Go Between, importance of char

To evaluate the importance of Ted and Hugh in the novel, we have to look at the their relationship with other characters, their importance to the story and their characters flaws and weaknesses.

The classic hero in novels is perceived to be good looking, rich and friendly. Neither Ted nor Hugh, are all of these things. Ted is not an ideal choice for a hero as he is merely a farmer and would never be good enough for the daughter of the hall. He does however have good looks and the ability to put people at their ease; when the bathing party from the Hall goes to the river and bumps into Ted, he is far more polite and courteous than Dennys. What Ted does do, is to rescue Marian. He helps to free her from the strict and formal world, which she is destined for. Her purpose in life is to be married – to bring the Maudsleys a title and to be a good, polite wife. He gives her excitement and pleasure; he makes her feel good about herself.

Hugh, we are told from the start, is not good looking.

“On the side of his face turned to me was a sickle-shaped scar that ran from his eye to the corner of his mouth”.

He is a good man and will always do what is

I think that both Ted and Hugh are both important to the novel, as each of them is needed by Marian and Leo to help their characters grow. Marian needed Ted’s love and Hugh’s support, without one or the other the novel would have taken a very different turn. Leo was taught by Hugh how the adult world worked, Ted showed him what it was like to love someone, and the disastrous repercussions they can have.

Whilst Ted has love and friendship to offer Marian, Hugh has the title and appropriate breeding and connections. Ted is the romantic hero and Hugh is the decent husband.

Ted and Hugh both play a big part in helping Leo to grow up. Ted unknowingly, teaches him about love and sex. He forces him to grow up faster than he would have liked. Hugh shows him the class, which Leo is always aspiring to reach. Hugh doesn’t really know how to talk to someone as young as Leo. This is emphasised in the smoking room, when Hugh offers Leo a cigar. On the surface it’s a nice gesture, as it makes Leo feel he belongs and is not an outsider. But it cloaks the fact that Hugh really does not know how to speak to someone so young, he lives in such a rigid, formal world – the adult world. This only makes Leo look up to Hugh even further, giving him an impossible hero image to live up to. Leo aspires to be like Hugh, to fit in with so much ease, where Leo has such difficulty. He does not understand adults or the social class that the Maudsleys belong to. This is very clear when Marcus has to tell Leo not to fold his clothes as,

Both characters are marred, Hugh is cold and Ted is weak. It is Hugh who stays by Marian when

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