Fake Old Man // Braylan Stringfellow

      Chapter 14 of Bleak House introduces us to Mr. Turveydrop. He is described as a fat, old man who is obsessed with Deportment. It is also mentioned that the clothes he is wearing are too tight. One of the most important descriptions of him is that he has false teeth, a fake beard, and a wig. Nothing about his physical appearance is real and this reflects his character. Mr. Turveydrop’s character is further shown by Esther’s and the old lady’s conversation about him. While he was standing next to a fire receiving praise from his son, the old lady said that that is all that Mr. Turveydrop does (Dickens 173). Esther then ask the old lady some questions about Mr. Turveydrop determined that he has done something, but the old lady said no to every question. The old lady then says how he has made himself believe that he is something by thinking of himself as one of the aristocrats. After hearing what the old lady said to her, Esther looked at Mr. Turveydrop and couldn’t help but be amused because what she saw in Mr. Turveydrop reflected what the old lady said. Mr. Turveydrop became a joke to Esther because of how he tried to make himself seem like he was big deal, similar to how he used fake hair to make himself look good. This is just what I saw while reading about Mr. Turveydrop.

I commented on Emmet’s and Emily’s post

Comments

  1. Bug OlsenNovember 1, 2021 at 10:56 PM

    I thought that Mr. Turveydrop provided a nice aspect of comedy to the novel, which is highly necessary to contrast the stark view of the world that Bleak House typically presents. His character provides humor to break up the terrible fates of the many poor children throughout the novel, but he himself is a very fake character.

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