Pride and Prejudice Analysis

[nelewaf]

My dd and I just read Pride and Prejudice together. We also had fun watching the movie. :)

 

 

Any suggestions for analysis? We talked all through the book, and she watched the movie 3 times, as it :is the best movie, ever...."

 

As SWB says, I don't want to "kill it" w/ her i.e., her example of her sone and The Once and Future King....but would like to discuss a bit more in depth. Thanks !!

[Tullia]

My son and I had some interesting discussions--usually informal over lunch-- about Mr. and Mrs. Bennett. We speculated about what their courtship might have been like and how their personalities might have contributed to the events in the novel. This came from some brief hints in the book. Other things we talked about were parental responsibilities, the importance of learning to see beyond conventional wisdom, and how first impressions may not be accurate but once formed are hard to overcome.

 

IME, reading the other novels will give you more things to talk about. I never dreamed that my son would ask to ditch the reading list I'd prepared and continue with more Jane Austen after P&P, but that's what happened. He was intrigued by a writing assignment which called for a rhetorical analysis of Captain Wentworth's (Persuasion) and Mr. Collins' proposals and later an essay comparing the two. FWIW, my son thought Mansfield Park had the most interesting content for analysis. He wrote several essays on that novel. He admires Fanny, and was distressed to find out that she is not considered one of Miss Austen's better heroines.

 

Watching P&P has been a regular for our "movie at home night" for a long time so ds grew up watching the movie version. He enjoyed the book's details which are only implied in the movie. In fact, comparing the book to the movie might be worth your time.

 

If you have the time, Sense and Sensibility might be a good followup for a more in-depth analysis. It's a good read, but not "fun" in the same way as P&P. You could compare it to P&P, and the movie version is good--that is if you are prepared to tolerate Hugh Grant and a few departures from the book. My apologies to any HG fans--IMO, he was miscast as Edward.

[Angel]

I am doing a Jane Austen Lit Study with my dd and her friends. I have a few resources you can take a look at. All of the links but one contains info on all the Austen books, not just P&P. We are in our fourth book this month in our study and we are having a ball!! The girls are keeping a blog of their study along with projects we are doing.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/austen_teachersguide.pdf - this is a great resource for the movies, I have adapted it to the books as well.

 

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/prideprej.html - a lit guide

 

http://www.amazon.com/Miniatures-Morals-Christian-Novels-Austen/dp/159128015X - a book that takes a look at each novel

 

http://www.janeausten.co.uk/magazine/section.ihtml?id=76&step=2 - crafts, games, recipes, etc. all to do with the Regency Era

 

http://www.jasa.net.au/pp/xwrdpp.htm - a P&P crossword puzzle (we did the Sense & Sensibility one and it was HARD)

 

We haven't done P&P yet. It will be the last novel we study. All of the girls are VERY familiar with it because of their moms ;) We will be reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies before we actually read the novel (since they are familiar with the story) to see how Jane Austen has survived to modern culture and what modern culture has done with it :D

 

If you would like to check out the kinds of things we are doing in our study, you can pm me and I'll send you a link to their blog.

[samba]

I've heard Miniatures and Morals is really good and I"m keeping that in mind for dd down the road. Leithert's stuff all looks good so you kind of can't go wrong. I'm slowly collecting many of his other studies (Heroes..., Brightest Heaven..., etc.)and from what I've seen so far, they're fabulous. :001_smile:

 

Carolyn

[Angel]

I've heard Miniatures and Morals is really good and I"m keeping that in mind for dd down the road. Leithert's stuff all looks good so you kind of can't go wrong. I'm slowly collecting many of his other studies (Heroes..., Brightest Heaven..., etc.)and from what I've seen so far, they're fabulous. :001_smile:

 

Carolyn

 

We've enjoyed it. He gets a bit wordy sometimes ;) And, of course, he was a bit hard on Marianne Dashwood (my alter ego LOL)...

 

Here's a link to another book we are using "What Jane Austen Taught Me About Love and Romance"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0736918892/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=10TCNBMPVB1EBHD7GK2D&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=4

We ALL love this one!! It is better than "Miniatures and Morals." We are also using "Jane Austen for Dummies" but that's a little different.

[nelewaf]

My son and I had some interesting discussions--usually informal over lunch-- about Mr. and Mrs. Bennett. We speculated about what their courtship might have been like and how their personalities might have contributed to the events in the novel. This came from some brief hints in the book. Other things we talked about were parental responsibilities, the importance of learning to see beyond conventional wisdom, and how first impressions may not be accurate but once formed are hard to overcome.

 

IME, reading the other novels will give you more things to talk about. I never dreamed that my son would ask to ditch the reading list I'd prepared and continue with more Jane Austen after P&P, but that's what happened. He was intrigued by a writing assignment which called for a rhetorical analysis of Captain Wentworth's (Persuasion) and Mr. Collins' proposals and later an essay comparing the two. FWIW, my son thought Mansfield Park had the most interesting content for analysis. He wrote several essays on that novel. He admires Fanny, and was distressed to find out that she is not considered one of Miss Austen's better heroines.

 

Watching P&P has been a regular for our "movie at home night" for a long time so ds grew up watching the movie version. He enjoyed the book's details which are only implied in the movie. In fact, comparing the book to the movie might be worth your time.

 

If you have the time, Sense and Sensibility might be a good followup for a more in-depth analysis. It's a good read, but not "fun" in the same way as P&P. You could compare it to P&P, and the movie version is good--that is if you are prepared to tolerate Hugh Grant and a few departures from the book. My apologies to any HG fans--IMO, he was miscast as Edward.

Martha Thank You so much!! I have a boatload of ideas now for both informal discussion (esp family & responibilities, dating, impressions) as well as essay topics that aren't boring! Funny you mention your son wanted to ditch the assigned reading list after reading P&P and read more Austen...that's exactly what's happening here! My dd is almost through w/ Emma, and wants to wait to watch the movie until she' done w/ the book. And I forgot about Mansfield Park, but Sense & Sensibility is next on my dd's list. Thanks Very Much.

[nelewaf]

I am doing a Jane Austen Lit Study with my dd and her friends. I have a few resources you can take a look at. All of the links but one contains info on all the Austen books, not just P&P. We are in our fourth book this month in our study and we are having a ball!! The girls are keeping a blog of their study along with projects we are doing.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/austen_teachersguide.pdf - this is a great resource for the movies, I have adapted it to the books as well.

 

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/prideprej.html - a lit guide

 

http://www.amazon.com/Miniatures-Morals-Christian-Novels-Austen/dp/159128015X - a book that takes a look at each novel

 

http://www.janeausten.co.uk/magazine/section.ihtml?id=76&step=2 - crafts, games, recipes, etc. all to do with the Regency Era

 

http://www.jasa.net.au/pp/xwrdpp.htm - a P&P crossword puzzle (we did the Sense & Sensibility one and it was HARD)

 

Angel - Thanks So Much for all this info & the links! I have another boatload of great stuff that my dd will Love!! The sewing and cooking site looks so good, as I'm finally teaching her to sew and she already loves to bake & cook! The litereary analysis sites look amazing...this is what I love about homeschooling, sharing these great books with my daughter and getting to talk and teach her through these works about the things that matter. I think she will remember these books always, and that we shared them together.

[nelewaf]

I've heard Miniatures and Morals is really good and I"m keeping that in mind for dd down the road. Leithert's stuff all looks good so you kind of can't go wrong. I'm slowly collecting many of his other studies (Heroes..., Brightest Heaven..., etc.)and from what I've seen so far, they're fabulous. :001_smile:

 

Carolyn

Carolyn, I'll look into Minis & Morals , never heard of Leithert's until tonight, and it looks great! Thanks So Much! :)

[nelewaf]

We've enjoyed it. He gets a bit wordy sometimes ;) And, of course, he was a bit hard on Marianne Dashwood (my alter ego LOL)...

 

Here's a link to another book we are using "What Jane Austen Taught Me About Love and Romance"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0736918892/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=10TCNBMPVB1EBHD7GK2D&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=4

We ALL love this one!! It is better than "Miniatures and Morals." We are also using "Jane Austen for Dummies" but that's a little different.

I'll be putting this in my cart as soon as I leave here! Thanks So Much!:)

[Julie in MN]

It's always good to discuss the themes of "pride" and "prejudice" going on throughout the story :)

Julie