It's Not What you Know; It's Who you Know.

The Bennet girls seem to be very popular in their area. They are known as pretty and intelligent. Because of the size of the towns in which they reside, everyone knows everyone. Gossip is the center of attention. Especially when new people come into town.

In chapters 12-16, a few regiments of officers come into the small town of Meryton to stay until they have to deploy again. This news, of course, travels quickly throughout all of the small towns. The youngest of the Bennet girls, Kitty and Lydia, rejoice at the news and take off at once to their uncle's house. Their uncle has great connections with the regiments; therefore, he always has part of the militia at his house for dinner. The girls spend every afternoon at their uncle's until one day, their father informs them of a special guest that would be joining them for the weekend. When he arrives, he is very polite and formal with the family. (He uses formal register... hehehe) He seems to already know plenty about the Bennet family, which makes them, especially the younger ones, feel very popular.

During the visit, the girls are bored to tears. They try to show interest in what Mr. Collins has to say, but his monotone voice and praise for his "fortunate patroness, Lady Catherine De Bourgh." (pg. 49) Soon enough, they persuade Mr. Collins and their parents to let them go to Meryton for the evening, and surely enough the permission is granted. Whilst in town, the girls ran into officer Denny who introduced them to officer Whickham. As this took place, Mr. Bingley, along with Mr. Darcy, rode into town. They came straight up to the girls and said hello. To this, Mr. Collins saw the Bennet girls as well connected with the higher society. He thought this as good news to bring back to his patroness. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham exchanged cold looks and then parted ways. This gave Elizabeth curiosity as to what may have happened in the past, but she did not inquire, in case it was a touchy subject.

Everywhere the girls went, men's eyes followed eagerly. They charmed all they met. Their uncle's happened to have a dinner the following evening, to which the girls were invited. Here, the girls flirted and talked to many officers who were staying in Meryton, and Elizabeth finally found out what she had been inquiring all along.

Two-Faced Bee's with Itches

Chapters 9-12 consisted of two- faced people. It began with Jane and Elizabeth staying at the Netherfield house, due to a terrible sickness that had overcome Jane. The Bingley sisters acquired this negative trait, and they used it on their guests. Jane, a very sweet girl, neglects to admit that the sisters have not been completely honest with her or her sister about their feelings of them and their family. but then again, they do not dislike Jane, just her social status and connections. They feel she can do so much better and that she deserves to be put into a higher society, but they would never say this to her face, instead they simply pretend to be her best friend and to like her family.

Elizabeth on the other hand is not so gullible. She realizes their contradicting personalities, but she does not show any retaliation, for they are caring for her beloved sister who has been very sick. She uses this time to learn the ways of "high class people" although she does not believe she will use it often. She is kind but very honest to all, even when what she has to say is a bit witty. She does not appreciate this double attitude.

I for one, hate two-faced people. I would rather a person tell me what they honestly think once so that I may change or stop being with that person, then have that person hate, mock, and have to put up with me. I feel that those kinds of people have low self esteem and need to get the attention of another person by ridiculing and mocking others around them. I would call them "bees with itches" (my mother does not let me say the real word but this kinda works) because bees are mean but they need help cuz they are itching :) hehe

The Chase is Always Better than the Catch.

In chapters 6-9, Mr. Darcy begins to have a change of heart. He comments on Elizabeth's grand dark eyes and he finally asks her to dance. Her refusal only increases his attention towards her. She proves herself to be an independent woman who is not insulted easily. Elizabeth talks to her good friend, Charlotte, who explains to her that "in nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels." (pg 15) With this, Charlotte tells Elizabeth that Mr. Bingley does not know Jane as they do. He does not know her disposition or the way in which she shows her feelings. Elizabeth is convinced that Bingley and Jane are in love and she refuses to do something with the advice given to her by her friend.

Mrs. Bennet, always on her toes waiting for an opportunity to unite Jane and Mr. Bingley, sends her daughters to all of the balls in the country. Here, Elizabeth finally gives Mr. Darcy a respectful taste of his own medicine. His eyes are opened to this young lady, and he begins to want to know more about her. He watches her carefully for the remainder of the evening.

This is very typical in men. With this novel, we see that men do not change throughout generations, for they still like to have to work to get what they want. They like the chase much more than the catch. A man would much rather have a woman refuse him at first and have to work in order to be noticed that to have her affections with a snap of his fingers. This is why women always tend to be so mysterious and "hard to get."

Towards and in chapter 9, Jane receives a letter from Mr. Bingley's sister, Caroline, saying that she must join them for dinner at their mannor. Mrs. Bennet does not allow Jane to take the carriage for she is quite sure that it will rain that day, making it impossible for her to return home. Ultimately Jane becomes terribly sick causing Elizabeth to walk 3 miles to where she was, and to stay with her for about a week until she got better. In this time, Elizabeth was ridiculed by the sisters for her lack of poise, art, and talent on the "pianoforte."

Is it Love or Money?

In the beginning of the novel, Pride and Prejudice, the news spreads of a rich man coming to town. Here, Jane Austen introduces the main characters. She begins with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, the parents of the Bennet family. She then introduces Mr. Bingley as a wealthy man who has come into town. He is depicted as caring, well mannered, nice and "agreeable." She introduces the rest of the Bennet family which includes Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. She gives a small introduction and description about the whole family. Mrs. Bennet is a nervous mother who's only occupation is to marry each of her five daughters as well as possible. Mr. Bennet is a clever, calm, and intelligent man who favors Elizabeth for her quickness and uniqueness. Jane is a beautiful lady who sees no fault in anyone and charms everyone she meets. Elizabeth is also a very pretty lady who is quick in mind, true to her heart, honest, quick to judge, and kind. Mary is a quiet girl who likes to read and play the piano. Kitty and Lydia are silly girls who still have much to mature and learn. They love to flirt and dance with all they meet.

The next scene is a grand ball, which was made so that the whole county could meet this new comer. During the ball, Mr. Bingley meets the Bennet family, and charmed by the eldest, Jane, he asks her to dance twice, which she willfully accepts. Here, Austen introduces two new characters, Mr. Darcy a rich, proud, and disagreeable man and Miss Bingley a well mannered woman of much achievement and social standings. As Jane, Kitty, and Lydia dance the night away, Elizabeth overhears a conversation between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, "you had much better dance..." said Mr. Bingley. (pg 7) Mr Darcy responded, "your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with." (pg 7) Mr. Bingley, insisting on finding his friend a partner replied, "there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you [Elizabeth], who is very pretty and dare i say, very agreeable." (pg 7) Again in retaliation Darcy responds, "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me;..." (pg 7) With this, the whole county became disgusted with his presence. He was seen as a conceited and proud man who happened to have a great fortune, but it was made known that he would never have a chance with any of the Bennet girls.

I most certainly agree with the Bennet girls. A man can be handsome, rich, and well mannered, but if he doesnt have the personality to match, then he is not worth being with. Looks and money come and go. A personality is what stays with you for a lifetime, that is why you should never judge a man by his looks just like you should never judge a book by its cover. You never know what the inside could look like.

Justice is Served

Act V of "Hamlet" showed the final death and revenge of the characters. At first, I had no idea that all the people in the play died, but I knew that Hamlet and the king died towards the end of the play. Some great person in my class spoiled the ending for me; therefore, I somewhat knew what was going to happen. My question is were the killings done justly or just out of pure hatred?

I analyzed each of the characters in Act V scene ii and how they died, and then I analyzed their situation they were in before this scene. I began with Laertes. His death was only somewhat just. He lost his father and sister because of Hamlet; therefore, all he wanted was to seek revenge. The king knew of this and used Laertes' anger to his advantage for he too wanted Hamlet killed. Laertes had been a good man until this tragic scene occurred. Someone had to die and it just happened to be him who died first. Then I analyzed the queen's death. The queen committed many faults during the play, but she was always good at heart, or at least that is what William Shakespeare wanted us to think when writing this play. She was gullible and a follower. She loved her son but loved her "new husband" more. "KING CLAUDIUS-Gertrude, do not drink. QUEEN GERTRUDE-I will, my lord; I pray you, pardon me. KING CLAUDIUS-[Aside] It is the poison'd cup: it is too late." (Hamlet act V scene ii) In the end she dies by a poisoned cup, which was originally intended for Hamlet. It was the one and only time she disobeys her husband. The play does not reveal why, nor does it reveal if she knew that the cup was poisoned, but we as readers infer that she did, otherwise she would not have said what she said.

Next I analyzed Hamlet. This was a hard death. It was also only somewhat just. He wanted to take revenge for his father. He wanted nothing else but to kill the king for killing his father, taking control of the kingdom, and marrying his mother. He hated every bone in the king's body and he made several attempts previously to take away the kings life. Hamlet ended up killing the king by making him drink from his own poisoned cup, but he is also killed by a venom, which was lathered on the sword so that once it penetrated his skin it would kill him. Hamlet was also good at heart. He wanted the best for everyone around him, but he went mad. He killed other innocent people which became the cause of other deaths. Many would say that he did deserve to die, but I still cannot make up my mind. Lastly, I analyzed the king. I didn't have to go back into the play to know that his death was as just as could be. He was a terrible person, full of greed and hate. He killed his brother, married his sister-in-law, and almost killed his nephew. He made many attempts to kill Hamlet. He even involved other people so that he wouldn't have to do the "dirty work" himself.

The ending of the book fit perfectly. Everyone got the ending they deserved. Although I hate tragedies, this was a book that I could reread in the future. (believe me that is saying alot!) I'm glad to be done with this book as a class assignment, and I'm soooooooo excited to be starting Pride and Prejudice next week!

The Real You

Dreams are your sub conscience painting a picture. What builds in your sub conscience is something completely different. All experiences a person goes through, lessons he or she learns and/ or grand events that occur, have pieces that stay in your mind without you ever really thinking of them. When you later go to sleep, all that has been built up in the very backs of your brain come out and create somewhat of a movie for the dreamer. It paints a grand scenery that is not always known to the dreamer. It has people you may have seen somewhere, even if you did not really notice them or even really look at them at all. They all play an important part in the making of the dream. The dream contains deep secrets that only the wise can puzzle out. It has your true identity locked inside where only the true of heart can let it free. Overall, your sub conscience is the real you with no mask, ego, or looks.

Freud makes a connection to this with the children's story "The Emperor's New Clothes." The king contracted two men to make him a new outfit and he was fooled by the lies of someone else's personality. The king would dream about the clothes and etc. In the end, the king walked around his kingdom in nothing but his undergarments and he was silently mocked until a child spoke the words that everyone else feared to speak, "the king is not wearing any clothes." This is the catch about dreams. As grand as they may appear, as many secrets as they may contain, and as true as they may be, they can not predict the future (in most cases.)

I personally have an argument toward the last fact. I seem to have somewhat of a sixth sense when I dream and in general. When I dream about a tragedy, something terrible seems to happen within a week of when I had the dream; and when I dream about something wonderful, the same thing, but in vice-versa occurs.

Live Life to the Fullest

The last few minutes of the scene gave the message that Hamlet was not happy with the life he had led up until now. "To grunt and sweat under a weary life," (line 77) This line conveys the message literally and Hamlet then continues to explain his melancholic feelings. Having such high social class comes with many safety precautions and responsibilities. These people cannot go anywhere unprotected, they many times cannot eat certain foods, and they always have backup somewhere near. This cuts them off from doing different and adventurous things. "The undiscover'd country from whose bourne... and makes us rather bear those ills we have then to fly to others that we know not of." (lines 79-82) They cannot expand their lives without conquering the land beforehand, and they cannot run away from their problems even for a little while.

Living your life like this becomes a habit. "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all." (line 83) I have personal experience in this area. When I lived in the states, there was no such thing as social classes (there was but barely noticeable.) Since we were very young, everyone always told us that we were all made as equals and that everyone deserves the same respect and service as the other. This is how I lived the first 15 years of my life. Then when I moved, I remember my dad made a point of telling us that social classes were huge here. I did not understand what he meant until I was emersed into the environment. Here, everyone goes around in bulletproof cars and have super secure houses and etc. No one ever goes to places that here are considered of low class. After living here for a year, I found myself in the same mind set. I now have social class clear in my mind, while before every was equal. I subconsciously don't go anywhere that is considered low class unless I need to, and I dont feel quite as safe everywhere I go like I did in the states.

Life is tough for everyone in every social class. The only thing we can do is learn to adapt and move on. I feel that Hamlet has had enough of these restrictions and that in this scene, he explodes. He wants to live his life to the fullest, or at least to the fullest he can make it. He has had enough of his life and feels that many people are being dishonest with him, even his dear Ophelia. He wants to move on with his life and change the daily routines he lives in.