Looking for Prejudice

When I picked up the book “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, I was mainly thinking ‘How am I going to deal with suffering through this?’, but, without my knowing it, my subconscious was thinking that one main character would have a problem with being too prideful while the other would be extremely prejudiced. I spent a lot of the time I was reading looking for signs of pride and prejudice in Mrs. Bennett and Mr. Darcy’s characters.

 I could clearly see where the pride came into play on many occasions throughout the story on both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett’s point of view. Mrs. Bennett was constantly going on about how Mr. Darcy was full of himself and full of pride. But, in Mr. Darcy’s defense, Mrs. Bennett’s pride caused her to be offended by all of Mr. Darcy’s actions. In my opinion, her pride also blinded her from all points of view when Lydia ran away with Mr. Wickham. It seemed as if she was worried more so about the family name than she was the wellbeing of her sister. But I found it harder to pick out the signs of prejudice. It was definitely illustrated by Mr. Darcy, Lady Catherine, and Mr. Bingley’s sister by their abhorrence toward the poorer lifestyle. But, aside from this, I found no other major signs of prejudice on any characters part.

I also noticed that I could relate to Mr. Darcy because he was quiet. Because of this he was considered self centered and prideful, but sometimes, he was just shy and didn’t know how to act in the situations he was put in. At times, everyone feels uncomfortable in the situation they are in and everyone reacts in a different way. Mr. Darcy, very much like me, was just shy.

During the reading of "Pride and Prejudice" it bothered me that I couldn't find as many signs of prejudice as I could pride. Nonetheless,“Pride and Prejudice” describes a society that, aside from clothing, is very much like our own. Every human has some form of pride and whether it is voiced or not, they feel hurt when they are insulted. Like Mr. Darcy, most people have some sort of situation that they feel uncomfortable in. And like the five Bennett sisters, in most people’s minds, wealth, a good husband, and the family name, play a large roll, making “Pride and Prejudice” very relatable, even though we live many years ahead of the time she wrote it.

Little Big Things

Earlier today, while my mom and I were trying to make our way through the death trap that we call the parking lot of Wal-Mart, we passed a little girl around the age of seven, skipping between the cars beside her mother. Her long, blonde braid bounced, and her lips were frozen in a large smile as she tried to keep up with her Mennonite mother and the buggy. The reason for the little girl’s hurry wasn’t necessarily her mother, but the large, pink, striped ball in the basket. I can remember many times I was excited for something, my ipod that I got in fifth grade, or my first cell phone in sixth, but I don’t remember ever being as excited as that girl looked for a large ball. It was the simplest thing, yet it meant so much. This is illustrated well by the popular Zac Brown Band song, ‘Chicken Fried’.

My grandmother tells me stories all the time about when she was younger. She had a basket ball that popped and it devastated her. When she had a doll made of glass, it eventually broke, earning her grievance again.

‘It’s funny how it’s the little things in life that mean the most.’ People are so advanced today that we sometimes lose sight of real happiness. ‘Not where you live or what you drive or the price tag on your clothes.’ The little girl wore a brilliant smile, even though she was wearing a plain gray dress that her mother had probably crafted for her at home instead of the name brand t-shirts that it seems a requirement to own.

When we were little kids, I think we had a better understanding of what happiness means than we do now. It’s not the newest Ipod, or the name brand t-shirts. It’s a big pink ball, playing marbles with your grandfather, or horseshoes with your dad. It’s not having the most money. It’s the little moments worth remembering. It’s not the nicest car or the most expensive clothing. It’s having the most care, family, and love.


http://www.metrolyrics.com/chicken-fried-lyrics-zac-brown-band.html

Emphasizing the I in lIfe

The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake."
The five most important words: "You did a good job."
The four most important words: "What is your opinion?"
The three most important words: "If you please."
The two most important words: "Thank you."
The one most important word: "We."
The least important word: "I"
                        --author unknown
                            as sited in "more of...the best of bits & pieces", Rob Gilbert, PH.D. ED.
                           Lists to Live By

Last week my mom threatened to charge my little brother one dollar every time he said the word ‘me’ and five dollars every time he said the word ‘I’. You see, my little brother has developed a habit of asking for anything and everything whenever he pleases. Now, he doesn’t throw a fit if the answer is no, but there is constant ‘can I… can I… can I’ as my dad puts it.

 Very obviously, there is an ‘I’ in life…literally and theoretically. People have heedlessly accented this little letter to the point that it has become a major part of life. And this one letter word is the cause of many problems we face. Problems ranging in severity from a sister taking her little brothers blanket on the front pew in church to World Wars because one country has more land than another! A great example is 9/11. Our towers were targeted because we didn’t follow the same religion as the Muslims. The only people the Muslims were thinking about were themselves. But we turned that around by only thinking about ourselves when we bombarded Iraq and killed many innocent people all for the sake of getting our revenge!

Imagine a world where no one was physically capable of thinking about themselves. People could be concerned with everything else, from their neighbors to Marshans on Mars; anything but themselves. There would be no petty fights over the use of a blanket; there would be no kindling for a war. Poverty would virtually disappear! There would be no problems with recessions and depressions! Drought and famine wouldn’t mean a thing because people would be lining up to share any food they had! Imagine a world like that; a world that was almost the opposite of ours; a world where the word ‘I’ was never invented.