Pride and Prejudice Essay

Dora Ocampo
AP English 11 –Mr. George
April 17, 2009
Pride and Prejudice Essay

There is more to marriage than just sharing a house, buying each other rings, and saying “I do”. You have to learn what the other is accustomed to and what they detest in order to make the marriage work. You have to accept the other for their flaws and adjust oneself for the other. None of this can be done without the main component, love. If there is no love in a marriage, it will be unsuccessful and most importantly unpleasant, like it would be with marriages of mercenary and prudence.

When looking for a partner in marriage, there are many things that one should consider. One of them could be if both partners will be able to provide for themselves financially. Another could be if both have schedules and personalities that are compatible with each other. Lastly, both members have to be positive that they are in love. These are all things that couples should reflect on, but should focus more on the last one. If a couple is truly in love then achieving happiness is inevitable. “Happiness is the key to success” (Schweitzer) and also the key to a successful marriage.

In the novel Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen, Austen explores three different types of marriages, mercenary being one of them. A mercenary marriage is one in which you marry solely to benefit yourself, whether it be in terms of money or some other form of reward. Wickham and Mrs. Bennet exemplify the true meaning of being mercenaries.

As if eloping with Mr. Darcy’s sister wasn’t enough, Mr. Wickham also eloped with Elizabeth’s sister, Lydia. The only difference is that Mr. Wickham had absolutely no intention of marrying Lydia when they decided to leave: “He [Wickham] confessed himself obliged to leave the regiment on account of some debts of honour which were very pressing” (Austen 313). In an attempt to win over Elizabeth and to save the reputation of the Bennet family, Mr. Darcy set Wickham up with a job, and also offered to pay off his debts. Wickham, though Mr. Darcy has already given him plenty, continued to ask for more, and even though his wishes were not met, he decided to accept Mr. Darcy’s proposal: “Wickham, of course, wanted more than he could get; but at length was reduced to be reasonable” (313). Love played no role in the marriage between Lydia and Wickham and it was only standing strong due to the agreement made with Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennet, along with Wickham, believed in mercenary marriages.

All five of the Bennet sisters were encouraged to marry into a rich family, and this encouragement came mainly from their mother, Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet’s conscience tells her that money is the key to happiness, and because of this she supports her daughters in marrying into wealth. This will not only lead her daughters into a good life, but also hers: “If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield […] and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for” (11). Although Mr. Darcy was exceedingly wealthy, Mrs. Bennet was not fond of him because he carried himself very proudly. At the Pemberley ball, Mr. Darcy refused to dance with any of the females present because the ball was more of “a punishment than a pleasure” (55), meaning that none of the females were good enough. Mrs. Bennet found Darcy arrogant, conceited, and proud, at least until she found out that he proposed to Elizabeth: “Oh, my sweetest Lizzy! how rich and how great you will be!” (365). Mrs. Bennet was concerned solely about advantage, not happiness.

In the film Love and Basketball (2000), Shawnee Easton attempts to pursue love with the basketball star of Crenshaw High School, Quincy McCall. Quincy led his team in being number one with his scoring output and assists, and was also very wealthy because his father played for the Clippers. Because of this all of the females in his high school wanted to be with him. Dating the star athlete would have boosted up Shawnee’s level of popularity, hence why she was very forward in her approach to Quincy. Quincy’s mother, unlike Mrs. Bennet, warned Quincy of how girls were only using him: “Now I’m telling you that these girls are looking to get you caught, they see you and they see dollar signs” (Love and Basketball). None of these one night stands led to a successful relationship, thus mercenary marriages are unsuccessful.

As an intelligent theology teacher once taught, the definition of prudence is practical common sense. In prudential marriages, the couple is together because written on paper it seems perfect, although they may have different personalities. Mr. Collins proposes to two different women based on prudence.

After Elizabeth rejected Mr. Collins, and Mr. Collins claiming that she was playing hard to get like every other girl, he lists reasons as to why Elizabeth should marry him. In that list Mr. Collins mentions Elizabeth zero times. His proposal lacks passion, which is an example of how he really was not interested in the marriage with Elizabeth in the first place. He was proposing simply because it seemed right. Mr. Collins’ prudent motives are demonstrated when a few days later he proposes to Charlotte. Charlotte accepts his proposal simply because she too has the same motives as Mr. Collins.

“Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance” (Austen 24). Though said with a comical pretense, the quote above is something that Charlotte definitely means and stands by. Happiness is something that Charlotte doesn’t think to be a priority in marriage and is content with having a marriage lacking happiness. This may come off as absurd, but Charlotte was more concentrated on her future and how everything would appear. Also, Charlotte’s main goal was to get married, and she was willing to get what she wanted by any means necessary: “Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object: it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune” (122). Charlotte and Mr. Collins were clearly meant to be together.

After getting married, Mr. Collins desperately tries to make Elizabeth feel bad about her decision of rejecting him. He wants her to feel wounded by the fact that Charlotte is married to Mr. Collins. Both Charlotte and Mr. Collins are aware of why they are married and respect that. They give each other plenty of space and are never harassing each other. Their marriage is legal, but there is absolutely no emotional attachment.

Monica Wright in Love and Basketball gets paired up with a college student as a date for her Spring Dance by her sister, Lena Wright. Lena convinces her college friend to go out with Monica as a way to boost up her confidence and so that Monica can show off her cute date, Jason. Jason turned heads at the Spring Dance because he was attractive and because anyone who hung out with someone in college was perceived as cool. Though Monica and Jason looked cute together, they didn’t work out as a couple. Monica was looking for something deeper than just good looks, and she was incapable of finding something deeper in Jason. Prudence was incapable of producing happiness for Monica; hence prudence is the wrong motive to have when looking for a successful matrimony. Just because it’s supposed to make sense, doesn’t mean that it’s going to.

“Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to Love” (Virgil). Love is the omnipotent factor in a successful and happy marriage. Although love contains many hardships and obstacles, in the end it prevails over all other motives. Both Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy underwent difficult situations in order to have the woman that they love.

Mr. Bingley was separated from Jane by Mr. Darcy because Darcy was afraid that Bingley was more attached to Jane than Jane was to Bingley. This separation of Jane and Bingley brought happiness to Caroline, Bingley’s sister. But once Jane and Bingley got married, Caroline was disappointed in her brother. This was something that Bingley willingly endured for the love of Jane. Also, by marrying Jane, Mr. Bingley back peddled from where he was economically. What makes the marriage between Jane and Bingley so sweet, is the fact that Bingley had to make sacrifices to get the woman who he loves.

Out of Bingley and Darcy, Mr. Darcy gave up the most. Along with Bingley, Darcy disappointed his only remaining aunt and also dropped in class, though Darcy’s drop was significantly more than Bingley’s. Darcy also had to become brothers with Wickham, the man who deceived him. This says a lot about Darcy’s humble character and about his love for Elizabeth. As stated previously, Darcy paid off Wickham’s debts for the love of Elizabeth. In order to do this, Darcy put his pride aside and focused on what was more important, Elizabeth’s love: “Don’t lose someone you love though over your pride. Stick with your entrée and get over your side” (Fabolous). Darcy proves to Elizabeth how much she means to him through all the sacrifices that he made.

In Love and Basketball Monica and Quincy fall in love in high school, and continued their love in college. Due to some circumstances, they broke up while in college. Quincy went off to the NBA while Monica went overseas. During a basketball game with the LA Lakers, Quincy tore his ACL. Monica returns and gives Quincy a surprise visit with flowers. While at the hospital, Monica finds out that Quincy is engaged to stuartist. Her heart aches in pain, for she is still in love with Quincy and alludes to that when she says, “It's a trip, you know? When you're a kid, you-you see the life you want, and it never crosses your mind that it's not gonna [sic] turn out that way” (Love and Basketball). At the end of the movie, Monica confesses her love to Quincy and decides to play a game of one-on-one for his heart. He was completely against this game, but decided to play anyways. She lost the game, but still won Quincy’s heart.

With the outcome of both Pride and Prejudice and Love and Basketball, the message that is received is that love triumphs over all. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen makes Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy the happiest couple in the book. In Love and Basketball, director Gina Prince-Bythewood made it so that although Monica lost the game to win Quincy’s heart, Quincy’s love for Monica made him able to look past the fact that he was engaged to another woman and that initially he was against the entire game.

“All is fair in love and basketball” (Love and Basketball).


Work Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York, New York. Barnes & Noble Books. 2004.
Fabolous feat. T. Pain. Baby Don’t Go. From Nothin’ to Somethin’. August 2007.
Happiness Quotes. http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_happiness.html. 04/16/09.
Prince-Bythewood, Gina. Love and Basketball. 2000.
The Quotations Page. http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/24334.html. 04/16/09

Mrs. Bennet

Dora Ocampo
AP English 11 –Mr. Darcy
April 14, 2009
Easter Homework Two

Deceitful and a gold-digger, throughout the entire novel Mrs. Bennet was inconsistent with how she felt towards others.
If you were a man of wealth and of high class, Mrs. Bennet would compliment you on everything. The most important element that Mrs. Bennet looked for was stature. She attempted to associate herself only with rich people, although she was poor, and also attempted to pair up her daughters with only rich men. If Mrs. Bennet lacks in anything, it’s on being genuine. Her harsh words and ill manners towards Mr. Darcy is an example of how much a stranger Mrs. Bennet is to being genuine. The primary reason for her behavior was because Mr. Darcy refused to dance with her daughters. After finding out that Mr. Darcy has proposed to Elizabeth, she soon began to praise Mr. Darcy, even though moments before she was talking ill of him.
Mrs. Bennet is a dummy. The ventriloquist tells her what to say, although she doesn’t mean any of it. Her life is controlled by a hand, and in Mrs. Bennet’s case the hand is the importance of class. Her motives are simply because she feels obligated. She will give you compliments and good wishes, but at the end of the day she is controlled by something else, and all her words and intensions are only in hopes of benefitting her in some way.
Mrs. Bennet is like Perez Hilton, constantly talking about the flaws of others, but too shallow to notice their own.

Darcy

Dora Ocampo
AP English 11 –Mr. George
April 14, 2009
Easter Homework

Charming, beautiful, stunning, polite, and a gentleman, at least after getting over your first impression of Mr. Darcy.
Upon first meeting Mr. Darcy, he may come off as arrogant and conceited. His failure to dance with or acknowledge the females at the Pemberley ball forced this opinion of him on others, especially because his reason for not dancing or talking to the other girls was because there was no one beautiful enough. As time elapsed, the one who seemed to detest Mr. Darcy the most was soon changing her opinion of him. Mr. Darcy dropped the wall in front of him that wasn’t allowing him to show people who he really was, and explained to Elizabeth why it may appear as if he had a cold demeanor through a letter. Mr. Darcy’s true character shined after everyone realized that they were initially wrong about him.
Mr. Darcy is a mentos. When first seeing one, you are fooled by its hard, sugar coated surface, thinking that it will be more like a hall rather than a starburst. After having the mentos in your mouth for a while, you realize its chewy center, how soft it is, and how soft your breath is about to be.
Mr. Darcy is like George Clooney, both private and reserved people, but once their tough exteriors are broken down they have gentle souls.

P&P #14 Chpts 13-15

“The Bennets were speedily pronounced to be the luckiest family in the world; though only a few weeks before, when Lydia had first run away, they had been generally proved to be marked out for misfortune” (339).

How ironic that after everyone lost respect for the Bennets, they rapidly regained it after Jane was engaged to Mr. Bingley. The Bennet family was deprived of respect because of Lydia and her ill-natured characteristics. She is very selfish and self-centered, because she didn’t worry about how her actions were going to affect her family. Because of Lydia’s aggressive and inconsiderate way of being, her family began to be ashamed of her: “ If you were aware […] of the very great disadvantage to us all, which must arise from the public notice of Lydia’s unguarded and imprudent manner, nay, which has already risen from it, I am sure you would judge differently in the affair” (225-226). After Jane and Mr. Bingley became engaged, it was as if the situation with Lydia had never occurred. This demonstrates how important stature, class, and wealth is in their society

What are Elizabeth’s feelings about Jane and Mr. Bingley’s engagement:
a. Jealous because she has yet to be married
b. Happy because she knows how much Jane likes Mr. Bingley
c. Disappointed in Jane for falling for Mr. Bingley again
d. Upset because now she’s going to be all alone with Mary and Catherine.

P&P #13 Chpts 10-12

“He had done all this for a girl whom he could neither regard nor esteem. Her heart did whisper that he had done it for her. But it was a hope shortly checked by other considerations; and she soon felt that even her vanity was insufficient, when required to depend on his affection for her, for a woman who had already refused him, as able to overcome a sentiment so natural as abhorrence against relationship with Wickham” (316).

What a gentleman Mr. Darcy is, and all for the love of Elizabeth. He was not obligated to do all that he did for Lydia and Mr. Wickham, but out of love and respect for Elizabeth he did. Mr. Darcy convinced Wickham to marry Lydia for the sake of the reputation of the Bennet family and also paid Mr. Wickham to do so. Though personally I don’t believe what Mr. Darcy did to be very gentlemen like, at least in modern times, but during this time period Mr. Darcy’s acts were very much generous. And then it hit Elizabeth that maybe there is no hope for a marriage between them, for who in their right mind would propose to someone again after being rejected in such a harsh and foul manner. This reminder of how rare it would be for her to be proposed to again puts a damper on Elizabeth’s heart, especially since Mr. Darcy is not paying any attention to her. And the one instance where Mr. Darcy did converse with Elizabeth, he walked away after a brief moment of silence. Elizabeth messed up.


What can be the root of Mrs. Bennet’s hatred towards Mr. Darcy:
a. He won’t marry Jane
b. He convinced Wickham to marry Lydia
c. He wouldn’t pay attention to any of the girls at the ball in which they met
d. He looks down upon the Bennet family
e. He is inconsiderate of others

Huck Finn Essay

Dora Ocampo
AP English 11 – Mr. George
March 25, 2009
Huck Finn Essay

Ever heard of the idea that opposites attract? When using magnets, in order to attract them “you have to place opposite ends of two magnets near each other” (Madison). In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, protagonist Huckleberry Finn and friend Tom Sawyer are, in this case, the opposite ends of two magnets. What’s so different about them? Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer differ from each other in their upbringings, their outlook on life, and in the manner that they treat others.

Huckleberry Finn is not your typical white male; he was born and raised at the bottom of the white society. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was also born to a father who spent most of his time getting drunk and to a father who abandons his child for months at a time. Luckily for Huck, he was blessed with the influences of Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. Widow Douglas was more of a mother figure to Huck: “she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize [sic] me” (Twain 9), while Miss Watson enforced the importance of school. As hard as Widow Douglas and Miss Watson both tried to in a sense reform Huck, their efforts were ignored, for Huck enjoyed the life of having on dirty clothes and swearing: “my clothes got to be all rags and dirt, and I didn’t see how I’d ever got to like it so well at the widow’s” (34). Huck Finn was clearly not ready for a change, at least lifestyle wise.

As for Tom Sawyer, we don’t receive much background information on his life and how he was brought up. Considering how Tom and Huck contrast each other in every aspect in the book, it is safe to infer that Tom Sawyer did not have to go through the struggles that Huck has undergone. Also, as far as values go, Tom Sawyer was taught to always follow the rules. His decisions are based on what books have taught him: “Everybody said it was a real beautiful oath, and asked Tom if he got it out of his own head. He said, some of it, but the rest was out of pirate books, and robber books, and every gang that was high-toned had it” (16). Tom accepts the world as it has been explained to him, and is incapable of realizing the unjust and unethical beliefs. Huck, unlike Tom, does realize these immoral beliefs.

Huck Finn’s upbringing led to his independent state of mind. Both pap and Miss Watson were influential figures to Huck, since they are so different from each other and obviously have different opinions, instead of Huck letting this confuse him, it forced him to think on his own. Huck was left to reason out everything, and because of this Huck is very skeptical about the world around him or things that people teach him. For example, Widow Douglas taught Huck that he can get whatever he wants through prayer. As naïve as Huck Finn is, he decided to pray for materialistic and unreasonable things. His failure in receiving those things led to his conclusion about prayer: “there’s something in it when a body like the widow or the parson prays, but it don’t work for me, and I reckon it don’t work for only just the right kind” (48). Superstitions, prayers, and many other things are some examples of occasions where Huck chooses to learn things on his own, giving himself his own interpretation of life.

Unlike Huck, Tom Sawyer is very fastidious to society. He recognizes what is going on around him, and instead of voicing his opinions he simply conforms. There is not much emotional depth to Tom, because instead of being amiable towards his friends, he is very self-centered and haughty. This is nothing like Huck, and Huck shows us that the way we perceive things and people affect how we treat others.

Jim, as a black enslaved male, was usually treated with maliciousness and insolent behavior. Huck, though hesitant about it, digressed from society’s usual treatment of slaves. A friendship developed between Jim and Huck, and Jim seems to be taking their relationship very seriously. During their friendship, Jim is embarking on his journey to seek freedom, and during this journey Huck has an ultimatum put in front of him. Huck can either turn Jim in or cover up for him. At first, in Huck’s eyes, turning Jim in was doing the correct thing, but instead of advocating the practice of slavery, Huck decided to purport that Jim had a case of small pox. Rather than treating Jim as an object, Huck treated Jim as a human being.

Tom’s self-centered attitude is his hugest downfall. He is very fastidious to society, not so much because it is right, but more for the sense of adventure. Adventures are something that Tom really values, yet he finds the lives of others and himself paltry. For example, Tom Sawyer knew very well that Miss Watson had died, and that in her will it stated that Jim would be a free black, instead he decides to not tell Huck about this and make this whole situation into an adventure: “But there’s one thing – he can have a rope-ladder; we can tear up our sheets and make him a rope-ladder easy enough” (254). A rope-ladder was not at all necessary, nor was chopping off Jim’s leg and many other things. Tom didn’t care about how his actions affected others.

Huck is more independent while Tom depends on what society teaches him. Huck worries more about his own opinions rather than the opinions of everyone else. Huck venerates those who are deserving of it while Tom’s main focus is on himself. Between Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, comparisons fail to subsist. Overall, Huck is a better individual, and what makes it most interesting is that he taught himself to be the way that he is.

You have to want to change in order to change. Tom didn’t want to change that badly. Huck refused to be like everyone else.


Work Cited
WiseGeek. http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-magnets-work.htm. 03/24/09.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York, New York. Penguin Group. 1985.

P&P #11 Chpts 3-6

“Imprudent as a marriage between Mr. Wickham and our poor Lydia would be, we are now anxious to be assured it has taken place, for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to Scotland” (265).

In a letter Jane explains to Elizabeth what has happened with Lydia. To the audience this is no surprise because we are used to Lydia humiliating her family: “Our importance, our respectability in the world must be affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain of all restraint which mark Lydia’s character” (226), but to Elizabeth this was an enormous surprise. As Elizabeth was hurriedly going out the door, she saw Mr. Darcy, and explained to him what happened. “I am grieved, indeed” (269), was Mr. Darcy’s reaction. This says a lot about his character, especially since Mr. Wickham previously eloped with his sister, which is one of the many reasons as to why they don’t get along. This is another counter example as to how Elizabeth was wrong about her first impressions with Mr. Darcy.

Miss Bingley’s cold demeanor toward Elizabeth is rooted from:
a. That is how Miss Bingley is towards everyone
b. Jealousy; Miss Bingley wants Mr. Darcy while Elizabeth has him
c. She is trying to distance herself from Elizabeth
d. She found out something about Elizabeth that made her lose respect for Lizzy