Question

Answer the following question in 120 – 150 words: 

How is Godfrey Cass different from his younger brother, Dunstan? 

Answer 1

Godfrey Cass is the eldest son of the rich Squire of Raveloe. He is a good looking and good natured young man. However, he is weak willed and sometimes is taken in by his material desires. He gets married to Molly and then later repents it when he comes to know she takes drugs. He has a daughter from her but is not willing to accept her out of fear of society. He is also afraid that he might have to give up his father’s inheritance. He is laden with guilt throughout the novel. He is subject to constant blackmail from his brother who knows about his marriage. After Dunsey’s disappearance, Godfrey musters up the courage to talk to his father but even then, he does not confess about his marriage. When Molly dies leaving his daughter all alone, he acts selfishly and does not claim his daughter. He lets Silas adopt her and to pacify his guilt, he helps Silas time and again. He marries Nancy and leads a comfortable life. Dunsey’s theft is uncovered after his body is found and this urges Godfrey to confess the truth to Nancy. Eppie’s refusal to accept him as a father angers him but he continues helping Silas.
 
On the other hand, Dunstan Cass, Godfrey’s younger brother is a very greedy man who loves drinking and gambling. He is very selfish and cruel apart from being lazy. Just because his ways are frowned upon by his father, he looks for opportunities to degrade Godfrey in his father’s eyes. Somehow he comes to know about Godfrey’s marriage to Molly and uses this information to blackmail him. He forces him to swindle money from their father and when there is fear of being found out, he makes his brother sell the horse. He takes it upon himself to go to the races and sell the horse. He strikes up a bargain, but his greed makes him ride the horse into the race again. He accidently kills the horse, but instead of accepting it, he runs away. He enters the cottage of the weaver, Silas Marner, and not finding him there, steals his money. He escapes unnoticed but meets his fate when he falls in the stone pit and dies. His greed leads him to his death, but his crime is uncovered years later.