Weekly Journal #14 (December 1, 2016)

     The power of persuasion is a theme in Persuasion (as subtly hinted at by the title), specifically in regards to how Anne is persuaded by different characters, such as Lady Russell's effect on her decision to reject Captain Wentworth years before the novel opens. Persuasion continues to be a central issue in society today, although in many ways that Austen couldn't have anticipated. Social media, the internet, television, and other competing forms of technology in our globalized culture expose us to constant attempts at persuasion, whether it be political persuasion by a party candidate, or the work of telemarketers intent on selling a product. Robert Levine's book The Power of Persuasion addresses the psychological power of persuasion and the way it affects our society today.

Weekly Journal #13 (November 24, 2016)

     This article by The Atlantic discusses research which shows a lack of social mobility in the United States. One of the main themes in Austen's Persuasion is an increased level of social mobility within English society, which had a traditionally rigid class system. as demonstrated by Captain Wentworth and the Crofts, that concerns the generations of landowners that Sir Walter represents. While social mobility is one of the celebrated hallmarks of modern society, the truth is that there is not as much social mobility today as some might think.

Weekly Journal #12 (November 17, 2016)

     
     While not as severe, Fanny's small room in the attic at Mansfield mirrors Harry Potter's confinement to the cupboard under the stairs (or rather, Harry Potter's confinement mirrors that of Fanny Price's). In both stories, these living conditions reflect the characters' diminished statuses within their respective families, and are a form of abuse. This sort of abuse reinforces Fanny's lack of self-confidence, and also to behaviors  associated with anxiety, such as obsessing and worrying about social interaction, something she thinks about and gets distressed about throughout the novel. While Fanny may not have realized that she was experiencing neglect and emotional abuse, it did affect her. This sort of abuse continues to be a problem today and its effects are well documented.

Weekly Journal #11 (November 10, 2016)

    
     Austen's novels focus on the lives of a small percentage of the English population: rich landowners. These people held the most wealth in that society, and the wealth inequality between this class and the working and lower classes was an extraordinary one. Unfortunately, 200 years later we continue to live in a society with massive wealth inequality. The problems that the working and lower classes faced mirror those of today, and the disconnect between these and the top 1% is similar to that of Austen's time. Bernie Sanders made this the focus of his campaign in the Democratic Primary and touches upon it in his reaction to the results of the general election.

Weekly Journal #10 (November 3, 2016)

   

     Mansfield Park is the first of Austen's novels to so overtly address the slave trade, and makes a point of mentioning that Sir Thomas Bertram's wealth is built on slave labor and property in Antigua (page 6).  The theme of wealth built on the abuse of others is not a new phenomena, nor is it something that has since disappeared. Sir Thomas' human rights abuses, and the abuses of the real upper class landowners which he represents, can be connected to similar human rights abuses by corporations today. There are countless examples of such abuses being tied to even well known companies like Apple, or Walmart. These abuses range from wage discrimination to ties to child labor and slavery. Unfortunately, the sorts of evils that Austen alludes to in Mansfield Park have not gone away, and continue to be issues in our society.

Weekly Journal #9 (October 27, 2016)

     

     One of the main challenges that Fanny faces in Mansfield Park is attempting to navigate her way through the unspoken rules of the English upper class, something she is entirely unfamiliar with. These unspoken rules and her adherence to them seem to measure her worth as a person, and her lack of knowledge surrounding those rules consistently makes her feel ashamed of herself and her family. Despite the importance of these rules to upper class society, her ability to "perform correctly" does not really say anything about her intellectual strength or the quality of her character. Fanny's stress and society's fixation about those rules in Mansfield Park could correspond to the standardized testing system that we have today, and the anxiety and feelings of inadequacy that those tests can produce in children even if they arguably fail at successfully saying anything about a student's intellectual strength, quality of character, or overall potential. The harmful nature of this system is discussed in a New York Times article and a corresponding letter to the editor.

Weekly Journal #8 (October 20, 2016)

     Aspects Game of Thrones's setting correspond with 19th century ideas and the settings of Jane Austen's novels, showing that these themes still influence the topics of modern works of fiction. The show's plot revolves around a group of five or six rich, well known families who vie for money and power. Like Austen's novels, while these families and their concerns make up only one part of a larger world and society, the focus stays on them and the way that the rest of the world is affected by their actions is not a major concern of the plot. Marriage in the show functions as a way to secure power, money, and status, and the show portrays a world with a rigid lack of social mobility. This is very similar to the workings of Jane Austen's early 19th century English settings. Certain characters, like Jon Snow, could be directly compared to some of Austen's characters, like Fanny Price. Jon Snow and Fanny Price are raised in high ranking, rich families, but because of the circumstances of their birth they are denied the privileges of and entry to this higher class.