March 27

Pride and Prejudice

This book report is from a while ago but I forgot to post it. So here it is now. 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic romantic comedy that follows Elizabeth Bennet through her journey to finding a husband. How would you like it if you had a mother that was a noisy, foolish woman whose only goal in life was to see you and your sisters married but who often repelled the suitors that she tried to attract for you? That is exactly what Mrs. Bennet does to her daughters. In this book, several valuable life lessons are taught through the main character Elizabeth. Two lessons can be learned from this book: don’t set too much stock into first impressions and don’t be stingy in giving others a second chance because you never know when your own happiness may depend on it.

Don’t set too much stock into first impressions. That seems like it should be easy to do. However, that is not the case for Elizabeth Bennet. When Charles Bingley, a rich single man, moved to the Netherfield estate, the neighborhood residents were thrilled. Mrs. Bennet was especially thrilled because she hoped to marry off one of her five daughters to him. The Bennet girls were impressed by his friendly, outgoing manner when they met him at a local ball. They were, however, not impressed with Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mr. Bingley’s rich friend. Mr. Darcy was too proud to talk to any of the locals for he believed them to be inferior to himself. Elizabeth Bennet’s dislike of Mr. Darcy soon grew when she overheard him refusing to dance with her. Later on in the book, Elizabeth was led astray by George Wickham, a handsome officer in the militia. He told Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy did some unspeakable things to him. He made Darcy appear not only proud but cruel. Elizabeth accepted this tale without question and disliked Mr. Darcy even more because of it. But once again, we must remember that we shouldn’t put too much stock into first impressions.

Don’t be stingy in giving others a second chance because you never know when your own happiness may depend on it. Once again, Elizabeth forgot about this principle. Elizabeth went to visit her newly married friend Charlotte in her new home of Huntsford. There she discovered that the honorable and rich Lady Catherine de Bourgh was the aunt of Mr. Darcy and that he was going to come to Rosings Park for a visit. During Mr. Darcy’s visit to his aunt, he spent a lot of time with Elizabeth though he didn’t say much. He, one day towards the end of his visit, went to where Elizabeth was staying and asked her to marry him. She was shocked and repulsed for she still believed that he was a proud and cruel man. She said no and confronted him about Wickham. He left and the next day a letter came for Elizabeth explaining what had taken place with Wickham. He explained that Wickham had tried to elope with Georgiana, his sister, because he wanted her fortune. Darcy paid him a large sum of money to leave him and Georgiana alone. Elizabeth felt badly for accusing Mr. Darcy of something he didn’t do. She realized that she actually was beginning to have feelings for him as well. Is it too late to get Darcy back after she so wrongly accused him? This goes to show that sometimes in life you need to give others a second chance.

So as you can see, Pride and Prejudice demonstrates two great life lessons of not placing so much stock into first impressions and not being stingy in giving others a second chance. I thought that this book was a great read. At times, though, it was hard to follow. You have to pay close attention while you are reading so that way you know what is going on and who is speaking. I thought that the plot was captivating and had some funny moments in it. I would recommend this book to anyone who has the patience to read a long book and likes comedy and romance combined.