Children and Difficult Marriages

               Marriage is said to be one of the major themes portrayed in Pride and Prejudice. However, Elizabeth Bennet feels that there are disadvantages for children of marriage such as her parents'.
             Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, were not portrayed as the typical married couple. In the book Pride and Prejudice, we see that they are not in love but are just tolerated by each other. Mr. Bennet shows no form of affection towards his wife, neither does he communicate with her often. In marriages, the main substance that keeps marriages alive is the art of communication that The Bennets clearly did not possess.
             Also, it is evident that Mr. Bennet finds it difficult to  co-operate and comply with his wife, when asked to do simply matters. This can be seen at the very beginning of the book when Mr. Bennet refused to do his wife the favor of speaking to the new neighbors but later, because of his level of tolerance, he decided to do himself the favor of speaking to the neighbors without her knowing.
           Furthermore, what made the marriage even  more difficult, is Mrs. Bennet’s constant bickering over trivial matters. Mrs. Bennet speaks a great deal and acts more elite than she really is. She also has this push over attitude that she believes everyone should abide by what she says and if not, she wants to hear nothing about it. Mrs. Bennet was also a bossy character and there was no evidence in the book that said she showed an inch of affection towards Mr. Bennet.
            These two are clearly end products of difficult marriages that Elizabeth made reference to. She never once saw the love portrayed in her parents that should be happening between married couple.
             However, marriages do not only affect the couple but it also has an impact on the children. Difficult marriages, such as the aforementioned one has both positive but more of a negative effect on children. The positive side of it is that when children see conflict arises between their parents and see how they parents work together to adress these issues, children may learn the importance of teamwork. However if this constant stream continues, later on in life children may believe that it is the norm and they also may become by products of difficult marriages. Also children may display violent behaviors towards other children and may also suffer with emotional issues because parents are so consumed in adding oil to their fire that they are least concerned about the children.
              Moreover, the question has been asked if it is acceptable today to stay in the marriage just for the children. Today, it is seen that couple with difficult marriages either continue or discontinue with their marriages for the children’s sake. This decision can be weighed fifty fifty because there are arguments for and against this decision.
               Some may say that couples should stay in marriages for the sake of the children because children may not cope well with the separation of marriages. Also, it is believed that children deriving from single parent homes are likely to become agents of juvenile delinquency because of the lack of factors such as attention, love, surveillance etc. Also children may feel that this is the right procedure of marriage and their marriage may also result in separation.
                Contrastingly, there are reasons against couples staying in difficult marriages. These reasons vary from children portraying similar behavioral patterns to children’s emotional impact. Some believe that if couples continue in this manner children may adapt and practice these procedures. Also it is believed that it would be better for children not to grow up with this much tension for it may have a negative impact on their future.
                In closing it is believed that difficult marriages are the end product of lack of basic essentials such as communication, love and factors of that sort. Also some believe that children are better growing up in these difficult marriages while some believe that these difficult marriages may have a negative impact on the children’s lives.

Getting To Know The Characters in Pride and Prejudice...

Mr. Bennet: Mr. Bennet can be described as an easy going type of guy. He seldom took on all the drama that was occurring around him and substitutes them for spending time by himself, reading in the house library. Even though one of the major concerns for parents, were that their daughters be married, it seemed as if Mr. Bennet didn’t really cared if this happened or not.


Mrs. Bennet: Mrs. Bennet on the other hand had one major priority and that was to get her daughters married and she went to any extent to see that this happens. She was also talkative and acting more elite than she really is. She also possessed a temper that she displays when things are not going her way.


Mr. Bingley: Mr. Bingley is said to be a charming gentleman. He had wealth and a friendly character that draw women to him especially Jane. He was also polite and easily persuaded.


Mr. Darcy:  Prideful and arrogant are two words that would best describe Mr. Darcy’s character. He was boastful and felt that everyone was inferior to him.


Jane: Jane was the eldest of the Bennet sisters and she was said to be beautiful. She was kind hearted and also very mindful of people’s feelings.


Elizabeth: Elizabeth on the other hand was the quick temper one of the Bennet sisters and the second eldest. She is quite intelligent and knows what to say when to say. Unlike the other women in the book, Elizabeth wasn’t as concerned in getting a husband. She was also a genuine person and cared very much for her sisters.


Mary: An anti-social Bennet. She is mostly found reading books and had no interest in the happenings of Netherfield.


Lydia and Kitty: The youngest of the Bennet sisters. They were both fund of soldiers and spoke a great deal about them.


Bingley Sisters: The Bingley sisters can be described as prideful and they were also prejudice to persons who were not as wealthy as they were. They also had a hint of hatred in their hearts for Elizabeth and showed compassion towards Jane.


Mr. Wickham: Wickham had a high self esteem in believing that he was this “ladies man“ and tried working his charm on ladies such as Elizabeth. He was also a clever speaker, trying to persuade people into thinking that he was helplessly innocent and speaking ill of Mr. Darcy. 


Mr. Collins: He was the cousin of Mr. Bennet and also the recipient of the Bennet’s estate if Mr. Bennet was to ever pass away. He was also a gentleman that spoke a great deal of nothing.

The Ruins of Betrayal

Betrayal is a theme introduced at the very beginning of this play. How does  this constant stream of betrayal affect the outcome of the plot and which characters are mostly affected by it?


         Amongst all the themes present in the tragicomedy ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, betrayal was the most rampant. Betrayal entered the peaceful city of Messina, upon the arrival of Don Pedro (the Prince of Arragon) and his comrades, including: Don John his brother, Claudio his best friend, Benedick his faithful companion and many more.
         Don John was portrayed as the bastard brother of Don Pedro. Because of this his heart was filled with bitterness and hatred towards his brother. His passionate hatred and ambition to ruin his brother’s life, resulted in betrayal and this not only ruined his brother’s life but also affected the people most important to him.
         It all began when Don John’s companion Borachio overheard the conversation between Don Pedro and Claudio. In this conversation, Claudio was explaining to Don Pedro of how he loved Hero (Leonato’s daughter) and how he wished to marry her. The only problem was that he was afraid and could not muster the courage to woo Hero for himself. Don Pedro, being the genuine gentleman that he is, offered to woo Hero for Claudio at the mask ball that was to occurred later that same night. Upon hearing this, Borachio’s ears filled with excitement, for he had something to report  to Don John but he misunderstood and thought that it was Don Pedro who wanted Hero and thus reported the wrong message.
               Don John’s heart grew colder towards his brother when he heard of this and so devised a plan to cause destruction. After careful consideration and determination, his plan was to get Borachio to have sexual intercourse with Margret (one of Hero’s waiting women) at the window of Hero’s bedroom chamber and while this was happening, get Claudio and Don Pedro to witness it.
               The night of the mask ball arrived and after Don Pedro had successfully wooed Hero for Claudio, Don John put his devious plan into play and was successful at it because as Claudio and Don Pedro witnessed what they thought to be Hero having sex with Borachio, their hearts turned bitter towards her and Claudio planned to shame her at her wedding but he kept this between himself and Don Pedro.
               So said so done. When asked if Claudio would take Hero to be his wife he said no and refuse to consider her hand in marriage. He started talking about what he thought she did and tarnished her image to some extent that the whole town and even her father were disgusted with her.
               Margaret also betrayed Hero because she knew that she was the one who had sexual intercourse in Hero’s bedroom chamber and instead of standing up for Hero at the wedding or tell the truth she let Hero take all the blame for her wrong doings. All was reveal in the end eventually.
               Another act of betrayal can also be seen between Don John and Borachio. There is this old saying ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’ but this didn’t apply to Don John and Borachio. It so happened that Borachio revealed the plan when he was drunk and was arrested for what he had done. But where was Don John then? By this time Don John had already fled the city of Messina leaving Borachio behind to take the fall for his foolish acts.
               Additionally, betrayal didn’t only surrounded Don John. Betrayal could also be seen between Hero and company as well as Claudio and company in their acts of getting Benedick and Beatrice to love one another. Benedick and Beatrice were seen as two human being who disgusted each other. It was said that they had a ‘merry war’ between them. In ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ Hero and the others devised a plan in getting Beatrice and Benedict to fall in love. They went about this by lying about each others affection towards the other, speaking aloud with the intentions of Beatrice and Benedick to overhear the conversation. Although this was seen as devious, it was indeed a success.
                  In closing, betrayal was a major theme in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. It’s constant presence brought drama as well as tragedy to the play. In the beginning, the sole idea was to destroy one life, the life Don Pedro but in the end other characters such as Borachio, Claudio, Hero, Benedick and Beatrice also suffered the backlash of this betrayal.

Humor

                     Humor is vital in any Comedy. Though Dogberry and his constables play a minor role in Much Ado Nothing their presence is vital. To what extent do you agree with this statement.
Humor, according to the Webster Encyclopedia dictionary, can be defined as ‘the tendency to provoke laughter and provide amusement’.
                        Comedy is seen as any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse. For a comedy to reach its maximum potential, humor has to be a part of it. In the Shakespearian novel “Much Ado About Nothing”, humor is displayed by the characters Dogberry and his constable Verges.
                         Dogberry and Verges are seen as two comics in “Much Ado About Nothing”. They bring laughter and enjoyment to both readers and viewers.
                         Dogberry brings laughter to the viewers by saying the utmost ridiculous things that doesn’t make sense. His misuse of words and grammatical errors in the play as well as his actions, brings joy and excitement to the drama.
                          For example, Dogberry amuses the viewers when he pretends to ride on his imaginary horse as the head and Verges as the tail. Also, there are simple things like his over exaggerated facial expressions and gesticulations. Additionally, his enthusiasm and the way in which he pushes around Verges.
                           The character Verges, is Dogberry’s constable and also plays a vital role in Much Ado About Nothing where humor is concerned. Verges is seen as a defenseless character that Dogberry is always man handling. He brings humor to the play by being with Dogberry and playing the tail of the donkey as well as making this ridiculous horn sound while they pretend to ride the donkey.
                           Their actions also impacts the people around them so that they too can appear as being hilarious. For example, in the play when the watchmen were to do their jobs and keep watch over the building. As Dogberry arrives on the scene, you could see the intimidation and the abruptness in the watchmen as if they were afraid of Dogberry. This brings humor because of the way they interact with Dogberry as if they were fools.
                            In closing, although Dogberry and Verges are seen as minor characters in Much Ado About Nothing, their characters display humor, which is a vital role in any comedy.

Answering of the Acts

Act 1, Scene 1

10. The military situation at the beginning means that the war has ended and those unamed men were not important
11. Three ways in which Beatrice insults Benedick before he even appears was firstly she made mock of his name calling him ‘Signior Mountanto’ instead of Signior Benedick. Secondly, she made fun of his fighting skills saying that he cant even win Cupid to a battle and thirdly she made fun of his independence by commenting that he would depend on Claudio for everything (hang upon him like a disease).
The aspect of Benedick’s character that these insults affect was the aspect of Benedick’s right to be called a man.
12. Two specific ways in the opening scene that Don Pedro shows closeness or royal favor for Leonato was the fact that he hugged Leonato upon arrival and when Leonato invited them to supper he requested Leonato’s hand so that they could walk together.
13. Benedick’s first remark in the play would be considered inappropriate because it was rude for him to ask Leonato if he asked Hero’s mother if Hero belong to him when Hero was in fact standing right there. Leonato’s response to this remark was a comic put-down of Benedick because Leonato was trying to tell Benedick to mind his business in a smart way.
14. Benedick insulted Beatrice by saying that Hero has a male appeal of looked like a man and he didn’t say Hero belonged to Leonato he said ‘if’ she was his.
15. The only thing Beatrice and Benedick agreed upon in the first scene was that Beatrice was a parrot teacher. This put them at odds with society because they were the only couple who constantly argue with each other.
　
16. The ‘jade’s trick’ in line 140, was when Benedick dissed Beatrice and didn’t allow her to speak or make a come back so in the end it would have looked like he won the argument.
17. From my perspective I think Claudio was in his late teens or early twenties because he had to ask older men such as Benedick and Don Pedro for advice about a young lady (Hero) relationship wise.
18. Benedick’s single most important reason not to marry was that because he loved no woman and would not put his trust in any.
19. In a Shakespearean play, the significance of a character’s declaration when he says “never” is to prepare the reader for that “never” situation to come to past. We were prepared for Benedick to get married because in Shakespearean plays when someone says never they end up doing the self same thing.
20. The form of the language changed after Benedick leaves the stage in the first scene because before, Benedick and Beatrice were arguing so the atmosphere was full of hate and fury so after he left Claudio and Don Pedro were speaking about Hero, so that signified love.
21. The first question Claudio asked Don Pedro about Leonato and Hero was that if Leonato had any son. This tells us that the male child must be married first in the Elizabethan period.
22. Don Pedro offered to win Hero’s love for Claudio because Claudio have no knowledge of how to go about doing this. This suggested that Don Pedro wanted to see the best for his men and it also suggested that he was a father figure to Claudio and also a man of passion. This also portrays Claudio as being afraid or lacking the knowledge of love and how to love someone.

Act 1, Scene 2:

　

23. Leonato got the wrong impression of Don Pedro’s intentions toward Hero because when the man overheard Claudio and Don Pedro talking he heard Don Pedro telling Claudio about Hero so he thought Don Pedro was the one who liked Hero so he then related the wrong message to Antonio who then related the same wrong message to Leonato.

Act 1, Scene 3

24. A “melancholic” is a person who has a mental disorder characterized by extreme depression of spirits, brooding, and gloominess. Don John was described as being “melancholic” because he was always sad, and full of hatred for his brother so he always wanted to see or waited patiently for the day his brother would fall.
25. Two places where Don John expressed hostility to Pedro and his friends firstly was when they were at Leonato’s house and Leonato invited them for supper Don John was upset and didn’t wanted to go with them so Leonato had to openly invite him again. Secondly when Don John devised the plan to ruin the relationship between his brother and Claudio. Don John acted in such manner because he hated his brother maybe because his brother was a leader and held a higher position than him.
26. The name Borachio is a nick name used to call someone a ‘drunkard’. He misheard Pedro’s intention in regards to Hero because he overheard Don Pedro’s plan to woo Hero so he thought that Don Pedro was the one who wanted Hero.

　

Act 2, Scene 1

27. Beatrice was probably living with her uncle because she hated the fact that she had brothers. This made her attitude to love more unusual because she is around ladies all the time so she never got to experience how men operated. She proved that she would never love a man because she cant stand a man with beard however she still cant see herself with a man without beard so either way she would end up with no man at all. Beatrice reason for opposing marriage was that she acknowledge men as her brethren because they are Adam’s sons so she wont marry them whereas Benedick just didn’t trust women.
28. The folklore behind Beatrice’s remark about leading apes into hell was that it was believed that men evolved from apes so when she said she will leads apes to hell she was referring to men themselves.
29. The personal opinion in Shakespeare’s work was
30. Both Leonato and Antonio wants Hero to accept the Prince (Don Pedro) if he proposes. On the other hand, her cousin Beatrice wants her to wait and check the fault in the music and if the timing is right then she should say yes but if not she should hold her answer.
31. Gentlemen wore mask at a dance so that the ladies wont be able to identify them.
32. Pedro tried to impress Hero when they danced by asking her to dance with him and proposing on behalf of Claudio, to which her reply was yes for both of them.
33. Ursula recognized her partner Antonio by the waggling of his head. She tried to make him feel better by commenting on his ‘excellent width’.
34. The interchange between Benedick and Beatrice differ from that of other couples because other couples were dancing and having a good time and they both just stood there speaking. Two ways in which she insulted him was by calling him a fool and said that nobody laughed at his jokes. The insult that hurt him the most was that she called him a fool because he went on bickering about the whole situation.
35. Claudio pretended to be Benedick when approached by Don John because Don John thought he was Benedick so he didn’t want to correct him plus I thought he wanted to hear what Don John was saying. After listening to Don John Claudio believed that Don Pedro was wooing Hero for himself. Benedick thought that Claudio was upset because he believed Don Pedro betrayed him. The signifance of the willow
36. A hyperbole is an extravagant exaggeration…
37. Benedick’s reference to Hercules having to “turn spit” and chop up his club…
38. Benedick three journeys were to go to the Antipodes the worlds end, fetch a tooth-picker from the furthest inch of Asia, bring a length of Prester John’s foot and fetch a hair off the Great Cham’s beard he did this all to get out of the presence of Beatrice.
39. With reference to being put down Beatrice is trying to say that she is not interested in Benedick.
40. Don Pedro appear to propose marriage to Beatrice because he asked her to marry him. It might be serious or a jest to see what Beatrice reply would have been. The connection might be to see if Beatrice actually loved Benedick or she really hated him.
　

Act 2, Scene 2

41. Don John and Borachio are aware of the possible consequences of their planned deception because they did what they did in secrecy.
　

Act 2 Scene 3

42. In the first 15 lines of his opening soliloquy three ways Benedick believes love has changed Claudio’s behavior were the facts that before time he liked to hear jumpy music now he prefers sorrowful ones, before he would be up and going but now he would just lie there meditating and before time he would be quiet but now he speaks and writes a lot.
43. Eight “graces” which Benedick believes a hypothetical woman must have before he would consider marrying her are
　 She must be fair
She must be wise
She must be virtuous
She must be rich
She must be noble
An excellent musician
She must be mild and
She must be of good discourseThe one quality that he is flexible on is the fact that she could do whatever she wants with her hair.
44. Benedick hid when Claudio and company came because he didn’t want them to be aware of his presence.
45. One element of the “gulling scene” seemed to convince Benedick that it is no trick was the fact that Leonato was in it too. The effect that Beatrice’s attempts of suicide made Benedick think that she really loved him and made him change his mind of Beatrice and take into consideration her said love for him.
46. Three different ways that Benedick’s friends questioned his personal character between lines 180 -19547. The sexual meaning of “die” in Shakespeare’s plays was to have a sexual desire for someone.
48. Two ways in which Benedick justifies his sudden change of heart in his soliloquy at lines 217 – 242 is by firstly changing his mind towards Beatrice’s appearance, before he described her as having a scratched face but now he thinks that she is fair and saying that she is wise and virtuous and things of that sought.
49. Beatrice’s meaning in the message she delivers to Benedick between lines 243 – 252 is that she didn’t wanted to call him for supper she was forced, she didn’t do it of her own free will. Benedick thought she did it out of love but she was just hiding her feelings.

Summary Of The Acts

Act One

Act one begins with the arrival of Don Pedro, the Prince of Arragon. Don Pedro was to arrive in Messina to dwell with Leonato, the Governor of Messina. With him was his brother Don John, Benedick, Claudio and other unnamed men. Beatrice was the niece of Leonato who hated Benedick with a passion. It was displayed in act one where they always cursed each other with fury but deep down it was described as being a secret love affair or a ‘merry war’.

It is also seen in act one that Claudio fell in love with Hero, Leonato’s daughter and desired her hand in marriage. He sought advice from Benedick but with Benedick’s hatred for relationships he tried to discourage Claudio. Claudio then asked Don Pedro what were his views on the matter. Don Pedro practically encouraged him but Claudio did not know how to go about romancing Hero so Don Pedro devised a plan for him. The plan was for him, Don Pedro, to act as Claudio at the great supper and woo Hero (it was a mask ball so nobody would notice) and when that was over let the real Claudio join her.

Reports went back to Don John (the bastard) about this plan and because he had hatred in his heart for his brother he devised a plan to cause chaos between his brother and Claudio.

Act Two

The setting of act two was at the great supper. Here is where Don Pedro disguised himself as Claudio to win Hero’s heart. It was also where Don John carried out his plan to cause chaos between Claudio and Don Pedro.

Don Pedro was successful in capturing Hero’s heart as Claudio whereas Don John was also successful in causing a bit of a tension between Don Pedro and Claudio. This was seen when Benedick was asking Claudio about Don Pedro and Claudio told him to leave him alone.

In act two, Leonato gave his daughter the Claudio; he gave permission to Claudio to marry Hero. Deceit was also seen in this act. It was portrayed where Don John wanted so badly to break up Claudio and Hero, that he and his companion Borachio devised yet another plan. Their plan was for Borachio to romance Margaret (an attendant of Hero) in Hero’s chamber. While romancing her, he will call Hero’s name and she would call Borachio’s name so that it looked like it was Hero and Borachio was making love instead of he and Margaret. Don John’s role was to get Claudio and Don Pedro to the go to Hero’s window to see what was happening in the chamber. When that was done, Don John was to pay Borachio a thousand ducats for his work.

While Don John and Borachio were devising their plan to cause mischief, Claudio, Leonato and Don Pedro was devising a plan to make Benedick fall in love with Beatrice. Their plan was to talk about how Beatrice loves Benedick with all her heart, knowing that Benedick was there but pretending that they didn’t see him. They also got Hero to join with them so that Hero would be the one to fool Beatrice into loving Benedick.

After all was said and done it was now time to put the plan into play. Borachio romanced Margret as Hero and Don John got Don Pedro and Claudio to see it all. Claudio and Don Pedro were outraged. Claudio was so outraged that instead of confronting Hero, he planned to embarrass her at the wedding in front of everyone.

Act Three

It was now time for Hero to fool Beatrice into loving Benedick. In act three, Hero along with her gentlewoman Ursula had a conversation of how Benedick loved Beatrice (knowing that she was listening) so that she would fall in love with him. They were very successful because at the end of the conversation, Beatrice started to develop feelings for Benedick.

Borachio and Don John were also found out in this act. Watchmen were placed at the door to take watch over the chamber. Borachio, being drunk, was talking to his friend about the plan Don John and he devised. Unaware of the presence of the watchmen, Borachio told his friend everything he did to cause chaos between Hero and Claudio and that Don John paid him to do it.

The watchmen overheard them and arrested them. They then in turn told Verges and Dogberry what they overheard. Both Verges and Dogberry went to tell Leonato but he was in a rush to get to the church for Hero’s wedding that he didn’t stop to listen to them.

In this act also, Hero was selecting her dress that she would wear to the wedding. Her gentlewomen were also there to assist her as well as her cousin.

Much Adu About Nothing

What is Don John about to do?

Don John was devising a plan to cause chaos between Claudio and Don Pedro. Remember Don Pedro was to be disguished as Claudio to win Hero's heart. So now, Don John went about doing this by pretending to be his brother Don Pedro, so that he could talk to Hero as ii Don Pedro was the one who liked her so that he could turn Don Pedro and Claudio against each other.

Who is Claudio in love with?

Claudio is in love with Hero, Leonato's daughter.

What is the perspective about love between Beatrice and Benedict?

The perspective about love between Beatrice and Benedict is that although they always argue with each other, the irony is that they are silently passionate about each other.

What is the plan executed by Don Pedro?

The plan executed by Don Pedro was to disguish himself as Claudio at the great supper. In doing that he would talk to Hero, making her think he was Claudio so that Hero would fall in love with Claudio and after that is over Don Pedro would depart after his monthly stay so that the real Claudio would be with Hero.

Compare and contrast the book and the movie.

The movie did way more justice than just reading the book for yourself. When you read the book you don't get the full emotion and even though you read with as much emotion as possible it wouldn't matter because you yourself don't know how the characters are suppose to sound like. Whereas, in the movie the characters come to life. You get the whole feeling and emotion out of the movie. The characters put emphasis in what they are doing.
      The music also does justice to the movie because it actually builds you up for what is going to come next. The tempo and speed of it is just right.