The first thing that we are able to learn about is the main characters mother and father. We learn that her mother died giving birth to her, as she "relinquished her feeble ghost as I gained my stubborn one." We learn that her father bought the memorial of the stone angel not out of love or remembrance to this woman, but rather to "proclaim his dynasty" forever, to be forever telling the town that he was wealthy enough to provide such a burial for his wife, that he was good enough. The stone angel stood not as a tribute, but rather as a means for self-advancement in the eyes of the town. The an

The second thing we learn of is the setting of this novel, which ends up being the childhood setting of the main character. We learn that there are distinct seasons, the angels "wings in winter were pitted by the snow, and in the summer by the brown grit." We know they lived in a small town, Manawaka, and that this was a long time ago. "She was the first, the largest and certainly the costliest." This again tells us not only about the setting, that it was a long time ago in the past, but also again brings up the circumstances she was bought under. We learn enough in this paragraph to learn where at least part of the story will take place.

The opening section of the novel Stone Angel provides us with a large quantity of information about the life of the main character Hagar, her family, and her childhood. Its purpose is to set up the entire book, through symbolism, narrative and description, and it does an extremely good job of this in an interesting fashion. It sets the tone and style for the remainder of the book, and provides us with insight into the novel, and the story that will be told, of Hagar in the present, reminiscing about her life in the past, as she moves through the future as an old woman.

We then begin learning about the personality of our main character, Hagar. Hagar speaks of the woman Regina, who was "now forgotten in Manawaka." However Hagar compares this woman's fate to her own " . . . I, Hagar, am doubtless forgotten." We are able to see that a long time has passed since 1886 when Regina died, and also that Hagar has moved away from this town, and not left anyone really there (such as relations) who would truly remember her. Hagar tells us that she "always felt she [Regina] had only herself to blame, for she was a flimsy, gutless creature, bland as egg custard . . ." However, Hagar never again compares this description to herself, providing our first insight into her character, that she does not truly see who she is, that she believes she is above others. While she is able to say that she is forgotten like Regina, she never makes that comparison that she only has herself to blame, and the reasoning for this. Hagar then provides a brief narrative into her childhood life. She tells us that she used to wal

Some common words found in the essay are:
Manawaka Hagar, Stone Angel, stone angel, Hagar Hagar, main character, , main characters, hagar's life, main characters mother, main character hagar, hagar, symbol flowers, characters mother, torn loving relatives, character hagar, hagar compares, loving relatives,
Approximate Word count = 1523
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)