Constituting one of the dominant symbols in Thomas Hardy's classic work Tess of the D'Urbervilles are the birds that continually reappear. The birds symbolize various degrees of freedom, foreshadowing the events of Tess's life and often even paralleling them. Tess encounters birds in the wild, birds in captivity, and mortally wounded birds, each representing an important theme in their respective scenes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One obvious appearance of the birds is during Tess's work on Mrs. D'Urberville's chicken farm. Tess notes upon arriving at Tantridge that "the lower rooms were entirely given over to the birds, who walked about them with a masterly air, as if the place had been built by themselves and for themselves... The rooms in which dozens of children had cried their suckling now resounded with the heartbeat of fledgling chicks... the hens in the barns occupied the places where there had once been chairs that supported the quiet farmers (Hardy 57) One way to interpret this passage is to see Hardy's words as a commentary on the social class division. The Stokes family belongs to a higher social class than the Durbeyfields, but they have acquired the title of D'Urberville on the other hand they are farmers of noble lineage, who now seek to make themselves road into the D'Urbervilles' properties. Both situations seem to indicate a sense of displacement, like chickens occupying a mansion and ruining what others value. In Mrs. D'Urberville's home we also learn that her love of birds leads her to allow birds to fly freely around the house. room at certain times, leaving a mess on the furniture. Although the birds are allowed periods of freedom, the freedom is an illusion because they remain confined to the room. Likewise, Tess does not realize that she is already in a cage, trapped by fate in a series of events and circumstances from which she will not be able to escape. The birds reappear in the novel when circumstances turn against Tess the hardest, sealing her fate of being rejected and alone. for the rest of his life. In the forest rape scene, Hardy writes, “above them rose the primeval yews and oaks of The Chase, in which hovered gentle birds perched in their last nap” (74). In this scene, the birds serve as a parallel to Tess' situation. Like Tess, the birds sleep peacefully, unaware of the evil that is happening. It's also worth noting that Hardy says the birds are taking "their last nap" as Tess experiences her final moments of virginity and innocence. One of the most significantly symbolic appearances of the birds occurs when Tess comes across a flock of dead and dying pheasants in a field. He sees "their rich plumage soaked in blood; some were dead, some moved their wings feebly, some stared at the sky, some pulsed feebly, some twisted, some stretched out: all writhed in agony, except the lucky ones." whose tortures had ended in the night through Nature's inability to bear more” (298). Although Tess chastises herself for considering herself so unhappy when these birds seem much more deserving of pity, her situation is actually very similar to that of pheasant birds. Just as the hunters' pleasure is to shoot pheasants and let them suffer, Alec's pleasure is for Tess it lies in her death. The pheasants also serve as foreshadowing of Tess's impending death. Tess, like the pheasants, has been maimed by the careless actions of selfish others, and is now doomed to writhe.