Four Years of Novel Reading | Page 8

FIRST NOVEL
Martin Chuzzlewit, by Charles Dickens. Points to be noted (suggested
by Prof. R. G. Moultori).
1. Four different types of selfishness, Old Martin, Young Martin,
Antony, and Pecksniff.
2. Four different types of unselfishness, Mary, Mark Tapley, Old
Chuffey, and Tom Pinch.
Debate. That the two swindles in the story (Scadder's Land Office and
the English Insurance Company) are inconceivable.
Essays.
1. Is Mark Tapley' s character overdrawn?
2. Changes in the characters of the book from Selfishness to
Unselfishness.
Difficulty Raised. How could Tom Pinch go so long undeceived in
Pecksniff?

SECOND NOVEL

Anne of Geierstein, by Sir Walter Scott.
Point to be noted (suggested-by Prof. R. G. Moulton}.
The supernatural element in the story; how much is intended to be real?
how much self-deception? how much imposture?
Debate. Was the Yehme-Gericht, as described by Scott, a righteous
institution? Essay. The character of Burgundy as painted in another
novel of Scott's.
Difficulty Raised. How could such daughters come of such fathers as
Anne and Queen Margaret, of Count Albert and King Rene?

THIRD NOVEL
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens Point to be noted (suggested
by Justin McCarthy, Esq., M.P.).
The author's description of a French mob in this novel contrasted with
his description of an English mob in Barnaby Rudge.
Debate. Was the noble self-sacrifice of the hero within the range of
human generosity?
Essay. The character of Carton as it develops under the influence of his
pure, unselfish love.

FOURTH NOVEL
Westward-Ho ! by Charles Kingsley. Point to be noted (suggested by
Prof. R. G. Moulton}.
Character contrasts in the same family (a study of the two brothers
Leigh and their cousin Eustace).

Debate. The morality of the English expeditions against the West.

FIFTH NOVEL
Ninety-Three, by Victor Hugo.
Points to be noted (suggested by A. J. Grant, Esq., M.A.}.
1. That the book is without any important female character. How is the
interest sustained without it?
2. Does the story strike you as characteristically French, and in what
respects?
3. The character of the Marquis de Latenac as representing the best side
of the ancient regime.
Debate. Was Cimourdain right in condemning Gauvain to death?
Essay. Victor Hugo's view of the Revolution.

SIXTH NOVEL
Vanity Fair, by Wm. M. Thackeray.
Points to be noted (suggested by Prof. O. Seaman).
1. Worldliness absorbs the art and charm of the novel. Becky at the
worst nearly always fascinates. Virtue is made either dull or absurd.
Amelia is a poor hysterical thing, and worships a snob. Lady Jane is a
good-natured nonentity, and loves a prig. Dobbin, the real hero, has
large feet, and is generally awkward. Keligion is made synonymous
with cant.
2. Note two kinds of vulgarity in the attitude of the middle classes
toward the aristocracy, (a) a fawning admiration, as shown by many of

the characters; (6) an affectation of contempt, as shown constantly by
the author himself.
3. The delightful balance of interest is due to Thackeray's power of
reticence as well as of expression. Waterloo, for instance, is not made
an excuse for fine writing or protracted description. The single line that
tells of George Osborne's death is a stroke of art.
Character Sketch. Captain Dobbin.
Debate. Was Rawdon Crawley justified in condemning his wife?
Essay. The redeeming qualities in Becky Sharp.

SEVENTH NOVEL
Put Yourself in His Place, by Charles Reade.
Points to be noted (suggested by Miss Spence}.
1. Three main purposes of the author: (~) to show that in the struggle of
capital and labor due consideration has not been given to the value of
life; (6) the power of sympathy as an interpreter of the actions of others;
(c) the cowardly and inhuman methods trade unions have resorted to.
2. That the interest of character is quite subordinate to that of incident.
The dramatic and picturesque character of some of the situations: viz.,
the turning of the portrait in the hall at Raby; scene in the old church
during a snow-storm.
Debate. Was Simmons right to keep silence on his death-bed?
Essay. The legitimate scope of trade unions.

EIGHTH NOVEL

Silas Marner, by George Eliot.
Points to be noted (suggested by G. L. Dickinson, Esq., M.A.}.
1. Note the gradual disappearance of village life such as that described
in the book before improved communications, large factories, etc.
2. The change in Silas Marner' s character under the influence of the
child he has adopted. This is the central motive of the book.
3. The nemesis falling on Godfrey in his childlessness by his wife,
while all the time his illegitimate child is growing up near him, but
unknown to him.
Debate. Is the effect of large industry an advantage or a disadvantage to
human and social relations?
Essay. Nemesis.

NINTH