Is Collins Funny or a Nightmare?

Mr. Collins, as DW Harding contends, plays the role of a "comic effect" while also giving " elizabeth, a taste of the fantastic nightmare." The comic effect DW Harding describes is centered around Mr. Collins rediculous proposal for marriage in coincidence with Mrs. Bennets reaction to his proposal. The fact that Austen is poking fun at Mrs. Bennet (again) and Mr. Collins for his foolish and exaggerated attempt at proposal, certainly defines the character of Mr. Collins as a "comic effect" in the novel. Furthermore, however, Mr. Collins also serves to create a nightmare for Elizibeth because she must decide between abiding by her common sense or following along with the ideal of society. In this case following along with the ideal of society means to place "economic and social institiutions'... power over the values of personal relationships," consequently accepting Mr. Collins proposal. In any examination of Mr. Collins, two dimentions of his character and the effect his actions have on others must be considered. For viewing Mr. Collins in relationship to Mrs. Bennet suggests the commic role of Mr. Collins while viewing him in realtion to Elizebeth, he is apperently made out to be a "fantastic nightmare." Therefore, Austen's character Mr. Collins demonstrates how characters can serve alternating purposes within the context of a novel.

Essay Comments

After reading over the comments on my essay I have identified both strengths and weaknesses in my writing. One of the strengths that I have indentified was my ability to create clear sentences that communicated my main idea. However, a weakness that I have is keeping this good style of writing consistant through out my paper. At certain points I explain my arguement clearly while at other points my sentenses are very long winded and hard to understand. I plan to improve my consistancy in regards to sentence structure throughout the essay on my next assignment.

Additionally, my conclusion was strong and could possibly be the best part of the essay. Although I had a strong conclusion, my intro seemed to be a bit long and not focused enough on the true topic of my essay. The two most important elements of my introduction, the topic sentence and the thesis were not particularly great and blended in rather than stood out with the rest of the introduction. I will consider revising my introduction once I complete my essay next time in order to create a stronger initial impression on the reader.

Furthermore,I had a problem with finding good specific examples that truely exemplified my arguement.Also some of my information and examples from the novel was inccorrect. Next time I will proof read to prevent this and to improve my arguement. I think that this essay has been a good learning experience and will help me earn a better grade on my next essay.

Key Elements to a Strong Essay

The best essays that I have read share several similar elements: organization, complexity and style. A clear organization of an essay really helps the reader understand what is being said. Also good organization allows the reader to anticipate what is coming in the essay. Additionally, complexity of ideas is necessary to having a strong essay because repeating the same ideas over and over again can get boring and put off the reader rather than drawing them in. Also the style really affects the interest that the reader has in the essay. If the essay is written with the same sentence structure through out then the reader may lose interest in what the essay is trying to say. Conversely, an essay written with varied style and sentence structure then the reader will most likely stay interested in what the essay is communicating.

The essay that I believe to the strongest is D in the A-F section (an Examination of Class and Economy: Austen's Molding of Mr. Hurst). The essay had an entertaining style, a very unique thought provoking central idea and organized so that the reader can anticipate the direction in which the essay is going.

#3 section A-F Essay C

My favorite essay was C from the A-F section. I believe this essay was the best out of the three I read because it had the best style while at the same time communicating interesting thought provoking ideas. The essay had no 'fluff' and got straight to the point. There were many ideas intertwined with eachother working together supporint eachother.

Best Essay from Red Reader #1

My favorite essay out of the three I read last night was the one titled "It's All About The First Impressions: How Austen and Greene Introduce Characters" (B for Beatrice). This essay had an execelent succint introduction that set up the thesis in a straightforward clear manner. The body paragraphs both constrasted and connected with each other very well. The entire essay was very unified in its approach at supporting the thesis. I thought that the essay achieved all that it set out to achieve and used clear communicative language.