Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is the story of a mother's attempts to get her five daughter's married and the events that happen because of it. A main theme throughout this novel is Austen's view of society as shallow and superficial. Many times we see the rich being contradictory and uncaring, concerned only with themselves and their own pride. Austen convinces the reader of her view using sarcasm, irony, and pathos. Austen uses sarcasm to show the shortcomings of certain characters, and indirectly to show the inadequacies of various social groups. One example of this is to show the folly and foolishness of Mrs. Bennet. In one part of the novel, Mrs. Bennet forces Jane to ride to Bingley's house in the rain, hoping that she'll get sick. When she does, Mr. Bennet makes the comment that if she dies, it will be a comfort to know it was
She is obviously saying that they have no right to act as such. When Austen says "They were rather handsome, had been educated at one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more money than they ought, and of associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others" (169). Even her heroine, Elizabeth, is not immune. Irony was also used frequently in this novel. Elizabeth pridesherself on being a good judge of character, but almost all of her first impressions are wrong. Another times she uses sarcasm is to illustrate that pride, no matter how deserved, is always a fault. When Jane and Bingley announce their plans to marry, his sister's response is "affectionate and insincere" (207). Austen uses sarcasm, irony, and pathos to get her point across to her audience. The reader of this timeless novel really feels the similarities of her society and the one of today. After reading this story, one can sense the unfairness of her society, and the lack of sense among the rich or those who wished to be one of the rich. This rapid transition from the expected to the unexpected causes the reader to stop and think about what Austen is actually trying to say. Irony was most often used to show the vice in being proud; pride often makes characters blind to things that should be obvious. Even the ending of the novel, Elizabeth's marriage to Darcy, is a form of situational irony. Pathos is very affective in this story.
Common topics in this essay:
Jane Austen,
Jane Bingley,
austen sarcasm,
sarcasm irony pathos,
sarcasm irony,
irony pathos,
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