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.

Weekly Journal #7 (October 13, 2016)

     In Emma, Emma's vanity and inflated sense of social status puts her in several awkward positions. She makes incorrect and often harsh judgements about the inhabitants of Highbury, going so far as to call the Martins "illiterate and vulgar" (page 39). The "guidance" that results from her sense of superiority ultimately hurts her friend Harriet Smith. In this way, Emma is similar to the character of Kuzco in The Emperor's New Groove (2000), a vain emperor whose sense of superiority also causes him trouble. It is interesting to note that this character flaw is often revisited in fiction, demonstrating a continued concern not only with modesty, but also with social hierarchies and the effect that positions within them can have on our judgements.

Weekly Journal #6 (October 6, 2016)

     In Emma, Austen paints a detailed picture of the sort of socioeconomic hierarchy that directed life in early 19th century English society. While Queen of Katwe (2016) is set in the slums of 21st century Uganda, worlds away from Austen's England, the film (based on a true story) shows that class distinctions and socioeconomic status are still concerns in the 21st century. The main character, Phiona, is in the end able to augment her status by becoming a national chess champion and receiving an education. While this is a particularly inspirational story, it is also a rare one, and a foreboding lack of social mobility similar to that of Austen's setting seems to permeate the film's setting.
     Towards the beginning of Emma, Mr. Knightley remarks that if Harriet continues to see Emma "She will grow just refined enough to be uncomfortable among whom birth and circumstances have placed her home" (page 29). Phiona faces exactly the same situation in the film, as her trips around the world to fancy hotels and chess championships give her fleeting tastes of a life which she can't have and which also makes her painfully uncomfortable with her own.