web{er}log

Pride and Prejudice — some helpful bits of info

Stephen — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:54:17 +0000

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a New York City high school student in possession of a 19th century British novel must be in want of a study guide, so I thought I would create a reference page to help you all with your reading of Pride and Prejudice. Here you’ll find information regarding the various families and their homes, a map of England, some vocabulary clarification, etc. It will behoove you greatly to read through this before you begin reading the text.

Titles

P&P was published in 1813, a very formal time period where you would address acquaintances as “Mr.”, “Mrs.” and “Miss” until you knew each other incredibly well and were very close friends — and even then you might still address each other by your formal name. Our main family, the Bennets, is comprised of two parents and five daughters, all of them unmarried (at first). Technically, all the daughters are “Miss Bennet,” but whenever the girls are at a party you’ll notice that only Jane, the oldest daughter, is referred to as “Miss Bennet,” the others are called by name. This is because the oldest unmarried daughter is referred to as “Miss” in public gatherings. Mr. Darcy is called by that name throughout the novel, even when we learn his first name is “Fitzwilliam.” Elizabeth, even at the height of her love for him, always refers to him as Darcy.

With that in mind, here are some of the major characters and families.

The Bennets

The Bennets are the main family of the village of Longbourn in the county of Hertfordshire outside of London (today it’s considered a suburb of London, although at the time it was probably a day’s journey to the city).

photo of the market square in modern day Hertfordshire

They are a middle-class farming family, respectable, but not rich. The family is comprised of:

Mr. Bennet, sarcastic but loving
Mrs. Bennet, gossipy and exasperating
Jane Bennet (Miss Bennet), their oldest daughter
Elizabeth Bennet, second daughter (and the main character of the book)
Catherine Bennet (Kitty), young and playful
Mary Bennet, sour disposition, not the most attractive
Lydia Bennet, flighty and flirtatious

The Bingleys

The Bingleys are a wealthier family than the Bennets — a fact which greatly excites Mrs. Bennet — who move into Netherfield Park, the stately home not too far from the Bennets. The head of the family, Mr. Bingley, is around the age of Jane and Elizabeth Bennet. Once his father died, he was put in charge of his family, including his two sisters (with the exception of the one who married).

Netherfield Park (well, Basildon Park in reality, but it plays Netherfield in the movies)

Mr. Bingley, Longbourn village’s most eligible (and sought after) bachelor
Louisa Bingley (aka Mrs. Hurst), proud, prejudiced
Caroline Bingley (aka Miss Bingley), much like her sister

The Darcys

Mr. Darcy is Mr. Bingley’s good friend. He is incredibly well-bred, remarkably good-looking, and not very nice according to the local gossip. He prefers the city to the countryside largely because he prefers the conversation of intellectuals and a more worldly set of people than is typically found in the country. And yet, he is not altogether a bad guy…or even if he is, the fact that he is incredibly rich makes him worth consideration among the local girls as a potential husband. Who wouldn’t want to live in the uber-elegant Pemberley Hall?

Pemberley. *swoon!*

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, a man of inestimable wealth and good taste
Georgiana (Miss Darcy), his young sister and ward (he is responsible for her well-being after the death of their parents)
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy’s excessively proud, unshakeable aunt

Getting Around

There were obviously no cars as we know them at the time, but don’t think for a moment that people didn’t obsess about their wheels the way we modern folk do. Your vehicle was as much of a status symbol then as now. Here are some examples of types of carriages you will encounter in the book.

Going for a ride? Why not take out the chaise and four?

Most people would have simply gotten around by foot or on horseback. The elegant lady and gentleman, however, would travel in a Chaise and Four. The ‘chaise’ is the carriage itself (‘chaise’, pronounced shez, is French for ‘chair’) and ‘four’ refers to the number of horses drawing it. The chaise could be pulled by one horse or several (chaise and one, chaise and six, etc.); the more horses pulling a carriage, the faster it can go — which is why we still refer to a car’s horsepower.

"He has a barouche, you know."

If you were quite fashionable, you might travel around in a barouche, the convertible of the carriages. In a barouche you can push back the roof and let everyone see how well-dressed you areas you enjoy the fine country air. Not only that, but you can sit facing one another, perfect for that romantic evening out. This is similar to the carriages you see today in Central Park.

You can buy this at etsy.com. You know you want to.

Dress

Men’s formal wear hasn’t changed all that much in the past 200 years — a suit today looks rather similar to a suit in 1813, although the man of that time period would wear it with a little more accessory. Women’s everyday dresses are similar to what we would call a sun-dress; light, simple, no frills — shown here:

The Bennet sisters from one of the movie versions of P&P. Note that, although the skirts are floor length, the neckline (technically referred to as the décolletage) is sweeping (and rather revealing...)..

This, however, is not what one would wear to a ball at the assemblies. Watch this video and pay close attention to the manners of dress and behavior. This is the first dance at Netherfield Park (click link):

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

This should be enough to get you started with Pride and Prejudice. Once you get a hang of Austen’s language, you’ll quickly understand why this is still one of the most popular books in the world, even after 200 years!

Looking for Richard (1996)

Stephen — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:04:09 +0000

In Looking for Richard, Al Pacino attempts to make Richard III (and, by extension, Shakespeare) more accessible to a modern audience. He does so by conducting man-on-the-street interviews, asking strangers questions about their experiences with Shakespeare, and by talking to professional actors about their experience with Shakes. Many of the finest actors in the world confess to the difficult times they’ve had accessing Shakespeare’s poetry, so you aren’t alone in struggling with it. Ultimately, though, they find the meaning and the deep human emotion behind the words and see Shakespeare’s verse as a real treasure.

Describe one thing that you can take away from the first half of the movie that helps to illuminate either Shakespeare in general, or Richard in particular, and discuss what surprised you. You can reflect on a quote from one of the actors or one of the random people on the street, or think about one of the scenes from the play itself that made more sense seeing it performed by professional actors.

Leave two comments: the first should be dated 1/18/12 and the second 1/19/12.

Richard III, Act II

Stephen — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:00:01 +0000

Al Pacino as Richard III. Say hello to his little crown.

Respond to all in separate comments.

1. How does Richard make Edward accept responsibility for Clarence’s death (II.1)? Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? Or, even worse, have you gotten someone else in trouble for something you did? What was that experience like?

2. Why does the Duchess not tell Clarence’s children about their father’s death (II.2)? Have you ever had to keep a horrible secret from someone or had such a secret kept from you? What goes through your mind if you’re the one keeping the secret? What goes through your mind when you find out an important secret has been kept from you?

3. What specific anxieties preoccupy the citizens (II.3)? Do you think any of there concerns connect with any of our concerns today?

4. Even Richard’s own mother has nothing but horrible things to say about him (II.4). What does this reveal about Richard? About his mother? Have you ever gotten into a fight with a parent or sibling or someone you deeply love, but whom you want to hurt in that moment with your words? How does it feel being so hurt that you have to resort to saying the most horrible words you can think of at the moment? How do you calm afterwards and make amends?

Richard III, Act I

Stephen — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:46:57 +0000

Portrait of Richard III

Respond to each of the following questions in a separate comment post:

1. In his opening monologue (I.1), is Richard’s view that he is unlovable because of his deformity designed to awaken the audience’s sympathy for him? If so, does it work? Why or why not?

2. Why does Anne succumb to Richard (I.2)? Is her submission to him completely unrealistic, or do you know of people who might have done the same?

3. In I.4, Brackenbury senses the reason why the two murderers wish to see Clarence, but he declines to get involved. Is he doing the right thing?

4. Why do you think Shakespeare has the murderers engage in a long debate scene before deciding to go through with their assignment to kill Clarence? What can the audience learn from this?

Shakespeare Behind Bars

Stephen — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:29:38 +0000

For today’s prompt, reflect on your experience of reading Richard III thus far, and share some thoughts regarding what you’ve seen of Shakespeare Behind Bars to this point. What challenges are presented by the text? How have the prisoners in the movie overcome them? How will you overcome them?

Elizabeth

Stephen — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:49:50 +0000

We watched Elizabeth in class as a means of understanding the world and political landscape that Shakespeare was born into. The movie, however, is also an excellent introduction to Shakespeare’s history plays because it is structured similar to the histories and their fascination with the intrigue of the royal court. Answer the following questions in complete paragraphs.

1. Does the fact that Elizabeth is a woman affect her role as the leader of England? How so?

2. Elizabeth has many choices to make as a leader — how to unify the people under a single religion, how to deal with the attack from Scotland, who to marry (or to marry at all). Pick one of her decisions and analyze it. Consider, what were her choices? Did she choose wisely? How might she have chosen differently if she were a leader today? How might you have chosen if you were the ruler in her place?

Bamboozled

Stephen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:37:30 +0000

In a really tightly written paragraph of no fewer than 250 words, find a common thread that links either The Bluest Eye or Good Hair (or even Amusing Ourselves to Death) with Bamboozled and explain the connection that you see. It might be a thematic connection, common motifs, an intersection of ideas and philosophies…whatever interests you. Blog away!

Except Sex

Stephen — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:18:18 +0000

Foster goes on to say that when literary writers do include explicit sex scenes, they generally aren’t doing so to excite their readers, but to illustrate something essential about their characters or storylines. That said, there is a lot of “bad sex” as he calls it — scenes where the sex is violent and weird and anything but loving — in The Bluest Eye.

Reread the following two passages and choose one other instance of “bad sex” and figure out why Morrison might have included such scenes. What literary purpose did they serve? Are the sexual acts symbolic of something else? Are they metaphors? Explain.

148 — Cholly, Darlene and the white men with guns

162-3 — Cholly and Pecola

??? — a scene of your choice

All About Sex

Stephen — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:13:25 +0000

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster says that much of what we read in literature is about sex, even if it doesn’t look like it at first. This isn’t to say that everything is about sex explicitly, but that quite often works will have sexual undertones that suggest sex or sexuality…and for a variety of reasons. Using his work as a starting point, look at the following passages in The Bluest Eye and see if you can identify the underlying sexual imagery, then figure out why it’s there.

pg. 50 — Pecola and the Mary Jane candies

pg. 134-5 — Cholly, Blue and the watermelon

The Bluest Eye — Pecola

Stephen — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 13:38:26 +0000

1) The Bluest Eye was published in 1970. At the time Morrison was writing the novel, the racist society that condemned Pecola Breedlove was still very much in place and Morrison took great risks — both within the black community and American society as a whole — to tell this important story. While advances in civil rights and racial attitudes have been made in the intervening years, it is arguable that many of the core issues so vividly evoked in the novel remain. What evidence is there that racial self-hatred continues to ruin lives? What present-day cultural factors could contribute to tragedies like Pecola’s?

***Giving credit where it’s due, I lifted the question above from www.bookbrowse.com

2) Compare and Contrast Pecola’s experience with that of Toi Derricotte (“The Black Notebooks”) and Zora Neale Hurston (“How it Feels to be Colored Me”)

(To find out more about these writers, go to http://toiderricotte.com/ and http://www.zoranealehurston.com/)