The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett takes place in a dreary Misselthwaite manor in England during the Victorian era. The protagonist is Mary Lennox a selfish and spoilt 11 year old. The other major characters are Master Colin Craven her sickly cousin, Dickon Sowerby the animal charmer, Master Archibald Craven her reclusive uncle, Martha Sowerby a hearty housekeeper, a dour gardener, a cheerful robin and the secret garden. The tone is melodramatic and is told in the third person omniscient. The message about life to be learned from the story is that its never too late to change, no matter how terrible, you can make the best of things. Face the problems instead of cowering from them because if your don't they'll never go away. Have a positive attitude, live life and share it with the people around. Alienating yourself is not the solution. Mary, Colin and Archibald Craven are examples of this. Mary didn't care for anything, she was so spoilt that nothing and no one meant anything to he; she was so used to everybody hating her. Colin is also spoilt
Mary was used to being served and being alone, neglected by her parents she becomes bitter. "Full of disagreeable thoughts about her dislikes and sour opinions of people and her determination not to be pleased by or interested in anything." There was no meaning in Mary's life and that's why she was bitter, that changed when she moved to Misselthwaite where she discovers the secret garden with fantastic healing powers. The garden is walled up and has been locked up for years. With the gardener's apprentice, Dickon, Mary coaxes the garden back to life. The garden seems to have a wonderful, magical effect on all those who come into it, allowing Mary to help restore Colin to health and a reunion with his father. It's a story where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit and the magic of the garden coming to life after years of neglect brings both Colin and Mary health and happiness. The garden helped Mary regenerate then helped Colin help himself and at last Master Craven. Hope was regained and the loss they had all endued stayed behind in the past. In The Secret Garden there is person vs. society
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 750
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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