Part one of term paper
THE RON - THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OPENING CHAPTER 'Remind yourself of the opening chapter. Assess its significance in terms of how Hardy creates mood, tone and atmosphere in terms of the continued progress of the novel'. The fact that Hardy devotes the entire opening chapter to a lengthy description of Egdon Heath speaks for itself. The ope ...

Part two of term paper
... for instance, Hardy uses its setting of sea and moorland and desolate cliffs to produce an odd and poignant effect of youthful clumsiness and pathos. Egdon Heath lends itself very well to the kind of story Hardy wanted to tell in RON. It is meant as a tragedy (at least through the first five books) and the 'gaunt waste' provides an appropriate setting. On Egdon Heath, night and darkness comes before its 'astronomical hour'. In addition to reinforcing the idea of Egdon Heath's unchangeable pl ...