Irony in Silas Marner Movie - Essay Example

Silas Marner movie makes use of a lot of literary devices like symbolism and motifs. However, making the movie ever so interesting is the frequent use of irony. From the very start, we see irony play an important part in the story. In the beginning, Silas feels sympathetic for the cobbler’s wife as she was suffering from the same disease which claimed Silas’ mother’s life. He prepares a herbal concoction and gives it to her which effectively cures her. Seeing this, the townsmen start believing that Sally possesses some special powers and they begin offering him money and silver to get treatment for various diseases.

Turned down by Silas, the people start to fear his healing powers and limit their interaction with him. Therefore even though Silas cures Sally Oates, he finds himself in isolation because of his noble deed. Further, into the movie, we see the growing love of Eppie for Silas. Eppie loves Silas more than anything in the world and wanted to stay with him always. Godfrey was Eppie’s real father and together with Nancy, he wanted to have Eppie back with him; however Eppie had previously told Godfrey that she would never leave her ‘father’ and that’s where the irony lies because in reality she refuses to stay with his real father and prefers to stay with Silas who had given her love and affection.

Dunstan Cass has been portrayed as a villain in the story. Throughout the movie, he is seen to be surrounded by evil and sin. He steals Silas Marner’s money, blackmails Godfrey and always appears to be motivated by greed and selfishness. He considers himself superior to others and constantly brags that whenever he falls, he lands upright. The irony lies in the fact that Dunstan suffers death in the way he has always bragged about. He falls into a stone pit and drowns. Irony also lies in the theme of Interdependence of Faith and Community.

In the entire movie, we see faith and community closely linked with each other. The place where he lives, people share similar beliefs. Therefore when Silas loses his faith, we see him abandoned by the community as well. The faith of Silas in the Supreme Being has a close association with his faith in society. By the end of the movie, it is evident that Silas regains his faith in God and strives to help the community which in turn also makes him loveable among the people who had previously shunned him (Silas Marner).