Assignment #1: Literary Essay

Language and Culture III – Literary Essay

Choose ONE of the following tasks and develop it thoroughly in an essay.
It should include an introduction, the main body and a conclusion.
Develop the corresponding theory, and account for it quoting from the novel.

1. “Pride and Prejudice” is a novel about women who feel they have to marry to be happy. Taking Charlotte Lucas as an example, do you think the author is making a social criticism of her era’s view of marriage?
2. Define what power is according to the theory of Michel Foucault. Describe the struggle for power between two characters throughout the play.
3. Explain how social class determines the decisions that people make in “Pride and Prejudice”.
4. Explore Austen's portrayal of the women in the novel
5. Explore Austen's portrayal of the women in the novel. In what ways does she sympathize with their plight, and in what ways is she unsympathetic?
6. How are gender roles represented in the novel within Patriarchal Society?
7. How can characters' behaviour or narrative events be explained in terms of psychoanalytic concepts (Id, ego, superego)?
8. How do Elizabeth Bennet's ideas on marriage differ from social ideas? Which characters in the novel share Elizabeth's views of marriage and which characters reflect society's perspective? Expand on this theme.
9. How do Elizabeth's simplicity and independence represent an attack on the conservatism of characters like Lady Catherine De Bourgh?
10. How do the characters in the text mirror the archetypal figures? (Great Mother or nurturing Mother, Whore, destroying Crone, Lover, Destroying Angel)
11. How does “Pride and Prejudice” criticize customs of the period?
12. How is patriarchal society represented through discourse in “Pride and Prejudice”? Choose two characters from the play to illustrate your point.
13. How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?
14. In what ways does Austen show that family and community are responsible for its members?
15. What conflict can be seen between the values the novel champions and those it portrays?
16. What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy?
17. What elements of the text can be perceived as being masculine (active, powerful) and feminine (passive, marginalized) and how do the characters support these traditional roles?
18. Which social class does the novel “Pride and Prejudice” claim to represent?
Any other: ____________________________________________________________