Husbands for Days....aka "Pride and Prejudice" Chapters 1-2

Overview/Summary:
Typically I won't actually combine chapters, but seeing as the combined page total of chapters 1 and 2 was a mere six pages, I decided to combine them...

Not a ton goes on during these two chapters, but at the same time these two chapters are higly important as they set the stage for what is to come later on within in the novel (they basically set the pace).

A brief warning: While reading this you may become slightly confused, remember it is okay and the () are for personal entertainment, thought, and general observance and it is perfectly okay to be disturbed at or by or utterly confused as a result of them.

Volume 1
Chapter 1:
This three page chapter (at least in my book), although short, immediately thrusts the reader into Jane Austen's world of 19th Century England, through one of the most profound and best said opening sentences of any book (again in my opinion) "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

We quickly discover that the extremely eligible bachelor Mr. Bingley has purchased Netherfield Park and will use Netherfield as a permanent resident. But all Mrs. Bennet, whose poor nerves get in the way of everything, can focus on is his £5,000 yearly salary. It becomes obviously clear for Mrs. Bennet that her single goal in life is to marry off her five beautiful daughters to good suitors.

And for us in the 21st century this idea may seem foreign or even slightly egotistical on Mrs. Bennet's part (especially as she believes her daughters are worth a lot of money) we have to approach this entire book with a late 18th or early to mid 19th century outlook. Even up until the middle 20th century in parts of the US (and still throughout much of the world) a woman had no value except childbearing and keeping of the home and was unable to inherit land or money especially if she had living male relatives. So in order to protect her future (as children would often take care of their mothers after the passing of their fathers) as well as that of her children she definitely needed to secure their fortunes with suitors with high incomes/salaries. And although I was unable to find exact rates on currency exchange from £5,000  in the mid 19th century to current monetary exchange values in America I am able to confidently say that Mr. Bingley is rich, very rich. Therefore after looking at Mrs. Bennet's insanity from an 18/19th century outlook, she suddenly looks like a very wise, although nervous, woman.

Volume 1
Chapter 2:
Chapter 2 follows much of the same suit with a slight change in plot. Instead of focusing solely on Mr. Bingley's salary we discover that the young Bennet girls are preparing themselves for a ball that Mr. Bingley and associate of his will be attending.

Also a few secondary characters are introduced within the second chapter.
 
Kitty (Catherine Bennet 17-years-old at the start of the novel), the Bennet's second youngest daughter and throughout the course of the novel is shown to be highly jealous and giddy at almost any event for public appearances that show up. (attention lover/fisgona)

Lydia, who is the Bennet's youngest daughter and is about 15-years-old at the start of the novel. Lydia is busy body and attention seeker who shows no care for following social norms and general observances and no remorse for breaking them. (most likely to be a sociopath)

Mary, Bennet child number three. (And probably my third favorite following sassy Elizabeth and my future husband Mr. Darcy) Mary is of absolutely no importance to the plot and literally sits in the background on only a handful of occasions. Although well read and knowledgeable, she is the plainest (or homeliest) of the five Bennet girls and finds her sisters' pursuit of men to be vain and not worth her time. (highly introverted and most likely to become a cat lady, nun, or serial killer)

And there you have it Volume 1, Chapters 1-2
Feel free to email me with any questions or suggestions!

This Is Water

For those of us who had Mrs. Byrne as our Honors English teacher last year this speech will be a repeate. But for those of you haven't read the speech, it is definitly something that inspires. In 2005, David Foster Wallace delivered this speech to the graduating class of Kenyon College. And although this speech was delivered almost eight years ago its words still hold true and maybe are even more important now than when this speech was first delivered. For those wishing to read the whole speech it can be found here: http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/david-foster-wallace-in-his-own-words

Tumblr...

I made a Tumblr!!! And yes, I plan to continue using my BlogSpot and start using my new Tumblr Account.

My views on BlogSpot are somewhat biased and I feel that BlogSpot has more of a professional feel to it, and I am more comfortable posing book reviews, notes, essays, etc... on my BlogSpot rather than random quotes that inspire or pictures and videos that I enjoyed. And for that I reason, I decided to create a tumlr account as well so I could easily post quotes and whatever else my heart desires rather than take away the learning and professional aspect of my BlogSpot. Please keep in mind that my Tumblr for this class represents what I feel is fun and interesting and may not be entirely scholastic in nature. And also that my tumblr is not necessary for my BlogSpot rather it is supplementary and makes it a better learning tool.

http://amarasharpaplit.tumblr.com/

Pride and Prejudice-All About Austen

I know I said that I was going to start with the "Poisonwood Bible", but I decided that reading Pride and Prejudice would be much more entertaining to start with. And you can never go wrong with Austen!!!

Introduction to Pride and Prejudice Notes:

Jane Austen:

Was born on December 16, 1775 in Steventon Rectory in Hampshire, England. Her parents were apart of the landed gentry and her father, George Austen, served as the rector (grounds keeper) of the Anglican parishes At Steventon, Hampshire. Austen had a large immediate family of six brothers and one sister (who was Jane's closest friend)

After the Austens were forced to take their two daughters out of boarding school and Jane continued her education with the help of her father and her brothers James and Henry. (Henry later became her literary agent) During this time Austen began writing with the encouragement of her family.

As early as 1787 Austen began writing short stories, plays and poems for her family's entertainment. Twenty-nine of these early literary works were published posthumous as "Juvenilia" and contained literature written between 1787 and 1793.

Austen wrote her first literary work between 1793 & 1795, a short epistolary novel (novel written as a series of documents) titled "Lady Susan". (which is described as Austen's most ambitious early piece of literature, in both topic and content)

Following "Lady Susan", Austen published and wrote several more novels anonymously (due to the fact that it was considered highly unorthodox and improper for a woman to write) from 1795 until her death on 18 July 1817, including "Emma" and "Mansfield Park". In December of 1817 (following her death) Austen's last two works "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey" were published.  In those two novels, Henry Austen contributed a Biographical Note which for the first time identified Jane as the author of her works.