Monday, May 4, 2009

HW Instructions

Thesis is a one sentence description of the character. 1st body paragraph is moral critique with description and support (think body paragraph of an essay). 2nd paragraph needs to be an extended metaphor about the character. Conclusion is a one-sentence analogy to a person in the world today. (30 points each).

P&P Student Work Examples

by Genevieve Noonan

Impulsive, arrogant, and thoughtless, Lydia Bennett rushes into everything unaware of the pain she is causing others.

Lydia resembles Lindsay Lohan because they both have made huge mistakes, feel no remorse for their actions, do not realize what they are doing effects more people than themselves, and believe they deserve respect because of their position.

Lu Li

Jane Bennet Analysis

Jane Bennet, the eldest and most beautiful daughter of the Bennets, is an amiable, naïve, and extremely optimistic young lady who sees no evil in others.

Jane is like a beautiful sunflower with soft honey-yellow petals. She is comely and vivacious, just like a lively sunflower stretching tall and proud to the sun in an elegant manner. Sunflowers always grow facing the direction of the sun – Jane prefers to see the goodness in people; in other words, she always tries to face the bright side of an incident, rather than the dark side.

Daryl Thomas
Lydia
Lydia is a naïve, vain minx that desires attention and has no concern for hurting her family’s reputation or sentiments.
Whether or not Lydia’s character is due to an improper upbringing, she holds an air of vanity: “I am not afraid; for though I am the youngest, I’m the tallest” (Austen 11). The narrator even describes her as one with “high animal spirits, and a sort of natural self-consequence” (46). Assimilating her mother’s aspiration for marriage, Lydia seeks to gain attention by flirting with men and showing a deep concern for marriage: “Lord! How ashamed I should be of not being married before three-and-twenty!” (216). Being indifferent to everyone else and possessing a great sense of self-importance, Lydia becomes, as Elizabeth warns Mr. Bennet, “vain, ignorant, idle, and absolutely uncontrolled” (226). Lydia’s marriage to Wickham hurt Elizabeth’s chances with Darcy and shamed the Bennet name, yet Lydia’s character remains static upon returning to Longbourn: “Lydia was Lydia still; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless” (305). She then uses the marriage to gain the attention of others, satisfying her vanity: “She turned from sister to sister, demanding their congratulations” (305).

Lady Catherine Analysis
by Macda Gerard

Lady Catherine’s overbearing behavior proved to be a direct reflection of how highly she valued the ludicrous and absurd class structure of Britian, making her apathetic to the opinions of others.

Lady Catherine is like a peacock. Just as Lady Catherine flaunts her affluence and high social status to maintain a sense of superiority, a peacock flares out brilliant tail feathers for all to see. It comes across as extremely ostentatious to such an extent that it belittles others around. With every strut, either a sense of jealousy or admiration is evoked through what, or in Lady Catherine’s case, who, is around. Also, in order to obtain attention, a loud obnoxious cry is often emitted, which certainly applies to Lady Catherine’s consistent need to obnoxiously comment on what has absolutely nothing to do with her. The pomp and circumstance she displays is a façade that masks her inadequacy, just as a peacock is not truly the king of birds, but aspires to be viewed as such.

Arrogance is to Lady Catherine as egocentricity is to P Diddy in that both feel as though all must grovel for their approbation believing that whatever they say is law.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Austen's Classist Critique

The conversation between Lizzy and Lady Catherine is not only a demonstration of Lizzy’s courage and Lady Catherine’s arrogance, but a reprobation of the un-loving and un-feeling rigidity imposed by societal expectations.
Lizzy, being the protagonist, is obstinately standing in the way of Lady Catherine, who is the personification of this 18th century classist society. Lizzy utterly disregards the obeisance incumbent upon her, and stands up to the haughty Lady Catherine. Therefore, we can see this tete-a-tete as a way of Austen criticizing the establishment. Lizzy, by being bold enough to disregard the demanded deference she is purported to pay to Lady Catherine, is condemning the rigid structuring of society. This fortitude is demonstrated through Lizzy’s blatant disregard of Lady Catherine’s rhetorical line of questioning: “Are you lost to every feeling of propriety and delicacy? Have you not heard me say, that from his earliest hours he was destined for his cousin?” (344). Lizzy, and through propinquity, Austen, respond with a bold slap in lady Catherine’s pretentious face.
By disregarding the classist hierarchy that Lizzy is obliged to acquiesce to, Austen is claiming that love is more important than loyalty: “If Mr. Darcy is neither by honour nor inclination confined to his cousin, why is not he to make another choice? And if I am that choice, why may not I accept him?” (345). Lizzy’s rhetorical question is answered by Austen’s choice to portray Lady Catherine as an obnoxious snob; Lizzy’s question should never have been why can’t she, but why wouldn’t she? Austen’s answer: She can and she should!
Furthermore, Mr. Darcy, as the male protagonist of the novel, breaks the societal expectations that Lady Catherine so aptly describes: “Because honour, decorum, prudence, nay, interest, forbid it [the marriage]…for do not expect to be noticed by his family, or friends, if you willfully act against the inclinations of all” (344). By accepting these consequences in the name of love, Darcy is shirking the irksome responsibilities that this society has falsely constrained him with.
By Austen selecting a young woman of limited fortune, with an embarrassing family, and an equal want of connections, as the love interest of Darcy, she is choosing to not simply trifle with the societal mold, but to shatter it. As Lady Catherine so aptly tells us, we are rooting for “the upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune! Is this to be endured?” (345). Yes! It is not only to be endured, but embraced, emulated, and idolized. Long live love.