Pride & Prejudice was a fantastic book. It takes place in a small English village outside London. Although the story was about a family of five girls, the main character of the book was the second oldest daughter named Elizabeth. I liked this book because it had a few lessons hidden within its pages. The book was also made enjoyable because the father of the five girls was my favorite character. Although, it was a great book there were parts that I didn’t like and thought were boring. In the long run this book was a fantastic and interesting read

When you read this book you find that the storyline wasn't just about love, it was about making the right choice even though it may not be popular for the time period. The example of this was when Elizabeth declined two men for their hands in marriage. It was very important for women to get married at this time because women couldn’t own property or have any money without a husband. So, it was very courageous of Elizabeth to follow her heart - even though it was an unpopular choice and she was criticized for it. Another lesson that some characters learned was not to have preconceived ideas of people. The first example of this was when Mr. Darcy hadn’t even talked to Elizabeth - he thought that she was silly and not very beautiful. He later changed his mind. Then, Elizabeth also had preconceived ideas of Mr. Darcy. She thought he was proud. She judged him without learning his whole story and without really knowing him. Later show more she learned he was just shy. When they let these judgments go - they eventually got to know the real person and liked them.

There are many characters in this book and my favorite was the father of the five girls. He was humorous and loving towards his daughters. He tried to help them marry. He also cared enough to go and try to find his youngest daughter, Lydia, when she ran away. This was significant because Lydia would have ruined both her sisters’ and her own reputation without his help. He did this for all his children. He was very caring towards his daughters and closest to Elizabeth - which was also odd for the time period. Usually the mother was close to the daughters and fathers were less involved. It may be he was close to them because he didn’t have any sons. In any case, he was funny and enjoyable to read about.

The part of the book I didn’t like included the entire portion of the book when Lydia ran away. Lydia was a flirt and she did not make intelligent decisions. She was opposite of Elizabeth who thought critically and thoughtfully about her future and the future of her family. Lydia thought only of boys and did not consider the consequences of her actions. These chapters focused on the worry of the family and Lydia’s marriage to a greedy, gambling drunk. I couldn’t wait until the book came back to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy again. The only good that came of Lydia’s marriage was that it saved her reputation and brought Elizabeth and Mr Darcy back together. Another part that I thought was boring was when Elizabeth was at her friend’s new home before Mr. Darcy showed up. There was a lot of talk about relationships with other characters which slowed the book down. When Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were together, they made the story interesting and enjoyable to read.

I recommend this book for anyone who likes a good love story with many twists. I have read a lot of British literature this summer and so far this one was my favorite. I enjoyed this book better than Wuthering Heights because the feminine characters were as strong as the male characters. In fact, Elizabeth was the strongest character in the book (although Mr Darcy had money and property) and she helped Mr Darcy become stronger. By the end, they were strong together. show less

When reading the book Wuthering Heights you find that the story was about greed, revenge and heartache. I realized at the end of this book there where parts I really liked, parts I hated, and parts I found confusing. This book was a gothic romance with heart wrenching moments along with drawn out dialogue and pointless descriptions. The story takes place in 18th century England and was told from the perspective of an old servant, named Mrs. Dean,. Mrs. Dean watched the main characters of the story make the choices that effected their lives.

The parts I enjoyed reading included the childhood of Catherine, Heathcliff and Hindley. I also liked the scene when Catherine dies. I liked reading about their childhood because I learned about all the personalities of the children and how what happened in childhood effected them later on as adults. You learn that Catherine was spoiled and loved to be adored, while Heathcliff was dark and revenge seeking. You also learn that Hindley was unforgiving and didn’t like change. The childhood scenes were also interesting because you start to notice the love growing between Catherine and Heathcliff. You are heartbroken, along with Heathcliff, whenever Catherine criticized him or insulted him. You felt hopeless for Catherine when Heathcliff left and she felt inclined to marry another man because she needed to be loved.

Catherine’s death scene was my favorite part of the book. It was when you realized that Catherine didn’t care about the show more feelings of the people around her. First, she met Heathcliff behind her husband’s back and died in Heathcliff’s arms instead of her husband’s. Then, in his arms, she told Heathcliff that he was responsible for her death. Heathcliff’s guilt over Catherine’s death destroys him. He begged Catherine to haunt him and she does -whether her ghost or her memory. Heathcliff didn’t want to live without her but this drove him crazy with grief, guilt and bitterness. I believe this death scene is important because it shows Catherine and Heathcliff didn’t have true love. Catherine had the need to be loved and Heathcliff was obsessed.

When Catherine died you expected for it to be the end of the book, but it dragged on. I highly disliked the scenes after her death. Heathcliff became very vengeful and greedy, wanting to take everything from Edgar, Catherine’s widower. He took his nephew, his daughter, his money, and his land. Finally, he eventually takes Edgar’s health. I hated how cruel he was to Cathy, Catherine’s daughter, and his own son. You would think that Heathcliff’s love for Catherine would extend to her daughter. You would think that a man would love his own son and not use him as a pawn. I felt sorry for Cathy when she was dragged into the feud between her father and Heathcliff. I felt bad when she was unable to see her dying father and she was forced to marry someone she did not love. I hated that Heathcliff’s love had become an evil obsession.

Another thing I disliked about the book was it could be very confusing. British literature is more difficult to read than modern books. The slang was unfamiliar and there were many vocabulary words that I didn’t know. In particular, Joseph, the male servant used unusual slang and I didn’t understand him at all. These problems with slang and vocabulary made parts of the book confusing. Conversations between characters were difficult to follow.

I do not recommend this book to anybody unless they are up to a tough read. It’s a very drawn out plot and was boring in a majority of places. Even though this book is considered one of the greatest love stories of all time, I don’t think that it was truly about love. It was about obsession, greed and revenge which are not about true love. Catherine and Heathcliff were selfish and caused their own misery and the misery of everyone else. The book was dark and depressing much like Romeo and Juliet but without the true love piece. show less