...Response #1: Pride and Prejudice I ended up enjoying Pride and Prejudice much more than I expected to. I had read Jane Eyre in high school and despite its acclaim just couldn’t get into the storyline. The Victorian backdrop and style of the story bored me at the time and I struggled to get through the book. This was more than a few years ago so I think I probably need to take another pass at it. In spite of this I found Pride Prejudice to be an enjoyable read. The dialogue was much wittier and funnier than I expected and I found myself chuckling aloud at some of the character’s snarky remarks to one another. What struck me most about the book however was how surprisingly relatable the gender dynamics where. Since the 1790’s women’s rights and gender equality has advanced a great deal. Elizabeth and the female characters in the book are extremely limited in their life choices and opportunities. Their best hope for financial security and stability is to marry. Today women have the right to vote, can own property, pursue more diverse paths in life, and enjoy autonomy and sovereignty in a way that was nearly impossible during earlier points in history. In spite of the legal and social advances I saw many of the troubling gender dynamics I experience and witness today to be strikingly mirrored in Austen’s book. One particular scene that resonated with me was when Mr. Collins proposed to Elizabeth. Collins completely disregards Elizabeth’s answer telling her “that it is usual...
Words: 677 - Pages: 3
...Pride or Jealousy We’ve all done it, seen someone flaunting something that we don’t have, or boasting about an achievement, only to instantly dismiss them as a prideful, pompous person whom we harbor a dislike for from then on out. Less often does a person who makes this impression on someone wind up marrying them, spending the rest of their time with them, happily ever after. There is a fine line between being rightfully proud of accomplishments, and being over the top about how you choose to inform people about them. With this being said, often times being accused of being “too proud” can be a sign of jealousy on the part of the accuser. What is pride, a label or an action, or is it a flaw? Jane Austen carefully develops the aspects of her characters that could be deemed prideful in her novel, and in doing so, gives us clues as to her feelings about pride and what it really is. In the novel, Pride and Prejudice, the main characters, Darcy and Elizabeth, are the two most often accused of being too proud. The fact that Darcy is a well off, good looking young man makes him a likely candidate to be accused of being too proud. Every person that Darcy is “better” than is a person who could possibly accuse him of being too proud. Because of how Darcy’s first impression he made on Elizabeth made her feel, it is obvious that she has no intention of complementing him when she says he is too proud, but rather to criticize him. For her, telling herself and other people that he is excessively...
Words: 1173 - Pages: 5
...Dennis C. Ramdawah ENG 4300 Professor J. Desalvo March 30, 2012 In writing about the literary styles of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jane Austen, there are subtle comparisons and contrast the reader draws upon to decipher the ideological content of these two writers’ works. Rousseau’s, The Confessions and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice exhibit the sensibility of nature in one perspective and the hierarchy of an aristocratic culture too long forgotten. Moreover, these writers draw upon natural life experiences to showcase their thoughts on humanity, life, love and nature as a whole. They both employ these two definitive factors throughout their respective works. Their writing reflects their passionate relationship during the Romantic period and why they became influential artisans of that era. Rousseau’s most influential work, The Social Contract, discusses the origins of government and states emphatically that laws cannot be made if the people do not agree upon them. These thoughts on government were light years ahead of his time and for citizens of the Romantic period. Additionally, Rousseau argued that children should live and play and enjoy the outdoors and their learning should coincide with them during these stages of development. He bore his development as a child emotionally through his experiences with nature. He thought nature should have an impact in literature. These same influences are the kindling flames of the Romantic movement that spread from England to abroad....
Words: 1246 - Pages: 5
...The Symbolism of Charlotte in Pride and Prejudice [pic] 李秀红 商务英语 Outline I. Abstract II. The reasons for Charlotte’s marriage Personal reasons Social reasons III. The author’s value of marriage & Charlotte’s marriage IV. The symbolism of Charlotte V. Conclusion VI. References I. Abstract In Jane Austen’s novel pride and prejudice, charlotte is a sad woman, and her marriage has been used as contrary materials to illustrate the author's value of marriage. Charlotte's tragedy has personal reasons, but more social reasons at that time. She was submissive, and resistant. Her marriage symbolizes the unfortunate fate of British women at that time. Key words: Charlotte, marriage, middle-class women, symbolism II. The reasons for Charlotte’s marriage Personal reasons The personal reasons for Charlotte married to Collins are quite embarrassing. First of all, Charlotte was far from beautiful and wealthy. Without wealth, women could not be independent. Thus, she was forced to get married and got a support. Secondly, she has already reached the age of marriage. She was too old to wait for very romantic and wealthy gentlemen. Thus, she had no way to go but seized the chance to marry Collins, who was willing to marry her and gave her economic support. That was what Charlotte needed most. B. Social reasons In Britain of early 19th century, women have no independent economic status and...
Words: 1246 - Pages: 5
...“Still I Rise” An Inspiring Poem by Maya Angelou “Still I Rise”, a poem written by Maya Angleou in 1978, is a poem that demonstrates an inner strength of determination in accomplishing and overcoming obstacles in life. “Still I Rise”, and other poems created by Maya Angelou, may offer inspiring words of encouragement for many individuals who may be dealing with certain difficult situations in their life. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 in St. Louis Missouri. At a very young age she experienced a very traumatic experience that inspired her to become the person that she is today. During the time that her parents decided to end their marriage, she went to reside with her mother. While residing with her mother, she was sexually assaulted and raped by her mother’s boyfriend. Maya Angelou was scared, hurt, and humiliated. Not knowing where else to turn, she informed her brother of the incident. Upon hearing this, he decided it was best to inform their family. Her mother’s boyfriend was sent to jail; however, he was killed shortly after his release. When Maya Angelou found out about the death of her mother’s boyfriend, she became withdrawn and stopped speaking or talking for several years. She began to blame herself for what had happened to her mother’s boyfriend, because she felt that due to her telling what happened resulted in his death. As time passed, Maya Angelou went to reside with her grandmother. She was embraced by a close family friend who encouraged her to talk...
Words: 1253 - Pages: 6
...The Use of Irony in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: “The most unlearned and uninformed female who ever dared to be an Authoress” Irony serves as a fundamental literary tool for authors. It enables them to express their themes and views through characters whose words are often inconsistent with their actions, and in situations where the intended result differs from the actual result. Irony works in a clever manner by showing the reader what the author wants to express by making these inconsistencies apparent to the reader, if not to the characters themselves, and exposing it, more often than not, in a satiric fashion. Yet, while irony works with satire, the power it holds for those who wield it well is no laughing matter. Famous writers such as the sardonic H.L. Mencken and Jonathan Swift, a true satiric master, have used irony to promote real, legitimate change. In Swift’s case, his famous piece, “A Modest Proposal,” used extreme satire and irony to promote change in Irish policy. Perhaps the greatest satirist of all time, William Shakespeare used irony in almost every piece he created. In his play Julius Caesar, the speech he has Mark Antony give in which he repeats the phrase “but Brutus is an honorable man” when he is trying to convey the exact opposite serves as a truly timeless example of this literary tool. It is unique in that it does not simply throw the author’s point of view directly in the reader’s face, but rather enables the reader to discover the author’s...
Words: 5225 - Pages: 21
...Does Shakespeare reinforce or question contemporary attitudes to cultural outsiders in 'Othello' and The Merchant of Venice? In the plays the Merchant of Venice and Othello, Shakespeare explores the effects of racial oppression and attitudes to race in general. The idea of cultural outsiders is one of the main themes present in the plays. 'Culture' is the customs and social behaviour of particular groups of people and societies and an outsider is a person who does not belong in a particular situation, organisation or community. This definition relates to both Othello and Shylock as throughout the play we see them as victims of prejudice and injustice because of their cultural differences. In the play Othello, Shakespeare expresses the culture outsider, Othello himself in this instance. As a moor. The term Moor means a person or persons of an African descent. During the renaissance time period there were various stigmas attached to 'moors' and other cultural outsiders. Leo Africanus wrote a book named 'the history and description of Africa (1526)' where he portrayed Moors as being extremely prideful. 'Subject unto Jealousy; who would rather lose their lives than put up any disgrace on behalf of the women.' This is ironic and would lead one to believe Shakespeare reinforced Africanus' ideology in the tragic ending of Othello. Shakespeare also reinforces contemporary attitudes to Jews through the protagonist Shylock. During the 1600’s Jews were extremely disliked and according...
Words: 1099 - Pages: 5
...ENGLISH LITERATURE The Pride cause of Prejudice in “The Way of The World” Stories by William Congreve by: Nisa Primadita (12130032) Lecturers: Titik Minarti, SE, SS, M.Hum DARMA PERSADA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LITERATURE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT JAKARTA 2014 CONTENTS 1. Contents 2 2. Background 3 3. Chapter I: Introduction 4 a. Summary 4 b. Theory 4 1. Pride 4 2. Prejudice 5 4. Chapter II: Analysis 6 a. Pride 6 b. Prejudice 10 c. Conclusion 18 5. Bibliography 19 BACKGROUND William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright and poet. Congreve was born in Bardsey, West Yorkshire, England (near Leeds). William Congreve wrote some of the most popular English plays of the Restoration period of the late 17th century. By the age of thirty, he had written four comedies, including Love for Love (premiered 30 April 1695) and The Way of the World (1700), and one tragedy, The Mourning Bride (1697). Unfortunately, his career ended almost as soon as it began. After writing five plays from his first in 1693 until 1700, he produced no more as public tastes turned against the sort of high-brow sexual comedy of manners in which he specialized. He reportedly was particularly stung by a critique written by Jeremy Collier to the point that he wrote a long reply, “Amendments of Mr. Collier’s False and Imperfect Citations.” A member of the Whig Kit-Kat Club, Congreve's career shifted to the political sector, where he held various...
Words: 4844 - Pages: 20
...and inexplicable as her sisters' reprovable badness...." Critically analyse the above statement with reference to your reading of King Lear. (b) -The Classical humanism of the Renaissance was fundamentally medieval and fundamentally Christian...." Critically analyse this statement. (c) How do the 'Sylphs' help in the development of the 'mock-epic' element in The Rape of the Lock ? (d) "The Romantic age marks the end of pastoral poetry in the very shock of its collision with actual country experience." Critically evaluate this statement. (e) Comment on the use of bildungsroman narrative in Victorian novels. 2. Answer each of the following in about 400 words : 30x2=60 (a) Critically examine if the treatment of Caliban in The Tempest is a reflection of the emergence of European Colonialism during the Elizabethan period. [2] (Contd.) (11) How does Milton use paganism to...
Words: 1207 - Pages: 5
...sample of 450 lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults, the varieties of victim experiences in hate crimes based on sexual orientation are described. Most crimes were perpetrated in public settings by one or more strangers, but victimization also occurred in other locales, and perpetrators included neighbors, coworkers, and relatives. In deciding whether a crime was based on their sexual orientation, victims tended to rely primarily on contextual cues and perpetrators’ explicit statements. Victims’ concerns about police bias and public disclosure of their sexual orientation were important factors in deciding whether to report antigay crimes, as were beliefs about the crime’s severity and the likelihood that perpetrators would be punished. Reflection: The method used in this research study is the interview method. They collected a sample size of 450 willing volunteers (224 men: 204 gay, 20 bisexual and 226 women: 202 lesbian, 24 bisexual). They all were asked to describe their experiences with hate crimes and there was a split between people who knew for sure they were attacked by biased views and those who knew their attacker did not have any biased views against them. Many volunteers felt they were most likely attacked because they were in the proximity of publicly known venue for gays. Results indicate that attending any gay identified-establishment heightens the risk of getting verbally harassed and attacked in public. 66% of bias crime survivors say they “felt a lot of danger”...
Words: 3514 - Pages: 15
...Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen Download free eBooks of classic literature, books and novels at Planet eBook. Subscribe to our free eBooks blog and email newsletter. Chapter 1 I t is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. ‘My dear Mr. Bennet,’ said his lady to him one day, ‘have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?’ Mr. Bennet replied that he had not. ‘But it is,’ returned she; ‘for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.’ Mr. Bennet made no answer. ‘Do you not want to know who has taken it?’ cried his wife impatiently. ‘YOU want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.’ This was invitation enough. ‘Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his Pride and Prejudice servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.’ ‘What is his name?’ ‘Bingley.’ ‘Is he married or single?’ ‘Oh! Single, my dear, to...
Words: 124620 - Pages: 499
...Written by Jack Greene, Values and Society in Revolutionary America focuses on the original principles and values of the American Republic; how they were rooted into society and their reflections of the social conditions of the period. With the occurrence of the Bicentennial in 1976, Greene takes the chance to look at the viability of these original principles. The fundamental question that Greene concentrates on is whether the principles of 1776 have any relevance at this moment, if social and political conditions have not changed so drastically as to render the political system that had been developed between 1776 and 1789 entirely out of date or in need of revision. During the Revolutionary period, everything seemed to operate and promote political knowledge (55). The principles of civil liberties became the prevailing sentiments of the whole body of American citizens (55). Gordon S. Wood, Pulitzer prize winner for history in 1992 for his book titled The American Revolution1, called the analysis of the Revolutionary principles and characteristics as the “American science of politics.” Founding Fathers had a distrust in human nature. Human beings were imperfect and shaped by passion, prejudice, vanity, and interest which made it difficult to resist...
Words: 985 - Pages: 4
...EN105 25 January 2015 Racism For many years African Americans have been discriminated against, not as individuals, but solely because of the color of their skins. In her essay “How it Feels to Be Colored Me”, Zora Hurston relays to the reader that being discriminated due to your color doesn’t take away from who you are as a person, nor does it change the morals and virtues and pride that you have for yourself. Hurston speaks of her life experiences, and through those experiences she has became to know who she was, which at the beginning made her feel ashamed. The author didn’t realize or have ever been truly exposed to racism until the age of thirteen, when she moved from Eatonville, FL., a predominately black community, to Jacksonville, FL. Until then white people only differed to Zora because they didn’t live in her town. There in Jacksonville Zora experienced racism and discrimination; through all of this Zora never felt bitter towards those that discriminated against her. “But I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow damned up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood.” (Hurston 266). Though slavery was sixty years in the past, Zora understood that slavery was the price that was paid for civilization by her ancestors. Racism is alive and well. The past year many of us were stunned by the cases of racial intimidation and judicial bias, during the Michael Brown and Eric...
Words: 1053 - Pages: 5
...Matthew Zebro Paragraph 2 Historical Perspective There has been a long lineage of prejudice against women in most eras of Chinese history. One of China’s oldest books, the Book of Changes “divides the world into two complementary elements: the Yin and the Yang,” Yin referring “to the feminine or negative principle” and Yang referring “to the masculine or positive principle,” (Gao 115). Some of the oldest collected Chinese poetry portrays the same level of sexual inequality, like in the Book of Poems or Classic of Odes which shows great distinction in treatment between the sexes, “when a baby boy was born he was laid on the bed and given jade to play with, and when a baby girl was born she was laid on the floor and given a tile to play with” (Lin 131). While there was an underlying divide, it wasn’t until Confucianism that men became obsessed with female chastity and women viewed as sub-servants, even possessions for their husbands/men. According to the Book of Rites “Males had their proper work, and females had their homes” which highlights the emerging ridge between how the two sexes were viewed in society at large (Legge 365). This distinction stood for the different roles that men and women were suppose to assume for a harmonious society. Overall the Book of Rites encouraged feminine virtues desirable from the male point of view ranging from being neat and obedient to performing domestic tasks like cooking and cleaning to respect for the husband’s family and friends...
Words: 686 - Pages: 3
...challenge myself to be a reflective thinker, recognizing barriers, and finding methods of replacement and modification. I am always surprised to hear so many stories of tenured professors and students conspiring to cheat on exams. I am discouraged by stories of local stories of college athletes accepting gifts and money without shame. Internal biases lead to corrupt critical thinking in each case. 12.85 GB (85%) of 15 GB used 12.85 GB (85%) of 15 GB used Self-analysis of external and internal barriers and puppeteer forces is painful, complicated, and crucial process. A list of barriers to critical thinking was compiled from: Critical Thinking: A Student’s Introduction, our text Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking: * pride * selfishness * greed * egocentrism * ethnocentrism * emotion * self-deception * the erroneous belief of...
Words: 619 - Pages: 3