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Daz 4 Zoe is a story set sometime in the future. Robert Swindells novel about two young people is, on the surface, a love story but primarily is a warning about what could happen in the future if we let Government and politics over -run freedom of speech, thought and provoke the aggressive feelings of people who's actions speak louder than their words
We also could have a divided society, where living conditions, opportunities and importance are vastly dependent on your social status.
" The rest of this book is fiction but it could come true, and we
Wouldn't like it if it did.
You'll see what I mean when you
have read it"
Thomas Hardy's short story is set in a fictional part of rural England he calls Wessex. These stories were written in the late 1800's. The language Hardy uses reflects what life was like in this setting for both classes.
"Why Sam, how could you be so fast! I've never even said I
liked 'ee', and it is all your own doing, coming after me!"
Both Thomas Hardy and Robert Swindells deal with characters that are affected by the social pressures of their time.
In Daz 4 Zoe we learn about a boy and a girl who meet and fall in love in unusual circumstances.
Daz is a Chippie he lives with his mum in a small, inadequate flat with almost no modern amenities.
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He lives a life, which has been invaded and destructed by political unfairness. This social pressure has caused him to rebel against the dictatorial government and join a group of malicious, villainous terrorist called 'Dred'.
Daz is brought up in a society which hates subbies because of the life they lead compared to the them.
Fences are put up around the both societies to create a physical boundary because of the subbies violent attitudes. The fences seem to be symbolic of the attitudes and feelings that most people have on both sides of the fence for each other.
Both subbies and chippies are brainwashed into hating each other because of the events that occur on both sides of the fence.
".......Del that's my brovver thay catch im raiding wiv the Dred. Top im
don't thay, and im just gon 15........Don't cownt less you crost yor hart,
rite?"
The chippies are angry because they are lower in the social class system than the subbies. There is no reason for this to happen and it is unfair so the chippies start to rebel against the government because it is a belief of that time that you do not try to alter your social status and that you remain on your side of the fence.
"Its alrite for them innit. They got graft. Water. Peanuts."
This is the same case in the Thomas Hardy story. Sophy is the Parlour maid to the reverend Twycott who is higher up in the social class than herself. Sophy has a cruel twist of fate and is forced to leave the reverend Twycott . Reverend Twycott is in love with sophy and so he asks her to marry him. It is expected that you marry into your own social class and you do not try to alter your social status. Read what to do f you find a path with no obstacles
" He came close to her, and although she could never exactly tell how it happened,
she became conscious of his lips upon her cheek. He then asked her to marry
him"
This is a forbidden love because Reverend Twycott is higher up in the social class than Sophy. These two characters suffer because of the social constraints on their lives. They are forced to move to London because society would not accept the fact the Sophy was in a lower class than her husband. This act was called social suicide.
" Mr. Twycott knew perfectly well that he had committed social suicide by this step,.."
This relationship causes conflict between Sophy and her son Randolph. Randolph is ashamed of his mother because of her social background. He is afraid that he might be brought down into the lower social class if anyone finds out that his mother married into a higher social class.
"Has dear Mother-not have!"......"Surely you know that by this
time mother!"
Sophy is left a widow when her husband dies. Sam and Sophy meet again and he proposes to her once more. She is desperate to say yes but has to refuse the offer because of her son's opinions and threats. Her son is against the idea because it would mean social suicide again for the family. Randolph ahs just been accepted into a higher class group of people and he does not want to risk being lower in the social class.
It unlikely in this day and age for mothers to ask their children for consent to marry their true love. But in this time that Hardy wrote this story, women were seen as being inferior to men and so they were inclined to take orders form men.
"The contrast between her story and the display of fashion to which Randolph had
grown to regard himself as akin would be fatal. She awaited a better time".
Sophy sacrifices her happiness so that her son can be happy and higher in the social class. Sophy is left to die in unhappiness dreaming of the life that she could have had if she had married Sam when she first had the offer. Sophy is left to look at the same four walls she has been staring at for the best part of her adult life, bound to her wheelchair by fate and wondering how her life would have been different if the social pressures had not influenced her life.
This sacrifice leads to her unfortunate death shortly after this ordeal. This is another consequence of the social pressures Sophy has suffered throughout her adult life. The most recent social pressure being that she cannot marry Sam because of her inferior authority over her son, Randolph.
" Say no more-perhaps I am wrong! I will struggle against it!" She cried miserably.
She then struggles with this social constraint for the rest of her life.
The same forbidden love occurs in Robert Swindells, Daz 4 Zoe.
Zoe is and educated, fourteen-year-old schoolgirl. She lives in the suburbs with her parents and attends a good school with her other privileged Peers. Zoe has been brought up around people that hate subbies and her father has been the main reason that she also hates subbies and thinks that they are lame and incompetent.
"That's what Dad says, anyway. I don't know. I bet their the
same as everybody else, really, but I wouldn't say that to Dad".
At the beginning of the story Zoe is very reliable and loyal to the subby community and Daz is loyal to the chippy community. Zoe stays on her side of the fence in comfort and security and Daz stays on his side of the fence in despair, destruction and decay. There is nothing but D.S. and especially Lieutenant Pohlman standing in the way of a fair and a balanced society.
This government organization is the reason why the two sides of the fence are separated from each other. This organization is a threatening and intimidating organization that represents unfair law and authority.
This organization is the main reason two secret organizations have been formed to combat this unfair treatment. They both have the same intentions but go about it in two very different ways.
These organizations are the Subby organization of fair and the Chippy organization of Dred.
It is these organizations that have a big impact on the social pressures of the key characters.
Zoe is a Chippy girl that should follow the dictatorial and brainwashing thoughts as her father thinks. At the start of the story Zoe's character is very dependant, insecure and does not think for herself. This is the same with Daz's character. He has gone along the same path as his brother did because he has not got a thought of his own.
When the two characters meet they change their opinions about each other and their community. Daz and Zoe soon develop their own thoughts and feelings with drastic actions and revolutionary results.
Zoe is out Chippying because of the boredom and mundane lifestyle that she lives in the suburbs. Subbies go out chippying for the 'Buzz' that you get from chippying. This is evidence that the two sides of the fence are in complete contrast with each other and if they were merged together they would be able to live together because each side has something that the other side does not have.
"What happens is, some kids get fed up cooped up. I mean all right-a suburbs a
pretty nice place."
Zoe and Daz nearly risk their lives. Daz risks his life to save Zoe and her friends and Zoe risks her life to go Chippying with her friends. The two characters fall in love but cannot be together because of the common belief that chippies and subbies must not 'fraternise'.
There is another common belief that you are expected to marry into your own social class and you do not try to alter you're social status .This is the same as the belief in the Thomas Hardy story. In both stories the two key characters that are in love fight for their right to be together and have freedom. They fight to overcome the social pressures and the beliefs of their time to have their freedom.
In Daz 4 Zoe there are more obstacles to overcome than in the Sons Veto. Both Characters suffer because of the social constraints that are on their lives. Zoe has to fight against the opinions ands views that people have towards Chippies. Her views and opinions get her into trouble and cause conflict between her and her family and her and her school.
"This"........ "Brainwashing. What do you mean by it, eh?".
She develops her own thoughts and feelings as a result of the chippying experience. She stands up for what she believes in.
She is in conflict with her Parents and her school. Her father is still trying to dictate what the family thinks of chippies. It seems as though the women's role in the family is inferior to the men's role like in Hardy's story and Sophy's inferior authority over her son, Randolph.
"First she contradicts me to give us the benefit of her opinion on Chippies,.....".
Zoe's school friends start to tease her and call her a 'Chippy' lover but her strong beliefs and love for Daz contribute enormously to her perseverance. She believes so strongly that she is willing to block out everyone except for Daz and her Grandma who is a member of F.A.I.R.
" I said some words to her so they would not kick me out of school,
but I knew all along that me and Grandma were right about brainwashing".
Daz stands up for what he believes in although he is not as educated as Zoe he still wants to have a free life where he and Zoe can be together.
Daz is in conflict with his friends that are in Dred and his Mother. Dred wants to kill Daz because he helped the subbies to get away. So Daz stays away from this trouble.
Because of the social pressures Zoe has encountered she decides to leave Silverdale and go to Rawhampton to be with Daz. By doing this she is committing social suicide, the same as Reverend Twycott did when he married Sophy. Both characters in both stories have a love for each other that causes them to act on impulse the way that Reverend Twycott did when he asked Sophy to marry him. They do not think about the consequences.
"Put yourself in my place. You love your parents but you've decided to leave forever without saying goodbye."
It was unheard of to commit social suicide. Mr. James gave Zoe a place to stay while she was hiding from the government and their organizations. She realised she had done a stupid thing by committing social suicide and Mr. James confirmed this idea.She missed her home and her family and now she was hiding form D.S. because of the social pressure to stay in your own social class.
"Silverdale, right? Silverdales got everything"
Mrs. Barraclough was angry that Daz was I love with a Subby and this caused conflict between them. This was a result of the social class system that had been invented by the government. Because of the way that the subbies live, Mrs. Barraclough and Daz's home was far from adequate and this was a result of the social divide. He was ashamed of his mother and did not want Zoe to meet her.
"........ashamed ov yor movver, ashamed ov yor hoam.that's wot".
Pressure form D.S. had forced Daz and Zoe to leave Rawhampton and flee to Pinkney Hill. Daz's mother sacrificed herself so that Daz and Zoe could run away together.
D.S. had nearly found Zoe and so they had to flee quickly. They ran into Dred and because of the social pressure that you cannot marry a subby Daz was nearly killed.
The main theme in Hardys story was the effects of altering you're social status and people who try to cross the social divide. He was showing the class system and the inferior role of men compared to women.He was expressing how people want to be in a higher class even if they are not happy because it is regarded as being a better life . He did this by Sophy marring Reverend Twycott but finding out years later that she would have been happier with Sam In a lower class.
I think that this compares to our society because it shows how people want fame and fortune even thought they may not be happy with and it is seen as a better life the way that being in higher class in the 1800's was seen as being better even if you were not happy.
He included the fact that Sophy had to ask Randolph for his consent to marry Sam because women were seen as being inferior to men. Thomas Hardy's novel seems to be a love story on the surface but is a emotive story, which highlights the social divide, class system and women's lack of rights in his day and age.
Robert Swindells creates two strong characters that are equal to each other in a humanitarian way but not equal to each other in a political sense. Robert Swindells creates a strong contrast between the two characters lives but gives them the same goal in an attempt to highlight and contrast the way they live through the way they tackle their problems.
He uses the fences as a physical boundary that marks the divided society that we already have established within the world we live in. He has exaggerated the role that the government plays in order for us to realise the path we are heading down if we let politics rule our future over human live and our feelings. We have already established a divided society within the world we live in today. The novel helps us to realize these divided societies. We have established divided society in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and more globally the Western, Middle eastern and Eastern world.
These places have all been divided by politics and people have accepted it as a way of life because politics has "said so". This is the same case in the novel Daz 4 Zoe here the government has divided the society and most people have accepted it. Apart from a few people that have fought against it In the way that people in the world we live in fight against unfair treatment of people that are less fortunate in the way that the chippies were less fortunate than the subbies and F.A.I.R fought for them.
Robert Swindells cleverly uses the name F.A..I.R it an attempt to highlight the fact that they were fighting for fair treatment and that was the right thing to do. Robert Swindells
Uses different governments that have different levels of dictatorship to each other. He makes the most powerful government part of the higher class the way that the most powerful governments in this world are the ones that have the richer government with more opportunities dictate most of the world and have the most power. Compared to the smaller governments that have the least power and have violent organizations in the way that smaller countries that are less powerful have to use violent methods to get results in the way that the chippies had to form the group "Dred".
Robert Swindells also highlights the fact that we are loosing our privacy and freedom due to governments and organizations knowing too much about our lives and being able to keep track of us all the time. He does this by creating a Government organization known as D.S. who know everything about everyone and can hide things up and control peoples lives.
Roberts Swindells is sending out a message that we could have a divided society in the way that Daz and Zoe lived in the Novel if we let government and politics control our lives too much.
How do social pressures affect the key characters in the Daz 4 Zoe?. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/social-pressures-affect-key-characters-daz-4-zoe-new-essay
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