Pride and Prejudice Essay

Love is the only thing worth fighting for
Matrimony is like a flame about to light a candle. If you try to rush to the candlestick, your flame will burn out with ease. If you put too much pressure behind the lighter your flame will raise, but will burn out before you reach the candle. It is up to you to find the perfect balance so that the flame will not burn up. That flame represents love. If your flame is huge it will over shadow your lover and will not lead to a great marriage if one person is more in to the marriage than the other. If your flame is too small your feelings for your partner are based on nothing. With no base your marriage will fan out. If you have found that one flame which can last forever then you have found the flame of love. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, there are many different perspectives of marriage. In a prudent marriage, you are only getting married because it will benefit both partners; there is no love just contentment. In a mercenary marriage, a person is only in it for the money or other selfish rewards. Austen is stating that a marriage based on love is the only marriage that will make you happy and last a lifetime.
A prudential motive is a marriage based on practical common sense. There is nothing you find appealing in your partner, but you have reasons on getting married. This marriage lacks the infinite passion that love brings; it only has logical motives that make sense in the both of you getting married. The author points out by having Mr. Collins demonstrate a typical proposal of a prudent marriage to Elizabeth:
“My reasons for marrying you are, first, that I think it is the right of every clergyman in easy circumstances to set the example of matrimony in his parish…I am convinced it will add greatly to my happiness...that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honor of calling patroness” (Austen 101).
Mr. Collins deeply lacks passion in his proposal. He did not once speak of Elizabeth and how it may or may not greatly increase her happiness. He only talks about how it will help him in life because every clergyman should marry. The esteem Lady Catherine thought it would be a good idea for Mr. Collins to marry Elizabeth. Collins only states how he is going to love and never explicitly states how he will love Lizzy.
Unlike her best friend, Charlotte just wants to married and a sense of security in knowing she has finally gotten married. She knows that she is not handsome, so she is desperate and willing to marry anyone who proposes to her. Charlotte “without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage has always been her object” (117). Charlotte wants to secure her lasting happiness. She just wants to live in a big estate, in a quaint little village, and wealth. As long as she has all of these possessions she will remain content and safe. She will never know the effects of true happiness that comes from of loving marriage. Charlotte has sacrificed her feelings for society’s views of happiness.
With no feelings in the relationship, the flame begins to flicker before it reaches the alter. With no genuine love between the partners, the flame is too weak to survive in the world. The flame snuffs out and shall never ignite again; as long as the relationship remains in prudency.
A mercenary motive is a motive that pertains to money or other rewards beneficial to one partner; love has nothing to do with it. This motive is just like a mercenary paid to accomplish one thing only, nothing else matters. Just like a mercenary people who are involved in this motive accomplish that one thing, but will soon lead a vexed life as they now have nothing to live for or look towards for the rest of their lives. Wickham is an example of this kind of motive as he elopes with Lydia. He cannot marry a girl without money because he cannot afford. He is not willing to sacrifice to reach happiness. All he wants is to be free of debts. When Darcy pays off all his debts and sets him up for a job, Wickham feels obliged in marrying Lydia because he can still get more money by marrying her. In the beginning Wickham had no intention to marry Lydia but just like a mercenary he was solely in it for the money. Wickham realizes the facts “that there elopement was on by her own strength of her love rather than by his” (295). Lydia now loves Wickham but he does not feel the same way. Now for the rest of his life he has to live with an overbearing wife who will nag him about loving her, for the rest of his days.
With one feeling of love, the flame is huge but it will over shadow your lover and will not lead to a great marriage if one person is more in to the marriage than the other. Since there is no balance there is no connection between the partners. As there is no balance within the flame it will become unstable and burst into nothingness.
A motive based on love is what will lead to a true life of happiness. This is what everyone in our society today wants to achieve. They want a marriage based on love that can be shared for a lifetime. To truly achieve this happiness someone has to be willing to sacrifice for the other. That is what our society is failing to realize, if no one is willing to sacrifice than they cannot have the marriage they always wanted.
Darcy and Bingley are perfect examples of people willing to sacrifice themselves for what they believe in; both of them had suffered to fall in love. Bingley has disappointed his sister by loving and marrying someone who is below the social hierarchy. Bingley loved Jane enough to be ridiculed by his family and to have his social status tarnished. He believes that Jane is worth all of this and more proving he would do anything just to be with Jane. Darcy seems to disappoint a lot of people as well. Darcy has proposed to Lizzy and got rejected, has always stayed humble and has never done any mercenary deeds. Darcy goes against his aunts word, Lady Catherine, who hade forbade him to interact with Lizzy. And then sucks in his pride to propose again to Lizzy. He has gone through so many hardships only to be related to the person to Mr. Wickham. Plus Darcy has plummeted down the social chain, because he has suffered so much he can now reap the benefits by having “the one” girl who was meant for him. This true happiness can be seen when Elizabeth says, “I am happier even then Jane; she only smiles, I laugh” Austen (355). Elizabeth states how happy she is and how Darcy makes her feel complete.
When one has sacrificed so much for the relationship and both lovers are happy with one another and feel the burdens of each other; that is when this motive can be called love. There have been turmoil in the relationship and plenty of laughs along the way. They are marrying for way more than personal gains and are feeling far from content, when they are around each other. Like a flame, this perfect balance can be made and shared with the world. Without a flicker of doubt or hesitation, the flame makes its way to the church’s alter. When the flame is set upon the candle; it changes from a flame into a roaring fire burning brightly so that the world can see the effects of true love. As the two lovers join together in holy matrimony.

Mrs. Bennet Description

Mrs. Bennet is a conniving woman who will do whatever it takes to see her dream come true; to the point where she seems hypocritical and her ideals are gone. She will absolutely see to it that her daughters are all married.
Mrs. Bennet can be a vexing woman at times and her character is difficult to understand. She can be deemed as a hypocrite at some instances. She will love any man who is rich and loves one of her daughters but if the man tries to break her daughter’s heart, then Mrs. Bennet will hate that man with every fiber of her being. When she thought that Darcy would no longer have anything to do with Elizabeth she hated him. As she says, “I am quite sorry, Lizzy, that you should be forced to have that disagreeable man all to yourself” (Austen 348). She absolutely hated Darcy but when she found out that Darcy loved Lizzy, she said “such a charming man! So handsome! so tall!” (351). The true nature of Mrs. Bennet character is that she does not look at the big picture, she only stays focus at the little trifles in her life; which make her look ridiculous.
Mrs. Bennet is like a six year old girl who will whine and complain until she gets her way. Mrs. Bennet treats her daughters like her toy dolls. They are the most precious things to her and she believes she knows what is best for them. Dolls do not talk back to their mother, which is what Mrs. Bennet likes. She wants her dollies to have the best dresses and an action figure to marry her dollies. Her parents say that they don’t have enough money to get all those things. The little girl is willing to wail for days until she achieves her goals; just like Mrs. Bennet.
Mrs. Bennet is like Homer Simpson because they both will spend so much time dealing with the little problems and fail to see the big picture; but in the end it all works out for them.

Jane Description

Jane Bennet is a pure and innocent young woman who would not dare speak ill-will about anyone; even though she lives in a low-life society that tells her otherwise.
Jane is a gorgeous and utterly handsome young woman. She is very optimistic and likes to think well of everyone she meets. This may lead to Jane’s character being naïve and ignorant to the trifles of mankind. Elizabeth has said, “You never see a fault in any body. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life” (Austen 16). This quote basically describes the entirety of Jane’s character. Her naïve way of thinking has left her hurt. For example when Bingley left her she wanted to denounce him, but it would go against her nature so she could not.
Jane is like a beautiful white dove flying majestically over the wide blue skies. Society is like a huge thunderstorm ravaging bellowing around the dove. The thunderclouds are trying to strike that dove with all it’s might until it grows fearful of the mighty lighting. Only Jane is like the dove because she can admit that she is scared but she does not falter from the skies. She stays firm and only imagines the beautiful rainbow at the end of the storm. Until she gets there she chooses to ignore the dangers the storm might bring to her. She sees a future, filled with wonder and awe, which she wants to obtain with all her might.
Jane is like Demi Lovato in the way the try to ignore the iniquities of a pressuring adult society and only tries to stay a role model for the kids and see the good in the world.

P& P# 13 4/7: 10-12

Quote- "How could I ever be foolish enough to expect a renewal of his love? Is there one among the sex who would not protest against such a weakness as a second proposal to the same woman? (Austen 317).

Explanation- Elizabeth is going absolutely crazy over Darcy. She doubts that Darcy will ever propose to her again. She comes to a realization that she cannot blame Darcy because she denied him in the first place. And also what kind of a man would go after a woman who has embarrassed him and rejected him already. Elizabeth is thinking about just rejecting his existence all together because she finds it next to impossible for marriage to take place between them. Darcy has proved to have an interesting and complicated character. Darcy has always stepped up when the time called for it. Now it is Elizabeth's turn to step up and try to realize this.


Multiple Choice
After the dinner scene on pgs 313-314, what is Elizabeth's main concern from that evening?
A) Her mother's idiocy
B) How Jane is feeling towards Bingley
C) Darcy's taciturn behavior during dinner
D) Lydia's absence
E) None of these answers are correct

P& P #12 4/6: 7-9

Quote- "Ah, Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower, because I am a married woman" (Austen 294).

Explanation- Just as society has a social hierarchy where one family, is deemed better because they are richer and have more connections, than another family. When you are at the top your one job is to stay there; but when you are at the bottom your goal is to make it to the top. If you take this idea of a social triangle you can see that the Bennet family has portrayed one as well. Jane is at the top, and then it's Elizabeth, after that Mary, then Catherine, and finally Lydia. This family chart is based on age, how handsome you are, and your chances for marriage. Jane is at the top and all she has to do is stay there, while Lydia wants to come out of her shadow and rise to the top. And with her statement she has announced that she is now at the top and Jane is under her. Lydia has reached her goal by being the first one to get married.


Multiple Choice
On pages 289-290, Elizabet is talking about someone who "would most suit her", read the following passage and pick the man she is falling for.
"His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes...his manners improved; and from his judgment, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance.

A) Wickham
B) Collins
C) Sir Camelot
D) Darcy
E) None of these choices are correct

P& P #11 4/3: 3-6

Quote- "That loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable, that one false step involves her in endless ruin, that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful, and that she cannot be too much guarded in her beahaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex" (Austen 269).

Explanation- Mary is trying to say, that all this that the family is going through is just another learning experience, that the rest of the girls should take note so that they won't end up like Lydia. She feels content in knowing this. From her point of view it does seem true. The reputation that Lydia was trying to build and to marry someone who could give her wealth has all ended. She will now give herself to someone who cannot even afford to live on his own. She might get married to some low life scum, who does not deserve her, instead of going after the rich, handsome men. Also if any suitor could get word off this information the whole family could be deemed as unworthy of marriage. This is what Mrs. Bennet fears the most.

Multiple Choice
On pg. 253, which character is Miss Bingley describing in the following passage: "Her face is too thin; her complexion has no brilliancy; and her features are not at all handsome...and in her air all together, there is a self-sufficiency without fashion, which is intolerable."

A) Elizabeth
B) Rebecca
C) Jane
D) Ashley
E) Charlotte

Huck Finn Essay

Upbringings
In the never ending history of society, sometimes true justice can lose its meaning as the year’s progress from one era to another. Society has always told us that justice means fairness in all respects, but has society really upheld that meaning? Society has told us that slavery is fair, but it does not seem fair to the slaves who are forced against their will and are taught to honor the white man. People, who are born in this corrupted society, are very strict about the rules and regulations put in place for them. If anyone defies these laws they know what the consequences will be, so they stay in check. Society has brought up its residents so that if they ever think about questioning society’s judgment, the only reason they need to know is that society tells them to. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom is a perfect example of societal upbringings because he never questions society; if it is in his books, it’s the truth. On the other hand, Huck is an example of someone who was born outside the iniquities of society. Huck questions the world around him, which tends to irritate Tom, and more importantly society. Even though Huck has not had an education, with his intuition he is a true example of freedom and knowledge in contrast to Tom.
Society has raised Tom to follow all of its rules and regulations. Tom has always been taught the difference between what is good and bad; he was raised since birth to be civilized. Tom was raised to treat people differently because of their skin color. He has never once questioned, but has only absorbed, this prejudice. He made it part of his perception of life, and that is why he does not see any discrimination in the world. Since he has been raised like this, Tom will always follow what his books say, because they are supposed to teach him how to be civilized. Tom always considers Huck’s ideals to be simplistic and ignorant: “It don’t make no difference how foolish it is, it’s the right way—and it’s the regular way. And they ain’t no other way, that I ever heard of, and I’ve read all the books that gives any information about these things” (Twain 257). Tom is saying that no matter how outlandish his ideals may sound, it is the right way and the only way to do things. In his mind, it cannot be too easy, because that is never in the books.
Huck was born outside the iniquities of this society, unlike Tom. Many of Huck’s plans can be seen as ignorant, dumb, or just too uncivilized to be performed. It would seem like Huck is a believer in the concept of materialism, meaning that if he cannot see things, he does not think they exist. This is probably because of his isolated life away from society which forced him to understand things on his own. When Tom’s “gang” wanted to attack Arabs, Huck was disappointed to find out they were just going after a Sunday school. Huck did not follow the rest of the guys because he was not imagining seeing Arabs and elephants like the other boys. Huck came to the conclusion that “all that stuff was only just one of Tom Sawyer’s lies. I reckoned he believed in Arabs and the elephants, but as for me I think different” (23). Huck does think differently because he was never taught to be creative. Basically he has no imagination and no understanding of the concept of pretending.
Tom is always scornful towards Huck because he does not get how Huck is so free thinking about every little thing. When Tom hears that Huck is trying to free Jim, a runaway, he is willing to help him out, not because he wants Jim to have freedom but because all he wants is an adventure to live out like in his books. Society has told him not to care about runaways so he does not take Jim’s well being into account, when he sets up his plans. He even goes as far as contemplating cutting Jim’s leg off to escape a prison, rather than lifting a bed frame. Even when Tom gets shot he does not want any medical attention. He is actually happy about it because it always happens in his books. Tom went through so much to see his books come alive, even going through the dangers of risking everyone’s lives. Only after he has left out his fantasy did he tell people that Jim was actually free from the start. That is the reason he agreed to free Jim, because he saw no harm in freeing a slave who was already free, even though he withheld this information from everyone.
Huck, on the other hand, is quite different with his relations with everyone. Since he has been forced to think about the world around him, he only has Pap’s and Ms. Watson’s advice to go on. When he is faced with a moral dilemma he is forced to think about what a civilized person would do compared to an uncivilized person. Through his journey he is thinking about where his ideals of justice stand in the world, and starts to follow his gut. Huck has been blessed with an opportunity at justice, to mature himself and his thoughts so that he can make the right choices.
Huck faces many moral dilemmas, but is using his own wits to get him through it. Huck has been put in plenty of tight spots where he could expose Jim, like society has always told him to do. Huck remembers that Jim said he, “was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he’s got now” (228). With this Huck sees Jim for more than just a runaway slave. He now sees Jim as a human being and not just a slave. Huck is turning away from the dehumanization that Ms. Watson forced on him, and he is trying to find his own path. He then thinks to himself “s’pose you’d a done right and give Jim up; would you felt better than what you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad—I’d feel just the same way I do now” (104). Huck is realizing his own definitions of good and bad, and selling out a friend when they need you the most, only to be put back in slavery, would be seen as unjust to Huck.
Huck and Tom have been brought up in two completely different worlds that contradict one another. Huck has been brought up in a lawless, classless society of his own where he is trying to judge the world for what it really is. Tom was raised to be proper from his birth and given a proper education about rules and regulations to follow. Tom may believe that he has more knowledge, than Huck only because he has been taught to believe that. Huck, by gaining freedom, has proven his knowledge can help him out of moral dilemmas based on his prior experiences. Huck seems to formulate his own sense of liberty in the process. In Huck’s case freedom is knowledge.