Whether it's catching a cold or losing a loved one, suffering is something we will all experience. Ironically, suffering is one of the main reasons we are happy; even if we suffer, our pain will eventually be resolved. Many stories have been created from this concept, such as the story of Job in the Old Testament. Job's faith was tested by God, and after enduring great pain and loss, Job's life was restored when he proved his faith was true. A book that demonstrates this idea is George Eliot's novel Silas Marner. In this story, Silas Marner recalls a scenario similar to that of Job. Silas's constant loss and deep depression are ultimately healed with the arrival of Eppie, just as Job's trials ended when he proved he could maintain his faith in God. Silas Marner channels the earlier figure of Job through his suffering, loss and redemption. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first way Silas represents Job is through the suffering Silas experiences in the story. At the beginning of the novel, Silas is betrayed by his "friend" William Dane, left by his wife Sarah who later marries William Dane, and is later cut off from the church, so much so that he feels betrayed by his parents. friends, family and, above all, God. Not even the all-knowing, all-powerful loving God wants Silas in his life, Silas concludes. The narrator emphasizes Silas's loneliness, saying, "Thus it came to pass that his movement of pity towards Sally Oates, who had given him a passing sense of brotherhood, increased the revulsion between him and his neighbors, and made his isolation more complete" ( Eliot 16). Silas begins to sympathize with Sally Oates, a woman suffering from heart disease, and realizes how alone he truly is. It is completely and absolutely excluded from any being. Another quote also demonstrates Silas' loneliness and suffering. Eliot compares Silas's life to that of an insect, saying, “There were the calls of hunger; and Silas, in his solitude, had to provide his own breakfast, lunch, and dinner, fetch water from the well, and put his own kettle on the fire; and all these immediate suggestions helped, together with weaving, to reduce his life to the unconditioned activity of a spinning insect” (Eliot 14). Silas's life is compared to that of an insect because he essentially feels useless and helpless in the world. He has no one to turn to and no one will receive him. He does these boring tasks without any help, which shows that he is like a robot doing a job mindlessly, without any real sense of purpose. The suffering that comes from his separation from society must be almost unbearable for Silas. But this suffering experienced by Silas also represents the suffering of Job in the Bible. In the second test, Job is tormented by painful boils and sores to test his faith in God. The Bible states: “Then Satan departed from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. ” (New International Version, Job 2:7). Job must endure the agony of Satan, yet still retains his faith in God. Both Job's and Silas' situations are similar, however, Job endures more physical suffering while Silas experiences mental and emotional suffering. The second way Silas portrays Job is through the loss of Silas. As already mentioned, Silas loses his family, friends, and faith right at the beginning of the story. The narrator describes these losses by saying, "Poor Marner, he went away with that despairin the soul, that shaken confidence in man which is little short of madness to a loving nature…all his faith must be shaken, as was his” (Eliot 11). Just when he discovers that he is his friend that God have betrayed him, he concludes that his fiancée will also leave him. This short sequence in which he loses everything took Silas away from happiness and left him in despair he holds on to his money because it literally becomes the only thing he cares about in his life. This money, which basically belongs to Silas's family, is stolen by Dustan Cass describes Silas's pain when he finds out that his money is gone lost, saying, “He could see every object in his cottage, and his gold was not there. Again he raised his trembling hands to his head, and uttered a wild and heart-rending cry, the cry of desolation” (Eliot 41). he realizes that his money has been stolen, he cries as if he has just lost a family member. At this point Silas has absolutely nothing: no friends, no family, no faith, and none of his significant possessions. In the same way that Silas loses everything, Job also experiences the same situation. In Job's first test, all of his animals and brothers are taken away from him by Satan. “A messenger came to Job and said to him, 'The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked them and took them away'... The fire of God fell from heaven and burned the sheep and the servants... Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at their elder brother's house, when suddenly a strong wind blew from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It fell on them and they died, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you” (New International Version, Job 1:14-19). These verses describe all the possessions and loved ones that Job loses during his trial. His animals, his servants, and his family are all taken away from him, similar to how Silas' family, friends, faith, and possessions were taken away from him. Both Job and Silas are left in despair as they lose everything that has meaning to them. A final way in which Silas is similar to Job concerns the redemption that they both ultimately receive. For Silas, he finds his happiness again through meeting Eppie. Once Silas finds Eppie and takes care of her, he realizes that he doesn't need her money, he just needs someone to love in order to find happiness. Once Eppie enters his life, Silas begins to assimilate into society. Eliot symbolizes his acceptance into the community with the pipe, saying, “Silas had taken to smoking his pipe every day during the last two years, having been strongly encouraged to do so by the wise men of Raveloe” (Eliot 143). This pipe symbolizes his assimilation because it shows that he is doing things that are also done by the community and that he is finally adapting to society. After Part II of the novel begins, we see that Silas has changed a lot over the 16 years he spent with Eppie. Now he's a family man, has a daughter, a house full of pets, friends in his hometown, a newfound faith, etc. After going through so much suffering and loss, Eppie brings him back and redeems him from his misery. In fact, at the end of the story, Eppie exclaims: “Oh father, what a beautiful house ours is! I think no one could be happier than we are” (Eliot 183). This is an amazing return for Silas. At the beginning of the book we see that he is in the darkest place in his life, but by the end, instead, he is described as the happiest man in the world. This transition shows the redemption that Silas finally achieves and represents the same redemption that Job gained. In the.