Pride and Prejudice Project
Kathryn Grimmett
Book Review
Kathryn Grimmett
English IV 7th
Mrs. Dearman
09 November 2013
Pride and Prejudice: Book Review
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen depicts to readers, how different life was in the early 1800’s, and far our society has come since then. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen forces us to look at our own pride, our own prejudices, our own morals. She helps us to see how morally corrupt our society really is. Austen's novel crosses several genres that everyone can enjoy.
Whether young or old readers have loved Pride and Prejudice for 200 years. This novel is one that women and men alike can enjoy. Austen provides readers with a book so deeply worded it expands the readers minds. Teenagers enjoy this book as a young girls romantic story, but as readers age they look deeper into the novel. They can start to compare it to aspects in their own life, such as being so caught up in themselves that they can’t see how good the things right in front of them are.
Pride and Prejudice teaches many values, including love, pride, and deceit. In this novel, where love is concerned several boundaries are pushed. Marrying because you loved each other was very rare, you married for money, but sometimes pride gets in the way. Pride proves to be a major theme in this novel. Several characters prove to be prideful when there is nothing for them to be prideful about, and that turns into prejudice and deceit. Deceit is prevalent throughout the novel. The characters weren’t only deceiving others, they were deceiving themselves.
Pride and Prejudice is an engaging novel that expands time. It tells of love and the struggles it can come with. Austen skillfully uses vivid imagery and conflict to pull readers in and make for a book you won’t ever want to put down.
Character Analysis
Kathryn Grimmett
English IV 7th
Mrs. Dearman
07 November 2013
Pride and Prejudice Character Analysis: Mr. Darcy
The novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, depicts how Mr. Darcy proves to be prideful and condescending. In the beginning, Mr. Darcy doesn’t care about anyone outside of his own social circle. As the novel develops we see a change in Mr. Darcy as he gets to know Elizabeth Bennet. Over the course of their interactions, Mr. Darcy discovers his inner self by looking at his behaviors through other peoples eyes.
Mr. Darcy is a very pompous character. He thinks he’s better than everyone else. This is revealed in the quote, “... there is not another women in the room, whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with” (15). Mr. Darcy does not think that there is anyone there worthy of his time or presence. He very rudely speaks of Elizabeth proving this point by saying, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me” (16). First impressions of Mr. Darcy rub people the wrong way.
The people of Hertfordshire have seen a side of Mr. Darcy that they are less than impressed with. People find a displeasure of being around him. Elizabeth states, “... though i have never liked him, I had not thought so very ill of him” (54). Though many people do not like him Mr. Bingley has always been very fond of Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley appreciates and respects his intelligence. Mr. Darcy has always had Mr. Bingleys best interest in mind, as revealed in Elizabeth's words, “Mr. Darcy is uncommonly kind to Mr. Bingley, and takes a prodigious deal care of him” (111).
All the dislike towards Mr. Darcy inspires a change in him. He starts to realize the way he was raised was wrong in practice. He states, “I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice though not in principle” (210). Mr. Darcy was brought up knowing what is right but was “left to follow them in pride” (210). Mr. Darcy begins to act more like a gentleman and Elizabeth takes notice. Mr. Darcy feels awful for the way he’s treated not only Elizabeth but everyone in Hertfordshire. He expresses this pain in saying, “The recollection of what I then said, of my conduct, my manners, my expressions during the whole of it, is now, and has been, many months, inexpressibly painful” (209).