III.
Rhetoric-Stage Inquiry
What argument is the author making, and
do you agree?
My favorite argument is that it is self-destructive
to make assumptions and suppositions without good communication. How often the plot thickens because a
character thinks he or she has all of the facts or knows what someone’s true intention
is.
For example, Mrs. Yeobright never
believed that her son wanted to leave his lucrative career in Paris to live
permanently on the Heath to become a lousy schoolmaster on his own. It was that witch, Eustacia, who convinced
him to stay behind and do such a foolish job as run a school for poor
kids. But, if Mrs. Y only knew that
Eustacia would rather have lived in Paris with a successful husband, maybe
their relationship would not have gotten off to such a bad start.
Another example involves Mrs.
Yeobright’s inheritance money that was gambled away to Wildeve by Christian who
was supposed to deliver half to Clym and the other half to Thomasin. Diggory recovers all of it, but without
knowledge that half went to Clym, he gave all of it to Thomasin. Meanwhile, Mrs. Y only hears Christian’s account
of it being lost to Wildeve, and she quickly accuses Wildeve of giving it
privately to Eustacia, his old love.
This causes a major confrontation between the two women.
And let’s not forget that on the day
Mrs. Yeobright seeks reconciliation with Clym and Eustacia, she is quick to
think Eustacia has convinced her son to ignore her knock at the door,
especially given that she saw Clym enter the house and Eustacia peer through
the window; but Eustacia assumed Clym would wake up and let his mother in. Neither happened, and Mrs. Y went away
dejected.
Of course, I have to agree with this
because it is commonplace. Humans have a
tendency to jump to conclusions causing more grief than if they would have
better communicated or investigated deeper before drawing an understanding or
opinion of someone’s intentions. It is
advantageous to give others the benefit of the doubt before singlehandedly
judging his heart without consultation.
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