Karen Savage's Pride And Prejudice

Reading Pride and Prejudice was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It was one of those books that you expect nothing but the best. The book met up to my expectations and satisfied the idea I had of the book. The romance aspect of the book grasped my attention and the development of the characters inspired me. Jane Austen wrote this book a long time ago and it is still a classic surrounding the romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

The experience of Pride and Prejudice was intensified by how I read the book. I found this great audible on YouTube that had over a million views read by Karen Savage. When I would grab my book and listen to the recording, I was brought into the full experience of Pride and Prejudice. The person reading it kept me engaged with the pace of their voice, the accents, and how they transitioned from different characters based on tones. This led me to fully understand what was happening at each scene and know who was the one talking. I would connect my phone to the speaker and turn the volume high up and listen to the book in the afternoons when I had time. Usually, when there was not much time to sit down and listen to the

audio book, I would listen to it while I was getting ready or when I would drive to school. The audiobook made the book a fun read because I would not get bored. Even at the parts where there was not much going on I would still be fully engaged. If I were to have read this without the audiobook those dry sections would have taken all my energy away. Since I began listening to the audiobook I did not want to stop. After a chapter was over I wanted to know what was going to happen between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. The romance they shared kept me motivated.
Jane Austen did an incredible job with Pride and Prejudice. The way she developed the characters was impressive regarding the period the book was written in. Elizabeth Bennet the protagonist was one of my favorite characters. Elizabeth exemplified someone everyone should strive to be. She rebelled against societal norms that the world constantly must follow such as marriage and how a true societal woman should act. The concept of marriage was outlined at the beginning of the book making me intrigued on the fate of the Bennet daughters. Austen displayed many factors that incorporate to the idea of marriage such as gender roles, feminism, societal pressure, and class systems which is something I enjoyed. It was interesting to imagine how life was during that time and how there are aspects we still see today. Pride and Prejudice intrigued me to explore more on societal pressures during the time. There was this societal pressure to get married on behalf of society and Mrs. Bennet. If a female was not married at a certain age she would likely become a burden to the family and looked down upon as “not worthy” especially if the family was poor. Females were constantly being told how to look and what to do to be “an accomplished woman.” Those pressures were hard to escape during that period. Not only was there pressure on females but on males as well. Men needed to have a certain amount of wealth and looks to be eligible to marry. If the male lacked those aspects, it would affect how society and females viewed them.
Before taking Intro to Literature, there was only one way I read books. This was through one perspective and it never occurred to me that the book could be analyzed by different theoretical approaches. It was always about the characters and never about the hidden aspects that greatly influenced the book. Now I can become a psychologist and know what is occurring to a character based on their thoughts and actions through the psychoanalytic approach. Deep down there might be internal conflict that the character is not aware of because it is hidden in their subconscious. Also, based off the biographical approach the author may be using part of their history to incorporate it to a character and that interprets much of the characters journey. These approaches have changed all I know about literature. I now have a deeper knowledge on literature that has transformed how I view the characters, events, period, and author.
Furthermore, literature is a way to escape the outer world and become unique and present those thoughts on a piece of paper that will change minds and attitudes.

Literature connects us in ways we did not know we were connected. It explores themes that are critical to society that many are not aware of. Literature not only improves our reading skills but improves our understanding of the world. Life on earth would become better if individuals were attracted to literature. Literature changes individuals in ways they did not know. Before, I would notice literature and never explore it like we did in this course. In my opinion, I thought literature was not for me and I was not at the point to explore literature. Now I know that those ideas I had were false and literature can truly change an

individual.
Reading for me before this course was something I had to do. I did not find a form of enjoyment in the process because it was forced. After many short stories and poems, I discovered that reading does not have to be boring or something that I must do. Reading can be fun especially when different theoretical approaches are used. This course has sparked a curiosity to read more. Reading for me has now become a form of excitement and I constantly see myself exploring Amazon Prime for the bestselling books and purchasing them because reading is now part of who I am. This identity developed after reading poems and short stories that impacted my understanding of what literature truly is. I anticipate my reading habits to increase especially during the summer. I can see myself finding four books I find interesting and reading them for my own good. I am extremely thankful that this class encouraged me to develop an identity that was nonexistent.