AP Literature Assignment #1

The novel, Pride & Prejudice, starts off with a family called the Bennets. They are a middle class family that include Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. They live in, seems like, 1800s England in a town called Hertfordshire. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet try their hardest to make sure their two eldest daughters, Jane and Elizabeth, are married to rich men. Mr. Charles Bingley, Jane's potential husband, visits their house and invites them to a ball/party. There, he and Jane connect. On the other hand, Elizabeth, who seems like a complicated person, is not phased by anyone. She sees Mr. Bingley's friend, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, but he is very indifferent. Since she's a tough girl, she doesn't pay him any mind. A few weeks later while heading to Netherfield to visit Mr. Bingley, Jane is stricken with a cold because it rained while she was traveling. Elizabeth goes there also to take care of her sister. Elizabeth being there make Mr.Bingley's younger sister, Ms. Caroline Bingley, spiteful. Eventually Jane is able and well enough to go back home after her mother and other sisters visit. Next, they are visited by their cousin, Mr. William Collins. He is a clergyman and is expected to inherit their estate when Mr. Bennet dies. Mr. Collins becomes drawn to Elizabeth and asks her to marry him. When she refuses, he constantly asks her over and over again; but eventually gets confirmation from Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth's best friend., to marry him. Soon Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins are married. Shortly after that, Jane receives a letter from Ms. Bingley telling her that Mr. Bingley is moving to London and is going to stay there. She also explains how she and Mr. Darcy are going to start dating. Jane is confused and a little distraught by this message. Later on, Elizabeth goes to Mr. Collins house to visit Charlotte. While she is there, she meets Lady Catherine de Bourgh's daughter and Mrs. Jenkinson, who lives with the de Bourghs.

I think the writer's purpose was to captivate what type of things happened back in the 1800s through fiction. Also maybe to describe 19th century to modern day, although Jane Austen probably didn't intend for our society to still be reading it after 200+ years. She also could've just felt like writing a fictional book about a family and their ups and downs in life.
My reaction to this is that I think it is very insightful. It gives me a description of how things were back in that time period, such as whenever the father died, the estate would go to the son; or how it was so important to marry a rich man if you came from a middle class family. Also it's detailed enough to be able to be pictured in my mind. So far, I think Jane Austen did an excellent job writing this novel.