Saturday, December 13, 2014

James Carlson #15: Outside Reading: Pride and Prejudice


The purpose of stories is to communicate the experiences that are generally found to be incommunicable traditionally. The emotions I experienced from Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice best exemplifies this fact and attests to stories versatility in telegraphing a multitude of ineffable qualities. For instance, the simplest impulses I experienced from the novel were occasional laughter due to amusing situations between the characters. While it may appear that I have successfully communicated one of my experiences in the novel, I believe the emotion means more than that and cannot be categorized so easily. Is “laughter” so universal as be only a singular experience with a singular emotion attached to its meaning? Is not the moment when I laughed at the ridiculousness of Mr. Colin’s behavior different than the time when I laughed at the blatant naivety of Jane? I believe these experiences, even when from the simplistic impulse known as laughter, are indefinable. Moreover, the more complex descriptions, established thematic tone and numerous other influences over the story shape the experience into something entirely individual to the reader and yet universal in effect.           

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