Pride and Prejudice (blog 4)

To me, the ending seemed kind of sudden. It's not so much that it was fast as it seemed that Jane Auston just went down a check list of all the problems and came up with the simplest solution. The story was obviously finished but the point it finished at was completely different from where I thought it would end.

Obviously Elizabeth was going to marry Mr. Darcy, but the point they ended it at was very awkward. Instead of showing it as a love story it seemed more like a story about over coming social classes. The entire last chapter is dedicated to how the characters have improved their class or remained at the same level or in someway made their mark on the standings of those around them, whether they approve or disapprove.

Mrs. Bennet brags about having two daughters so well married. Kitty learns to be better well rounded over all from the company she now keeps. Lydia and Wickham are as bad with money as ever and are rejected to some varying degree by all the people around them (Kitty isn't allowed to go see them and only Lydia is rarely accepted into Premberly). Miss Bingly doesn't like the situation at all but acts nice so that she will still be allowed at Premberly. Lady Catherine is extreamly angrey about her nephew marrying so far beneath himself that she doesn't talk with him for quite a while. And last but not least, Elizabeth and Darcy love the Gardiners because they brought them together by taking Elizabeth to Derbyshire.

The last paragraph is very telling about the whole story. "With the Gardiners thy were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them." (page 436). The very last thing the book addresses is "...the means of uniting them." (page 436), not their love for each other or any other sappy romantic stuff. This shows that the novel as a whole is interested in the how of overcoming social boundries, and not the why (love).

Going back a ways and on a side note, I realized that Premberly is sort of a miror image of Mr. Darcy. i believe this because to get to Premberly you have to go through the woods for a while before you can see the actual house. With Mr. Darcy Elixabeth knows him for quite a while before she actualy sees who he is.

Pride and Prejudice (blog 3)

I think that this section of the book has been very interesting so far. I stopped reading for the last blog right before Mr. Darcy asked Elizabeth to marry him, and I stopped reading for this part where (spoiler alert) Mr. Gardiner leaves for London to help Mr. Bennet find Lydia. Plenty of things have happened in between that I find worth discussing.

First of all, Elizabeth turned down Mr. Darcy. Of course that made sense at the time since she had bad information on him and seemed to be putting up an effort to see him in the most disagreeable light. Even when she got the letter explaining everything I see why she may have liked him more but still didn't what to marry him. That is all reasonable and makes sense. Then she goes to Pemberly and still doesn't really do more than notice that he likes her and consider that it wouldn't be too bad to be married to him. "She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to him, she felt a real interest in his welfare; and she only wanted to know how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself, and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she should employ the power, which her fancy told her she still possessed, of bringing on the renewal of his addresses." (page 297). She is acting very wierd for women of her time in this situation. I mean, I wasn't there or anything but at that time marriage was more buisness than anything else. It was important that the couple get along and can live with each other but other than that you just get over it and marry the guy in the best position.

To support the buisness side of it you have all these different people picking who they want to marry and even who their relatives should be marrying. Elizabeth is supposed to marry Mr. Collins because he is a respectable man and will best be able to support the family by not forcing them out of their house when Mr. Bennet dies. Mr. Collins marries Elizabeth's friend. The friend's family is very pleased not because they didn't expect she would be able to marry that well. Jane and Mr. Bingly were expected to be married but weren't partly because she didn't show enough emotion while Elizabeth doesn't marry Mr. Collins because her emotions would not allow it and Mr. Darcy wants to marry Elizabeth despite money and position. Miss Bingly wants to marry Mr. Darcy because he is very high up and respectable and wants her brother to marry Miss Darcy for the same reasons. Mr. Wickham wants to marry Miss Darcy only for money. Lady Catherine wants Darcy to marry her daughter because it would be an even, respectable match. And last but not least everyone is so upset about Lydia and Mr. Wickham because it is not a respectable match (aside from the fear that he wont marry her at all).

So the fact that Elizabeth isn't completely ready to marry the man who is extreamly rich, respectable, and in love with her is very out of place. I think that Jane Austen is saying that women should expect more respect both from other people and themselves. Mr. Darcy has proven all of the mentioned points except that he sees her as an equal, and any woman but Elizabeth probably would have said yes to Mr. Darcy in the first place even without thinking he was a good man. This was probably very extream for the time, and even though Mr. Bennet was a liberal and allowed Elizabeth to decline Mr. Collins even though it would have benifitted the family greatly even he would probably not support Elizabeth staying away from Mr. Darcy at this point.

Sorry, I ment to talk about more but I guess I just got carried away on this topic.

Pride and Prejudice (blog 2)

So far the second part of the book seems to have a wider range of topics. In the first half the only really important characters were Mr. Darcy, Mr. and Miss Bingly, Jane, Elizabeth, and Mr. Collins (even though his importance doesn't really come until later). This next part seems to pretty much focus on developing Elizabeth as a character. First of all they got rid of everyone in that list above except for Mr. Collins but he just became a reason instead of an interacting person and sent Elizabeth to Mr. Collins house where she meets Lady Catherine. Over all this section seems to zone in on Elizabeth.

Another interesting thing about the book is the way it refers to people. All of the people in this book are referred to as Mr., Mrs., or Miss. I know that this is pretty much a part of society at that time but it is fairly annoying and confusing. For example you have to focus when you're reading a part that takes place  in the Bennet house and someone mentions Miss Bennet. I think that if you couldn't always guess who they're talking about that would make this book a pretty difficult read. I'm not sure if Jane Austen used it just because that is just how you talked back then or for something else. For example, I think that she is using this as a way to make a statement on how people have a public face and also have their own unique personality. That would certainly fit with the whole idea of the book. The different titles try to fit people into these neat little boxes, but the Miss Bennets are very different from one another.

One thing that I really enjoyed from this section was when Elizabeth turned down Mr. Collins.
I have to admit, I did not expect to find something that funny in this book. At first you have to feel bad for Mr. Collins because of Elizabeths response to him even before he has asked her. "'Dear Ma'am, do not go. -I beg you will not go. -Mr. Collins must excuse me. -He can have nothing to say to me that anybody need not hear. I am going away my self.'" (page 119). She is pretty rude to him but who would want to have Mr. Collins propose to them. You can't really feel bad for Mr. Collins anymore once he opens his mouth, though. "'Believe me, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that your modesty, so far from doing you any disservice, rather adds to your other perfections.'" (page 120). I think that this is completely awkward since Mr. Collins is so thoroughly clueless he can't even see that the woman he is trying to ask to marry him doesn't even want to be in the same room as him. I find it hard to believe that anyone is really that clueless though so that gives you the other option that he is in denial of that fact. I think that he is just so centered around the buisness aspect of marriage that he finds it impossible to believe that a woman when offered a fairly decent match with no other options on the table would turn it down. He shows that this is the correct option by going on and not believing her repeated refusals. "'When I do myself the honour of speaking to you next on this subject I shall hope to recieve a more favorable answer than you have now given me; though I am far from accusing you of cruelty at present, because I know it to be the established costom of your sex to reject a man on the first application, and perhaps you have even now said as much to encourage my persuit as would be consistent with the true delicacy of the female character.'" (page 123). This comment is out and out rude to Elizabeth and all women of that time, but the worst is yet to come. "'... you should take it into farther consideration that in spite of your manifold attractions, it is by no means certain that anouther offer of marriage may ever be made to you.'" (page 124) This just proves that no woman should have ever married that man.

Pride and Prejudice (blog one)

So far I enjoy this book. The characters all interact in interesting ways. If I didn't know what happens I would probably say that this is just about a bunch of girls trying to find suitable husbands at this point. I think the differences between the male characters is very interesting.

First of all, there are several different men and all of them want different things and all behave differently. First of all, you have Mr. Darcy. He is described as rude, proud (overly so), indifferent and overall as an unpleasant person. I would say that his first impression would whole-heartedly support that. After being particularly unsocial at the ball, Mr. Darcy is within earshot of Elizabeth Bennet when he says, "'She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.'" (page 13). This completely drives Elizabeth away which is completely understandable. Unfortunately Mr. Darcy begins to admire her (she doesn't have high enough social class to actually like) and she only pulls away from him. Mr. Darcy is unmarried so you would think that- at this point in time- he would be looking for a wife but he seems disinterested in searching one out. I think that Mr. Darcy (although incredibly complicated) just doesn't really trust people and is probably pessimistic about new people and situations.

Mr. Bingley is also unmarried and is at least fairly rich as well but, the similarities stop there. He is very charismatic and charming; everyone he meets would probable agree with that. He also seems kind of shallow. Not necessarily as in being vain but more that he doesn't feel the need to go into deeper issues. Another example is with Jane he knows that she's pretty and is at least fairly nice so he likes her a lot. He seems more conventional in that he doesn't have a wife but would very much like to have one.

Mr. Collins seems like an entirely different story. He mostly seems awkward, insulting and, to put it gently, silly in many aspects of his life. It's interesting to see how his having these traits shows in the different members of the Bennet family. "Mr. Bennet's expectations were fully answered. His cousin was as absurd as he had hoped, and he listened to him with keenest enjoyment, maintaining at the same time the most resolute composure of countenance, and except in an occasional glance at Elizabeth, requiring no partner in his pleasure." (page 77). Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth seem to see how ridiculous Mr. Collins is but the rest of the family doesn't see that. I believe that the reason for this is that Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet aren' t as concerned with marriage and matters involving social class as the rest of the family is. Also they are probably the most intelligent of the group too.

The Catcher in the Rye (blog 4)

The book ended differently than I expected. Instead of having an obvious conclusion or change in Holden it just kind of stopped. I suppose that's what makes it a good novel; the fact that you have to figure it out yourself. In my opinion it was much simpler when books just told you what you should think at the end. Those never keep you up at night thinking though.

This last part of the book mostly contains Holden and Phoebe fighting. In my opinion Holden and Phoebe are just the same person in different situations. They both do dumb stuff just because the feel like it. "I forgot she always sleeps in D.B.'s room when he's away in Hollywood or some place. She likes it because it's the biggest room in the house. Also because it has this big old madman desk in it that D.B. bought off some lady alcoholic in Philadelphia, and this big, gigantic bed that's about ten miles wide and ten miles long. I don't know where he bought the bed. Anyway, old Phoebe likes to sleep in D.B.'s room when he's away, and he lets her." (page 206). This shows that Phoebe is also attached to family and is a bit eccentric just like Holden. Holden's experiences in New York seem to make him think of himself less and pay more attention to the people that matter, although you can still see that his quirky personality is in tact. "I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth. I don't know why. It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all. God, I wish you could have been there." (page 275). This seems like a pretty odd thing to get so happy over, especially since it's raining so mush and they were just fighting, but I think that it's a break through for Holden.

I think that all the fighting with Phoebe made Holden realize something very important to the story. I believe that he realized that things won't be given to him and that he has to deserve to be around those he loves. Phoebe really brings this out of him. It's not that Phoebe wouldn't love him if he kept acting dumb but her being disappointed in him was enough to cause a change. "Then all of a sudden, she said, 'Oh, why did you do it?' She meant why did I get the axe again. It made me sort of sad, the way she said it." (page 217). He doesn't seem as sad when she's mad but it bothers him that she's disappointed in him. He decides to make a run for the next day. Phoebe gives him enough reason to stay though and eventually she forgives him for not offering to take her with him. I think that the reason Phoebe is so effective on him while nothing else was making him more mature is that he was being held back by his past mistakes. He messed up with Jane and that was enough to get him moving and searching for an answer but that issue did nothing to point him in the right direction. Also, the death of his brother Allie made things more difficult for him although that helped him with the direction to go. Phoebe was the final straw because she needed him to help her then and there.

Over all I really liked this book. It didn't come out and hit you over the head with what it was trying to say. I'm sure that there are many more interpretations of what happened then what I have thought of for it.

The Catcher in the Rye (blog three)

After his awful date with Sally he has no idea what to do with the rest of his time until he's supposed to get home on Wednesday. He eventually calls one of his friends who is in college named Luce. They decide to go to a bar together. But since that isn't for several hours hours Holden plenty of free time.

Honestly, I don't think that Holden should be left alone with free time. I mean you can see how ridiculous he gets when he doesn't have something scheduled. You could easily argue that having free time is what makes a lot of Holden's problems, if not all of them. For one thing when he isn't doing anything he tends to think about Jane. "When I left the skating rink I felt sort of hungry, so I went to this drugstore and had a Swiss cheese sandwich and a malted, and then I went in a phone booth. I thought maybe I might give old Jane another buzz and see if she was home yet." (page 175). I don't think that this is good for him because even though he likes Jane and she's one of the few things that he enjoys talking about his thoughts on her seem to be slightly self destructive. It's not that the memories he mentions are sad but he always seems sad after he thinks of her. I would like to know the thing that changed them to how they are now. The way he talks they used to be very close but now he only talks about when they used to be close but they don't seem to be very close any more from the way he talks about her. I hope that it was just something stupid he did so he can fix it.

Once Holden meets up with Luce he gets really drunk. He acts incredibly stupid and calls Sally. He originally wanted to call Jane, but thankfully he wasn't in the mood by the time he got out to the phone booth. I think that Holden probably should have just waited things out rather than to call people when he's clearly not thinking strait. "When I was really drunk, I started with that stupid business with the bullet in my guts again. I was the only guy at the bar with a bullet in their guts. I kept putting my hand under my jacket, on my stomach and all, to keep the blood from dripping all over the place." (page 195). Anyone who reads this can easily see that Holden is not capable of much of anything at this point.

After walking around awhile he decides to head back to his parents apartment just to see his little sister and then leave. Phoebe is a pretty interesting character. First of all she doesn't like her middle name and always changes it. "That killed me. Her middle name is Josephine, for God's sake, not Weatherfield. She doesn't like it, though. Every time I see her she's got a new middle name for herself."(page 208). I think that her new name may have something to do with one of three things: she is just really creative, she doesn't like her parents or forms of control and wants to rebel against them, she doesn't like herself and feels the need to change, or some combination of the three.

 I do believe that she is creative because even then I don't think that Weatherfield was all that common a name, but that seems like an odd thing to do just to be creative. It could be possible that she doesn't like her parents, this would show in the fact that she moved out of the room they gave her. I think that the third option is the most correct though. Some of the things that would possibly lead to that would be that all her siblings have left her and that her parents don't seem to be around that much. You can see that she's used to having her parents gone when Holden asks what time they'll be back. Phoebe says, "No, not till very late. Daddy took the car so they wouldn't have to worry about trains. We have a radio in it now! Except that Mother said nobody can play it when the car's in traffic." (page 211). This shows how unimportant the fact that her parents are gone is to Phoebe; she quickly skips over that and starts talking about other stuff. She's also very affectionate to try to keep people around her (or at leats that's what I think). The fact that she changes her name seems to point to the idea that she wants to change herself for other people because she doesn't feel like she's good enough as she is.

The Catcher in the Rye (blog 2)

Holden decides to leave Pency Prep after he just can't deal with his roommate Stradlater anymore. Basically Holden is just really mad because Stradlater went on a date with Holden's old neighbor and didn't really treat her the way Holden thought she ought to have been treated. Apparently Holden cared about this girl a lot. Sradlater gets mad at Holden and knocks him out by accident. I wouldn't blame him though Holden was acting kind of crazy. Holden decides to leave the school even though he isn't technically supposed to leave until Wednesday. I think this is an irresponsible thing for him to do. It sort of sets the stage of how childish he is since this is a coming of age story. To me it seems like Holden is just running away from his problems.

Holden then heads out on what seems to me a ridiculously long night. To map out the events he takes a train from Pency Prep to New York, takes a cab ride to a hotel, goes to a bar, takes a cab to another bar, and then comes back to the hotel where he gets a prostitute. I know that it really wouldn't be that difficult in New York where you can find what you want within a block or two of you but being from a small town with practically nothing in it and no subway to get anywhere makes doing all of that in the twelve hours of so that it's dark seem like mission impossible. I know I'm not from Peyton but that one seems like a bit of a stretch.
The next day he seems dead set on seeing someone he actually knows. He tries to call the person he wants to see the most, the girl he had a fight with Stradlater about, but her mother answers and Holden doesn't want to talk to her he just hangs up. I thought this was kind of rude and a dumb move by him at first but then I realized that they didn't have caller ID back then, plus he was at a payphone. He calls this other random girl he knows and invites her to the movies. After the movies he pretty much goes crazy on her and asks her to run away with him so they can live in the woods and someday get married. She's pretty polite about it but you can tell she thinks he's crazy.

This showed that Holden is a very in the moment type of guy. He really doesn't like this girl and says he never would have ran away with her even if she had said yes. On the other hand he says that in the moment he really did mean it. I think that this goes back to him leaving school early just because he wanted to, or rather just because he was mad. So far in the story he has showed that he isn't responsible or really capable thinking things through when an idea strikes him.

On another note, this book doesn't really seem like it was written all that long ago. There are some key points that you can look at and say that they definitely didn't happen now. For example, tickets to a new play certainly wouldn't be cheaper than new movie tickets now. But on the other hand the general activities don't seem very different from what people do today.