Lecture Notes on Pride and Prejudice

Fixing Sentence Structure

• Combining Sentences:
  • The initial task was to combine two sentences effectively.
  • Example: Joining sentences about Mr. Collins' behavior after Elizabeth's refusal.
  • Solution: "Mr. Collins ignores her advice, saying that as a clergyman, he has more scope of understanding than a regular individual."

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Example Sentence: "His blindness to social mannerisms act as an obstacle…"

  • Problem: Subject-verb disagreement.
  • Correction: "His blindness… acts as an obstacle." because 'blindness' is singular.
  • Rule: Singular subjects take singular verbs (adding 's' to the verb).

• Another Example:

  • Original: "When Elizabeth explained her genuine rejection, Mr. Collins thinks…"
  • Correction: "When Elizabeth explains her genuine rejection, Mr. Collins thinks…"
  • Explanation: Add 's' to explains because Elizabeth is singular.

Verb Tense Consistency

• Importance: Maintaining consistent verb tense within sentences and throughout the text.

  • Default Tense: Present tense is often used when writing about literature.

• Example:

  • Original Sentence: "Elizabeth rejected his proposal as soon as she could interrupt him."
  • Revised Sentence: "Elizabeth swiftly rejects his proposal as soon as she can interrupt him."
  • Reasoning: Keeping the tense consistent with the present tense used elsewhere in the passage.

Awkward Phrasing & Wordiness

• Identifying Awkwardness: Recognizing phrases that sound unnatural or convoluted.

• Example 1:

  • Original: "Austin pokes on Mr. Collins due to social interactions and…"
  • Revision: "Austin pokes at Mr. Collins through his social interactions, particularly his proposal of marriage."
  • Use of dash: Adding clarification or special emphasis.

• Example 2:

  • Original: "Austin outlines the fact that Mrs. Bennett does not understand that she's embarrassed."
  • Problem: Wordiness.
  • Revision: "Austin suggests that Mrs. Bennett does not understand that she is embarrassing."
  • Using concise verbs: "Suggests," "hints," or "reveals" instead of "outlines the fact that."

Diction and Formality

• Euphemisms for Death:
  • Discussion: Avoiding euphemisms in academic writing about fictional characters.
  • Example: Using "dies" instead of "passes away" when referring to a character's death.
  • Reasoning: Academic papers do not require the same sensitivity as social contexts.

Pronoun Usage

• Possessive Pronouns before Gerunds:
  • Example: "Disregarding the possibility of him having flaws…"
  • Correction: "Disregarding the possibility of his having flaws…"
  • Rule: Use possessive pronouns (his, her, my) before gerunds (having, going).

Sentence Clarity and Parallelism

• Example:
  • Original: "When Mrs. Bennett catches word of this, she demands for Jane to go on her back instead of carriage…"
  • Revisions:
    • Add a comma after 'this'.
    • Change 'demands for' to 'demands that'.
    • Ensure parallelism: "to go on horseback instead of in Bingley's carriage."

Redundancy

• Example:
  • Original: "The second reasoning for Elizabeth's marriage…"
  • Revised: "His second reason for requesting Elizabeth's hand in marriage is that he is convinced it will add greatly to his happiness."
  • Explanation: Remove redundant words and streamline the sentence.

Accurate Language

• Example:
  • Original: "Mrs. Bennett is a satirization of the pressure for women to marry…"
  • Revision: "Through her characterization of Mrs. Bennett, Austen satirizes the pressure for women to marry…"
  • Explanation: Improve precision in describing Austen's satirical technique.

Adverbs vs. Prepositions

• Example:
  • Original: "…but immediately after, he can sing…"
  • Revision: "…but immediately afterwards, he can sing…"
  • Explanation: Use the adverb "afterwards" instead of the preposition "after" to modify the verb.

Apostrophes with Names Ending in S

• Collins' vs. Collins's:
  • Rule: For names ending in "s," both "Collins'" and "Collins's" are acceptable.
  • Consistency: Choose one form and stick with it.

Character Foils

• Definition: A character whose qualities or actions serve to emphasize those of another character through strong contrast.

  • Example: Helen Burns in Jane Eyre.

• Examples in Pride and Prejudice:

  • Elizabeth:
    • Charlotte Lucas (practical vs. emotional views on marriage).
    • Caroline Bingley (contrasting approaches to courtship).
    • Jane (more reserved vs. more outspoken).
    • Lydia.
  • Mr. Darcy:
    • Mr. Wickham.
    • Mr. Bingley.
    • Mr. Collins.
    • Colonel Fitzwilliam.
  • The Gardiners as foils to the Bennets.
  • Bingley and Jane as foils to Darcy and Elizabeth.