With close reference to two or three moments in the text, discuss Hardy's ability to create mood, atmosphere and a sense of place. Throughout "The return of the native", Thomas Hardy is very successful in creating mood and atmosphere. Some scenes are so descriptive that a very clear mental picture can be formed by the reader, causing a distinct sense of place. It seems that through his words, Hardy is submerging the readers into his story letting us take part only as an onlooker. It is at the beginning that the strongest mood, the heaviest ....