Let Me Update You!

In class the other day, Arianna and I switched papers to peer edit. I think it went really well. Arianna gave me some helpful tips that I will take into consideration as I finish the rest of my essay. Right now, I have about five pages of my final paper done; however I have more information to include. This morning, I went to the writing center and got to have someone edit my introduction and first couple of paragraphs. I need to work on transitioning from one paragraph to another. I will finish my essay this weekend!
Yesterday, I presented my material to the class in a Keynote presentation. I think it went pretty well. I was very nervous and said "um" too many times which is my pet peeve. Other than that I think I did a good job. There was a little problem with the video clips from You Tube. Since we can not get You Tube on our laptops, I needed to capture the video from my home computer to my laptop. The picture was not very good but the sound was perfect, and therefore, the class got the idea of what I was trying to show. Amelia's presentation was also very good and I really enjoyed her introduction with the drawing of pictures and the answering of questions. School is coming to an end!! =(

Presenting My Project!

After researching my author – Jane Austen – I have decided what I will be doing for my final presentation. I will be making an iMovie to show the class a little bit about Austen’s life, style of writing, characterization, and themes. I will also mention how these themes influenced the Victorian Era. To prove my research, I will add clips from the films I have watched to the iMovie to make it more appealing and visual.
For my class activity, I will hand out a set of discussion questions and ask the students to read and talk about the ideas. The discussion questions will specifically be about the themes of the Regency and Victorian Eras of England. I will ask students if the morals from the past are the same today. What are the students’ ideas about manners, marriage, and social classes? Do these ideas coincide with Jane Austen’s views? These will just be a few of the questions I ask. This will hopefully get a good discussion going that will help the class be more interested in my topic!

Paper Proposal!

In class, we have been working on the paper proposal. This proposal describes to Mrs. Recine exactly what our focus and our primary and secondary sources are. After thinking of many ways and things to write about Jane Austen I finally figured out what I want to do. I will explore the themes of Jane Austen’s works and explain how they influenced the Victorian Era. Jane died before the Victorian Era really started, but her themes of morality, justice and injustice, love and marriage, social status and reputation, and irony were definitely themes used by authors in the Victorian Era including Charles Dickens. Since I have read Dickens’s Great Expectations, I will use his novel as my understanding of the Victorian Era. In Dickens’s famous novel, there are themes of irony, social class, marriage, and morality.
In my paper I may also write about how these “morals” and themes play out in today’s society. I will try to answer questions about social classes/status and marriage/love. I must do a little more research before I begin to write my paper!

Cinematic Adventures!

Now that I have finished all of the required reading, I must watch the movies I specified in my first blog. I am very interested in how the directors of each movie will play out and describe the characters, setting, and plot. I will be looking for differences in the movies from the books. I also want to see how the films differ from each other in representing Regency England. I will be asking myself many questions while viewing the films. Are the characters correctly illustrated? What are the main differences between the novels and the films? Is the setting accurate? Is this how I pictured the characters and setting in Austen’s novels? Hopefully these films are as good as the novels!
After completing the films, my final paper is next on my list. I will pick out a focus and try to prove my thesis. I am not positive about what I want to write about, but I may construct a thesis about the important main themes in all of Jane Austen’s works.

Pride and Prejudice

As of now, I have finished reading Pride and Prejudice and I have started reading Sense and Sensibility. In this update, I will talk about Pride and Prejudice and Austen’s themes in this novel.
The first – and very obvious – theme is love. This is the love story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. Throughout the story, the lovers must overcome many obstacles, beginning with the tensions caused by the characters’ own traits and personalities. Elizabeth’s pride makes her misjudge Darcy on the basis of a poor first impression. Mr. Darcy’s prejudice against Elizabeth’s poor social standing blinds him of her intelligent mind and other valuable qualities. Darcy and Elizabeth’s realization of a mutual love can seem to imply that Austen views love as something independent of social forces.
Another theme is social class. The theme of class is related to the theme of reputation, in that both reflect the strict nature of life for the middle and upper classes in England. While the Bennett’s, who are middle class, may socialize with the upper-class Bingley’s and Darcy’s, they are clearly their inferiors and are treated in this manner. All of the characters conception of the importance of class is shared by Mr. Darcy, who believes in the dignity of his lineage; Miss Bingley, who dislikes anyone not as socially accepted as she is; and Wickham, who will do anything he can to get enough money to raise himself into a higher station. Through the Darcy-Elizabeth and Bingley-Jane marriages, Austen shows how the power of love and happiness can overcome class boundaries. Austen implies that prejudices of social classes are hollow, unfeeling, and unproductive.
I loved everything about Pride and Prejudice. It is one of the best love stories I have ever read, as I am sure many people would agree.