Judging by reality and fiction, there is not a single person to exist that has been purely evil or purely good. Yet it is in human nature to judge others as good or evil. Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice was quick to judge Fitzwilliam Darcy, the second central character of the novel, harshly based on her false assumptions of the arrogance of the wealthy. His initial egocentrism, due to his belief in a structured social hierarchy, caused her to form a prejudiced opinion of him. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy is shown to exhibit both good and evil qualities, although not always apparent to the narrator, Elizabeth. Jane Austen’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy as a morally ambiguous character uncovers the significance of class in English society during the late seventeenth century.
His image was formerly of the utmost importance to him: he arrived late to the Opera because it was “the thing” to do (Wharton 4) and “few things [seemed to him] more awful than an offense against ‘Taste’” (Wharton 12). When Ellen, the black sheep of the Mingott family, made an appearance at the Opera, Archer at first becomes annoyed that this “strange foreign woman” was attracting negative attention to the box of his betrothed, May Welland, and agrees with fellow high society onlooker, Sillerton Jackson, that the Mingotts should not have “tried it on” (Wharton 10). But, upon spending time with Ellen, Archer’s pretentiousness begins to dull and his self-alienation from the rules of society begins. During a dinner with Sillerton Jackson, Archer defends Ellen and even goes so far as to say that “Women ought to be free – as free as we are,” though he was painfully aware of the “terrific consequences” his words could bring (Wharton 34).
In the short story jon in George Saunders’ In Persuasion Nation, the protagonist Jon is confined in an authoritarian institution that has pulled the strings of his life for as long as he could remember, and many obstacles arise in his journey to break free. Using its social privilege as a higher governing power, the institution impacts Jon’s choices and actions not only through the strict regulation, or in some cases, falsification, of information provided to him, but also institutional power to either appease or force Jon to behave in certain manners. To truly discover himself and pursue his aspirations and desires, Jon must go against the ways of this institution and follow the subjectivity of his own thoughts.
In Jane Austen’s Persuasion, unlike many of her previous works the protagonists involved are middle aged lovers; Anne and Wentworth, who struggled with love before. The narrator of the story has given up on Anne’s prospective of marriage, and so has Anne; however, knowing the conformist pattern of protagonists in her novels, the reader can expect the outcome of Anne’s relationship. Indeed, as it becomes known that the Crofts are to be chosen as the future residents of Kellynch Hall and the possibility of Wentworth again appearing in front of Anne exposes itself, there is a sense of recurrence in the events that initially led the falling apart of the two before. Persuasion is a suitable title for this novel, as must reconsider her previous
Consuelo Vanderbilt’s memoir, The Glitter and the Gold, provides an insightful recollection of life both in and around the English country house of the late nineteenth century. While there is a multiplicity of themes in the short passage on pages 88 and 89, this essay will specifically focus on the themes of international influence – including the presence of the American “dollar princess” – as well as the long-lasting effects of tradition, in regards to the importance of social hierarchy and ancestry. One other theme that also seems to resonate throughout is the prestige of the British Empire. What these themes reveal is the way the country house was saturated by the influences of both the modern and the traditional, especially since the country house lifestyle that Vanderbilt experienced was during a time of rapid change at the turn of the twentieth-century.
Participants/Subjects of experiment one: Seventy-one male and female undergraduates. .A11 had taken psychological tests approximately 2 weeks earlier.
Heckling has transformed Emma through a new set of social values, a new medium and a different context. She shows the changed ideologies and values by transforming the provincial setting of Highbury and upper class (gentry) systems whereby wealth, property and status govern strict codes of behaviour and social relationships to a microcosm of modern Beverly Hills. In Emma, marriage is a social custom and expectation acting as a medium for security, financial assets, wealth and social status. Class systems made social interaction and experience limited with rank giving rise to insensitive, arrogant and pompous individuals like Emma and Cher.
* Dr. Cialdini explained that commitments are more powerful when they are active; public; effortful; and viewed as internally motivated. The statement of the commentator is accurate because the motorcycle owners had made their commitment public by tattooing their commitment on their
People establish assumptions about others based solely on initial impressions. Covertly, society runs on social class and reputation. This creates not only inaccurate perceptions of people, it paints incomplete depictions regarding people’s modus operandi. This is prevalent in the two pieces of literature David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens, and To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In these two books, social class and reputation stratify society. Just because one is wealthier than another, affluence and prosperity do not impact one’s integrity and character.
Jane Austen has created a very silly, vain man with immense family pride in Sir Walter Elliot. Sir Walter is extremely proud of his good looks, his family connections and above all, his baronetcy.
Elliott Templeton, from The Razor’s Edge, comes across in every way that his social status is the most important aspect of his life. Even the narrator notes that he may have “given the reader an impression that Elliott Templeton was a despicable character.” (6) To quite the contrary, throughout the novel Elliott demonstrates to the reader there are far more important things in his life. As a wealthier individual, he does not hesitate to spoil his friends and family or financially assist them in times of hardship. He also understands that sometimes money isn’t the only way to show kindness. Elliott shows the full extent of his kindness and generosity in the way he treats his sister Louisa, looks after his niece Isabel, and in his friendship
One social issue discussed in the memoir The Glass Castle ,by Jeannette Walls, is the issue on society and class. The author conveys the idea that people in society are often ashamed of their class, especially if they are towards the bottom of the social system, when compared to others who are wealthier and have more opportunities than them. At the beginning of the book, the author talks about how she lived in very poor conditions, with little money and sometimes went hungry as a child. These conditions throughout her childhood show that she was on the low-end of society’s class system. When she was younger, her parents also always taught her to be proud of what she had and that someone else always had
Informational Influence and Normative Influence are both categorized under conformity in sociology. Informational is basically when we conform to others behavior because we believe it provides information about reality. It is often when we care about getting the right answer and trying to be rational. It also deals with the "Maybe they know something I don't know" phenomenon. An example, could be choosing to eat at a busier restaurant opposed to the empty one, or imitating the locals when outside your country. In contrast, Normative Influence is when we conform to others behavior because they expect us to. This is when we believe conforming may have positive consequences, such as approval or the enhancement of our reputation, or when we believe not conforming may have negative consequences, such as disapproval or punishment. An example of Normative Influence is laughing at a joke you don't get, or agreeing with an opinion you believe in others.
“Society made me do it.” This phrase is a reality for many people in the world who live their lives through society’s expectations. Having a perfect reputation and living exactly by society’s rules is not always easy when faced with challenges such as restrictions amidst social classes. In Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, social classes are a common theme throughout the book. This theme is strongly influenced by the culture and desires of people in the Georgian Era, when the author began working on this book, which dictates the major choices in the characters’ lives. For example, something that people value most in this era is reputation. Main characters in Pride and Prejudice like the
The embodiment of this superficial class is the Elliott family. In using the Elliotts as her prime example of the aristocracy, a family that purchased its nobility relatively recently, Austen undercuts their claim to privilege. This family serves almost as a metonym for the larger aristocratic family in general. Rather than showing the aristocratic family tree as a pyramid of increasing status with increasing responsibility, Austen portrays it as a social food chain of the flatterers and the flattered. For example, when Mrs. Clay quits Bath at the end of the novel, Sir Walter and Elizabeth are "shocked and mortified...they had their great cousins, to be sure, to resort to for comfort; but they must long feel that to flatter and follow others, without being flattered and followed in turn, is but a state of half enjoyment" (Persuasion 220). Unlike the landholders of other novels-Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice and Mr. Knightley of Emma, for example-Sir Walter does not fit with Burkean models of beneficial aristocratic paternalism. His connection to the land is limited to Elizabeth