Tuesday, February 7, 2012

I may stand corrected...may

After all my hating on Pride and Prejudice, I may find my qualms with this novel and not with Austen entirely. I'm reading Sense and Sensibility for another class and as it turns out, I think I really like it. The characters are a great deal more likeable and the story actually involves something serious. It's not all "oh I hope he likes me" but more of "oh man, I hope we don't lose our house". Having said that, I suppose I appreciate Austen more and see her in a less critical light. She is actually funny and does know how to write people.
I wonder why Pride and Prejudice gets more attention than Sense and Sensibility.  I guess it is the adaptability for these works into movies? S&S the movie is a good deal longer than the P&P versions I have seen. I also think that S&S is a great deal more intelligent than P&P, and most films cannot adequately portray intelligent literary works in film.
As far as using Austen in my future classroom, I think that I'm going to read her other works to properly form an opinion on her and her relevance in the classroom. Does anyone else have any opinions or experiences with her other works?

6 comments:

  1. When I first started reading Pride and Prejudice for this class, I leaned more toward agreeing with what you're saying here. I'd read Sense and Sensibility over break, and as I read Pride and Prejudice, I kept comparing the two books. Initially, I was more impressed with Sense and Sensibility. Or maybe I was more impressed with the sensitive yet reserved Elinor than with the feisty Elizabeth. However, Darcy changed my opinion of Pride and Prejudice. I'd like to read both books again when I have more time in order to, as you said, more fully form my opinions of them.

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  2. Shelbi, I would leave Austen completely out of your lesson plans :) just kidding, I actually thought Sense and Sensibility was a better novel. I was more engaged with the writing, and I actually wrote an essay on it for Shurbutt's class. I don't know why I just can't get into Pride and Prejudice, but could get into Sense and Sensibility. I need to read both back to back and then maybe I could make sense of it.

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  3. Pride and Prejudice was my first introduction to Austen's writing, and I didn't think it was so bad. There were parts that could have been stronger, but it still doesn't deter me from wanting to read her other works. I think I will listen to you guys and pick up a copy of Sense and Sensibility, then compare the two to make my assessment of Austen fair. Thanks for posting Shelbi!

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  4. I agree that Sense and Sensibility is a bit easier to swallow than Pride and Prejudice. The female characters in S&S have legitimate reasons for their actions while Elizabeth in P&P does whatever she wants to.

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  5. I agree Stephanie, I was completely more sympathetic towards Marianne and Ellinor than towards Elizabeth. Elizabeth just kind of got on my nerves.

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  6. Interesting post and discussion. I would quibble with one point, though: in this book "Who am I going to marry?" and "How do I keep my house?" (or how do I keep myself in a house--any house) are the same question in lots of ways.

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