Pride and Prejudice

Since this was my first time reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and my first time watching the 2005 rendition of the book, I didn’t really know what to expect. Of course I have heard of this book numerous times and am aware of how well known it is, however, I have never gotten around to reading it myself or watching the movie. I am not really a huge fan of period pieces, yet with this movie, I was pleasantly surprised. I was also surprised at how well the original book and the 2005 movie correlated; all though there were a few parts in the book that did not show up in the movie. It is understandable, however, because it is hard to fit a novel with over 60 chapters into just a 2-hour time slot.

In my opinion, I preferred the movie to the book, because for me I felt like the movie was easier to follow. However, the book did live up to the high regards that people gave it. I loved how both Jane and Elizabeth fell in love with their partners, not because of the amount of money they had, even though at the beginning that was a huge part, but because of how each of them felt about one another and how they were deep inside as a person. Knowing that Elizabeth disregarded Mr. Darcy at first because of his attitude and the way he presented himself, even after knowing that he was richer than Mr. Bingley, showed how strong of a person she was and how she knew money wasn’t everything. I did, however, appreciate the fact that they did end up together and fall in love with each other, because it was easy to see that there was a slight connection between the two from the very beginning. Since this book was at first meant to be titled First Impressions, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s relationship showed how first impressions don’t always dictate how everything else will go.

Comparing Pride and Prejudice to today’s world, especially in the United States, I do see a lot of similarities as well as some differences. For example, not all women today marry men only for their wealth and social status, and most women value a man’s attitude and character. However, some women do idolize athletes, celebrities, or men with very high paying jobs and statuses, and there are many cases of young women marrying older men only for their money. Another similarity between Pride and Prejudice and what goes on today is the fact that Mrs. Bennet was so consumed with the idea that she needs to get her children to marry. Many mothers today are interested and constantly meddling in both their daughter and son’s lives about their relationship and why they aren’t married yet, or when they are going to give them grandchildren. Although it’s not always to the extent of forcing them to marry someone, unlike Mrs. Bennet trying to force Elizabeth to marry Mr. Collins and chasing after her when she refuses, it does still happen. Even arranged marriages that happen in other countries are similar to what was talked about in Pride and Prejudice, because some families arrange their daughters to marry a man from a wealthy family.

I did also glance over Pride and Popularity by Jenni James, and I felt that it was an interesting modernization of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It goes to show that some of what was mentioned in Jane Austen’s novel can be applied to today’s world and even to a younger generation, although one of the Bennet girls was married at only 15, the majority of the story was focused on the oldest sisters and featured an older crowd. I liked how this book mirrored the ideas of Pride and Prejudice, but replaced wealth with high school popularity. In the very first couple of sentences, three girls, Chloe, Madison, and Alyssa, are having a conversation about a boy who they think is the “hottest guy ever”, and Alyssa responds with “I’ve secretly dreamed of marrying him since I was ten”. This initial conversation sets the pace for the rest of the book and gives an insight to each of the character’s personality. The first chapter was coincidently named First Impressions, which helped relate the two books and show the connections between the Bennet women wanting to marry Mr. Bingley because of his wealth, and these high school girls wanting to marry this boy, known as Taylor Anderson, because of his looks, popularity, and athleticism. The main theme of this story is similar to the rocky start and final relationship of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, but it is told through the innocent eyes of Chloe and Taylor. I feel like history always has a way of repeating itself, so I didn’t find it surprising how well Pride and Prejudice could be applied to today and how well Pride and Popularity handled this topic.

Overall, I did enjoy the novel and the movie, and hope to read some more of her novels in the future.

Prologue

I was born in North Miami, Florida, the youngest of four girls. When I was two years old, my family and I moved to Elkton, Maryland, a small town just ten minutes away from Delaware. This is where I spent the next 7 years of my life; this is where my childhood took place.

I lived on Douglas St, which was a generally small neighborhood. Everyone pretty much knew everyone else, and your friends were always just a few steps away. As a child, I considered my life to be pretty great. I had a house to live in, my parents were awesome, and I had a great group of friends that I could always play with outside. However, from my parent’s perspective, things could have been so much better. It’s natural for parents to shelter their children and not tell them the problems that the family was facing; yet, no matter how happy I was as a child, I was so unaware of what was really going on. I was unaware of the fact that my parents were struggling with money; I was unaware of how many drug addicts and drug dealers there were in my neighborhood; and I was unaware of how bad of a place Douglas St really was. With the SWAT team raiding a house on the corner across the street, police chases that ran straight through my backyard, and drug dealers living right across the street from my house, my parents were fed up with the dangers of this neighborhood and were determined to get my three sisters and I out and as far away as possible.

Leaving Elkton was one of the saddest days of my life. I was only 9 years old, and I felt like my life, as I knew it, was over.  From watching fireworks every year on top of our van in Meadow Park, attending Pre-K to third grade at Thompson Estates Elementary, to the best friends that I ever had since I was 3 years old, Elkton was all I ever knew. Leaving it all behind was the hardest thing to do, and saying goodbye to my friends was even harder, especially since I knew that I was moving all the way back to Florida and thought that I would never see them again. However, looking back at it 11 years later, I know it was one of the best decisions my parents have ever made for our family.

Growing up in a place were things such as drug deals, teen pregnancies, and high school dropouts were a common occurrence, you wouldn’t necessarily think that I would be where I am today. However, thanks to the determination of my parents to get my 3 older sisters and I out of that bad neighborhood, and all of their hard work, I am doing what others thought I couldn’t. Being an African American woman, and spending 7 years of my childhood in the place that I did, no one ever really expected me to achieve all that I have, and I am proud to prove them all wrong, and will continue to prove them wrong no matter what obstacles may get in my way. I graduated high school at number 22 in my class, out of over 350 students, with a GPA of 4.62; and above all, I got into one of the most prestigious art schools in the world, which also happened to be my dream college, even after my senior guidance counselor told me that I should look for other options. None of this would have ever happened without the fight and strength from my parents, and that I is why I will never give up on my dreams and will never stop fighting, no matter how many people tell me that I can’t do something or that it’s impossible for me.

My childhood will always be apart of me, and it will always be one of the main reasons of why I am who I am today. I am strong, smart, independent, and determined, and I owe that not only to my parents, but also to growing up in Maryland. Thinking back to when I was 9, I wish I could tell my heartbroken self that everything will be okay and even though it doesn’t seem like it now, this change was meant to happen. Being a junior here at Ringling majoring in Interior Design and thinking back to all of the friends that I haven’t seen in over 11 years, has showed me that life can be hard, really hard, and change may not always seem like it’s the right choice, but if you work hard and never let anything stand in your way, no matter how difficult and stressful it may seem, amazing things can happen and dreams can come true. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.