Assignments for Analysis. 1. What kind of narrator tells the story?

1. What kind of narrator tells the story?

2. At which point in the text does the narrator interrupt the narrative to make a generalization?

3. Give a character sketch of Silas Marner.

4. Consider the description of Silas’s eyes. What type of animal is he compared to? What is the “tiny grain” that he is hunting for?

5. Comment on the passage “Yet even in this stage of withering … and propped the ruin in its old place for a memorial.” What is its function?

6. Explain the use of the word “revelry”. Say, what language the author resorts to to show the character’s elation at the moment when “he drew out his gold”.

7. In describing Silas’s obsession with money the narrator uses some striking images that appeal to different senses. Find images appealing to the sense of sight and the sense of touch.

8. The text establishes an association between Silas’s money and children. Where in the text is this idea reinforced?

9. A river is a standard symbol for life. How have the events of Silas’s life affected the river? Why does Silas’s life/ river flow through “barren sand”?

10. The style of the opening paragraph is characterized by balanced couples linked by the conjunction “and”, for example, “narrowing and hardening”. Which idea does this stylistic feature underline?

11. How would you describe the tone of the passage? Is the narrator critical of Silas or is he sympathetic? Which expressions convey the narrator’s negative/ positive attitude towards the protagonist?

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