Anthony Clare Character Analysis

People are characterized by the way they act. As a result, people form an opinion and treat them a certain way. In the novel Belinda by Maria Edgeworth, the narrator characterizes Clarence Hervey as arrogant and stuck up. In doing so, the narrator develops Clarence’s complex character through the use of tone, point of view, and language. The narrator’s tone helps readers understand Clarence's arrogant personality. By the narrator's tone, which is disappointment, we can tell that Clarence’s character is not something to be proud of or accept. In the beginning of the passage, the narrator says, “ Clarence Hervey might have been more than a pleasant young man, if he had not been smitten with the desire of being thought superior in every thing…” This part of the passage introduces the beginning of Clarence’s arrogance and the disappointment of the narrator by it. The narrator is explaining that Clarence could be a pleasant young man, but he thinks he’s so superior.Also later on in the passage, the narrator says, “He had considerable literary talents, by which he was distinguished at Oxford, but he was dreadfully afraid of passing for a pedant…”. So basically, …show more content…
When describing Clarence, adjectives like smitten, imprudent,wild, and idle are used. With such collegiate diction, the narrator does not have to go much in-depth when describing Clarence. The definition of these words all mean basically the same thing and describes Clarence as crazy and all over the place. Another adjective used that characterizes Clarence is chameleon: “His chameleon character seemed to vary in different lights…” The word chameleon characterizes him into someone that has many different attitudes and actions based upon surroundings. The word choice also ties back into the tone. The narrator uses this kind of diction to express her disappointment in Clarence and his