Livin la Vida Española (Pt. 1)

Livin’ la Vida Española (Pt. 1) ¡Buenos días! from Spain! While these festivities are going on at MIT proper, I have been in Spain for more than two weeks! I dont know how many students from Spain apply to MIT each year, but just in case someone from Spain is reading this, allow me to say that you have one beautiful country. Recap (for people who are wondering why Im in Europe right now, when there was an amazing Hunt (yes, I know, Im sad too) going on at MIT): 6. Im in Europe because of 21F.782, which is a Spanish II class that is conducted entirely in Spain = living with Spanish host families and speaking Spanish almost 24/7! 28. 21F.782 covers the entire scope of a semester-long language course, which means 3 hours of class every day (from 10 AM to 1 PM) and at least one test every day of class (we cover the equivalent of one week in normal semester schedule every day). 496. Other than the classes, theres plenty of time every day to explore Madrid, venture to other cities during the weekends, and enjoy the delicious European food. 8128. Actually, 21F.782 is definitely not the only IAP language program that exists at MIT. There are plenty of other condensed-semester IAP language courses on campus (German I takes you to Germany)! The coolest thing about an immersion program is that you are completely listening, reading, and seeing the language EVERYWHERE around you. When I took Spanish in high school, it was 50-minutes of class, and then its adiós español until the next class period. Grammar/writing was important, because even if you completely suck at listening or speaking, you can still fake it pretty well in just a language class, since its just for 50 minutes. Here, if you cant speak Spanish, then you just cant speak Spanish on the streets. Gradually, as time passes, you start finding complete sentences rolling off your tongue, and soon, youre starting to make sense of the daily newspaper, the subway announcements, and having 2-hour-long conversations with your Spanish host. Its seriously awesome. :) This had been a really refreshing break from MIT, and I think this is a really cool way to spend IAP, actually (although I am missing my first IAP at MIT). Living in Spain had taught me how to appreciate the little moments of my life, away from the stress and pressure that does sneak up on me during term. Here, life is beautiful. (and warm too!! Its around 80 degrees in Barcelona, where I just came back from. Its like what, 30 degrees in Boston? =p) Now, forgive me for being tourist-y. * Okay, I just realized that Im such a bad student and I didnt actually put up any pictures of us having class. But rest assured, we ARE having class in Spain and its not all just tourism (*guilty grin*)! :) If you want to find out more, youre welcome to read our class blog! Each student in the program is required to write 3 short entries for the blog each week, detailing their travels, as part of the program assignments. Minimum Spanish ability required. Hasta luego! =D

Depiction Of The Gilded Age - Free Essay Example

Briefly define the Gilded Age, as well as the growth of industrialization and the prevailing attitude toward employee-employer relations during that era.   Then, explore the problems caused by industrialization and discuss how workers responded to those challenges. The Gilded Age was a period after reconstruction from the 1870s to the 1900. The United States was going through Industrialization during this time and we saw major changes in the economy, government, and technology also spiked. During this period we also saw massive poverty and unequal wealth; the rich were getting richer and poor poorer, there was a rise of extremely rich people who wanted to be monopolies, most of whom were referred to as Robber Barons meaning wealthy businessmen who made tons of money but were paying their employees very cheap, two notable Robber Barons during this period are Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller. Both supported workers rights but on the other hand destroyed unions; Carnegie used most of his fortune in donations to libraries, schools, museums; in his article Gospel of Wealth he states that is it up to upper class citizens to engage in philanthropist work. Rockefeller was also involved in philanthropist work, but they both paid their employers ve ry cheap and did very little to help those from lower class. This age was a period of major Economic growth, Industrial development with the rise of cities, and also technology advancements. During the Gilded Age businesses were booming, industrialization brought the invention fax machines, cellphones, playgrounds railroad s were being built abundantly. Many businesses formed strategies to gain wealth and power such as Oligopolies where businesses agreed to not to compete against each other; they also came up with a system called Horizontal integration where companies that produced the same goods came together to increase the production of goods and services, on the other hand Vertical Integration is when one company controls all aspects of other companies, one example would be Andrew Carnegie and his steel industry. There was also a lot of competition which helped with pricing, innovation and wages, new management techniques were put into place such as systematic arrangement, the notion that time is money and slowly machines started replacing workers. Many businesses believed in Social Darwinism to justify their wealth, Social Darwinism is the idea that everyone has the resources and opportunities available to them to succeed and so if a person is poor its because they choose to. They also believed in laissez-faire, the notion that the federal government should have a hands-off approach on businesses.   During this time the need for workers boosted immigration; the country welcomed millions of workers from Europe (Germany, Hungary, Russia, Austria), the working class was diverse and divided, there was the class of skilled workers / labor aristocracy who were usually U.S. born white men and they received higher wages. And there was a class of unskilled workers who were immigrants, children, women, blacks and Mexicans who worked very long hours and were paid very low, sometimes in script, they did dangerous work and were being exploited. Many of these unskilled workers were getting a lot of injuries; kids were losing their fingers this led to states beginning to take action and pass laws against child labor, these laws were made in regards to safety in the workplace, monopolies, and the supreme court passed Munn v Illinois (1877) that approved the power of government to regulate private industries. Later, the federal government took action and passed the Commerce clause which auth orized congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations. Many corporations were starting to become monopolies and so the congress passed the Sherman Anti-trust Act which stated that business activity in restraint of trade is illegal, and was made to protect consumers. This act immensely hurt workers union, they were angry and this led to a massive strike in various nations across the country called the Great Railroad Strike. Workers began to take action, we saw people coming together and the birth of the working class movement was formed, with goals to assert labor rights and regulate businesses. By the 1880s, people began to unionize at local institutes but they keep women out, so women formed their own union and they linked their labor rights to religion and patriotism, they went on strike and boycotted, a few of them became militants, and in the late 1800s, we saw the rise of the Knights of labor. They wanted to include everybody (workers) together no matter if they were skilled or not. Their leader Terrence Powderly believed the poor deserved education, land, temperance (no drinking of alcohol), wages labor and this led to a roar in membership. By 1886 the movement has expanded and we see the year of the great uprising of labor. May 1rst 1986, called May Day becomes national strike day led by Albert Parsons, workers were claiming that 8 hours of work a day is what is necessary. After May Day, police clashed with farmers at the McCormick Company, so farmers started to demonstrate at Haymarket place; someone threw a bomb then violence began, many police officers lost their lives. A lot of people began to leave the Knights of labor and we saw the rise of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). They rejected the thoughts of the Knights and they wanted to fight for people who are skilled (mostly white men). The knights of labor became mostly filled with Blacks, Mexicans, Asians, women The AFLs vision was challenges in Homestead, PA (1892), And Unionists won the battle against Pinkertons. In the Homestead strike.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Urbanization increased as immigrants were moving from rural to urban cities and African Americans were moving from the South. These people were leaving in tenements, there were ethnic communities and they were once again being exploited by boss tweeds. The Gilded Age was a period when industrialization spiked with the creation of machines, and technological advancement, there was a huge increase in the economy, changes in the government. During this period we saw business owners rising to riches and taking advantage of the working class by paying them very poorly, and so the working class was fighting for their rights to be better paid and taken care of as workers. During this time we also saw the formation of many unions working together, there were unions that were only relatable to U.S. born white male skilled workers, unions for unskilled workers/ immigrants and unions for women.

Analysis Of The Book The Necklace - 702 Words

The necklace She removed the wraps which covered her shoulders before the glass, so as once more to see herself in all her glory. But suddenly she uttered a cry. She no longer had the necklace around her neck! Her husband, already half undressed, demanded: â€Å"What is the matter with you?† She turned madly toward him: â€Å"I have --- I have --- I’ve lost Mme. Forestier’s necklace.† He stood up, distracted. â€Å"What! --- how? --- impossible!† And they looked in the folds of her dress, in the folds of her cloak, in her pockets, everywhere. They did not find it. After a sleepless night, her husband decided to tell Mme. Forestier the truth. But She did not agree with him. She is a vain person, and she worried that when Mme. Forestier know it will spread everywhere. She did not want anybody know that the glory of her success in the ball was not belong to her. Then they went from jeweler to jeweler with the box which had contained the necklace, tryin g to find if there is any possible they can find a necklace which look like the same as the one they lost. They have searched every jeweler in the whole city after three days. Unfortunately, there was no any necklace looks like the one they lost. In the three days, her husband always tried to persuade her to tell the truth to Mme. Forestier. However, she felt very desprate, and she began to think about her husband’s advice. â€Å"You have to write to your friend,† said her husband, â€Å"that you have lost the necklace during theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book The Necklace 988 Words   |  4 PagesThese unquenchable needs can be demonstrated by the main characters in the short stories â€Å"The Necklace†, which exemplifies the destructiveness of pride and selfishness from a woman that feels entitled and desires what’s beyond her means and the grandmother in â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† that puts her needs before others at all costs. Al though these two stories are completely different in ways that â€Å"The Necklace is written in an earlier time in Paris about a young couples difference in frugalness andRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Necklace 1649 Words   |  7 PagesProfessor Lauren Allen English 101-070 11 September 2014 The Value of â€Å"The Necklace† In Guy De Maupassant’s short story, â€Å"The Necklace,† the main character Mathilde Loisel longs to be apart of a greater social class than she currently is. She borrows what she thinks is an expensive necklace from her friend and unfortunately loses it. She spends the rest of her life paying off the replacement necklace only to find out the original necklace was a fake. In the short story, Maupassant uses several key aspectsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Necklace1358 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"The Necklace† Analysis Plot Analysis - The plot analysis of (Exposition) â€Å"The Necklace† by Guy de Maupassant, take place in the late 1800s when Mathilde Loisel and her husband decides to go to a ball. The importance of the place is so you can fully appreciate how royal Mathilde is supposed to be at the ball, and let me tell you, she pulls it off. She was the most beautiful woman there, but surprisingly it wasn t the necklace that made her shine that night. She alreadyRead Moremarxism in the necklace1512 Words   |  7 Pages Textual Analysis of â€Å"The Necklace† In â€Å"The Necklace†, Guy de Maupassant uses a woman’s life, and very important event in it, to depict the Marxism of his or her lifetime, especially amongst women. He uses comparisons and downfalls of her life to depict society’s shortcomings and beliefs of class. Marxism looks at the economic and social structures of a society and the draws attention to the struggles between the classes. A Marxist might believe that people are born as creations of economical orRead MoreFeminism In The Necklace1068 Words   |  5 PagesFeminist Analysis of Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace. In recent decades, feminism has attracted attention from different individuals who fight for equal treatment of both genders. As defined by many researchers, feminism is the advocacy of equality between male and females. This concept began when people realized that the traditional roles of men and women provide a lot of injustice to women. According to Barry â€Å"The women’s movement’ of the 1960s was not, of course, the start of feminism. RatherRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Ending Sentence Of The Story 836 Words   |  4 Pageslife paying back debt. This debt, of coarse, being from having to buy a new necklace after losing the one that she borrowed from Mme. Forestier. The ending is ironic because it tells the reader that the original necklace was fake and that Mathilde Loisel had basically just wasted ten years of her life working very hard at bad jobs to pay for something that she only bought because she thought that she lost a real diamond necklace. 3. The third-person-limited narrator paints a mostly unsympathetic pictureRead MoreThe Worlds Greatest Short Stories By Guy De Maupassant1678 Words   |  7 Pageslike seeing certain types of video clips on the news, and thereby elicit certain behaviors from us. In the book, The World’s Greatest Short Stories, analysis of the stories for tragic elements based on the theory we were studying lead to quite contrasting views from my fellow classmates and myself. One of the stories that was found to have controversial audience responses was, The Necklace, written by Guy de Maupassant. The story told a beautiful young lady, Matilda, who was never satisfied withRead MoreJoy Luck Club Character Analysis1045 Words   |  5 PagesJoy Luck Club Theme Analysis The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is an entertaining book that focuses on four Chinese American immigrant families. They face problems in their hometown which causes them to move to the United States. They end up moving to San Francisco and face many different problems with their cultural background. The theme of The Joy Luck Club is the relationship between both the mothers and their daughters. A variety of different events occur throughout the book that explains the complexRead MoreEssay about Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism2493 Words   |  10 PagesI strongly believe that every person who reads a book, listens to the radio, or watches a program on television will make their own assumptions. I know I do. Most of us will ask, â€Å"Why did the main character make that decision?† Or â€Å"What were they thinking?† Could it be that the author of the story is protruding their own subconscious thoughts and beliefs through their characters? Absolutely, most critics have adapted psychoanalytic literary criticism theory based upon the worksRead MoreAmy Tans Fish Cheeks : Identity Is Created Through Culture745 Words   |  3 PagesCharacter, and through family life. Identity is Created by he/shes Character, and how they act. The Character of a person shows how One acts or what one likes. For example in Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, He states, Our house was filled with books. They were stacked high in crazy piles in the bathroom, bedrooms and living room (Alexie 1) He also states, This knowledge delighted me. I began to think of everything in terms of paragraphs. Our reservation was a small paragraph within the United

Child Obesity - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 296 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/09/15 Category Advertising Essay Type Descriptive essay Level High school Tags: Childhood Essay Childhood Obesity Essay Obesity Essay Did you like this example? Child Obesity Everywhere you look there is a fast food joint. In America it’s all about convenience, but convenience has become hazard to our health. When we as adults have unhealthy eating habit, we hurt ourselves and our children. As a parent it’s important to set good eating habits and be active. There are plenty of statistics available that prove child obesity in America is at epidemic levels. One third of the nation’s children carry to much weight. There are lots of reasons why child obesity in America is on the rise. Doctors say there are two causes in creating obese children. First the children and teens are not eating the right kind of foods. Second, America’s children are getting less and less exercise. These two things are creating a generation of children who are facing adult health issues like, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. Curing child obesity in America is not difficult as long as parents are willing to be responsib le for teaching their children healthy lifestyles. The parent of an obese child must begin with in the family, to identify the problem, and make a plane for change. If an obese child eating habits don’t change, it can cause them to be an obese teen. We as parents have to help make the change. Parents must cook nutritional balanced meals, eliminate high in fat and sugar snacks, teach portion control, pack healthy lunches, avoid fast food and help your child get physically active. Parents must teach by doing, which means parents must, themselves, also follow a nutritional and active lifestyle. Parents must become experts at child and teen nutrition and set a good example. To help your child means creating a step-by-step program of good nutrition and exercise. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Child Obesity" essay for you Create order

A Short Biography of Martin Luther King Jr. - 1479 Words

â€Å"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.† This is a quote from one of the greatest speeches ever delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. He helped to pave the way for civil right in America. His actions inspired a courageous movement that lives on, even today. Alberta Williams and Martin Luther King, Sr., are the parents of Martin Luther King, Jr.; he was born on the 15th of January in 1929, in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.King was the great-grandson, grandson, and son of Baptist ministers, which was why he also became a Baptist minister. At a young age, King became aware of the unequal treatment endured by African Americans. King tirelessly devoted his life to equality for all people. King’s successes changed the course of American history. Martin Luther King Jr., began school in Atlanta, Georgia at Yonge Street Elementary School. After going to Yonge Street, he went to David T. Howard Elementary School. Advancing in education, he went to high school, at Booker T. Washington and Atlanta University Laboratory School. Due to the score on the college acceptance examination during his 11th grade year in high school, he was able to go to Morehouse College and not have to finish his last couple of years at Booker T. Washington. He graduated in 1948 from Morehouse College, with a B.A degree in sociology. In the fall, he went to Crozer Theological Seminary inShow MoreRelatedMartin Luther King Jr. Essay1553 Words   |  7 PagesMartin Luther King Jr. From the Apostle Paul to Martin Buber: Martin Luther Kings use of Historical and Religious Figures in his Letter From Birmingham Jail In his Letter From Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is addressing his fellow clergymen in response to their accusations of his unwise and untimely activities. Like most other reformers, he finds his greatest rationalization and defense from the word of God. Considering the religious affiliation of his audience, King appealsRead MoreEssay on MLK and Malcolm X1279 Words   |  6 Pages Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were very influential civil rights advocates during the nineteen-fifties and nineteen-sixties, and continue to have an influence on people today. However, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X have quite different legacies, of which are based on quite different philosophies and tactics. To understand why Dr. King and Malcolm X had drastically different thoughts and approaches to civil rights in the United States, their lives must also be looked at — as theirRead MoreEssay about Martin Luther King: The Peaceful Hero980 Words   |  4 Pagesis one that stands out, and that man is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King gave hope to those in need with his awe inspiring sermons he performed at the church his grandfather founded. He changed foes to allies with his thought provoking speeches, and lead powerful protests and strikes, with each one ending in a peaceful demonstration. First, a look into the history of Dr. King. Though not known to many, Dr. King was not born with the name Martin; rather, his name was Michael, having changedRead MoreNonviolent vs. Violent Revolution1782 Words   |  8 Pagesone of two approaches. There can be a violent movement or a non-violent movement. Revolutionaries such as Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Adolf Hitler used violence and death to accomplish their goals. Revolutionaries such as Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Dalai Lama have used non-violent means such as strikes, marches, and sit-ins. Non-violent revolutions are characterized by peaceful demonstrations rather than violence, they set a better example for future generations, and they haveRead MoreMartin Luther Kings Leadership Style2712 Words   |  11 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr. A role model leader Faculty: Business Administration Course: Leadership Presented by: Nana Akhobadze â€Å"Leadership is an influence process that assists groups of individuals toward goal attainment† (Peter G. Northouse, 2010). According to the definition in order to accomplish this â€Å"process† group of individuals (followers) have to be influenced by an individual (leader) who should motivate, inspire, guide and direct group members towards mutual goal. This is exactlyRead MoreEssay on How Dr. Martin Luther King Would Respond to September 111027 Words   |  5 Pages Martin Luther Kings teachings stand at the core of the strong foundation of America. Today, terrorism, war and recession are seeping in, cracking that foundation and eroding civil rights and civil liberties. And while the teachings of Dr. King came many years ago, they are especially relevant to us today as we struggle with painful losses and difficult questions about the future of America. President Bush announces almost daily that the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan will lead to justiceRead MoreNonviolence Movement : Is It Acceptable For People Throughout The World?1150 Words   |  5 Pagescooperation and a negative nonviolent strategy. He introduced Satyagraha to the world and got popular in a very short time. With this belief, he became one of the most influential politician and philosopher.(Mahatma Gandhi, 2015). â€Å"Satyagraha remains one of the most potent philosophies in freedom struggles throughout the world today.† (Mahatma Gandhi, 2015) According to the website Biography, I know more about Gandhi’s fight for Indian Liberation as the following: In 1914, Gandhi returned to IndiaRead MoreThe 1960s Essay1813 Words   |  8 Pageswinnable. On January 31st the Vietnamese launched the Tet offensive. A series of surprise attacks on scores of cities and towns in Vietnam. The offensive implied that if victory was reachable, we were thousands of lives away. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4th while standing in the balcony of his motel room, right before he was to lead a protest march for garbage workers. Following his assassination, outraged by the murder, many blacks went out to the streets in riotsRead MoreSynthesis Essay : Martin Luther King1785 Words   |  8 Pages Synthesis Essay – Martin Luther King Jr. MSgt Demetrius N. Booth Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy November 7, 2017 Instructor: MSgt. Adrian L. Hall MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. Our founding fathers could not have understood the soulful purpose of their words. Words penned in ink with mortal hands on to parchment but forever cemented in the bedrock of this great nation. The declaration of Independence echoes those words through all generations â€Å"We hold these truthsRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement Essay3359 Words   |  14 Pagesthat man is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King gave hope to those in need with his awe inspiring sermons he performed at the church his grandfather founded. He changed foes to allies with his thought provoking speeches, and lead powerful protests and strikes, with each one ending in a peaceful demonstration. The Man Before He Became a Civil Rights Leader First, let’s take a look into the early days of Dr. King. Though not known to many, Dr. King was not born with the name Martin; rather, his

The Use of Parallelism in Fahrenheit 451 Essays - 889 Words

The book that will be reviewed is Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury. The author used the effect of parallelism extremely well by showing the similarities of both then and now. In the following paragraphs were going to encounter these parallelisms, we will compare the book to the time period in which it was written, and our own time period post September 11. Before we can do this we must first get to know the author and the era in which it was based off of just a bit. To get a clear view and understanding of the book, first must review the time period in history. The book was written in the mid 1950s during the cold war. Former General McCarthy, then U.S. Senator started a fire ball of suspicion, suppression, and†¦show more content†¦People in that time period just wanted to distance themselves from anyone on the list due to the governments overwhelming power, and the intense fear of losing everything they had. This society lived when communism was feared; it ate up the freedoms they had in their society. The rights and freedoms that were once taken for granted were now longed for. Now that there is a brief understanding of the time period we can now take a look at the book. The governmental control of the society in Fahrenheit 451 is unbelievable; its unbelievable to think that the government could have so much control. The government has so much control due to the loss of individuality caused by conformity. According to the author, They all say the same things and nobody says anything different from anyone else (Bradbury 31). This was done in several ways; some of the ways were through the lack of books, education (or what we believe education to be), and the lack of teachers. The influence (pure control) of the government over the media, education, and any literature that was available to the public. The media and entertainment is controlled by the government to the point that its citizens have better relationships with media personalities than with their own families. The government grasped the rights of education by not educating and allowing its students to run a muck. According to the author, Clarisse - Im afraid of children my own age. Th ey kill each other (BradburyShow MoreRelatedSocial Darwinism in Fahrenheit 4512140 Words   |  9 PagesSocial Darwinism and Outcasting in Fahrenheit 451 A variety of themes are addressed in Fahrenheit 451, most of which are prevalent to our current situation. Because of this, the book was originally banned for sending the wrong political message and having offensive language. Although there is much irony and humor in the fact that a book warning about the implications of banning books was banned, that topic of discussion has been well over mentioned to the point where the political and social messageRead MoreEssay Moral and Ethical Issues, A Comparative Study2300 Words   |  10 Pagesin defining our moral values and ethical views. This paper will explore some moral and ethical issues about choice through several short stories: Sonny Blues, Cathedral, and The Lottery, and there will be two novels explored primarily; Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwells 1984. The moral and ethical views that these books and short stories show us about our society today and the lessons that everyone could learn from them will be explored. To do this we must first understand the difference between

Satire in Jane Austen’s Pride in Prejudice Free Essays

string(109) " poking fun at the societal importance of class in her time and instead sees nothing but a charming romance\." Jane Austen’s Satirical Writing: Analyzing the Satire of Social Class Within Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice delves into the issue of why social standing in a society based solely on class should not be the most important thing when evaluating the worth of a person. Through several different literary techniques – such as letters and abundant focalizers – Austen conveys important information about key issues she has with the significance placed on social standing. The theme of class and social standing is echoed constantly throughout Austen’s novel in numerous ways, highlighting several aspects of the gentry that she distrusts. We will write a custom essay sample on Satire in Jane Austen’s Pride in Prejudice or any similar topic only for you Order Now The entirety of the novel focuses mainly on the distances placed between characters due to their social standing in a class based society. Regardless of how fit a person may be in either mind or capabilities, if a high sum of money is not contained within their personhood (or their estate), they are considered menial. Jane Austen uses the social relationships between her characters to satirize the importance placed on the hierarchy of class in society. Austen wrote the novel in order to define and satirize the problems that she saw in the hierarchy of class in the society of her time. Throughout the entire novel â€Å"there isn’t a character†¦who’s introduced without his income being mentioned in the next sentence† (Selznick 92). The ridiculousness of the value placed upon money – of which the middle class has very little – is evident as Austen progresses the story and the relationships between her characters – namely between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. The fact that, in Austen’s time, the society revolved around the gentry – whose entire idea of class and power involved money – makes it easier for the audience reading Pride and Prejudice to understand why she has satirized this issue. She does this quite flawlessly throughout the novel, relying on her knowledge of the increasing adamancy of the middle class to gain social status and power through more than just land, money and relations. The significance of social standing and the desire of the characters aspire to it can be seen in different instances throughout the novel. However, there are a few characters for which the idea of wealth and power mean very little, who strive to better themselves through their own wit and charm, rather than through the advantages of money. Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the novel, is one such character. It is difficult for her to adjust to the sense of reality in which the novel exists due to the fact that the society has been permanently established and there is very little she can do to earn the credit she deserves. Yet it is due to Elizabeth’s unique personality that the audience is able to understand why her interest for the things at Pemberley and the positive change in heart she has for Mr. Darcy’s character show the dual nature of how Austen thought of the personal attainment of identity and morality balanced with her begrudged acknowledgement of a limited and restrained society (Hamilton). There are several other characters that believe the importance placed on monetary gain to be superfluous and still others that also come to realize this. It is through both the understanding and ignorance of these characters that it becomes evident just how deeply Austen distrusted the idea of an individual requiring social power in order to be recognized as an accomplished individual. Austen paid especially close attention to economic and social standing when it came to her characters for the express purpose of satirizing why their superior class was not necessarily more agreeable or accomplished than those in the lower classes. She wrote her novels with the idea that â€Å"the quality of humanity is to be judged by moral and human standards†¦not by social status; but like her own temporary snobs†¦she pays full attention to their social status first† (Copeland 121). As seen with Austen’s character Mr. Darcy, she concentrates fully on his attachments to his reputation before she delves into who he becomes and how much better off he is when he realizes the error in his way of thinking. In assessing the weight that social standing has on the progression of the story in Pride and Prejudice, one can attain a great bit of insight into why specific characters act the way they do throughout the novel. The infamous Bingley sisters, for instance, are so attached to the idea of material wealth that they fail to realize when their comments are unacceptable. Ms. Bingley herself, who is so attached to the idea that she is superior to Elizabeth in every way, cannot understand why Mr. Darcy could possibly find Elizabeth attractive in any sort of manner. It is her status-hungry and conceited personality that allows the audience to see the sheer difference between her and her brother, Mr. Charles Bingley. Unlike his sisters, he is not trying to climb up the social hierarchy to gain status and power; instead, he shows a gentler, more levelheaded side to the gentry as he falls in love with Elizabeth’s older sister, Jane. It is characters with personalities and ideals like Mr. Bingley’s that Austen revered and trusted above all others. Curiously enough, however, the hardheaded Mr. Darcy, who is very aware of his social standing, is the one character in the novel who goes through the most drastic personality change. Though Elizabeth Bennet had the positive, clever and levelheaded personality that Austen herself may have had when dealing with the social mobility of her time, it is instead the incredible change of heart that Mr. Darcy undergoes that shows how someone who is socially superior can realize the importance of wit, charm and beauty of those around him instead of being concerned only with their social status. This is how Austen is able to satirize these problems so efficiently that a modern audience does not realize that she is poking fun at the societal importance of class in her time and instead sees nothing but a charming romance. You read "Satire in Jane Austen’s Pride in Prejudice" in category "Papers" Yet Austen was doing much more than writing a simple love story. The novel was written in a transitional period when peoples’ way of thinking was shifting from a romantic look at life to a more enlightened view of living. The ideals of the eighteenth century – where people saw society as organized and divinely structured – were quickly lost to the thinkers of the more modernistic views of society in the nineteenth century, in which there was a significant loss of faith in any spiritualistic based society. Instead, nineteenth century thought turned towards the idea of the individual as the only path towards order. This new idea of placing emphasis on the self was especially important to Austen, yet she realized that the tendency of an organized and structured society was to value a person by their material wealth, rather than who the individual really was. She was able to take both ideas and mold them into her ideal situation, which can be seen in the last few lines of the novel when Elizabeth is at last accepted into Pemberley and its heritage. It is here that the individual â€Å"remains exactly where Austen would have it, in the center of a stable eighteenth-century world† (Hamilton 36). Class and social standing is a very evident and important issue for Austen and she satirizes it with the utmost diligence throughout the novel using intricate, yet simplistic designs for her characters’ relationships. For instance, instead of being forced to marry Mr. Collins for the express purpose of making a new connection on their own, Elizabeth refuses to be controlled by society’s standards and defies Mrs. Bennet’s wishes in order to â€Å"demonstrate that it is still possible for individuals to make new connections in defiance of society† (Austen 395). Tony Tanner, a British literary critic, who wrote the original introduction to Pride and Prejudice conveyed that Austen wrote about â€Å"a society which stresses social control over individual ecstasy, formality over informality, sartorial neatness over bodily abandon, and alert consciousnesses over the more Romantic states of revery and trance† and yet it is also â€Å"a society in which the individual can experience freedom as well as commitment† (Austen 395). The unfathomable amount of thought that Jane Austen put into writing Pride and Prejudice show how deeply she cared for the freedom of the individual and the ability to stand proudly in a society that overlooked individual assets for material ones. Tanner also credited Austen with the ability to create a character around the central idea of attempting to prove their individual worth within a society bound entirely by the ordinance of class. He is able to demonstrate the importance Austen placed on her characters – especially Elizabeth and Jane Bennet – finding themselves in a gentry-based society by drawing on William Blake’s In the Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Tanner argues – with Blake’s ideals in mind – that Austen takes two completely different aspects of life, energy and reason, and instead of reconciling these opposite attractions, there is a mutual coming together of complementary characteristics. He puts it plainly when he states that â€Å"she makes it seem as if it is possible for playfulness and regulation – energy and boundaries – to be united in fruitful harmony, without the one being sacrificed to the other† (Austen 106). This ability to take two unlike ideas and mesh them together without either losing its significance is exactly how Austen takes society’s emphasis on social standing and class and reverses it into something that now benefits a character where before it could only hinder (i. e. Elizabeth’s transformation from a meager middle-class girl, to the Mistress of Pemberley). However, not all critics have been kind to the way in which Austen portrays this transformational miracle of a young girl suddenly coming into great sums of money, merely by the tact and wit she shows in the way she lives. These critics find Austen’s dealing with social standing and class to be abhorrent. In fact, one such critic happens to be a famous authoress who, in writing a letter to G. H. Lewes in 1848, stated that she disliked the novel due to its frivolous dealings with the common life of both the upper and the middle-class. In her writing to the British literary and theatre critic, the authoress stated that she â€Å"should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant but confined houses† (Austen 368). It was, in fact, Currer Bell – more widely known as Charlotte Bronte – who wrote this letter, in which the reader can clearly sense the contempt she had for Austen’s writing and the way she portrayed her characters. Though perhaps more of an criticism towards the way Austen wrote in general, Bronte was still very serious with her concern about the way in which Austen depicted her characters and their lives. She had, in Bronte’s view, â€Å"no sense of the outward world – either scenery or personal appearance† (Mazzeno 558). It is obvious that Austen’s portrayal of social standing, class, romance, money, marriage and many other themes throughout Pride and Prejudice were not held in high regard with Bronte. Though the majority of critical analyses both praising and condemning the way in which Austen depicts social standing in her novel have been done by literary thinkers, there have been other mediums through which the novel has been adapted, such that even criticism of someone as famous as Charlotte Bronte is outshined. For example, in their book Authority, State and National Character, professors Kuzmics of the University of Graz and Axtmann of the University of Wales, when addressing the problems that both Britain and Austria have seen in relation to social class when examining the issues that arose in several literary novels and dramas of the time, state that when they first studied Pride and Prejudice, they thought it had very little to do with such issues. They believed that â€Å"the fate of the Bennet sisters in rural gentry-based England just after the turn of the century revolved around such harmless matters as a ball at Netherfield† (Kuzmics 223). It is apparent that both professors believe – at least upon their first reading of it – that Austen’s novel had very little to do with the very real problems that are satirized throughout the story. Their criticism of the novel, however, in relation to how both Austrian and English society has evolved during the civilizing process is perhaps accurate without an in depth reading of Pride and Prejudice, as it seems to merely have a â€Å"relaxed air of cheerfulness and ironic, detached art of people watching† (Kuzmics 223). Conversely, after one looks past all the pleasantries that the story has to offer, one realizes that, as the professors correctly stated, it only appears to have nothing to do with issues of class. This is why the novel must be read carefully, to push past the obvious romance of the story and dig into the satirical tone in which Austen addresses such important matters. As the professors continue their research into the heart of the novel, they revealed very important aspects of Austen’s writing about social class and how it is a perfect example of English society, even to this day. She defined so clearly how England was a â€Å"face-to-face† or â€Å"shame society† in which â€Å"the opposite of social respectability is social disgrace† which was â€Å"to be avoided at all costs† (Kuzmics 227). This meant that for those families that were unable to depend on an inheritance or their relations in order to live comfortably in society, they could only rely upon prospective marriage partners for a comfortable life. It is because of this importance placed upon society’s standards of what makes a family valuable that â€Å"the social value and respectability of the potential future spouse is ascertained and made visible† (Southam 113). This, in turn, makes it difficult for someone such as Elizabeth – who is very accomplished in her wit and charm – unable to stoop so low as to accept a marriage proposal from someone she has no tender feelings toward. The idea of marrying only for money, power or social stability is part of the reason why Elizabeth Bennet is thought of as impertinent by other characters in the novel such as Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine, and at times even her own mother. Yet it is because of Elizabeth’s character and the audacity she is capable of showing to such renowned individuals that proves Austen meant her novel to be much more than a romantic story between two characters. She wanted a stab at the problems of the gentry, to affirm her belief that basing the worth of an individual merely by their material wealth was hardly the best way of assessing someone’s value (Wilhelm). She was able to do a fantastic job of satirizing the gentry throughout her novel by using several different aspects of what made a renowned person so important: money, connections and property. In the general notes of the Penguin Classic version of Pride and Prejudice, David Spring, author of Interpreters of Jane Austen’s Social World, used historian Alan Everitt’s coined term ‘pseudo-gentry’ to describe a group of individuals that were comprised mostly of those involved with the trade, who aspired to attain the lifestyle of the landed gentry. It is because of this idea that in order to be worth something, a person must own land, that several of the characters from Austen’s novel seek ‘land-based wealth,’ which is an obvious sign of â€Å"a class intensely interested in income as means to, and a sign of, status† (Austen 413). This shows that Austen’s novel is written from a point of view that sees upward mobility as a bleak, corrupt hierarchy and is much more interested in the professional middle class – the class which, in Pride and Prejudice is represented quite adeptly by the Gardiners. This idea of attempting to identify oneself in a strict society based on social class has taken on numerous different forms: books, critical essays, movies and television series. Innumerable amounts of professional critics have delved deeply into Austen’s novel’s representation of class, manners and even the social status of women in British society. In the incredibly faithful six hour long AE/BBC adaptation of the book, Sue Britwistle – the program’s producer – wanted to include â€Å"many clear illustrations of the way that class and gender are governed by proper British manners†¦and highlight the importance of economic status in Regency England† (Selznick 92). The fact that women could only gain social standing through marriage is very apparent through all of Austen’s writing, not just Pride and Prejudice. It is incredible to think that a woman was worth nothing unless she had a substantial inheritance, as seen with Georgiana and Mr. Wickham. He cared nothing for her abilities, her looks, her personality – the only thing he desired was the hefty sum of money she would receive through inheritance. The type of relationship is seen numerous times throughout the novel and only contravened when Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy marry the two Bennet sisters. It is, as professors Kuzmics and Axtmann so rightly called it, a marriage market. The worth of an individual could only be seen through the instance of marriage, when a person’s monetary value was ascertained and brought into light. There are several different instances throughout the novel in which social standing and class are satirized, though none so much as the motif of carriages. Austen placed importance upon how many and of what kind carriage a person owned; it signaled wealth, status and power – which, to Austen, was not a feasible way to judge the worth of a person. The aspect of carriages even flows into the marriage market, where the prospective bride (because the groom always seemed to be worthy regardless) is critiqued and either approved or denied. Part of this process is inquiry into how many and what kind of carriages the bride owns – if any. Their chances of finding a suitable match dwindles if they do not own an acceptable carriage (Walder). This is seen when Lady Catherine tracks down Elizabeth at Longbourn, wondering how her nephew could have possibly proposed to one such as her – someone who walks places without the aide of a carriage to take her anywhere. One of the most noteworthy characters that Austen uses to satirize social standing in her novel is Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Austen utilizes Lady Catherine for the primary function of criticizing the aristocratic society in which she places her character, as Lady Catherine is one of the most prideful and overbearing personalities in the novel. Jane Austen mercilessly ridicules the hierarchal society she was raised in by using Catherine as a means to convey how prominent figures (who were only important because of their wealth) thought themselves to be experts on almost every topic, even if they had no prior knowledge of the subject of which they were speaking on. For example, when Elizabeth visits Lady Catherine at Rosings, she is not only terribly inquisitive about how the girl had been raised, but when she asks Elizabeth if she plays the piano, Catherine admits that she herself could not. Though, as she states soon afterward, if she had practiced, there was no doubt that she would have been incredible. Ironically enough, it is due to Lady Catherine’s sudden visitation with Elizabeth near the end of the novel that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are married. By telling her nephew of the interview that she had with Elizabeth, Catherine allows the seed of hope to appear in Mr. Darcy. Lady Catherine’s attempt at interference between her nephew and Elizabeth is ultimately the reason that the two marry – not to mention that it is a means by which Austen can convey the strong personality she bequeathed upon Elizabeth to show that one’s social station should not limit her, but help her to hold her own in what most people saw as polite-society. Through many instances of dark humor, tragedy and even comedic aspects, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice takes a critical look at the issue of social standing in society and severely reprimands its ideals. Austen distrusted several aspects of the society in which she lived and tried to right its wrongs by satirizing the importance that the gentry placed on social standing and class. Though this may not have worked quite as well as she would have hoped – as most people view Pride and Prejudice as a mere romance story – with her cut and dry, black and white views of what a person should be judged by, Austen clearly wanted her society to realize that a person could only be considered accomplished if they truly had the talents to be – not whether or not they could afford to buy their name. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: Penguin, 2003. Print. Copeland, Edward, and Juliet McMaster. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. Hamilton, Sylvia N. Constructing Mr. Darcy: Tradition, Gender, and Silent Spaces in Jane Austen. Thesis. University of Central Oklahoma, 2007. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest, 2008. Print. Kuzmics, Helmut, and Roland Axtmann. Authority, State and National Character: the Civilizing Process in Austria and England, 1700-1900. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print. Mazzeno, Laurence W. Jane Austen: Two Centuries of Criticism. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2011. Print. Selznick, Barbara J. Global Television Co-producing Culture. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2008. Print. Southam, B. C. Jane Austen: the Critical Heritage. London: Routledge, 1999. Print. Walder, Dennis. The Realist Novel. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print. Wilhelm, Julia. Appropriations of Jane Austen’s â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† in Contemporary British Fiction. Thesis. Johannes Gutenberg University, 2007. Mainz, Germany: Grin Verlag, 2008. Print. How to cite Satire in Jane Austen’s Pride in Prejudice, Papers