. One of Trelawney's servants
and one of the pirates are killed in the fight to reach the stockade, and the ship's
gun keeps up a barrage upon them, to no effect, until dark when Jim finds the
stockade and joins them. The next morning, Silver appears under a flag of truce,
offering terms that the captain refuses, and revealing that another pirate has
been killed in the night (by Gunn, Jim realises, although Silver does not). At
Smollett's refusal to surrender the map, Silver threatens an attack, and, within a
short while, the attack on the stockade is launched but Silver's crew still suffers
the heavier loss of men.

PART V—"MY SEA ADVENTURE"

After a battle, the surviving mutineers retreat, having lost five men, but two
more of the captain's group have been killed and Smollett himself is badly
wounded. When Livesey leaves in search of Gunn, Jim sneaks out and finds
Gunn's homemade coracle. After dark, he cuts the ship adrift. The two pirates
on board, Hands and O'Brien, interrupt their drunken quarrel to run on deck, but
the ship—with Jim's boat in her wake—is swept out to sea on the ebb tide.
Exhausted, Jim falls asleep in the boat and wakes up the next morning, bobbing
along on the west coast of the island. Eventually, he encounters the ship. On
board, he finds O'Brien dead and Hands badly wounded. He and Hands agree to
beach the ship at an inlet on the northern coast of the island. As the ship is about
to beach, Hands almost kills Jim but is himself killed in the attempt. After
securing the ship as well as he can, Jim goes back ashore and heads for the
stockade. In the blockhouse, he is surprised by Silver and the remaining five
mutineers, who have taken over the stockade in his absence.

PART VI—"CAPTAIN SILVER"

Silver and the others argue about whether to kill Jim, and Silver talks them
down. He tells Jim that, when everyone found the ship was gone, the captain's
party agreed to a treaty whereby they gave up the stockade and the map. In the
morning, the doctor arrives to treat the wounded and sick pirates and tells Silver
to look out for trouble when they find the site of the treasure. After he leaves,
Silver and the others set out with the map, taking Jim along as hostage. They
encounter a skeleton, arms oriented toward the treasure, which unnerves the
party. Eventually, they find the treasure cache empty. The pirates nearly charge
at Silver and Jim, but shots are fired by Livesey, Gray, and Gunn, from ambush.
One pirate is killed and George Merry wounded, but quickly killed by Silver.
The other three run away, and Livesey explains that Gunn had already found the
treasure and taken it to his cave.

In the next few days, they load much of the treasure onto the ship, abandon the
three remaining mutineers (with supplies and ammunition) and sail away. At
their first port in Spanish America, where they will sign on more crew, Silver
steals a bag of money and escapes. The rest sail back to Bristol and divide up
the treasure. Jim says there is more left on the island, but he for one will not
undertake another voyage to recover it.
Main characters

Jim Hawkins: The first-person point of view, of almost the entire novel.
Dr. David Livesey: The local doctor and magistrate.
Long John Silver: The cook on the voyage to Treasure Island.
Captain Alexander Smollett: The captain of the voyage to Treasure Island.
Squire John Trelawney: A local wealthy landowner;
Billy Bones: The old seaman who resides at Jim's parents' inn

Lord Jim
- Joseph Conrad
Author’s Introduction:
Joseph Conrad born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski; 3 December
1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Polish-British writer regarded as one of the
greatest novelists to write in the English language.[2] Though he did not speak
English fluently until his twenties, he was a master prose stylist who brought a
non-English sensibility into English literature.[note 2] Conrad wrote stories and
novels, many with a nautical setting, that depict trials of the human spirit in the
midst of what he saw as an impassive, inscrutable universe.
Jim, the well-loved son of an English parson, goes to sea to make a name for
himself. Just how he is to become "Tuan Jim" or "Lord Jim," however, remains
to be told. With his youthful, romantic aspirations for the sea, he is physically
powerful; he has "Ability in the abstract." He roams the Asian south seas as a
water-clerk, moving from place to place, always trying to outrun, it seems, a
particular fact of his past. The story then cuts to an early incident where Jim lost
an opportunity to prove his mettle: he "leapt" too late, missing his chance. Then,
after a long injury and hospital stay, instead of deciding to return to England,
Jim accepts the position of chief mate of the Patna, an old local steamship
carrying 800 Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. There are five white men on board, as
crew, and the voyage is led by a fat, crazy, German captain.

One night, as the ship sails quietly through the Arabian sea, the crew, including
Jim, feels a strange vibration disturb the underbelly of the ship. The reader is
given no reason for the vibration and the eventual conclusion of the incident.
Suddenly, we encounter Jim speaking at the official Inquiry, which is
attempting to gather facts about the event. In time, the story grows clear, pieced
together for the reader. Believing that the steamship was on the verge of sinking
at any moment, and fearful of a panic, the crew of the Patna loosed a lifeboat for
themselves. Though it had been only a trick of the eyes, they believed that when
the light on the ship had gone out, the ship had sunk like iron to the floor of the
sea. The crew had devised a story: they told their rescuers that the ship sank
beneath their very feet and that they alone were able to launch a single lifeboat
in time. Ironically, however, we learn that the steamship never actually sank.
Iron proved to be a hardy metal. Upon its discovery by a French gunboat, the
Patna is brought safely to an English port.

The story becomes notorious throughout the region. Marlow, a British captain,
attends the Inquiry and is struck by some quality of Jim's character. Thus he is
now telling the story of Jim. A party is gathered around him on a verandah,
listening, as he explains what happened next. When the judgment was meted out
and Jim's sea certificates were effectively canceled, Marlow, having befriended
the poor youth, offered him help.

Thus Jim is sent to live with an old friend of Marlow's with no family, the
owner of a rice mill. But when another crew member of the Patna coincidentally
turns out to be the manager of the machinery at the very same mill, Jim leaves,
not wanting to be near the memory of the event. He instead works as a runner of
boats and then as a water-clerk, getting in a barroom brawl with a man who
makes a derogatory comment regarding the Patna.

Driven by intense shame and guilt with regard to the incident, Marlow worries,
what is the fate of such a man? He consults his good friend Stein, a successful
merchant with a romantic and tragic life history. Stein, also a collector of
fragile, beautiful butterflies, dreams and leads a solitary life. Both he and
Marlow share a thoughtful conversation about Jim, where Stein concludes: "He
is a romantic." This idea marks a turn in the novel. Stein (who Marlow
recognizes as a romantic as well) offers Jim the chance that Stein himself had
been given when he was a youth: the chance to make the dreams real. The
practical solution is thus to send Jim to Stein's trade post in Patusan, a remote
settlement on the island of Borneo (in what is now Indonesia). There, Jim is to
manage the post. Excited by the opportunity and the chance for a "clean slate," a
chance to be free of the past, Jim carries a silver ring around his neck. The ring
was a token of friendship between Stein and Doramin, a chief native trader in
Patusan, serving as a sign of good will and trust.

In Patusan, Jim falls into the depths of a romantically archetypal setting:

political intrigues abound, and factional fighting over trade is becoming
increasingly bitter. Jim is immediately taken prisoner by the Rajah, though after
three days he leaps over the wall--and then the creek--into the beginning of his
charmed life. He leads the defeat of Doramin's key opponent for trade, driving
him out of the area completely, which establishes a sense of peaceful stalemate
with the frightened Rajah. Jim thus achieves power, status, and a good name.
He also becomes the best friend of Doramin's only son, Dain Waris.

Marlow, who visits him once in Patusan, is struck by some change of essence in
Jim. There is now a love story, too. Jim, admits to Marlow that he loves a
woman, "Jewel." Jewel's mother, an educated Dutch-Malay woman, had been
married to Cornelius, the prior manager of Stein's trade post, although Cornelius
had proven very bad for business, and Jewel's mother had died as well. Jewel,
the natural daughter of a different, unknown man, is oppressed and hounded by
Cornelius. Jim protects her, feeling deep sympathy for her position. She
becomes his link to the insights needed to manage among Patusan affairs and, in
the end, the entire situation comes to echo much of Stein's own romantic
history.

Unstable elements in this picture remain clear. As Marlow's visit draws to a

close, Jewel confronts him and asks whether there is anything in Jim's past that
might take him away from her--that would cause him to leave Patusan. Marlow
assures her that there is nothing and that Jim will never leave. But there is a
sense of overwhelming dread in the girl's voice and manner; she thus
foreshadows the tragic events to come. Cornelius's hatred for Jim, as well as the
Rajah's fear for his own power, both contribute to the uncertain future. But this
part of the tale, which Marlow has been telling his audience, now comes to a
close. The audience rises. There is no comment. The story is incomplete.

The tale resumes later in time in the written story, along with a letter and some
fragments including details from Jim's own writing. All of these enclosures are
sent to a single "privileged man" or "privileged reader," the one person who had
been listening to Marlow and who had expressed an interest in Jim's fate.
Marlow explains to this anonymous man that he had gone to Stein's house and
found Jim's servant, and then Jewel. Hoping that Jim was also present, he
instead learned that the story ended.

Now cutting to another source, Marlow also explains that, on a tip, he met
Brown, a man of sordid reputation, in Bangkok. Brown explained that he had
stolen a schooner. Brown's band of men wanted to cross the Indian Ocean, but
they realized they were running out of both food and water. Landing in Patusan
in the hope of replenishing their supplies, Brown and his men were greeted by
gunfire. The attack was led by Dain Waris (because Jim was away, in the
interior). One of the Rajah's men took the opportunity to double-deal and to
encourage Brown and his men to kill Jim in order to defeat Doramin's
settlement. Cornelius encouraged him likewise.

Upon Jim's return, he and Brown have an exchange that strikes Jim in his weak
spot. Recognizing that this man Brown is what he himself could have become,
had Fortune given him the right opportunity, Jim gives Brown the chance to
escape safely. In the end, however, with Cornelius's help, Brown and his men
sneak up on Dain Waris and his men and open fire, killing Dain Waris, who just
received news from Jim that all had been settled and things were stable. Jim had
even sent the ring along as a sign of trust. Now, when Doramin looks upon his
son's dead body and sees the silver ring on his forefinger, Doramin throws an
emotional rage. Jim, hearing the news, ignores Jewel's pleas and walks
resolutely to meet justice in the form of Doramin. Doramin shoots him in the
chest, killing Jim. But Jim has now atoned for his failures.

The tale ends with Marlow offering his reader a last view of Stein, growing old,
and a muted Jewel.

Characters
Marlow: Sea captain in the merchant service of the British Empire who helps
Jim after his fall from grace, trying to understand how "one of us" could lack
the bravery and judgment expected of seamen. Marlow is also the narrator of
three of Conrad's other works: Heart of Darkness, Youth, and Chance.
Jim: Young parson's son who takes to the sea, training for the merchant service
as steam ships mix with sailing ships. He dreams of heroic deeds. He is a strong,
tall, blond Englishman whose life is the story told by Marlow.
Captain Gustav: Captain of the Patna, an Australian born in Germany, who is
interested in the money made from this ship, with no concern for his honour as a
captain. He is a man of huge girth. He orders the engineers to free a boat for
them to leave the ship. After learning ashore that the ship came in ahead of
them, he knows his certificate will be cancelled and he leaves, never seen again.
Ship's engineers: Three men who keep the steam boiler working; one is George,
who dies of a heart attack on the Patna as the others leave the ship. Another
shows up later by chance at the same place where Jim is living, driving Jim
away. The third becomes completely drunk, left in the hospital.
Montague Brierly: Captain in the merchant service with a perfect reputation. He
sits in the court that hears the case of the Patna crew, telling Marlow that Jim
ought to hide somewhere, as he can never work as a seaman again. A few days
after the trial, this superior man ("indeed, had you been Emperor of East and
West, you could not have ignored your inferiority in his presence", Chapter 6)
kills himself by jumping off his ship at sea, leaving no explanation.
Stein: Head of Stein & Co., friend of Marlow, and a man with a long,
interesting life. He has had success in trade in the East, collecting produce from
various ports in the Dutch colonial areas and settling far from his native Bavaria
after losing in the uprisings of 1848. He learned botany and natural philosophy,
which became his passionate hobby, gaining him a reputation for all the
specimens he sent to contacts in Europe in this age of scientific discovery. He
was married and had a child, both lost to him by disease. He understands Jim's
temperament instantly.
Jewel: Daughter of a Dutch-Malay woman and a white European man, never
named, who deserted them. Her stepfather is Cornelius. Her mother died a year
or two before she meets Jim.
Cornelius: Former factor for Stein & Co., on account of his wife, whom Stein
admired. He is a lazy man of no morals, and brutal. He is Malacca Portuguese.
When replaced by Jim, he does not leave the area, nor does he find any useful
occupation for himself. He connives with the marauder Brown to kill Jim,
which happens indirectly when Brown's men spontaneously kills Dain Waris.
Cornelius is killed by Tamb' Itam, who sees him after the attack and realizes the
role he played.
De Jongh: Friend to Marlow, and the last of the ship's chandlers who accepts
Jim on Marlow's recommendation.
Doramin: Old chief of the Bugis people in Patusan and father of Dain Waris, his
only son. He was a friend to Stein, and the two exchanged gifts on parting:
Doramin gave a ring to Stein, and Stein gave pistols to Doramin. He becomes
an ally to Jim.
Dain Waris: The only son of Doramin; a young, strong, and fiercely devoted
leader of his people. He becomes fast friends with Jim.
Sherif Ali: Local bandit who is a trial to all others in Patusan, extorting fees and
stealing crops and resources from others. He is defeated by Jim, but not killed.
Rajah Tunku Allang: Malay chief in Patusan who took Jim prisoner on his first
entry into the country. Jim escapes, starting life there on his own terms.

Animal Farm
- George Orwell
Author’s Introduction:
A George Orwell ( Eric Arthur Blair, 25 June 1903 – 21 January
1950),was an English novelist and essayist, journalist and critic, whose work is
characterised by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to
totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism.

As a writer, Orwell produced literary criticism and poetry, fiction and polemical
journalism; and is best known for the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945)
and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). His non-fiction works,
including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of
working class life in the north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an
account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish
Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics and
literature, language and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked George Orwell
second among "The 50 greatest British writers, since 1945".

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to
hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all
animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. old Major dies
soon after the meeting, but the animals — inspired by his philosophy of
Animalism — plot a rebellion against Jones. Two pigs, Snowball and
Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this
dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the
revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor
Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of
Animalism are painted on the barn wall.

Initially, the rebellion is a success: The animals complete the harvest and
meet every Sunday to debate farm policy. The pigs, because of their
intelligence, become the supervisors of the farm. Napoleon, however,
proves to be a power-hungry leader who steals the cows' milk and a
number of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. He also enlists the
services of Squealer, a pig with the ability to persuade the other animals
that the pigs are always moral and correct in their decisions.

Later that fall, Jones and his men return to Animal Farm and attempt to
retake it. Thanks to the tactics of Snowball, the animals defeat Jones in
what thereafter becomes known as The Battle of the Cowshed. Winter
arrives, and Mollie, a vain horse concerned only with ribbons and sugar, is
lured off the farm by another human. Snowball begins drawing plans for a
windmill, which will provide electricity and thereby give the animals more
leisure time, but Napoleon vehemently opposes such a plan on the grounds
that building the windmill will allow them less time for producing food.
On the Sunday that the pigs offer the windmill to the animals for a vote,
Napoleon summons a pack of ferocious dogs, who chase Snowball off the
farm forever. Napoleon announces that there will be no further debates; he
also tells them that the windmill will be built after all and lies that it was
his own idea, stolen by Snowball. For the rest of the novel, Napoleon uses
Snowball as a scapegoat on whom he blames all of the animals' hardships.

Much of the next year is spent building the windmill. Boxer, an incredibly
strong horse, proves himself to be the most valuable animal in this
endeavor. Jones, meanwhile, forsakes the farm and moves to another part
of the county. Contrary to the principles of Animalism, Napoleon hires a
solicitor and begins trading with neighboring farms. When a storm topples
the half-finished windmill, Napoleon predictably blames Snowball and
orders the animals to begin rebuilding it.

Napoleon's lust for power increases to the point where he becomes a

totalitarian dictator, forcing "confessions" from innocent animals and
having the dogs kill them in front of the entire farm. He and the pigs move
into Jones' house and begin sleeping in beds (which Squealer excuses with
his brand of twisted logic). The animals receive less and less food, while
the pigs grow fatter. After the windmill is completed in August, Napoleon
sells a pile of timber to Jones; Frederick, a neighboring farmer who pays
for it with forged banknotes. Frederick and his men attack the farm and
explode the windmill but are eventually defeated. As more of the Seven
Commandments of Animalism are broken by the pigs, the language of the
Commandments is revised: For example, after the pigs become drunk one
night, the Commandment, "No animals shall drink alcohol" is changed to,
"No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."
Boxer again offers his strength to help build a new windmill, but when he
collapses, exhausted, Napoleon sells the devoted horse to a knacker (a
glue-boiler). Squealer tells the indignant animals that Boxer was actually
taken to a veterinarian and died a peaceful death in a hospital — a tale the
animals believe.

Years pass and Animal Farm expands its boundaries after Napoleon
purchases two fields from another neighboring farmer, Pilkington. Life for
all the animals (except the pigs) is harsh. Eventually, the pigs begin
walking on their hind legs and take on many other qualities of their former
human oppressors. The Seven Commandments are reduced to a single law:
"All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others." The
novel ends with Pilkington sharing drinks with the pigs in Jones' house.
Napoleon changes the name of the farm back to Manor Farm and quarrels
with Pilkington during a card game in which both of them try to play the
ace of spades. As other animals watch the scene from outside the window,
they cannot tell the pigs from the humans.
Pigs
Old Major – An aged prize Middle White boar provides the inspiration
that fuels the rebellion. He is an allegorical combination of Karl Marx, one
of the creators of communism, and Vladimir Lenin, the communist leader
of the Russian Revolution and the early Soviet nation, in that he draws up
the principles of the revolution. His skull being put on revered public
display recalls Lenin, whose embalmed body was put on display.
Napoleon – "A large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only
Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for
getting his own way".[16] An allegory of Joseph Stalin, Napoleon is the
main villain of Animal Farm.
Snowball – Napoleon's rival and original head of the farm after Jones'
overthrow. His life parallels that of Leon Trotsky, but may also combine
elements from Lenin.
Squealer – A small, white, fat porker who serves as Napoleon's second-in-
command and minister of propaganda, holding a position similar to that of
Vyacheslav Molotov.
Minimus – A poetic pig who writes the second and third national anthems
of Animal Farm after the singing of "Beasts of England" is banned.
Rodden compares him to the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.
The piglets – Hinted to be the children of Napoleon and are the first
generation of animals subjugated to his idea of animal inequality.
The young pigs – Four pigs who complain about Napoleon's takeover of
the farm but are quickly silenced and later executed, the first animals
killed in Napoleon's farm purge. Based on the Great Purge of Grigori
Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, Nikolai Bukharin, and Alexei Rykov.
Pinkeye – A minor pig who is mentioned only once; he is the pig that
tastes Napoleon's food to make sure it is not poisoned, in response to
rumours about an assassination attempt on Napoleon.
Humans
Mr. Jones – A heavy drinker who is the original owner of Manor Farm, a
farm in disrepair with farmhands who often loaf on the job. He is an
allegory of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who abdicated following the
February Revolution of 1917 and was murdered, along with the rest of his
family, by the Bolsheviks on 17 July 1918. The animals revolt after Jones
drinks so much he does not care for the animals.
Mr. Frederick – The tough owner of Pinchfield, a small but well-kept
neighbouring farm, who briefly enters into an alliance with Napoleon.
Animal Farm shares land boundaries with Pinchfield on one side and
Foxwood on another, making Animal Farm a "buffer zone" between the
two bickering farmers. The animals of Animal Farm are terrified of
Frederick, as rumours abound of him abusing his animals and entertaining
himself with cockfighting (a likely allegory for the human rights abuses of
Adolf Hitler). Napoleon enters into an alliance with Frederick in order to
sell surplus timber that Pilkington also sought, but is enraged to learn
Frederick paid him in counterfeit money. Shortly after the swindling,
Frederick and his men invade Animal Farm, killing many animals and
detonating the windmill. The brief alliance and subsequent invasion may
allude to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Operation Barbarossa.
Mr. Pilkington – The easy-going but crafty and well-to-do owner of
Foxwood, a large neighbouring farm overgrown with weeds. Unlike
Frederick, Pilkington is wealthier and owns more land, but his farm is in
need of care as opposed to Frederick's smaller but more efficiently-run
farm. Although on bad terms with Frederick, Pilkington is also concerned
about the animal revolution that deposed Jones, and worried that this could
also happen to him.
Mr. Whymper – A man hired by Napoleon to act as the liaison between
Animal Farm and human society. At first he is used to acquire necessities
that cannot be produced on the farm, such as dog biscuits and paraffin
wax, but later he procures luxuries like alcohol for the pigs.
Horses and donkeys
Boxer – A loyal, kind, dedicated, extremely strong, hard working, and
respectable cart-horse, although quite naive and gullible. Boxer does a
large share of the physical labour on the farm. He is shown to hold the
belief that 'Napoleon is always right'. At one point, he had challenged
Squealer's statement that Snowball was always against the welfare of the
farm, earning him an attack from Napoleon's dogs. But Boxer's immense
strength repels the attack, worrying the pigs that their authority can be
challenged. Boxer has been compared to Alexey Stakhanov, diligent and
enthusiastic role model of the Stakhanovite movement. He has been
described as "faithful and strong"; he believes any problem can be solved
if he works harder. When Boxer is injured, Napoleon sells him to a local
knacker to buy himself whisky, and Squealer gives a moving account
falsifying Boxer's death.
Mollie – A self-centred, self-indulgent and vain young white mare who
quickly leaves for another farm after the revolution, in a manner similar to
those who left Russia after the fall of the Tsar. She is only once mentioned
again.
Clover – A gentle, caring female horse, who shows concern especially for
Boxer, who often pushes himself too hard. Clover can read all the letters of
the alphabet, but cannot "put words together". She seems to catch on to the
sly tricks and schemes set up by Napoleon and Squealer.
Benjamin – A donkey, one of the oldest, wisest animals on the farm, and
one of the few who can read properly. He is sceptical, temperamental and
cynical: his most frequent remark is, "Life will go on as it has always gone
on—that is, badly." The academic Morris Dickstein has suggested there is
"a touch of Orwell himself in this creature's timeless scepticism" and
indeed, friends called Orwell "Donkey George", "after his grumbling
donkey Benjamin, in Animal Farm."
Other animals
Muriel – A wise old goat who is friends with all of the animals on the
farm. She, like Benjamin and Snowball, is one of the few animals on the
farm who can read.
The puppies – Offspring of Jessie and Bluebell, they were taken away at
birth by Napoleon and reared by him to be his security force.
Moses – The raven, "Mr Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer,
but he was also a clever talker." Initially following Mrs Jones into exile, he
reappears several years later and resumes his role of talking but not
working. He regales Animal Farm's denizens with tales of a wondrous
place beyond the clouds called "Sugarcandy Mountain, that happy country
where we poor animals shall rest forever from our labours!" Orwell
portrays established religion as "the black raven of priestcraft—promising
pie in the sky when you die, and faithfully serving whoever happens to be
in power." Napoleon brings the raven back as Stalin brought back the
Russian Orthodox Church.
The sheep – They show limited understanding of Animalism and the
political atmosphere of the farm; yet nonetheless they are the voice of
blind conformity. as they bleat their support Napoleon's ideals with jingles
during his speeches and meetings with Snowball. Their constant bleating
of "four legs good, two legs bad" was used as a device to drown out any
opposition or alternate views from Snowball, much as Stalin used
hysterical crowds to drown out Trotsky. Towards the latter section of the
book, Squealer (the propagandist) trains the sheep to alter their slogan to
"four legs good, two legs better", which they dutifully do.
The hens – The hens are promised at the start of the revolution that they
will get to keep their eggs, which are stolen from them under Mr Jones.
However their eggs are soon taken from them under the premise of buying
goods from outside Animal Farm. The hens are among the first to rebel,
albeit unsuccessfully, against Napoleon.
The cows – The cows are enticed into the revolution by promises that their
milk will not be stolen, but can be used to raise their own calves. Their
milk is then stolen by the pigs, who learn to milk them. The milk is stirred
into the pigs' mash every day, while the other animals are denied such
luxuries.
The cat – Never seen to carry out any work, the cat is absent for long
periods and is forgiven; because her excuses are so convincing and she
"purred so affectionately that it was impossible not to believe in her good
intentions."[30] She has no interest in the politics of the farm, and the only
time she is recorded as having participated in an election, she is found to
have actually "voted on both sides."