Jane Austen

The two versions of Much Ado About Nothing that I chose were the 1993 version, directed by Kenneth Branagh, and the 2012 version directed by Joss Whedon. The two interpretations were drastically different from one another, but I think that the 2012 version was the funniest. In the 1993 version, the director also plays the character of Benedick, and the play is interpreted as the expected period piece. Unlike the 2012 version; the 1993 version displays a more jovial atmosphere all throughout, but…

Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio both offer modern society a glimpse into the dark ages through their literary pieces, The Canterbury Tales and The Decameron. Composed of numerous short stories, the two pieces of literature convey the way of life in 1300s as well as the medieval society’s belief and the strong influence of the bubonic plague. Short stories within The Canterbury Tales and The Decameron feature the plague and utilize the illness to construct plot and the overall theme. In…

Early British women's activist Mary Wollstonecraft, married name Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, was born on April 27, 1759 in London, England. She was a progressive thinker who tried to wind up "the first of a new genus," another sort of lady. Her life, however short and tumultuous, was portrayed by an Enlightenment-motivated energy for reason bizarre among ladies of her time. Verifiably, many individuals have been more intrigued by Wollstonecraft's surprising individual life and relationship…

How much does caliber affect a person’s opinion? In the short story, “The Stolen Party” written by Liliana Heker, strongly emphasizes the differences within a society's class. It starts off with Luciana, a girl from the upper class, inviting Rosaura, the daughter of Luciana’s maid, to her party. Rosaura wholeheartedly believes that she is being treated as an equal, as Luciana’s friend, at the party, but throughout the night she is constantly fetching drinks, running around, and being purposely…

The spread of Elizabeth Blackwell’s altruism began with her aspiration to build a hospital in New York City. Fortunately, slow business thrived to be a bustling one through Blackwell’s talks of health in her rented, one-room medical center in Jersey City. Following Blackwell’s establishment was a clinic, founded by Blackwell, her sister, and Dr. Marie E. Zakrzewska, a Berlin midwife. Although labor in the clinic was ceased, the New York Infirmary for Women and Children was operative in 1857…

In William Shakespeare's play Othello, there is love, betrayal, power, and pride that bring this tragedy together. In the end, there are not as many deaths as Romeo and Juliet but it is definitely just as heartbreaking. Desdemona and Emilia are the two main female characters in Othello. While the two women share many similar traits, being heavily devoted to their husbands, there is a contrast in the women in how they view the world. Desdemona is innocent and her idea of idealism is quite…

The true values of man are revealed when one faces the prospect of losing something precious in order to keep what truly matters, as people’s sacrifices reveal their true beliefs. In The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton demonstrates that people make such sacrifices for what they really value, when Newland Archer ends his affair with the Countess Olenska, whom he loves, to live socially accepted with his wife, May Welland. Archer gives up the relationship that he longs for, displaying that his…

When a couple gets married, believing you will love each other and live happily ever after. This is not always the case. Some marriages end up in a divorce for many reasons. There is one reason that is stated in Stone soup. She said, “I imagine it must be a painful reckoning in adolescence (or later on) to realize one’s own true love will never look like the soft-focus fragrance ads because Prince Charming (surprise!) is a princess.” This woman really portrays a picture of a man not loving…

Many different authors have used pen names in a number of ways in order to thrive in their careers and lives. Pen names are fake names that allow authors to obtain freedom while writing. Pen names are used by authors in the writing business to lead to their overall success. To begin with, pen names have helped multiple authors gain opportunities. Pen names give authors a chance to do what they were unable to do using their factual names. Charlotte Bronte used the name Currer Bell, a male pen…

Elizabeth Bennet is a strong-willed young woman utilized throughout the novel to portray Austen’s satirical perspective of society to the reader. Through Elizabeth’s eyes and chastising attitude, the reader sees the characters as Austen creates them to be perceived. For example, Elizabeth treats William Collins as a dumbfounded, awkward, coward to satirize the control the wealthy, in this case the Bennet family, established over weak religious leaders who insisted in their false hopes becoming a…