Week 9 Response

"To prepare, we need to become aware of the shift, understand its causes, and think creatively and innovatively about new educational strategies to the coming changes." (Hayles, 1)

How does the shift become apparent with a novel such as Persepolis?

Instead of picking a particular quote from the primary reading, Persepolis, I decided to look at the novel as a whole when trying to answer this question. When I think of studying Literature, I think of novels such as Pride and Prejudice, and plays by Shakespeare. If I was picking books for the course, I never would've thought to pick a graphic novel. But the more that teens/children change, especially students, the more we should figure out ways to fit these changes. That's not to say that we shouldn't continue studying Jane Austen and Shakespeare, we should just add to it. Persepolis allows for a whole new audience; it takes those that read graphic novels or manga, even, and lets them read the same story, just told in a different way. I think that the author of Persepolis was very aware of this shift, understood its causes, and thought of a creative, innovative way to tell her story.

Weekly Response 8

Thesis:
In his article, "The One vs. The Many" Alex Woloch discusses the importance of flat characters in Jane Austen novels, namely Pride and Prejudice. Instead of merely taking up space in the novel, each flat character serves a greater purpose. When we take into account the five Bennet sisters, we find that Elizabeth is the only sister that has any substance to her character; the others seem flat in comparison, forcing many to ask why they are even in the novel. Each of Elizabeth's sisters contain one characteristic that is highlighted throughout the novel -- Jane has her beauty, Mary her studies, Lydia is careless, while Kitty is a follower. In Elizabeth, we find a well-balanced version of each characteristic. The reason for the four other Bennet sisters in Pride and Prejudice is to account for Elizabeth's character.

Paragraph One: Establish Elizabeth's Characteristics (?)
"To be a character in Austen is to get continually contrasted, juxtaposed, related to others, and, as such, to help build the thematic architecture that critics then discern." (Woloch, 43)
"'I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good humoured as Lydia. But you are always giving her the preference.'

'They have none of them much to recommend them,' replied he; 'they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.'" (PP, 45).

Paragraph Two: Jane -- Beauty
"Oh! she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behidn you, who is very pretty, and I dare say, very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you." (PP, 50)
"Oh! my dear Mr. Bennet" as she entered the room, "we have had a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Every body said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful and danced with her twice." (PP, 50)

Paragraph Three:
"Mary had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in the neighbourhood." (PP, 50)
"They found Mary, as usual, deep in the study of thorough bass and human nature

Paragraph Four:
"...but Lydia, with perfect indifference, continued to express her admiration of Captain Carter, and her hope of seeing him in the course of the day, as he was going the next morning to London." (PP, 67).

"'We will go as far as Meryton with you,' said Catherine and Lydia. ---- Elizabeth accepted their company, and the three young ladies set off together" (PP, 70).

Paragraph Five:
"Wholly inattentive to her sister's feelings, Lydia flew about the house in restless ecstacy, calling for every one's congratulations,, and laughing and talking with more violence than ever; whilst the luckless Kitty continued in the parlour repining at her fate in terms as unreasonable as her accent was peevish." (PP, 244).

"'I cannot see why Mrs. Forster should not ask me as well as Lydia,' said she, 'though I am not her particular friend. I have just as much right to be asked as she has, and more too, for I am two years older.'" (PP, 245).

Week 7 Response

"Her novels are rich in detail of the status symbols and cultural markers of her society: the estates, lands, houses, cottages; the coaches, carriages, barouche-landaus, hatchments, lozenges, liveries; the silks, satins, muslins, pearls, amber crosses, rings, and beads. As a sensitive and informed commentator on class, that huge topic of the nineteenth century, Austen shows up amply how such things matter. She also shows us how they should not matter too much." (Class, 130)

"...[Mr. Darcy] was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend." (PP, 49)

It is apparent from the first few pages of the novel that Pride and Prejudice is focused around not only the idea of marriage, but also social status, and how marriage and social status are related. Because she is a realist author, Austen does a good job of capturing the differences in social class with the many characters she has in her novel. I find it particularly interesting to look at Darcy, Bingley, and Elizabeth when it comes to social class. Both Elizabeth and Bingley are aware that social class does not matter; when given an offer for marriage from Mr. Collins, Elizabeth turned him down in favor of a marriage because of love. She was given the opportunity to obtain her father's estate after his death through marriage to Mr. Collins, and indeed it might've been a good choice if she had been interested in obtaining some sort of social status, but instead, she would've rather married for love. The same is true of Mr. Bingley, who falls in love with Jane, despite her social status. Darcy, though, is quite the opposite of the other two. He refuses to even dance with the ladies at the ball because he believes himself to be too good for them. In fact, he even convinces Mr. Bingley to stay away from Jane because of her social status (and her obnoxious family). While no reasons are actually given for the differences in thought besides social status itself, some inferences may be able to be made. Darcy has spent his whole life in this way, with his money and his estate, and so it is possible that he is used to living his life that way. Bingley is new to the whole status thing, having won his money through trade, and so he doesn't really let the idea of class get to him. He is perfectly content with marrying Jane until Darcy comes along and convinces him otherwise. And for Elizabeth, well, I think she is just pushed too much by her mother all the time to actually want to marry for status. Mrs. Bennet is constantly talking about marrying her children off to gentlemen with money, and so Elizabeth is surrounded by it enough to become sick of the talk. 

Weekly Response 6

"To be a character in Austen is to get continually contrasted, juxtaposed, related to others, and, as such, to help build the thematic architecture that critics then discern." (Woloch, 3)

"'I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good humoured as Lydia. But you are always giving her the preference.'

'They have none of them much to recommend them,' replied he; 'they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.'" (PP, 45)

If Pride and Prejudice focuses around Elizabeth as the protagonist, why does Austen include the other four sisters in the novel?

"In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth's sisters play a much more important role in the narrative, and it is more difficult to argue that they are there simply to represent the difficulty that they cause Elizabeth by being there." (Woloch, 4). If what Woloch says is correct, then what is the purpose of the other four Bennet sisters. I have to agree with Woloch on this one and say that the sisters aren't there simply to represent the difficulty they cause Elizabeth. The quote above from Pride and Prejudice occurs within the first chapter and focuses on Lizzy. By doing so, Austen shows that Elizabeth is the main character of the novel. Austen also uses the sisters, though, to not only show Elizabeth as the main character, but to show off all the qualities that make her the main character.

Mrs. Bennet says that "Lizzy is not a bit better than the others" and that she "is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good humoured as Lydia." She is also not so accomplished as Mary. Mrs. Bennet is so focused on marriage, that she only looks at the qualities that will allow her daughters to obtain a husband. For example, Jane is beautiful -- in fact, the most beautiful of all the sisters -- and this is what draws Bingley to her in the first place. As Elizabeth points out later on, though, she has the inability to see the bad in anyone, and that is one of her biggest downfalls. She is unable to see the bad in both Darcy and the Bingley sister's, and they are one of the reasons she ends up losing Bingley. Lydia, on the other hand, while she ends up marrying Mr. Wickham, disgraces the whole family. And while Mary is accomplished, she doesn't hold any beauty. It is Elizabeth that is a mix of all these things; while she is not the most accomplished, she does know how to read and write and has her wit. She is still beautiful, although not the most beautiful of the sisters. It is almost like each sister has one or two main characteristics that the novel focuses on (such as Jane's beauty, or Lydia's good humour, and so on) and those characteristics are their biggest flaws. But by combining all of those, they become balanced out so that Elizabeth doesn't focus on one characteristic too much.

Weekly Response 5

"At any rate, the faculty termed Wit is commonly looked upon with a suspicious eye, as a two-edged sword, from which not even the sacredness of friendship can secure. It is especially, I think, dreaded in women." (Appendix B, page 400)

"If aught on earth can present the image of celestial excellence in its softest array, it is surely an Accomplished Woman, in whom purity and meekness, intelligence and modesty, mingle their charms. But when I speak on this subject, need I tell you, that men of the best sense have been usually averse to the thought of marrying a witty female?" (Appendix B, page 400)

"'Oh! certainly,' cried his faithful assistant, 'no one can be really esteemed accomplished, who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.'

'All this she must possess,' added Darcy, 'and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.'

'I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any.'

'Are you so severe upon your own sex, as to doubt the possibility of all this?'

'I never saw such a woman. I never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe, united.'"
(Pride and Prejudice, 76)

According to James Fordyce's passages above, and taking into account the passages from Pride and Prejudice, what it Elizabeth's major flaw?

Fordyce's second passage describes what men would hope to find in women. He describes this woman as the Accomplished Woman, and gives her the following characteristics: purity and meekness, intelligence and modesty. To him, and many others in that time, this is the ideal woman. In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley, and Mrs. Hurst all describe the ideal woman, also known as the accomplished woman. They too, have a set of expectations. Fordyce says that women must be intelligent, but modest, and that those that have Wit are not at the top of the list to be married. While Elizabeth does not fit into their mold of the accomplished woman, she does possess something that they describe. Her biggest quality is her intelligence, and perhaps that would mean something to Mr. Darcy and company, even impress them, if she didn't lack modesty. Elizabeth has wit, but it's what she does with that wit that draws people away. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, and I think that's what Fordyce is getting at in these particular passages.