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Jude the Obscure
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Plot Summary of Jude the Obscure
"Jude dreams of being an academic, but finds that as he is from a poor family, Oxford will not accept him. In the town however, he meets his cousin Sue with whom he embarks on a romantic relationship. They do not marry and are social outcasts as a result. Jude's child be the wife he has seperated from comes into their lvies bringing a tragedy that breaks the lovers apart and deprives them of what little happiness they had. Sue declines into misery and near amdness, marrying a man she does not love as a form of self punishment. "
Bryn Pearson, Resident Scholar

"This story focuses on the main character Jude Fawley and his hopes and aspirations to become a scholar. Sadly, due to his social class, he is rejected by the universities and must become a common worker. Jude unwisely marries a rather audacious and shameless woman whom he later splits with. After their seperation, Jude moves away and falls in love with his cousin Sue. After Sue learns that Jude is married, she becomes angry and marries a man that she doesn't love. Later, Sue realizes that she is unhappy and leaves her husband. Finally, Sue proclaims her love to Jude and they both get divorces from their previous spouses. However, Sue and Jude are too fearful to marry each other and they begin to live together. Soon, Jude's ex-wife tells his that he has a son that will be coming to live with him. This proposes a problem with Sue but she overcomes her fears and loves the boy nonetheless. In a few years, Jude and Sue have 2 children of their own. However, society rejects them and the family is forced to move to another town where they will not be well known. No inn will take the family in at the new town. Finally, an inn receives them but only allows Sue and the children to stay. Sue, depressed and lonely, confides in Jude's son that she is pregnant. The child is overcome with grief because they are very poor and will become worse off after the new arrival. The next morning Sue leaves to find Jude so they can get a new lodging. When they return, they find the corpses of their children hanging from hooks in the room. Jude's child murdered his brother and sister and took his own life, so that his parents wouldn't have to be weighted down by them. In the end, Sue and Jude are torn apart by the deaths of their children. You'll have to read the rest to find out the end of this terribly picturesque tragedy."
Katie Williams, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Jude the Obscure
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - 19th century
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance: - GENERAL--no other subplots apply - love triangle/polygon - playing footsy while inconveniently married
Family, loving relations Yes
Special relationship with - cousin
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over - vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Kind of sex: - incest
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Taboo sex story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - scholar
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental Yes
Eccentric: - eccentric
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - soggy whimpering jelly muffin - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - physically sick

Main Adversary
Identity: - society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book.

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Misc setting - moving train

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths - very explicit references to deaths and torture
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - impregnation/reproduction
Weird Victorian/Shakespearean English? Yes
Amount of dialog - mostly dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Jude the Obscure
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O'Neill
Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
The Touch by Colleen McCullough


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