spoiler? 200 to be safe

[andrew at cee.hw.ac.uk]

Unknown User writes:

> . . . keep in mind that the rev needs to keep the twins amused/out
> of trouble (p 6) in order to stay on with the family (and since the
> whole 'family' is listening, he needs to keep them all entertained).
> it's clear right away that his story is not based entirely (or
> indeed much at all) on first hand material, and i doubt if he got
> much info from m & d either, since they don't seem to like him
> much. what i'm getting at, sloppily, is that the rev is making tons
> of shit up, ad-libbing & etc, anything to keep it interesting
> (though from the little research i've done online, the 'factual'
> stuff seems accurate). consider also (in terms of the language
> discrepancies) that the time set of the novel . . .

Consider also that this rambling tale is told by a man who in his
youth wrote anonymous pamphlets against enclosures and other social
evils. And note that as well as spanning an era which included such
major agricultural reforms the period in which the novel is set covers
the birth of the Industrial Revolution and the social revolution which
followed in its wake - the main effect of which was, as Tom says in
his Luddite piece, the concentration of wealth and power into the
hands of those who already possessed more than their fair share of it.
Yet another parallel to modern times?


Andrew Dinn
-----------
And though Earthliness forget you,
To the stilled Earth say:  I flow.
To the rushing water speak:  I am.