Comparing Three books - Essay Example

Word Essay (Name) (University) DO YOU AGREE THAT IAN WATT’S THE RISE OF THE NOVEL IS ESSENTIALLY A MIDDLE CLASS GENRE From Watt’s seminal, The Rise of the Novel, there is perhaps an effort to try and comprehend the introduction o f the novel as a genre and additionally explain the aspect of realism (Kroll, 2014). Primarily, realism was the literary manner chosen upon during the end of the eighteenth century and to the present, the form has barely deviated. The introduction of the novel had its basis on relating the written work with the reality that the written work imitates (Seager, 2012). From Watt’s argument, the novel is a literary form that shows individuality in the pursuit of truth and improves on the orientation presented within the literary form. The novel thus shuns the traditional way of writing in which the general plots are timeless and the morals do not change. Human experience takes place in the novel therefore rejecting the collective tradition that nature is in essence complete and needless of change. The tastes among the Middle Class in the eighteenth century were reflected in the increase of newspapers and periodicals. The rising middle class would indeed have its needs and interests met through the novel. In the eighteenth century, there was a struggle in the literary world where writers such as Swift and Pope strived to defend the standards of literary art by campaigning against the tastes in literature that were as a result of the values of the middle class (Adams, 2015). Conversation and criticism in the arts intensified in the era and consequently new views of life, conduct and literature were formed. The changes in the setting and plot of the novel go along with the transformation of the characters. As opposed to the traditional plot where common types of humans were represented in a set background, the novel would come to place individual characters with unique experiences in their specific circumstances. The evident change was thus an approach from looking at the universal to concentrating on the particulars. Subsequently, Watt posits that this was the outcome of the psychological view by Hobbes and Locke on the application to literary difficulties. The distinction of the novel from other types of fiction is seen in the amount of interest given to creating individuality to the characters and presenting their immediate environment in detail. In any context when a character is explained, the whole persona of the individual comes out. Characterization accompanies personal identity. With this in mind, writers such as Locke had to come up with names that explain the personal identity of the characters written about in the plots. Consequently the first novelists rejected the norm by giving names to the characters which suggested individuality and personal identity. Given the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century, there was a rise in the middle class segment of the society (Barker, 2014). The rise of this class consequently created a demand for literary subjects pertaining to the daily experiences that the people went through. The novel therefore introduced characters that imitated real life situations thus reflecting the daily living of the eighteenth century people. The middle class in this century were at that time just getting to acquire their education though in contexts that were inferior to the upper class. In addition, women became avid readers especially from the upper and middle class. From the novels, the readers got to know and possibly understand new and other social worlds. The rise of the novel in this period thus proves that the novel is most essentially a middle class genre. REPRESENTATION OF CLASS IN GREAT EXPECTATIONS BY CHARLES DICKENS Charles Dickens allows the reader to see how being wealthy and popular were imperative factors in the society as seen in his book Great Expectations. The importance of being in the upper class is noted but more emphasis is put upon the judgment that the society can set upon a person which might affect them and their identity. The representation of the lower class people involves a people with good intentions, who take all they can get and who make the best out of what they have. In the book, Dickens portrays a struggle in Pip to identify and categorize his self and other members of the society within the shifts that take place in the society. During this struggle, he discovers his personal identity and role through deciding his own fate. In the novel, the difficulties faced due to inequality are expressed where there is a strong structure that is hierarchical then the embracing of a new society model is also revealed. This new model focuses on a classification where status is achieved by an individual’s actions rather than their birth. Based on the beginning of the novel, Pip is seen to be in a haze about hierarchy and class as he lacks information on his parents, their lives and their social standing. It is in this confusion that he seeks out to discover hiss identity. Through the awareness of the identities around him in the society, he selects the profile that he wants to be identified with. The obstacles faced during this journey towards self identity pay up in the end as he is able to achieve the expectations that he has created for his personal self. In the nineteenth century, England went through dynamic societal changes in terms of the differences involved and how they were named. In the mid 1800s, there was the introduction of new criteria that was used to name the different existing classes (Florida, 2014). Middle class was primarily used to define a large populace with an acceptable moral aptitude (Florida, 2014). The social groups did not however conserve much importance as compared to the way that the society and the individuals conducted themselves. The position in society that Pip’s sister and his brother in law belong to show the kind of life that he should anticipate should he follow along the family trade. Given the social structure that was followed in the century, Pip would become the apprentice to Joe and thus work as a blacksmith. From the novel and as seen from the conversation that Pip carries with Joe, he views himself as an equal. This is especially due to the manner in which Joe carries himself; he is simple and of polite character. Pip interacts with the upper class through the opportunity he gets to play at the Satis house. In the novel, the rigidity of the class structure is further shown through the characters that Pip comes into contact with. The traditional structure of the social class is rammed into Pip from the low standing that he has and the lack of movement that he goes through in the Satis house. He is given demands thus proving that he is of a lower social standing. The habitants of the Satis house do not show any emotion towards him and are often pushy. Through the experiences in the house; those of barbarism and inferiority, the inflexible class structure can be said to be of negative consequence to the society. Charles Dickens lets Pip freely move through various livelihoods in the context. His flexibility from one class structure to another and the shift in personal identity shows his disapproval of the inflexible social structure that exists in the preset century. The intensified prominence on the subject of morality shows support of the reflection that individuals are able to learn by themselves and achieve the status that they desire. The end of the novel shows the merriment on the creation of Pip’s self identity and the dissolution of the old structure where Pip gains his individual identity as the gentleman he wants to be. REPRESENTATION OF CLASS IN SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BY JANE AUSTEN The themes of class and status are among the predominant issues in Jane Austen’s book Sense and Sensibility. The acceptance by society is shown to be extremely important. Should an individual transgress what is deemed as appropriate in the society then the action could lead to the ruin of the individual in the society. Most of the actions by Marianne such as her relationship with Willoughby traverse the social boundaries set and these serve to cause embarrassment to Elinor who must take the blame for the situation. Willoughby in addition commits several transgressions in a bid to gain a favorable social standing. His interactions with women leave little to be said of his honor and he further seeks a rich woman to support his lavish lifestyle. This aspect shows the length that most people would go through to achieve a certain social standing. In the novel Sense and Sensibility, the societal structure is greatly illustrated with details revolving around the conduct and the manners required by the society in the English society. The structure shows a society that is inflexible in both social and economic terms. The statuses are not simply rich and poor but they go beyond the boundaries and specify the expectations of the different statuses in the society. The failure by the individuals to commit to the requirements of these statuses leads to the social suicide of the respective individuals. The English society basically depicted in Sense and Sensibility involves the upper class in the society. Despite the fact that this upper class consists of the well off, they are still plagued by greed as they seem never to have enough money and get to worrying continuously about their finances. The standards as depicted by the wealthy individuals in the novel consist of vast wealth and the socio economic class. As seen in the context, their worries would be over the number of man servants and maids that they would require in order to live comfortably. Such concerns would hold precedence over important aspects such as love in the case of a marriage. Mrs Ferras for instance does not seem to care whether “Edward” has any love for Lucy. She simply wants her sons to get into marriages that will benefit them in the society. Willoughby also marries Miss Grey although he loves Marianne. He does this solely for the reason of getting money. The novel is really limited to the wealthy society and the characters do not interact outside their sphere. There is a deep obsession with maintaining the social standing as seen from the novel. The families are also bent on moving up in the social ladder through social associations and marriages, whichever way will get them there. The different aspects of the society are seen in the events at the plot. The events are further dictated by the expectations of the upper class society such as behavior codes, conduct and etiquette. The society depicted is complicated and a tricky setting that the characters have to go through in a planned manner. As opposed to Great Expectations by Charles Dickens which shows different classes and reveals a personal identity, Austen’s Sense and Sensibility tells a tale under one setting of the upper class society. The book Great Expectations agrees more with Watts seminal on the rise of the novel. The aspects of realism, individuality of character and correlation with the daily society are evident in the book by Charles Dickens. Although Sense and Sensibility has character individuality, it still focuses on the traditional backdrop of expecting characters and the setting to go with the timeless nature of the society. References Adams, P. G. (2015). Travel Literature and the Evolution of the Novel. University Press of Kentucky. Austen, J. (2015). Sense and Sensibility: Ignatius Critical Editions. Ignatius Press. Barker, H. (2014). Newspapers and English Society 1695-1855. Routledge. Dickens, C., & Moore, G. (2016). Great expectations. Race Point Publishing. Florida, R. (2014). The Rise of the Creative Class--Revisited: Revised and Expanded. Basic books. Kroll, R. W. (2014). The English Novel, Vol I: 1700 to Fielding (Vol. 1). Routledge. Seager, N. (2012). The Rise of the Novel. Palgrave Macmillan. Watt, I. P. (2001). The rise of the novel: studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding. Univ of California Press. Read More

Characterization accompanies personal identity. With this in mind, writers such as Locke had to come up with names that explain the personal identity of the characters written about in the plots. Consequently the first novelists rejected the norm by giving names to the characters which suggested individuality and personal identity. Given the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century, there was a rise in the middle class segment of the society (Barker, 2014). The rise of this class consequently created a demand for literary subjects pertaining to the daily experiences that the people went through.

The novel therefore introduced characters that imitated real life situations thus reflecting the daily living of the eighteenth century people. The middle class in this century were at that time just getting to acquire their education though in contexts that were inferior to the upper class. In addition, women became avid readers especially from the upper and middle class. From the novels, the readers got to know and possibly understand new and other social worlds. The rise of the novel in this period thus proves that the novel is most essentially a middle class genre.

REPRESENTATION OF CLASS IN GREAT EXPECTATIONS BY CHARLES DICKENS Charles Dickens allows the reader to see how being wealthy and popular were imperative factors in the society as seen in his book Great Expectations. The importance of being in the upper class is noted but more emphasis is put upon the judgment that the society can set upon a person which might affect them and their identity. The representation of the lower class people involves a people with good intentions, who take all they can get and who make the best out of what they have.

In the book, Dickens portrays a struggle in Pip to identify and categorize his self and other members of the society within the shifts that take place in the society. During this struggle, he discovers his personal identity and role through deciding his own fate. In the novel, the difficulties faced due to inequality are expressed where there is a strong structure that is hierarchical then the embracing of a new society model is also revealed. This new model focuses on a classification where status is achieved by an individual’s actions rather than their birth.

Based on the beginning of the novel, Pip is seen to be in a haze about hierarchy and class as he lacks information on his parents, their lives and their social standing. It is in this confusion that he seeks out to discover hiss identity. Through the awareness of the identities around him in the society, he selects the profile that he wants to be identified with. The obstacles faced during this journey towards self identity pay up in the end as he is able to achieve the expectations that he has created for his personal self.

In the nineteenth century, England went through dynamic societal changes in terms of the differences involved and how they were named. In the mid 1800s, there was the introduction of new criteria that was used to name the different existing classes (Florida, 2014). Middle class was primarily used to define a large populace with an acceptable moral aptitude (Florida, 2014). The social groups did not however conserve much importance as compared to the way that the society and the individuals conducted themselves.

The position in society that Pip’s sister and his brother in law belong to show the kind of life that he should anticipate should he follow along the family trade. Given the social structure that was followed in the century, Pip would become the apprentice to Joe and thus work as a blacksmith. From the novel and as seen from the conversation that Pip carries with Joe, he views himself as an equal. This is especially due to the manner in which Joe carries himself; he is simple and of polite character.

Pip interacts with the upper class through the opportunity he gets to play at the Satis house. In the novel, the rigidity of the class structure is further shown through the characters that Pip comes into contact with.

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