GRADE 11
ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE (FAL
COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS INCLUDED
, BOOK SUMMARY
Bathsheba Everdene has the enviable problem of coping with three suitors simultaneously. The
first to appear is Gabriel Oak, a farmer as ordinary, stable, and sturdy as his name suggests.
Perceiving her beauty, he proposes to her and is promptly rejected. He vows not to ask again.
Oak's flock of sheep is tragically destroyed, and he is obliged to seek employment. Chance has it
that in the search he spies a serious fire, hastens to aid in extinguishing it, and manages to
obtain employment on the estate. Bathsheba inherits her uncle's farm, and it is she who employs
Gabriel as a shepherd. She intends to manage the farm by herself. Her farmhands have
reservations about the abilities of this woman, whom they think is a bit vain and capricious.
Indeed, it is caprice that prompts her to send an anonymous valentine to a neighboring
landowner, Mr. Boldwood, a middle-aged bachelor. His curiosity and, subsequently, his emotions
are seriously aroused, and he becomes Bathsheba's second suitor. She rejects him, too, but he
vows to pursue her until she consents to marry him.
The vicissitudes of country life and the emergencies of farming, coupled with Bathsheba's
temperament, cause Gabriel to be alternately fired and rehired. He has made himself
indispensable. He does his work, gives advice when asked, and usually withholds it when not
consulted.
But it is her third suitor, Sergeant Francis Troy, who, with his flattery, insouciance, and scarlet
uniform, finally captures the interest of Bathsheba. Troy, who does not believe in promises, and
laments with some truth that "women will be the death of me," has wronged a young serving
maid. After a misunderstanding about the time and place where they were to be married, he left
her. This fickle soldier marries Bathsheba and becomes an arrogant landlord. Months later,
Fanny, his abandoned victim, dies in childbirth. Troy is stunned — and so is Bathsheba, when
she learns the truth. She feels indirectly responsible for the tragedy and knows that her marriage
is over.
Bathsheba is remorseful but somewhat relieved when Troy disappears. His clothes are found on
the shore of a bay where there is a strong current. People accept the circumstantial evidence of
his death, but Bathsheba knows intuitively that he is alive. Troy does return, over a year later,
just as Boldwood, almost mad, is trying to exact Bathsheba's promise that she will marry him six
years hence, when the law can declare her legally widowed. Troy interrupts the Christmas party
that Boldwood is giving. The infuriated Boldwood shoots him. Troy is buried beside Fanny, his
wronged love. Because of his insanity, Boldwood's sentence is eventually commuted to
internment at Her Majesty's pleasure.
Gabriel, who has served Bathsheba patiently and loyally all this time, marries her at the story's
conclusion. The augury is that, having lived through tragedy together, the pair will now find
happiness.
,CHARACTERS & ANALYSIS
, CHARACTERS
Bathsheba Everdene Character Analysis
Bathsheba, the orphaned daughter of townspeople, is raised by her aunt in the countryside.
From a young age, she is used to managing things on her own: for example, her aunt has her
take charge of milking cows and fetching supplies for the house. She is handsome and can be
vain about her appearance. In many ways, even though Bathsheba is already independent and
determined at the beginning of the novel, she matures over the course of the book. At first, she
insists on her independence to the detriment of others’ feelings, as when she pursues Gabriel
Oak without the intention of marrying him. Through the careless game that she later plays
with Mr. Boldwood, she comes to recognize that independence is not necessarily the greatest
good, and that it can be important to rely on others, just as it is crucial to understand the
implications of one’s own actions on others. In some ways Bathsheba conforms to Victorian
stereotypes about women; for example, she can be thoughtless and emotional. But she also
defies such stereotypes by running the farm herself and learning to manage her emotions and
face an often hostile, gossipy world outside.
Gabriel Oak Character Analysis
Gabriel, like Bathsheba, changes over the course of the novel as a result of tragedy. For him the
tragedy happens rather early on when his dog runs his sheep—which represent his life’s
savings and investment—over a cliff, and he is left penniless. At the beginning of the book, he is
a more or less average person. He is no longer a young man but not yet fully adult, and he has a
generally good reputation. He can be quick to judge, as when he labels Bathsheba vain, and he
can be thoughtless, as when he says out loud to her that he really should marry someone
wealthier than she is. But as a result of Bathsheba’s refusal to marry him, as well as his
misfortune, he becomes stoic, brave, and loyal. Over and over again, he proves what a decent
human being he is: he puts out the fire, saves the lambs, and protects the ricks while Troy plies
the other workers with brandy. He sees his love for Bathsheba as a burden he must bear, and
he simultaneously tries to do all he can for her while feeling the need to rebuke her when he
thinks she’s not living up to his high standards. Gabriel also recognizes the carefully delineated
social distinctions of the Weatherbury community, and knows enough not to try to claim a
ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE (FAL
COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS INCLUDED
, BOOK SUMMARY
Bathsheba Everdene has the enviable problem of coping with three suitors simultaneously. The
first to appear is Gabriel Oak, a farmer as ordinary, stable, and sturdy as his name suggests.
Perceiving her beauty, he proposes to her and is promptly rejected. He vows not to ask again.
Oak's flock of sheep is tragically destroyed, and he is obliged to seek employment. Chance has it
that in the search he spies a serious fire, hastens to aid in extinguishing it, and manages to
obtain employment on the estate. Bathsheba inherits her uncle's farm, and it is she who employs
Gabriel as a shepherd. She intends to manage the farm by herself. Her farmhands have
reservations about the abilities of this woman, whom they think is a bit vain and capricious.
Indeed, it is caprice that prompts her to send an anonymous valentine to a neighboring
landowner, Mr. Boldwood, a middle-aged bachelor. His curiosity and, subsequently, his emotions
are seriously aroused, and he becomes Bathsheba's second suitor. She rejects him, too, but he
vows to pursue her until she consents to marry him.
The vicissitudes of country life and the emergencies of farming, coupled with Bathsheba's
temperament, cause Gabriel to be alternately fired and rehired. He has made himself
indispensable. He does his work, gives advice when asked, and usually withholds it when not
consulted.
But it is her third suitor, Sergeant Francis Troy, who, with his flattery, insouciance, and scarlet
uniform, finally captures the interest of Bathsheba. Troy, who does not believe in promises, and
laments with some truth that "women will be the death of me," has wronged a young serving
maid. After a misunderstanding about the time and place where they were to be married, he left
her. This fickle soldier marries Bathsheba and becomes an arrogant landlord. Months later,
Fanny, his abandoned victim, dies in childbirth. Troy is stunned — and so is Bathsheba, when
she learns the truth. She feels indirectly responsible for the tragedy and knows that her marriage
is over.
Bathsheba is remorseful but somewhat relieved when Troy disappears. His clothes are found on
the shore of a bay where there is a strong current. People accept the circumstantial evidence of
his death, but Bathsheba knows intuitively that he is alive. Troy does return, over a year later,
just as Boldwood, almost mad, is trying to exact Bathsheba's promise that she will marry him six
years hence, when the law can declare her legally widowed. Troy interrupts the Christmas party
that Boldwood is giving. The infuriated Boldwood shoots him. Troy is buried beside Fanny, his
wronged love. Because of his insanity, Boldwood's sentence is eventually commuted to
internment at Her Majesty's pleasure.
Gabriel, who has served Bathsheba patiently and loyally all this time, marries her at the story's
conclusion. The augury is that, having lived through tragedy together, the pair will now find
happiness.
,CHARACTERS & ANALYSIS
, CHARACTERS
Bathsheba Everdene Character Analysis
Bathsheba, the orphaned daughter of townspeople, is raised by her aunt in the countryside.
From a young age, she is used to managing things on her own: for example, her aunt has her
take charge of milking cows and fetching supplies for the house. She is handsome and can be
vain about her appearance. In many ways, even though Bathsheba is already independent and
determined at the beginning of the novel, she matures over the course of the book. At first, she
insists on her independence to the detriment of others’ feelings, as when she pursues Gabriel
Oak without the intention of marrying him. Through the careless game that she later plays
with Mr. Boldwood, she comes to recognize that independence is not necessarily the greatest
good, and that it can be important to rely on others, just as it is crucial to understand the
implications of one’s own actions on others. In some ways Bathsheba conforms to Victorian
stereotypes about women; for example, she can be thoughtless and emotional. But she also
defies such stereotypes by running the farm herself and learning to manage her emotions and
face an often hostile, gossipy world outside.
Gabriel Oak Character Analysis
Gabriel, like Bathsheba, changes over the course of the novel as a result of tragedy. For him the
tragedy happens rather early on when his dog runs his sheep—which represent his life’s
savings and investment—over a cliff, and he is left penniless. At the beginning of the book, he is
a more or less average person. He is no longer a young man but not yet fully adult, and he has a
generally good reputation. He can be quick to judge, as when he labels Bathsheba vain, and he
can be thoughtless, as when he says out loud to her that he really should marry someone
wealthier than she is. But as a result of Bathsheba’s refusal to marry him, as well as his
misfortune, he becomes stoic, brave, and loyal. Over and over again, he proves what a decent
human being he is: he puts out the fire, saves the lambs, and protects the ricks while Troy plies
the other workers with brandy. He sees his love for Bathsheba as a burden he must bear, and
he simultaneously tries to do all he can for her while feeling the need to rebuke her when he
thinks she’s not living up to his high standards. Gabriel also recognizes the carefully delineated
social distinctions of the Weatherbury community, and knows enough not to try to claim a
