R J Reynolds High School - Black and Gold Yearbook (Winston Salem, NC)

Page 24 text:

2,2 TH E BLACK AND GOLD Elie Elranzfnrmaiinn nf Silas Jllarnrr M Nw OHE people seem to think that the time of mira Wlarnei how Eppie changed the character of Q J FJ Nlarner, surely they cannot entertain the slight est doubt but that the transformation of Marner was a mira- cle. When we study the character of Marner after he was accused of the theft, we find in him all of the traits of a miser, an unbeliever in God, and one who is uninterested in his fellow men. He is entirely alone and lives simply for his gold. He worships his gold, glories in it, and day and night thinks of nothing else. In 717' A , Y , , . - Q, 'fi'-3' - . . . cles is past, but after they have read in Silas xi, X , :N ' 'M-T 'X' x, A Q ' . . jjffl e ' - ' ' - The people in Raveloe thought of Marner only as a wicked, harmful and ghost-like being, while in reality he was just a poor, lonely soul, perfectly harmless, with no desire to hurt any living creature. That he had good in him, is clearly brought to light when sunny little Eppie enters his life. It is a very dramatic moment, when Silas coming to his flreside. sees there what he thinks is his precious gold and reaching for it. Ends instead of the hard, cold coins the soft, warm curls of a little c-hild. We wonder why he does not show disappointment: but from that moment we see his life and character begin to change. First there is awakened in him memories of his early life, and then the attending of so fair a specimen of humanity as Eppie began immedi- ately to render him more human, and then, too, his mind became somewhat clearer. That the child loved him almost at once shows plainly that there was something good and lovable in him, for children have that peculiar instinct which makes them love the right person. If Silas had been a hard man Eppie would never have clung to him as she did. At one time Silas thought of nothing but his loom and

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THE BLACK AND GOLD 21 they had gained too much vantage and held him in their grasp. Sydney Carton's nobility asserted itself in his attitude toward Lucy and Darnay. He knew that he was not worthy of Lucy and did not ask her hand, but simply went to her, told her of his love, how she had been an inspiration to him, and left her with these words: '4For you and any one dear to you, I would do anything. If my career were of that better kind that there was opportunity or capacity of sacri- fice in it, I would embrace any sacrifice for you and those dear to you. The time was not long in coming when Sydney Carton had an opportunity to fulfill his promise and the sacrifice he made was nothing less than his own life. The night before the election, as he wandered about the city of Paris, he was, as Dickens says, like a tired man, who had wandered and struggled, and got lost, but who at last struck. into his road and saw its end. The next day as the knife of the guillotine came down on the twenty-third head, Carton laid down his life for Lucy. He was said, by those who witnessed the execution to have looked peaceful and sublime. And why should he not have looked so? Was he not accomplishing the purpose of his life in rendering Lucy a service? -Blanche Buxton, '13.

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THE BLACK AND GOLD 23 gold, but after Eppie came to brighten his life and home, he rarely ever thought of the stolen gold, and when he did it was not with a feeling of regret, but with a spirit of thankfulness that this ray of sunshine had come to him in- stead of his gold. After the great crisis in Marner's life, he became a true human being once more. He loved Eppie with all his heart and did everything in his power to please her and once more he began to serve God. He saw why his gold had been stolen and why Eppie had come to him and he thanked God with his whole heart for it all. In another way Eppie changed Silas' life in that he became an object of pity rather than an object of suspicion. Before Eppie's coming the inhabitants of Raveloe thought of him as an evil being, but after they saw the goodness in him, he became an object of pity. In short Silas Marner was changed from a miserly, nar- row and suspicious man to a generous, open-hearted and happy man and this change was brought about by one per- son--the golden haired, blue-eyed sunny Eppie. -Emily Gray, '13, Nnnvmher The woods begin to look sad and drear, Each falling leaf is brown and sere. The golden rod and gentian blue Have said their last sad adieu. Soon the little brooklet's merry song Will be hushed and still all day long, And the lowering cloud of leaden gray Foretells that the first snow is on its way. -Blanche Buxton, 'l3.