Portrayal of Gabriel Oak, 'Far from the Madding Crowd | Solved answer for Eng Elective Students

'Far from the Madding Crowd'

Gabriel Oak:

Portrayal/Character sketch of Gabriel Oak:

(According to a 10-mark question)

When I started reading the novel, I found myself in a farm among healthy sheep 

and lambs in the vast meadows, there I found

  “A young man of sound judgment, easy motions, proper dress, and general

   good character” Hardy told he is Gabriel Oak the real hero of 'Far From the

   Madding Crowd'.

 So, from the very first page, we are introduced to him and his sterling qualities.

His characteristics make him unique and set him apart. He is one of Bathsheba

Everdene’s three suiters but his love is dominant. From every side, Gabriel Oak

is an opposite to both Mr. Boldwood and Sergeant Francis Troy or we can easily

understand that both the other suiters' negative or weak traits heavily

support to boost out the super traits of Gabriel. Oak’s character is established

in the first chapters then in the progressive chapters all his qualities sparkle till

the end and up till now because we love to write just positive for him. 

  Gabriel is the spokesman of Hardy and so you can get the idea that he is

representing the true spirit of Christianity and religion during Victorian Era.

“......if there's a moral center to this book, it's definitely Gabriel Oak.”

Oak’s most distinctive quality is his love for Bathsheba. Hardy describes this love

in the early part of the novel,

   “Gabriel had reached a pitch of existence he never could have anticipated

    a short time before. He liked saying "Bathsheba" as a private enjoyment

    instead of whistling;" 'Gabriel is naive despite being twenty-eight years old.

  He does not try to court her for it is his first experience of love and he has

no idea how to gain the affection of a girl.

The thing that characterizes Gabriel Oak most consistently in this book is the

quiet, dignified way he goes about his life, no matter how many terrible things

happen to him. This calmness allows Gabriel to quietly appreciate a lot of things

in life that other characters don't.

            “His character also developed just like Bathsheba’s.”

   "Being a man not without frequent consciousness that there was some charm in

    this life he led, he stood still after looking at the sky as a useful

    instrument, and regarded it in an appreciative spirit, as a work of art

    superlatively beautiful" (2.19). He may just be a farmer

and shepherd, but Oak still appreciates the fact that his work keeps him in

contact with nature, Gabriel is characterized by an incredible ability to read

the natural world and control it without fighting against it and this trait is

visible when he loyally rescues Bathsheba's farm when her husband was enjoying

brandy with farm workers.

   He just draws strength (oak-like strength) from his experiences and keeps

pushing onward.  when Gabriel's sheep fall off a cliff and

  "lead him into total bankruptcy, the guy doesn't go nuts and start cursing God."

 Instead, we find out that

  "...there was left to him a dignified calm he had never before known and that

   indifference to fate which, though it often makes a villain of a man is the

   basis of his sublimity when it does not" (6.5). He has secured the position of

quiet observer throughout the book, yet he knows just when to step in to

save Bathsheba and others from catastrophe.

  So

 "Archangel Gabriel was the Messenger of God, …. Hardy’s Gabriel must be reliable and dignified. There are many times in the novel when he acts as a guardian angel. His surname is a metaphor for his appearance and character. An oak tree is a symbol of great strength, solidity and endurance."

   Rev; https://www.sparknotes.com/lit

   Rev; https://www.bartleby.com