DW Harding: Is Collins funny or a nightmare?

Ostensibly, Collins, while an ignorant pest, is just a care-free and harmless sub-character whos purpose is nothing more than to simply drive the story and provide a little bit of comic relief; however, at second glance, Collins represents a much less benign portion of society and provides a potentially petulant vehicle for Austen's satire. Collins' actions are not regarded as out of the ordinary and indeed is usually motivated by social norms, which, if read from the perspective of someone in the middle to upper class of early 19th Century society, would simply be seen as comedy through exaggeration and not given any deeper thought. Moreover, To a citizen of the 19th Century society depicted in Pride & Prejudice, Collins is nothing more than a plot device. Yet, from a modern perspective, which, due to Austen's very progressive characterization of characters like Elizabeth is very likely one that Austen herself intended, Collins is a nightmare; he is a danger. Collins represents the male aristocratic sense of entitlement especially that of first-born children.

The Introduction and Evolution of The Perception of Mr. Darcy

My biggest issue was my language choice, plain and simple is the way to go. My paper would have also benefitted from an extra revision or two as there weren't many issues with organization of ideas but everything could have flowed more smoothly. The ideas I brought up were well fleshed out and followed a clear path but needed more pointed of an introduction. The more I would have relied on my ideas and the less on the structure and diction, the better my paper would have been. I needed to develop my quotes a little better as well as they were not 100% necessary and didn't add all that much to the work. Overall I think a few more periods of revision and a look-over from a different pair of eyes will help my work reach it's potential.

And the winner is...

MRS. BENNET: AUSTEN'S PUNCHING BAG

In the end, the only two essays in the entire red reader that didn't make me vomit blood were Mrs. Bennet: Austen's punching bag and an examination of class and economy: Austen's molding of Mr. Hurst. Both essays were the only two that set-up their arguments properly and made real, ambitious claims. They both integrated sophisticated language but I felt that strictly linguistically, Mrs. Bennet was superiour. Bennet, while slightly less ambitious than Mr. Hurst, was more interesting of a subject matter and flowed well from body paragraph to paragraph. Bennet also touched upon everything he brought up in the thesis, which, as a reader, leaves me satisfied.

I for Imelda

Of G for Griselda, H for Helga, and I for Imelda, I for Imelda was the best, although not that good in itself. Griselda and Helga both take very sheepish approaches to the subject matter and do not make any sort of claim. Both of great issues with organization and communication of ideas. Futhermore, both lack effective use of quotations, in fact they both use both of them very similarly, to state facts, not to illuminate a point they are trying to make. All three of these essays ambitiously attempt to sound smart but to the oppisite effect. Imelda however, was less riddled with issues. Imelda's claim that Austen wants the reader to believe what Elizabeth believes is the only hint at an original idea in all three of the essays. Imelda didn't use quotations as effectively as I would have liked to see but at least there is a set-up to each quotation. I hated Imelda the least.

E for Eunice

By far the strongest the D for Danforth, E for Eunice, and F for Foxglove was E for Eunice. E for Eunice was strong from the introduction on. Both Danforth and Foxglove used specific examples and had weak structure in their introductory paragrahs. Danforth's claim is not particularly controversial and Foxglove's is the definition of character development. Eunice also uses quotations most effectively and again, doesn't simply restate. Eunice works because it was also very pointed and I could expect what was going to come while still wanting to read on. The sentence structure was also the most varied of the three. Grammatically and substantiviely it was the strongest

B is for Beatrice

Of the first three essays, I felt that B for Beatrice was the best, according to the rubric. The quotes used in this don't simply state what they have already stated but add a certain level of reinforcement without simply reiterating. The Author also addressed the thesis. I was not in love either the introduction or the conclusion but while this essay was perhaps not the most ambitious, it certainly did it's job. The thesis was clearly written out and clearly drawn out. This essay was also not bogged down in esoteric language or overly complex and the sentence structure was pretty effective. Most importantly, I wasn't bored to tears

The curious case of Bingly and Darcy

Darcy and Bingly share the spotlight of the beinning portion of the novel and have a very interesting and dynamic relationship, however, as events unfold, the intial perception of each character is challenged and the reader is tasked with picking out the lies and the truthes of each man.