First Journal Response: Sense And Sensibility
...around the lives of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, along with their mother and younger sister. They are left financially destitute after the passing of their father and, consequentially, after their removal from Norland Park. This forces the family to move into a small cottage that their cousin, Sir John Middleton, generously offers to them.
Within the novel, there are no particular characters that I strongly identify with. However, certain traits of a couple of the characters do parallel my own characteristics. Like Marianne, I am the second eldest daughter and at times we are both very melodramatic. When Willoughby leaves for London, "she [is] unable to talk, and unwilling to take any nourishment" (84), illustrating her overly theatrical and exaggerated conduct. Her "sorrows [and] joys [that] have no moderation" (24) are unlike my own feelings, however. Of course I am impractical and juvenile at times, but never to the point of disrupting an entire day. My self-discipline is stronger than Marianne's, but not as great as Elinor's who only reveals the emotions that are necessary for her to get by on a daily basis. Unlike Marianne, I do not "[abhor] all concealment" (61) which is comparable to her sister. Elinor Dashwood is much easier to relate to my sister, Leanne, though. Responsible, composed, and sensible, the eldest sisters in their families possess attitudes and dispositions that are paralleled thus far in the novel. Having "strength of understanding and coolness of judgment" (24) allows the two to be able to convince and advise their parents on a variety of topics. While Elinor insists that her mother sell the carriage though the thought of losing their only means of transportation is unwelcome to obtain more money for the family, my sister warns my father on the dangers of letting me go to Italy next summer. Acceptance of both...
View Full Essay
