The 21st Annual Book Report Competition
for Secondary School Students
The “Black Cat English Reader Award” of English Senior Section
Name of Award Student
Name of School
Title of Book Read
Author
Publisher
: Leung Wai Ting, Amy
: Heep Yunn School
: Pride and Prejudice
: Jane Austen
: The Commercial Press (H.K.) Ltd.
Summary:
Akin to other Jane Austen’s novels, Pride and Prejudice is a gentle satire of
mercenary and ignorance of people written in a light and humorous tone. Centrally
concerned with marriage and courtship, this classic tale of love and misunderstanding
unfolds in class-conscious England in the late-18th-century.
Five Bennet sisters—Elizabeth, or Lizzie, Jane, Lydia, Mary and Kitty—had
been raised with minds preoccupied with pursuing a husband and securing set futures.
Nevertheless, Lizzie strived to stand out independently among her sisters and perceive
with a broader and wiser sense. When bachelor Mr. Bingley took up residence in a
nearby mansion, Lizzie got herself acquainted with the seemingly arrogant Mr. Darcy.
Their spirited encounters, though far from encouraging, gradually opened Lizzie’s
eyes to the true nature of her relationship with Mr. Darcy and proved her initial
prejudice against him wrong. The ensuing feelings, from which Lizzie learnt to
reinterpret Mr. Darcy’s shocking rudeness as a seductive sign of his repressed passion
for her, inspired her to transform hostility into commitment and a happy-ever-after
marriage.
Comments:
Turn over the book “Pride and Prejudice’.
Feel the rhythm of Jane Austen’s masterpiece.
Prepare yourself for a chase in your life,
Pursuing of either a husband or a wife.
1
Connect yourself to the eighteenth century,
With elegance and romance in your imagery.
This novel fills you up with marriage, marriage, marriage,
And thoughts like how to get yourself engaged.
The story unfolds in the eighteenth century England,
Where five Bennet sisters were desperately in pursuit of a husband.
Occupying their thoughts were mostly mercenary and ignorance,
Implanted in their minds under the society’s influence.
Waiting for invitations to dinners and balls
To get acquainted with noblemen, handsome, agreeable and preferably tall.
But Elizabeth dared to stand up for her beliefs,
From a wider ad wiser angle she perceived.
When her outstanding personality and luck brought her to Mr Darcy,
She prejudiced against his pride and arrogancy.
Time washed away her initial interpretation.
For each other they developed huge passion.
Their way of life and thinking changed in this tour.
Their lives were richened and flavored, so will be yours.
Prejudice. When I first came across this book in the library, its dull colors gave
me a first impression that this seemingly old-fashioned classical tale would be nothing
as thrilling as modern fictions. But as I got acquainted with it, its charming and vivid
tone proved my prejudice wrong. My heart was filled with more than I once expected.
Prejudice. The thought of writing a two-thousand-word essay made me prejudice
against the idea when I was assigned to do this book report. However, the ensuing
work wasn’t as monotonous as I assumed. Indeed, the satisfaction from facing this
challenge transformed my initial hatred into enthusiasm and eagerness to do an
additional one.
2
Prejudice is a part of life. This universally-existing phenomenon, which so
effectively shapes ‘Pride and Prejudice’, is still a powerful myth for readers in the
twenty-first century. Prejudice has profound influence on human of all time. It may
give rise to hostility, suspicion, comedy or in this tale, romantic fantasy. Since the
main theme that this novel centrally concerns is so close to our daily life, following
the Bennets’ lives is like looking at our own ones from a broader perspective.
The different marriages presented in the novel reveal the author, Jane Austen’s
opinions on the subject of marriage. I got a clearer picture of the characteristics
which constitute a successful marriage and the factors that lead a marriage to doom.
This would, hopefully, assist me in my later pursuit of a suitable spouse.
The marriage at which generations of readers rejoice is the one between Lizzie
and Darcy, the gentleman who was regarded by Lizzie as the last man on earth she
would ever marry. Initially the two were distant from each other due to their
prejudice. Lizzie quite detested the man for his pride and arrogance. Darcy’s manners,
though well bred, seemed to be so high and conceited that barred him from
acquaintance with new friends. Darcy was fed up with Lizzie’s appearance, which
he thought was not at all handsome.
But as their lives intertwined unexpectedly, Lizzie found herself captivated by
the man who she once swore to loathe for all eternity and Darcy could hardly
repress/hide hiss passion for her. Their encounters gave them the chance to
understand each other in depth and time to reconcile their previous judgments of each
other. Thus, mutual understanding formed the basis of their lasting marriage. Hasty
marriage acting on impulse and based on superficial qualities won’t survive the test of
time.
Their relationship demonstrates that strong marriage takes time to build and must
be based on mutual understanding and respect. No doubt, this is a universally
acknowledged ideal relationship that everyone on earth seeks. But in our competitive
and increasingly complicated world today, many are pessimistic about their fortune of
developing mutual understanding with their spouses. Frankly speaking, I am not yet
prepared, and I doubt if I would ever be, to disclose all of my secrets to my future
spouse. This partly explains why the successful marriage between Lizzie and Darcy is
the envy of many, many people from the nineteenth-century to the twenty-first
century.
3
Not to be hasty in censuring anyone is another lesson I learnt from Lizzie and
Darcy’s relationship. I very often realize that I have been mistaken in my first
subjective opinion of people. In the novel, Lizzie was wrong in her initial
interpretation of Darcy where subjective feelings and unconscious emotions distorted
her judgment. But amiable qualities must speak for themselves. Further experiences
made Lizzie eventually realize that she had been mistaken in her first opinion of
Darcy. From this we see how misjudgments change as individuals learn more about
each other.
But in the reality, we are frequently thrown into social events where we must
comment on people’s characters by quick observation. Without the best tool, time,
to understand people in depth, I see patience, care and caution as the only antidotes to
this kind of situation.
At the beginning of the novel, Darcy is described to be obsessed with pride and
conceit, thinking well of himself and meanly of the others. To be honest, his pride
didn’t offend me so much as pride often did. It is reasonable for a well-off young man,
with a family, nobility, handsome figure and everything in his favor, to think highly of
himself. Indeed, human nature is prone to being proud of oneself. Who don’t cherish
a feeling of self-complacency? Even in the twenty-first century, when humans are
claiming to be increasingly civilized, one can scarcely expect to know a nobleman
who is truly humble, with no formality and no stiffness at the same time.
Jane’s dexterity and verve with words also contribute to the high quality of this
beautifully composed novel. The classical style of language she used in makes her
creation stand out among modern novels and lets the readers have a big taste of
classics. Elegant interactions between opinions and ideas weave the plot of the novel
and shape the characters, which are perceived indirectly beneath the surface of the
story. Jane’s ability to convey complex messages and her personal feelings with
simple and witty language is what I appreciate very much.
Being an accurate portrayal of social customs in the nineteenth-century England,
this novel reveals the general misery of those influenced by the traditional mindset,
especially women raised to be obsessed with the pursuit of a good husband on which
their entire future relied. In the novel, two of Lizzie’s sisters, Mary and Kitty failed to
get them engaged to someone when the story ends. It was indeed a common practice
during Jane’s time for women to see getting married as a means to save them from
4
spinsterhood or to gain financial security. Jane dramatizes this form of women
inequality, in which women often had to suffer in tormenting silence. With a view to
further express my feelings of this misery, I composed the following poem.
Voice of women in the 19th century
The quest for a husband in the depth of every woman’s heart,
They waited and waited,
And had their hearts torn apart.
They waited and waited.
Through the window the peeped and looked.
Any male visitors in gorgeous carriages?
Day after day they peeped and looked.
Occupying their minds was one word—marriage.
At their twenties, criteria of a husband: Wealthy, handsome, gentle and
humorous.
At their thirties...upright and quite prosperous.
Women at their forties said, ‘Any man will do.’
Any hope for unmarried women at their fifties? No.
Come on ladies turn the tide!
If the customs are ill you don’t have to abide.
Your future is your hands.
So why wait and beg for a man?
Fight for your future!
When there is life, there is hope.
Seek your own destiny, joy and adventure.
A husband is your future? No. No. Nope!
In the novel there are echoes of the strict social structures which restrict
generations of women. In today’s world, traces of such inequality can still be found.
For instance, think of the arranged marriages in the Muslim’s communities. Have
women really moved that far in terms of emancipation? Have those restrictions put
upon women’s shoulders at Jane’s time been entirely eliminated? No doubt, women
are now seldom pushed to get married anymore, but let’s face it; do women feel
5
comfortable being looked down on by married people when they are still single?
Women, there is still a long road to freedom. Despite the fact that the romantic
fantasy Jane created is attractive, we should bear in mind that the luck Lizzie enjoyed
is perhaps out of imagination, thus very rarely found in reality. Such idealistic
example ought not to be our goal in life. Instead of ideally looking forward to a
husband as all-round as Darcy or to a wife as elegant as Lizzie, we should come down
to earth and be practical. Burying our minds in the romance of the 19th century is
surely not what Jane expected from us, her readers.
This novel--a future classic to be sure—left me clamoring for a life as bright as
Lizzie’s in terms of her personal strength and courage to voice her own thoughts.
The emotional energy of the story will maintain in me from now on, and hopefully
guide me in my pursuit of a nice marriage, and more importantly, a true life.
Number of words: 1747
6