Pride & Prejudice
Multi-Genre Project
Character Analysis of Mr. Darcy
Michael Wofford
English IV 4th Hour
Mrs. Dearman
13 November 2013
Character Analysis: Mr. Darcy
Mr. Darcy in one of the main characters in the story of Pride and Prejudice. He is one of the wealthiest men mentioned in the story, he is honest and intelligent and also has an excessive amount of pride of himself. His pride is shown many times throughout the novel, like when he first met Elizabeth he did not want to dance with her because her social class is lower than his, and also when he admitted that he was embarrassed by his family because they were “ill-mannered.”
Mr. Darcy is definitely a very prideful person, he thinks of his wealth, status and intelligence as a sign of great significance and notability. He believes that his status puts him above many people but still respects some of them, mentioned in this quote, “Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed. But pride - where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will be always under good regulation” (Austen 68). Along with his excessive pride, his snobby and arrogant attitude is shown when he refuses to dance with Elizabeth, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me” (Austen 45). As Mr. Darcy is known for his snobby attitude, he is viewed negatively by the other characters of the book.
With Mr. Darcy being one of the central characters in the book, he comes in contact and speaks to pretty much every character in the book which gives each character their own thoughts about Mr. Darcy. When Elizabeth Bennet firsts meets Mr. Darcy, she has a negative view on him, being ill-mannered and having no respect, as shown in her quote, “You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner” (Austen 167). Unlike Elizabeth, her mother Mrs. Bennet has a much more positive view on him, though her thoughts are based on his wealth and class, she sees him as a generous character who she admires and hopes he marries one of her daughters. Mrs. Bennet’s attitude toward Mr. Darcy is summed up in her quote, "Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls” (Austen 179). Mr. Wickham’s view on Mr. Darcy is a bit more agreeable and more understandable and less biased, he thinks he is a quality person who can be tolerable and well-mannered at times, as explained in this quote, “Mr. Darcy can please where he chuses. He does not want abilities. He can be a conversible companion if he thinks it worth his while. Among those who are at all his equals in consequence, he is a very different man from what he is to the less prosperous. His pride never deserts him; but with the rich, he is liberal-minded, just, sincere, rational, honourable, and perhaps agreeable, — allowing something for fortune and figure” (Austen 297). Overall, the characters’ views on Mr. Darcy differ but the reader can presume that Mr. Darcy is a wealthy and respected man, yet contains some characteristics that some find disturbing.
As the story progresses, we see a perceivable change in Mr. Darcy’s character. He grows from being an excessively prideful, insulting man to a thoughtful person caring about other people besides himself. Mr. Darcy’s change is represented in this quote, said by himself, “My object then, was to show you, by every civility in my power, that I was not so mean as to resent the past; and I hoped to obtain your forgiveness, to lessen your ill opinion, by letting you see that your reproofs had been attended to. How soon any other wishes introduced themselves I can hardly tell, but I believe in about half an hour after I had seen you” (Austen 304). As Mr. Darcy matures throughout the story, he becomes more gentlemanlike and loveable by the characters in the book.By the end of the book, Mr. Darcy is a more amicable character and is seen with a positive, good attitude and standards.
Pride & Prejudice Backseat Rap
Book Critique
Michael Wofford
English IV 4th Hour
Mrs. Dearman
14 November 2013
Pride & Prejudice Book Critique
Overall, the story of Pride and Prejudice was decent and satisfying yet there were some moments in the book that seemed as if it should be changed. Austen did a well job in making the storyline interesting and showing a morality of change in the story, but some points in the book were weaker than other areas.
Some parts in the story that I would change is how obvious the story was about Elizabeth and Darcy’s future together. I understand foreshadowing is necessary to keep the reader thinking about what will happen, but it seemed that from the beginning of the book, the reader could tell that Elizabeth and Darcy will go through a rollercoaster series in their relationship and eventually it will all play out like an ordinary fairy tale and they live happily ever after. Also, if there were a little more information added on Lydia and Wickham’s relationship on how they left and where they went and how they were, I would be more interested. But that is from my personal point of view, because I felt Lydia could have added a bigger conflict to add to the story, which would make it more suspenseful in ways including Darcy and Wickham. But even with these points sticking out, the book had a great suspenseful, and interesting line.
The strong points in the book was Austen’s ability to come up with the different obstacles the characters had to face. These obstacles created a lesson for the reader to read and comprehend. It was very interesting how Austen also laid out her plan with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth being bitter enemies turning into close friends then separating again and eventually falling in love and getting married. Their relationship really draws the reader into the book, wondering how the whole story plays out. Overall, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice book is very robust and impressing and I’d recommend it for others to read.