- How do we know that Murdstone is a villain? What do we understand that the young Davy doesn't yet?
- How is the narrative voice depicted? Another way of thinking of this question: At what point in the future is the narrator removed from this childhood moment?
- What do we think of Davy's relationship with his mother? What fears do we have for the future in this story? (What fears does Davy have?)
- What kind of foreshadowing do we have?
- Dickens always uses strange names that have metaphorical resonance. What do you make of the names "Murdstone"? "Copperfield"? "Peggoty"?
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Mr. Murdstone's Intro
Reread the moment that Mr. Murdstone was introduced (Ch. II, pp. 30-31). This is a very interesting scene in the novel. Some questions I have about this scene:
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Mr. Murdstone is a villain as soon as he starts to mention change into Clara and Davy's household.
ReplyDeleteI think the point the narrator is moved from his childhood moment is when he comes home and his mom and Mr. Murdstone is married and everything changes because Murdstone sternly starts to force change on Davy and his mother and then changes the way Clara should discipline Davy non lovingly..... The foreshadowing is that Mr. Murdstone is going to take over everything and Davy will be cast out. Metaphorically Murdstone may be a metaphor for a murderer.
I believe Davy loves his mother very much. She is his caretaker and the only parent he knows. I fear that Davy will have to grow up to be a man on his own and he will have much anxiety growing into a man being that he did not know his own father.
ReplyDeleteI believe the foreshadowing that we have is that Mr. Murdstone and Davy's relationship will be very rocky. Something about Mr. Murdstone seems awkward.
From my perspective I believe that the relationship between Davy and his mother is pretty strained and somewhat forgotten. I think that when his mother married Mr. Murdstone, she lost a sense of herself and her moral values. From the time Mr. Murdstone entered Davy's life, it seemed like it was pure hell and agony since the two of them never really got along. I think the breaking point for Davy's mother was when he was sent away to London for school due to the confrontation between her son and husband. I believe that Davy truly loved his mother but he had to hide that affection when Mr. Murdstone entered the picture. The fear that I see for the future of the story, is how Davy actually copes with his mothers death and the impact that it will hold. I don't believe he really had time understand what has happened and exactly how his mother died.
ReplyDelete1) When Davy notes Mr. Murdstone's "ill omened black eyes", there is some foreshadowing that he is planning something bad. We, as readers, figure out that Mr. Murdstone likes and intends to marry Davy's mother.
ReplyDelete3) Davy's relationship with his mother seems very nurturing, maybe borderline over protective. They only have each other in this world so that's why they are so close. Davy fears, and is right, that Mr. Murdstone is going to jeopardize his relationship with his mother.
4) The reference to Mr. Murdstone's eyes. The way Murdstone addresses Davy's mother after she doesn't punish him for not putting out his hand to greet murdstone. This hints to how Mr. Murdstone will treat Davy's mother in the future.
At this moment, the reader might have a feeling about Murdstone's personality by his forceful way he asked David for the right hand. But the reader knows that there is a romantic relationship forming with his mother based on the kiss outside the house.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator is an older David, however he tells the story from the point of view of a child to give that innocent view point.
David is really close to his mother, Since he is the only man of the house he might feel somewhat protective of his mother which might explain the resentment he has towards murdstone. (Oedipus complex!!!)
Murdstone kinda sounds like MURDERSTONE, which doesn't sound pleasant at all. Peggoty sounds like a chickens name.
I feel Clara is very stupid for letting a man come into her home and allowing him to change the bond she had with her child. How can a man tell you to be firm and to withhold your love from your own child. I'm not sad that she died, I'm more sad that davy is the one who is traumatized by this ordeal of not knowing his father, having a weak mother, being scorned by a step farther a wicked witch step aunt and cant even openly receive love from the one person who tries to show affection which is peggoty
ReplyDeletei think the author portrays Mr. Murdstone as a villain from the beginning. all the descriptions he uses are that of a villain. like when he says, '...with his ill-omened black eyes." also the name "Murdstone" sounds like murder to me.
ReplyDeletemurdstone is forshawed as villain with his black hair, piercing black eyes and a deep scary voice from david first interaction with him.
ReplyDeleteHis voice is no longer unsure of murdstone evil ways his voice is now stronger and certain about his way.
davy's is very close to his mother he is also very protective and jealous of mr murdstone being too close
Mr murdstone evil character is foreshadowed at the start of the novel as dark and gloomy
The names are very odd and different which compliment the story. the novel has alot of answered questions,and strange events happening throughout the novel.
We know that Murderstone is a villian by the way the narrator described how he looked back to give davy and his mother a last look with ill-omened eyes. We understand that young davy's mother is attracted to Mr. Murderstone and they are both attractive to one another. The narratives voice is depicted as of assurance that Mr. murderstone of having evil ways. Davy's relationship with his mother seems to be very reserved. I feel like it has just been the the two of them for a while and he seems to be protective of her. The forshadowing I have noticed is when the narrator describes how Murderstone left and gave a last look of evil as the door shut, that showed to me that something bad was yet to come and he wasn't the guy Davy's mother thought he was. The names that dickens uses such as Murderstone, Copperfield and Peggoty are names he uses to give the reader a hint as to the type of character the person is.
ReplyDeleteI think Dicken's chose to use names that have metaphorical resonance to add a sense of uniqueness to the novel. I think the name Murdstone was used to portray that his personality is much like murder/death, in a sense that he may be evil or cold. The name Copperfield probably was used to portray that Mr. Copperfield had a history of owning a business that created copper or maybe his family. I am not sure what to make of the name Peggoty.
ReplyDeleteI think that the names used in the story are foreshadowing because I believe Murdstone killed David's mother and his name begins with "murd" which is the same as in murder. Also, "stone" because he is harsh and very cold towards David.
ReplyDeleteOn the top of page 31 it says, "my mother drew my hand forward." This is foreshadowing because it is already showing the change in David's mother in the way she disciplines and treats her son while Murdstone being around.
I think that David and his mother have a very close bond, but Murdstone...
while Murdstone is around****
DeleteWe know that Murdstone is a villain, first of all, because of his name. His name itself sounds very vulgar. It sounds like the word "murder". The name of a character in a story can be a foreshadow of the person's character.
ReplyDeleteDavys relationship with his mother is not like most mother-child relationships. They aren't close or sentimental with one another. I fear that Davy will grow to become heartless and maybe become a murderer because he never experienced love as a child and won't know how to love; he'll use others to seek revenge ...
We know of Davids innocence, it is highly stressed throughout the book and so therefore when we meet Mr. Murdstone, already there will be a weird tension because of his connection to his mother. However his fears are not only within himself but also real. David is fearful of what Mr. Murdstone will do to his mothers happiness. He loves his mother with the utmost sincerity, always saying how beautiful she is. We can see that David is not very caring for himself as much as he is for others. He feels other peoples pain greater than his own. He does not want to separate with his mother...
ReplyDeleteWe don't necessarily know that Murdstone is a villain just yet. All we have to work off of is the foreboding sense brought forth by foreshadowing. The way that Murdstone is described incites the reader to believe that something bad will happen, especially so with the mention of his "ill-omened black eyes." It would seem that Davy is enamored by his mother. His strong feelings might indicate a slight Oedipus complex. I fear that Davy will have to mourn his mother's loss without being able to find out how she died, for a long time to come.
ReplyDeleteWe are not sure that Mr. Murdstone is a villain because he comes out of nowhere and seems to be infatuated with Davy's mother, it is assumable that if Murdstone likes Davy's mother that he would pay attention, respect and treat Davy with kindness since Davy is the son of the woman Mr. Murdstone supposedly loves...
ReplyDeleteWhen Murdstone is initially introduced into Davy's life there is already tension between the two. As Murdstone's physical appearance is mentioned, he seems to have this villainous air to him with his dark features. When he first meets him he is already jealous of him having spent time with his mother and his mother allowing this man into their lives. This rocky start insinuates a rocky relationship to come.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, Davy always had a close and loving relationship with his mother. This changed when Murdstone married his mother breaking their bond. He constantly tells her to refrain herself from being affectionate towards him. She does as Murdstone instructs her to for fear of offending her new husband.
Murdstone---murder
The funny thing is David has no idea what he's getting into with Mr. Murdstone. He comes to David's mother Clara who believes that he will be a good father figure for David and be able to provide for him. David as well as everyone else, seems to sense something horrible about him. Davids has a strong bond with his mother and he fears that he will lose her from the devious Mr. Murdstone. We fear that Mr. Mudstone isn't what he appears to be as if he's a man with many faces. I believe happiness is like glass for David. Glass is everywhere yet it's invisible. But if you change your angle of view by a little, then it will reflect light more beautiful than any object around you. That's love David has for his mother.
ReplyDeleteI believe Charles Dickens has portrayed Murdstone as a villian from the very start. A key factor that leads me to believe he is a villian is the quote, "with his ill-omened black eyes." This quote portrays Murdstone as sinister and mysterious. Another reason that one could see the character as evil is the fact that the first four letters of his name spell "Murd", which sounds short for murder. Also, Mr. Murdstone drives fear into David's mind, because meeting someone you don't know can be overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteWe know of Davids innocence, it is highly stressed throughout the book and so therefore when we meet Mr. Murdstone, already there will be a weird tension because of his connection to his mother. However his fears are not only within himself but also real. David is fearful of what Mr. Murdstone will do to his mothers happiness. He loves his mother with the utmost sincerity, always saying how beautiful she is. We can see that David is not very caring for himself as much as he is for others. He feels other peoples pain greater than his own. He does not want to separate with his mother...
ReplyDelete