Thinking Activity
This blog is in response to the Thinking activity of the novel Pride and Prejudice assigned by Yesha ma'am.
Pride and Prejudice:-
Pride & Prejudice was written by British author Jane Austen and published in 1813. The main character is Elizabeth Bennett and the story follows Elizabeth and her family as they deal with issues such as marriage, social class, and misunderstandings. The Bennett family consists of Elizabeth, her mother, her father, and her four unmarried sisters. The Bennett family is of the landed gentry, they have money but are not insanely rich. The novel is also a love story between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, although they initially dislike each other when they meet. They get off on the wrong foot, Elizabeth’s pride keeps her from seeing Mr. Darcy as anything except the negative first impression she initially had of him. While Mr. Darcy’s prejudice towards Elizabeth’s lower social class blinds him to her many good qualities. Other plotlines include Mr. Bingley (mr. Darcy’s good friend) wanting to marry Elizabeth’s older sister Jane, but encountering obstacles because of differences in social class and her younThe book has family, friendship, and an unconventional love story. This is probably Austen’s most famous novel and is considered to be a classic.
Jane Austen:-
Born:-16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her use of biting irony, along with her realism and social commentary, have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.Austen gained far more status after her death, and her six full-length novels have rarely been out of print. A significant transition in her posthumous reputation occurred in 1833, when her novels were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series, illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering, and sold as a set. They gradually gained wider acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience.
Austen has inspired a large number of critical essays and literary anthologies. Her novels have inspired many films, from 1940's Pride and Prejudice to more recent productions like Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Love & Friendship (2016).
1.Which version of the novel is more appealing? Novel or Film? Why?
The movie has other differences than just the dialogue. In the movie, Elizabeth keeps secrets from her family and grows apart from her older sister Jane. This is different from the book, while Elizabeth does become frustrated with events related to her family, she never keeps secrets from them.Generally, I prefer a book before a movie. Because books develop our imagination, they are much more detailed than films. books have deeper thoughts while the movie has shallowness in them because, of lack of time. But in the pride and prejudice, I prefer the movie. The original novel 'pride and prejudice' by jane Austen is quite lengthy. while the movie, pride and prejudice directed by Joe Wright; is based upon the novel - pride and prejudice. personally, the version of 2005 is more appealing to me as it has the most amazing cinematography and the choice of perfect characters. this movie is giving me the vibe of the romantic era.
2. Character Of Elizabeth Bennett.
Elizabeth Bennet is the much-beloved heroine of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is funny, intelligent, kind-hearted, and brave. She stands out because, unlike what was typical for romantic heroines of the day, her focus is not solely on marriage. Instead, Elizabeth has her own desires.Elizabeth's relationship with Mr. Darcy, the hero of the story, is often regarded as one of the most compelling romances in all of literature. Both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are complex characters with distinct flaws who grow and change throughout the novel.Elizabeth Bennet, also known as "Lizzy" to her loved ones, is around twenty years old during the novel. She is considered attractive, with her eyes as a standout feature; however, she is not considered as classically beautiful as her eldest sister, Jane.
The second of five daughters, Elizabeth is part of the middle class of England. Known as the landed gentry, they are not part of the aristocracy with titles and power; however, they are not impoverished. They live on an estate named Longbourn, where people pay to work the land, thereby financially providing for the Bennets.Elizabeth takes pride in her individuality. She knows who she is and what she wants in life and in a partner. She enjoys bantering with friends and family but makes sure to keep it polite. She is described as having "a mixture of sweetness and archness... which made it difficult for her to affront anybody." She teases Mr. Darcy and finds it amusing when he turns down her invitation to dance: she has a self-aware sense of humor and enjoys making her friends laugh.
However, Elizabeth's self-awareness is more limited than it initially appears. She is not aware of the factors shaping her own perspective and her prejudices coloring said perspective. Elizabeth's struggle to understand others' points of view (namely, Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Darcy) also stems from her individuality. However, seeing Charlotte's happiness with her state in life and several revelations about Mr. Darcy help Elizabeth realize the value of empathy.
Elizabeth displays great common sense and intuitiveness; the latter she prides herself on to her own folly. Although Elizabeth would like to marry for love, she is wise enough not to pursue Mr. Wickham because he cannot provide for her, and physical attraction does not guarantee marital happiness.
As for her intuitiveness, she is able to recognize the emotions of others and understand unspoken opinions. However, Lizzy misunderstands critical moments, which lead her to assume Mr. Darcy is a bad person based on his rudeness. On the other hand, Elizabeth also assumes Mr. Wickham is a good person because he has impeccable manners and appears upfront and honest with her. Hence, she believes him when he tells her Mr. Darcy ruined his life, when in reality, Mr. Darcy was only protecting his teenage sister. This leads to Lizzy's lament:
"I, who have prided myself on my discernment! I, who have valued myself on my abilities! ... Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind! But vanity, not love, has been my folly... from the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself."
In this quote, Lizzy realizes that her own "vanity," or pride, and her prejudice prevented her from seeing the truth. Her pride meant that she did not question her initial judgment of Mr. Darcy's and Mr. Wickham's characters. These initial judgments were based on her assessment of their respective manners: the socially awkward, blunt Mr. Darcy acted rudely, while the affable Mr. Wickham charmed her.
3.Character of Mr. Darcy.
In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy is a wealthy English aristocrat and the owner of Pemberley, a country estate. He inherited Pemberley, ''ten thousand a-year,'' and other wealth from his father, who passed numerous years prior. At the beginning of the novel, Darcy is staying with his close friend, Mr. Bingley, who is ''letting'' or renting Netherfield Park.
Mr. Darcy is a wealthy young gentleman. Gradually he becomes attracted to her and later attempts to court her while simultaneously struggling against his continued feelings of superiority. Darcy disapproves when his friend Bingley, develops a serious attachment to Elizabeth's elder sister Jane, and persuades Bingley that Jane does not return his feelings (which Darcy honestly but wrongfully believes). He later explains this seeming hypocrisy by asserting "I was kinder to [Bingley] than to myself". Although he doesn't realise it, Mr. Wickham's tale of how Darcy mistreated him and Elizabeth's later discovery of Darcy's interference in Bingley and Jane's budding relationship, along with Elizabeth's previous observations of Darcy's arrogance, conceit, and selfish disdain of the feelings of others, has caused her to dislike him intensely.Eventually, Mr. Darcy declares his love for Elizabeth and asks for her hand. He reminds her of the large gap in their social status. Elizabeth is offended and vehemently refuses him, expressing her reasons for disliking him, including her knowledge of his interference with Jane and Bingley and the account she received from Mr. Wickham of Darcy's alleged unfair treatment toward him. Insulted by Darcy's arrogant retorts, Elizabeth says that his proposal prevented her from feeling concerns for him she "might have felt had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner". Darcy departs in anger and mortification and the next morning, writes and hand delivers a letter to Elizabeth in which he defends his wounded honour, reveals the motives for his interference in Jane and Bingley's relationship, and gives a full account of his dealings with Wickham, who had attempted to seduce and elope with Darcy's younger sister, Georgiana, the previous summer.
4.Contemporary time and society depicted in the novel Pride and Prejudice.
The story of Pride and Prejudice is set during the start of the 19th century. We can see the deeply woven social element of contemporary society by the author Jane Austine.
Theme of marriage and land ownership is connected to the love stories in the novel. We can see the beneficials of the marriage and alliance and inheritance of the wealth and properties. Novel also reflects the class system and standards of the contemporary time. The strong point of the novel is to describe the position of women in society.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
5.If you were the director or the screenplay writer of the movie what sort of changes would you make in the movie?
I will make the character of Mrs. Bennet more reasonable as a mother than as a matchmaker. And I will give a little more space to the plot of elopement of lydia and wickham because that situation goes unnoticed in the movie.
6.Who would be your choice of actors to play characters?
Every actor in this movie, justified their role. even though if I have to change the character then the following will be my choice:
Elizabeth: Kiara Advani
Mr. Darcy: Hrithik Roshan
Jane: Disha Patani
Mr. Bingley: Varun Dhawan
Wickham: Ranvir Singh
Mr. Collins: Nawazuddin Siddiqui
7.Write a note on the scene which you liked most in the movie.
The scene which I liked the most is when Elizabeth confess her feelings for Mr. Darcy in front of her father. That finally she understands Mr.Darcy and realises that she was in love with him all along. She was just being suburb and and was blinded by her pride that she does not see the good side of Mr. Darcy.
8.Compare the narrative strategy of the novel and movie.
The movie has other differences than just the dialogue. In the movie, Elizabeth keeps secrets from her family and grows apart from her older sister Jane. This is different from the book, while Elizabeth does become frustrated with events related to her family, she never keeps secrets from them. She also confides in her sister after difficult events, they never grow apart. The movie also portrays Mr. Bennett as a warmer, more sympathetic father than he is in the book. His role in the family misfortunes, caused by him spending money on the wrong things, is downplayed. His relationship with his wife is much more loving in the movie. However, the movie also makes the Bennetts look poorer than they were in the book. Elizabeth also comes across as much more bold and impatient in the movie, she never yells at her parents in the book.
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