Pride & Prejudice 6: Chapter 6-10 [#7]

I. Quotation
1. "My fingers do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women's do [...] But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault - because I would not take the trouble of practicing. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman's of superior execution."(page 174)

• Darcy humbled himself in front of love and opened his long-closed heart to Elizabeth: "I certainly have not the talent which some people possess," said Darcy, "of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done" (174). Darcy finally put down his pride partially by admitting his lack of sociability. However, the sensible Elizabeth found the lack of willingness to change in Darcy's tone. Refusing to change is one of the outlets of pride because proud people are totally satisfied with their personalities, which they considered as perfect in some ways. In order to jeer Darcy's unconscious showing of pride, Elizabeth told Darcy that she blamed her unskillful fingering on her lack of practice, but not her fingers capability of instrumental performance - a contrast of Darcy's self-denial. Although Elizabeth intended to mock Darcy, she was actually helping him to realize the deep-rooted pride in his heart.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. How can you describe Lady Catherine with the following words, except?

A. egoistic
B. lavish
C. supercilious
D. haughty
E. malicious

Pride & Prejudice 5: Chapter 2-5 [#6]

I. Quotation
1. "Her heart had been but slightly touched, and her vanity was satisfied with believing that she would have been his only choice, had fortune permitted it."(page 150)

• It is curious that Elizabeth tolerates Mr. Wickham's fortune hunting but would not forgive Charlotte's mercenary marriage. She thinks that it is acceptable for men, especially the charming ones, to marry for money: "They are young in the ways of the world, and not yet open to the mortifying conviction that handsome young men must have something to live on, as well as the plain" (150). However, when it comes to Charlotte's decision of marriage, Elizabeth feels it is "unaccountable! in every view it is unaccountable!" (135). This paradox of mind shows Elizabeth's absurdity and the lack of logic in her thinking process. She is, indeed, a romancer from head to toe. She can be easily driven by her feelings, as well as her prejudice.
  
• On the other hand, this unveiled the injustice of society. When men and women did something which to be considered wrong, women are always the ones who got blamed for their so-called disgrace of decorum.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. Why did Mr. Wickham transfer his affection to Miss. King?

A. He found her amiable and beautiful
B. He was trying to marry for her money
C. He did not have enough money to marry Elizabeth
D. Mrs. Bennet opposed his affection to Elizabeth, so he gave up
E. He wanted to make Elizabeth jealous

Pride & Prejudice 4: Chapter 21-1 [#5]

I. Quotation
1. "Here are officers enough at Meryton to disappoint all the young ladies in the country. Let Wickham be your man. He is a pleasant fellow, and would jilt your creditably." (page 137)

• Mr. Bennet is an intelligent and witty old gentleman. Although there is always a sense of careless and playfulness in his words, he is actually hinting something that nobody would realize till the end. For example, in this quote, he suggests Elizabeth to go out with Mr. Wickham. One one hand. Mr. Bennet said this to mock the social hierarchy of marriage, which does not allow a man to marry a woman of a higher social class. One the other hand, he pointed out the questionable character of Mr. Wickham. Wickham is undoubtedly a charming young man, but his irresponsibility would make him "jilt your creditably" (137). This prediction came true in the following chapters, when Elizabeth found out that Wickham transferred his affection to a lady whom just inherited a large fortune. This is also a foreshadowing of Lydia's elope with Wickham, which happened later in the novel. Mr. Bennet was right, Wickham not only jilted Elizabeth creditably, but also brought shame on the Bennets by eloping with Lydia.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. Why did Charlotte say yes to Mr. Collins's proposal?

A. She was forced to get marry by her parents
B. She was jealous of her best friend, Elizabeth
C. She wanted to entail the Bennets' estate
D. She was in love with Mr. Collins
E. She needed to get settled before turning into an old maid

Pride & Prejudice 3: Chapter 17-20 [#4]

I. Quotation
1. "I could wish, Miss Bennet, that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment, as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no credit on either." (page 94)

• Elizabeth began to show her naive side in this chapter. Although she is witty and observant in front of people, she seems to be blind to her own weakness. She asked Mr. Darcy if he "never allow yourself [himself] to be blinded by prejudice" (94) without realizing that she is actually the one who is blinded by prejudice. The mist of prejudice spoiled her judgment; therefore, she cannot see any good in Mr. Darcy, whom gave her a negative first impression when they first met. When Charlotte tied to show Elizabeth the agreeable side of Mr. Darcy, Lizzy cried out in an disdainful manner: "To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil" (91). Elizabeth chose to hate Mr. Darcy; whereas she also chose to like Mr. Wickham. It was such an irony that Elizabeth actually said that "it is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first" (94) by herself, because she had no idea that she was actually accusing her own flaw. Lizzy's ignorance of her prejudice reminds us Mr. Darcy's blindness of his pride.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. Based on the marital beliefs of the following characters, who would probably accept Mr. Collins's offer?

A. Lydia
B. Elizabeth
C. Kitty
D. Charlotte Lucas
E. Mary

Pride & Prejudice 2: Chapter 11-16 [#3]

I. Quotation
1. "I had not thought Mr.Darcy so bad as this - though I have never liked him, I had not thought so very ill of him - I had supposed him to be despising his fellow-creatures in general, but did not suspect him of descending to such malicious revenge, such injustice, such inhumanity as this!" (page 81)

• Darcy introduced the word "pride", which is the first word of the book's title, into the novel; while Elizabeth, with her decision to trust Mr. Wickham's one-sided story, introduced the other word of the book's title - "prejudice".
• Everyone in the novel has flaws - Elizabeth is one of them, even though she is the pleasant and intelligent protagonist. Her prejudice mostly comes from her naive belief of "first impressions." She trusts Mr. Wickham, whom she barely knows, only because he is to be considered perfect from his appearance: "he had all the best parts of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address" (73). It is obvious that Elizabeth likes Mr. Wickham when she first met him because he appeared to be personable; while she dislikes Mr. Darcy because his actions appeared to be haughty in first sight. However, we all know that the superficial appeal is deceptive and believing in "first impressions" is just foolish and naive. One cannot judge a book by its cover; therefore, the true disposition of a person, whether it is wicked or not, may be hidden by his countenance.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. What reason does Wickham give Elizabeth for his dislike of Darcy?

A. Darcy wouldn't let Wickham marry his sister
B. Darcy forced him to join the army
C. Darcy is the nephew of Lady Catherine, whom he does not like
D. Darcy cheated him out of an inheritance
E. Darcy attempts to destroy the intimacy between Mr. Bingley and Jane

Pride & Prejudice 1: Chapter 1-6 [#1]

I. Quotation
1. "Human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary [...] A person may be proud without being vain." (page 21)

• Besides the satire of the regimented social hierarchy, the discussion on the nature of pride and prejudice is the other main theme of this novel. "Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's characteristics are different in many people's eyes; however, the major parts of their personalities are overlapped - both of them have pride and prejudice, although those characteristics are shown in slightly different ways. Mr. Darcy has his pride on the outside, while prejudice is the domination of his views to other people. He refused to interact with people other than his closest friends because he is supercilious - but that is just partly right - he is, indeed, so sticked to his prejudice that he cannot see the goodness in others. On the other hand, Elizabeth is using her prejudice to cover up her pride: "Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never" (16). She is not surprised by others' compliments because she knows her good qualities already. She becomes extremely critic when meeting people from a higher social class, for example, Mr. Darcy, because her pride is being violated by the air of aristocracy.
• The two protagonists' hearts are tangling with pride and prejudice. They also struggled to put down their pride and get rid of their prejudice in front of the irresistible love that is slowly but surly growing between them. Luckily, "a person may be proud without being vain" (21); there is no vanity in their pride and there is no hatred in their prejudice. So the time when they realize how much they share in their personalities would also be the time when prejudice dissolves, pride humbles, and love completes.
  

II. Multiple Choice Question
1. What is the narrative mode of this novel?

A. Third-person, objective
B. Third-person, subjective
C. Third-person, omniscient
D. Third-person, limited
E. Multiple-person narrative mode

Huckleberry Finn 6: P184-208

I. Quotations
1. "I can't ever get it out of my memory, the sight of them poor miserable girls and niggers hanging around each other's neck and crying; and I reckon I couldn't a stood it all but would a had to bust out and tell on our gang if I hadn't knowed the sale warn't no account and the niggers would be back home in a week or two." (page 196)

• Although Huck feels horrible seeing slave family being pulled apart, he does not feel sorry for the slaves. Indeed, he feels bad only because Mary Jane, as well as her sisters, is upset about it: "I thought them poor girls and them niggers would break their hearts for grief; they cried around each other, and took on so it most made me down sick to see it" (196). Living in the Old South, it is hard for someone to stay away and not to be stained by the belief of slavery, even Huck, whom should be considered as an outsider of the society. Racism and slavery is a great challenge for Huck to overcome. So when Jim said he was going to get his two children back, Huck was frozen: "He would steal his children - children that belonged to a man I didn't even know; a man that hadn't ever done me no harm" (101). Although Huck has a great companionship with Jim and learned that black people have their own dignity and thoughts, he is still tangling between his conscience of humanity and the widely-accepted tolerance of brutal slavery.
  

2. "I reckon a body that ups and tells the truth when he is in a tight place, is taking considerable many resks, though I ain't had no experience, and can't say for certain; but it looks so to me, anyway; and yet here's a case where I'm blest if it don't look to me like the truth is better, and actuly safer, than a lie." (page 200)

• This should be seen as a milestone of Huck Finn's moral development. For the first time, Huck chose to solve a problem by telling the truth, instead of making a big lie to cover it up. Huck has been lying throughout his life - he thinks that lies are the only way to make things right and to let him survive. However, as the seed of conscience sprouts from his heart, he is now willing to, at least, try to be honest: "I'm agoing to chance it; I'll up and tell the truth this time, though it does seem most like setting down on a kag of powder and touching it off just to see where you'll go to" (200). We can see that Huck gradually realized the ugliness of greed and pretense in the duke and the king's hearts. Therefore, he is now trying to be different from those kind of hypocrites and liers - he is, fortunately, learning to be a man who values righteousness and truthfulness.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. Shroud - [n.] burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
Ex. "The lid was shoved along about a foot, showing the dead man’s face down there, with a wet cloth over it, and his shroud on." (192)

2. Melodeum - [n.]
1> a small reed organ
2> a kind of accordion
Ex. "They had borrowed a melodeum." (194)

Huck & Jim

I. Jim
It was after sun-up, when our raft passed a village. I was dangling my legs in the warm water with a pipe in my hand doing nothin' 'cause it was Jim's turn to cook breakfast. Life is just so good when you've got the full day to enjoy, and everything smelled delicious under the sun (everything did smell good 'cause Jim was actually cooking breakfast).

By-and-by, the time flew by, and all of a sudden, I heard a crash and then comes a h-wack! – bum! bum! bumble-bumble-umble-um-bum-bum-bum-bum - and then all I can hear is dead silence.

"What the heck is goin' on Jim?" I freaked out.
"Dey's numf'n wrong," said Jim in a shivering voice, "I reck'n me jist saw me wife, but ole Jim is not sure."

I turned around and looked ashore. Along the riverside, stood a nigger woman, carryin' a bucket filled with laundries and all that sort of things. She was facin' the other way so I can't reely see her face. Anyway, I stopped the raft, hauled it up onto the shore, and hurried Jim, who was still awfully in shock, to go and check.

'Bout a minute later, I heard Jim cryin', "Goodness gracious, is dat you, Betty?"
"Oh, good lan'! is dat you, honey?", a woman's voice.
"Lemme have a closer look at yer face!" said Jim with tears all over his black face, "Po' niggers can't have no luck. I awluz 'spected dat I gwyne to see yo agin!"
"I knows yo're gonna come ta find me, Jim, I awluz kno'!"
"Jim should've ranaway earlie' "
"Don't you blame yo'self 'bout it."

They walked back to the raft, together. Jim said to Betty, "Lemme introdoss yo to me bes' fren'."
"Dah white boy ove' there?"
" Yea. 'Tis de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman da ever kep' his promise to ole Jim."
"Hello mistah Huck", said Betty in a weird fearful manner.
"Wat? Plz don't call me mister, I'm just Huck, ole Jim's best friend."
"How did yo' two become fren'?" asked Betty.
"Le sit, le all sit down," said Jim, bringing our breakfast to the table (oh well, it's a big rock actually), "dat's a sooper long story ta tell!"

II. Huck
I sneaked out from the opening window, climbed over the fence, and was about to run away from Ms. Rockefeller's house, when I heard someone was talkin' in the backyard, "wat should we do with this girl?"
"Maybe we can just bury her alive here 'cause I don't reckon anyone would notice", said another one.
"Well then, fine. Let's get this done as fast as we can so we can leave before the sunrise."

This is not good, I reckon. Tom Sawyer said that there ain't any book that has a woman got killed in the end; women are s'posed to be rescued by a cowboy or sumf'n like that. Then I'm not s'posed to help that girl out 'cuz I ain't a cowboy - I'm s'posed to be the robber! But that gal will prob'ly get killed if I leave now, so I reckon I'm gwyne to save her anyway 'cuz I will do whichever come handiest at the time.

So I started to crow like a rooster. And of course, my fella robbers ran away immediately. By-and-by, I helped the girl out. Maybe I should stop calling that girl "the girl" 'cuz now I know her name, Sophie. She was gentle and sweet, like a dove, and she was a little younger than me and should be a lot younger than Jim, I s'posed.
"Who are you?" asked Sophie.
"Oh, I'm Huck Finn... no, I mean-" Duh, why did I forget not to tell her my real name? Damn.
"Thank you so much for saving my life! You are a really brave young man, Huck."
"It's not that big of deal. I'm a robber, just wanna let yo know." I said it with great pride.
"What? A robber? Is that a joke or something?"
"Yup. Anyway, yew wanna go to my raft en get sumf'n to eat? Yo look dog-tired." I offered.
"Since I have no where to go, I would say 'yes'", said Sophie with a delightful smile.
"Well then, follow me", I smiled back. And I was thinkin' 'bout kidnapping her for a ransom or not 'cuz a sly old robber would think dat way.

Huckleberry Finn 5: P129-156

I. Quotations
1. "If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way." (page 137)

• Living at the foot of the social ladder, pap knows very clear that he, and people like him, is feeble in front of those social practices that were established a long time ago. The world is filled with a bunch of hypocrites; and the way to get along with those kind of people is to "let them have their own way" (137). This social laissez-faire policy is simply a denial of righteousness and justice. How dreadful it is that the philosophy of life at that time is to lie: lies to cover up lies; lies to overcome lies - one has to lie in order to survive! Everyone lies in this novel, but it is not their fault. When the society is corrupted as a whole, the stander of morality would be lowered; therefore, lying would not be a guilt because everyone is doing it. It is a pathetic world after all.
  

2. "Dat's all right, den. I doan't mine one er two kings, but dat's enough. Dis one's powerful drunk, en de duke ain' much better." (page 146)

• Jim feels unhappy because he thinks his freedom was taken away by the white men again. How cruel and unfair it is to say that "handcuffs and chains would look still better on Jim [...] Ropes are the correct thing" (146)? Paradoxically, the king and the duke are claiming that they should treat Jim like that in order to "preserve the unities, as we say on the boards" (146). Little do they know that the union cannot be preserved when injustice (slavery) exist. This is a correlation to the Civil War, which the Union did not preserve when the South held onto their tradition of slaveholding. The duke and the king, as a representation of white adults, want to dominate the young and the black, although Huck and Jim are actually the owners of the raft. Therefore, the Quads on the Raft is not going to last forever.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. galoot - [n.] an awkward, eccentric, or foolish person
Ex. "Next you'd see a raft sliding by, away off yonder, and maybe a galoot on it chopping, because they're most always doing it on a raft." (130)

2. tartar - [n.]
1> a member of any of the various tribes, chiefly Mongolian and Turkish, who, originally under the leadership of Genghis Khan, overran Asia and much of eastern Europe in the Middle Ages
2> a savage, intractable person
3> an ill-tempered person
Ex. "I'd been selling an article to take the tartar off the teeth." (100)

Huckleberry Finn 4: P88-128

I. Quotations
1. "I know very well I had done wrong, and I see it warn't no use for me to try to learn to do right; a body that don't get started right when he's little, ain't got no show - when the pinch comes there ain't nothing to back him up and keep him to his work, and so he gets beat." (page 103-104)

• "What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" (104). Living in a moral-deformed society, Huck thinks saving a slave is an bad thing to do. Ironically, by following his conscience, the boy is actually doing the right thing. Huck does not want to do things that go against his heart. He is an outcast of the society; thus, his heart is not stained by those ugly dictates of the white society, where most people have been raised. Slavery is going against nature, and Huck is the son of nature. This is why, in the end, Huck made up his mind to "always do which ever come handiest at the time" (104). To many people, this may be seen as an act of self-indulgence; however, from another perspective, this is actually a big step of Huck's moral development - he realized that his conscience may be a better guide than the so-called common sense, which was made by the white-dominated society to oppress black people.
  

2. "I was powerful glad to get away from the feuds, and so was Jim to get away form the swamp. We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft." (page 128)

• Jim got away from the swamp, and Huck got away from the feuds. Both of them were out of the mud - the mud of nature, and the mud of the deformed society. Life with the Grangerfords was comfortable at first - they are all well born, religious, and kind - they are, indeed, on the top of the social class. However, deep under the Grangerfords' glorious skin, is the ugliness of human nature - prejudice, hatred, and revenge. The Grangerford-Shepherdson feud is the black-white feud in another form. Both of them deny the value of existence of another group. Compared to the chaos and injustice of the society, the raft is truly the Garden of Eden for Huck and Jim - peaceful, delightful, and free.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. harem - [n.]
living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household
Ex. "If everybody don't go just so he whacks their heads off. But mostly they hang round the harem." (89)

2. fidget - [v.]
to move about restlessly, nervously, or impatiently
Ex. "I fidgeted up and down the raft, abusing myself to myself, and Jim was fidgeting up and down past me." (100)

Huckleberry Finn 3: P47-465

I. Quotations
1. "Yes -en I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns myself, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars. I wisht I had de money, I wouldn't want no mo'." (page 57)

• When men are separated into different social levels, or even sold in different price, there is no humanity and justice left in the world. Growing up under this racist influence, Jim thinks he worth eight hundred dollars. However, he does not know that everyone is priceless. There is nothing to lose but ourselves. Ourselves are the greatest fortunes we have. Thus, freedom, the power to determine action without restrain, is the most valuable thing for a man. The slaves are poor because they have no freedom. Fortunately, Jim got his freedom by running away from Miss Watson. Therefore, he can now master his own body and mind. Freedom worth much more than just eight hundred dollars - freedom is, indeed, priceless.
  

2. "He's been shot in de back. I reck'n he's been dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face - it's too gashly." (page 60)

• The washed-out house Huck and Jim found was in a mess: "There was heaps of old greasy cards scattered around over the floor, and old whiskey bottles, and a couple of masks made out of black cloth" (60). The phrase "old whiskey bottles" stands out from the rest because it reminds me Huck's father, who is addicted to alcohol. So, does it mean that this dead man is Huck's pap? At least, we can view this as a symbolic hint of Pap's downfall - death.
  
• From here we can see that Jim is a caring and clever young man. Jim not only teaches Huck the skills to live in the woods, but also provides protection for him. Jim is more than just a fellow - he is a figurative father to Huck. The place they live in the woods is no longer a camp for them, but a home. This is why when they got back from a full-day adventure, Huck said, "we got home all safe" (61). Jim and Huck's companionship gradually changed into a family relationship.
  

II. Vocabulary
1. brash - [adj.]
1> impertinent; impudent; tactless
2> hasty; rash; impetuous
3> energetic or highly spirited, esp. in an irreverent way; zesty
4> (use esp. of wood) brittle
Ex. "When I got to camp I warn't feeling very brash, there warn't much sand in my craw; but I says, this ain't no time to be fooling around." (50)

2. gash - [n.]
1> a long, deep wound or cut; slash
2> slang: vulgar
Ex. "Come in, Huck, but doan't look at his face - it's too gashly." (21)