Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I am reading this book to fulfill my classic genre requirement. Personally, I am not a fan of classics. Though these stories have stood the test of time and follow great plots, I always find them hard to read. This is mostly because of the traditional language used in these books. But the language is just one obstacle for me. Pride and Prejudice follows an interesting story of sisters trying to find love. I am interested with the plot and challenged by the writing style of it. This is a good thing, since I have to challenge myself more with independent reading,

As I read the book, I find it interesting to compare and contrast the ideals of the past with those of the present. It seems that parents, especially the mother, placed a large emphasis on their daughters getting married. Mrs. Bennet in the book strongly pushes all of her daughters to find the right man to court them. Even the father sets up meetings for the girls with approved men. Now it is much more common for people to find their own love interests and parents are not as involved in the process.

Something else I noticed is that politeness seemed more important in the past. Everyone is referred to as Mr., Mrs., and Miss, depending on their marital status. These titles would be used during friendly meetings. Nowadays, these titles are reserved for people of a higher authority, such as a teacher or boss.