Monday 29 February 2016

A Dark Gloomy World of Hester in Classic Book.4.The Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story of hatred and judgment of the society against a woman named Hester, who conceives a child with a man other than her husband. Although this is a frowned upon case in today’s society, as well, the consequences borne by Hester were unimaginable. She was made to stand on a scaffold for a considerable amount of time with her child in her arms and wear a scarlet colored ‘A’ on her robe for the world to see. She carried this symbol with her throughout life. Even after bearing insult and punishment of this horrifying extent, she refused to unveil the name of her partner in crime. Thus, she carried the pain of her punishment, all alone.
“…she turned her eyes downwards at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real.”
So was the extent of her helplessness! It is quite indulging to read how her husband and the father of her child meet each other long after this incident. Her husband, who has the sole intention of destructing the life of a man who dared have an illicit relationship with his wife, and the other man, who is bearing the pain of living a burdened life of keeping the secret that created a storm of this degree in Hester’s world, are both sinful in their own manner. In the midst of these extreme feelings, Pearl, the daughter of Hester, is giving an impression that she is under the effect of Satan.

Although there are many other elements in the book, the feeling of grief remains the central concept of the book. There are an enormous pain, gloom, and sadness in it. Most of the paragraphs of each chapter are covered with the grief of Hester. At times, I felt compelled to admire the author for portraying the vivid description of the pain; however, after a while, I felt overburdened with reading the same emotion, repeatedly. There was only one escape from the details of Hester’s agony and that was in Pearl’s innocent and – sometimes – devious characteristics. Her dialogues are a happy get away from all the grievous things happening in the plot. My favorite dialogue is when a man asks her if she could convey a message to Hester and she says,
“If the message pleases me, I will.”
For me, Pearl is the soul of the book, and she is the voice of her grieving mother. Although she is just a child, she rebukes the people when they try to hurt her, and she poses honest questions to everyone, irrespective of their position and power. When her father meets her and Hester in the forest and kisses her forehead, she directly asks him whether he would do the same in front of people or he will hold her and her mother's hands only when they are alone. There are so many colors to her character, which kept me motivated to read the book.

The wildly descriptive style of the author has the power to draw a live image of the scenes as if they are occurring in front of our own eyes; however, at the same time, it tests the patience of the readers, too. There are too many details about the feelings of the characters and -- somehow -- each one of them ended up depressing me; of course, this is a book about a tragic life of a woman, but I did not think it would have a never-ending description of sadness at every line of each chapter. Nonetheless, the author’s selection of the words has a pinpoint accuracy, which enables him to convey his intended emotions in the hearts of the readers.

The author picked up the simplest thoughts and then wrote them in a magnificent manner to keep the reader awestruck with his choice of elegant words to deliver the message.
“Let men tremble to win the hand of woman, unless they win along with it the utmost passion of her heart!”

Having said all that, this book would interest the readers, who enjoy a tragic plot decorated with grand and spellbinding words. If you are one of those readers, who like a close and detailed description of every single aspect, character, and emotion then you are in for a treat. As for me, I found it extremely difficult to read lengthy details, only to find the extreme sadness that prevailed around Hester. Moreover, it was a hectic task for me to follow the story without being distracted by overwhelming details of everything. One thing that kept me motivated to read until the last page was my desire to know how it all ends for poor Hester.

Saturday 27 February 2016

Set Your Priorities Straight with Ordinary Life


To check out the summary and review of Ordinary Life by Stacy Baggett, please click here. I am dedicating this post to the amazing highlights of the book in an easy to read format. There is a variety of factors embedded in this fascinating book, and I wish to put the readers face to face with multiple shades of all of those factors.


  • Deep Thoughts - The conversations between Sera, the guardian angel, and Sherrie is very deep and exhibit the depth of thoughts of the author. These dialogues reflect the true meaning of the life, as seen by Stacy. 

"For every negative thought you inflict upon others, a flower withers and dies."
Do you see the deep meaning in it? We are, in general, full of negativity. We think of ways to  belittle our enemies, justify our actions, and hold on to our ego; while, in reality we are breaking down our own chatracter, one bit at a time. 

The author has also written a genral perception of the people regarding death, and it is worth mentioning here: 
Death belongs to the others; the old, the sick, the accidental. Death is a disease that the outsiders catch. It's all aorund us; we see it, yet we deny it.

  • Invisible Scars of Bad Parenting - To call the parenting style of Sherrie's parents a bad one is an understatement of the century. Grace, the mother, and Stephan, the step-father, show exactly how a parent should not be. This goes for all the parents, who believe in tormenting their children and then, blaming them for all of their mistakes, that just because they have a child under their care, it does not give them a right to leave a scar on their child's innocent heart. Sherrie struggled to heal this scar even after her death. Even though this story is a figment of the author's imagination, the effect is close to what one may expect to happen in the reality. If I had a parent that got a kick out of beating me up, I don't think only the boundary of life and death could have stopped me from hating them.
  • Bringing a Child into the World is Not a One Time Activity - One cannot wash their hands off a child after bringing it into the world. This is a job for a life time. Grace decided to keep the baby, but turned her back from her when she realized that Stephan is sexually abusing her. Instead of standing as a rock between her husband and her helpless child, she decided to be jealous of her -- I mean, seriously, how can a mother behave this way. Therefore, this is my request to every mother all around the globe that please do not leave your child to the mercy of an insane man, who cares only about himself. This is not your child's mistake that your man is being an animal that he is. Walk with your child and shower as much love as you can. Impart descipline to shape their life in a better way and not to impart fear in their hearts. 
  • Live in the Today - I believe, this is the most important lesson in the book. We postpone the important things, which are not related to our jobs, we postpone talking to our loved ones because we are too busy, but imagine, what if, god forbid, you do not have a tomorrow to reevaluate your life and care for your loved ones.
  • An Important Social Message - Please do not risk conceiving a child before you are absolutely prepared, this is an important social message conveyed by the author. Teenagers jump up and down to lose their virginity without considering the consequences. It is not a joke to bring a life into the world, only to hate it in the future. 
Stacy has included many significant and valuable social issues and life lessons in the book. I encourage the readers to read it with an empty head and try to set their priorities in life, straight.

Monday 22 February 2016

A Miserable Attempt at Reading Classic Book.3.Les Misérables

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You know the rush you get when your initial attempts towards achieving a goal are successful? Well, I experienced this feeling when I got the pleasure of reading Alice in Wonderland and Pride and Prejudice. I was on cloud 9 and decided that it was time to pick a book that has always felt intriguing to me. Thus, started my miserable attempt at reading Les Misérables. I cannot dare say any negative words about the book because it consists of the most profound insight into the world. I could read only one story about a bishop  and his life, which was one of several other anecdotes of book.1. This is one of those books that intimidate me with their heavy weight. I could have avoided the volume of the book if it weren't for a too detailed description of the life, room, people, situations, expressions, character, and what not! I did not have enough patience to finish the book, and I dozed off several times -- which may exhibit my immaturity or lack of perseverance, and I am in no way proud of it. 

Although I was having a hard time reading this book, I cannot turn my eyes from the depth of the book. Victor Hugo's intention of preaching the world the power of spreading joy among the poor, women, and children is very powerfully expressed by writing about some of the greatest people of the history. Their dedication towards helping other knew no bounds. While skim reading, I managed to notice the noble cause that this book served. The thickness of the book may have terrified me, but I cannot decline my soul of the wonderful lessons compiled in it. Therefore, this is my resolution that I will pick this book once again in my life -- not today, though -- and finish it until the end. That day will mark the beginning of a new "Me."

Despite feeling overwhelmed with the content and extra descriptive narration of the book, I understood one simple fact that this book is very powerful and enriching. It has a life-changing lesson of helping the downtrodden with everything that you've in your possession. The bishop of chapter.1. lived a life ridden of any worldly pleasures, and yet, encouraged the rich to provide for the poor of the society. He went above and beyond -- in his capacity -- and inspired many people in whichever possible way. His preachings and actions were in sync and that is what makes his life worth following. 

The profundity of the book cannot be disregarded. I could not complete the book, but one day I'll come back to this same book. I cannot insist enough on the fact that my failed attempt at finishing the book has no reflection on the wisdom, quality, and significance of the book; this only reflects on me not being prepared enough to embrace the beauty of this book, at least now.

#LMMLinkup

Saturday 20 February 2016

What Makes One Voice by Bilz and Kashif One of The Best Songs Ever

Image Credit: http://medias.unifrance.org
If you have not heard the song, One Voice, then you are really missing out the rhythm of unity. Here, sharing a few lines of the lyrics to the readers:

We're living in the 21st century
But we're still fighting for peace
Wars, hate crimes and terrorist attacks
It's making it hard to breathe
We're investing in weapons of mass destruction
When the third world is hungry
You and I have the power to create a future
Without violence and poverty
Get informed, Get inspired
Stand up, speak out and break the silence
Build awareness, Share the knowledge
Stop ignoring and deliver the message of peace
CHORUS
Just a breath away to make a change
One voice can make a difference
Just a breath away to make a change
One voice can make a difference
The vision of a hatred free world is close to every unblemished soul, and this song captures the essence of these souls. My heart craves for the world that is free from fear, violence, and crime. When I listen to this song, the real world slowly disappears, and I begin imagining the world free from all the vices. Don't you ever dream of walking freely on the streets and not keeping your guard up all the time? I, most certainly, do! 

Today, when we have claimed our victory over technology among other things, and yet, we are fighting over inconsequential aspects of life and materialistic things; then, what have we really achieved by inventing and discovering anything? I wish with all my heart to God every day to help people see the error in their ways, lift above the unimportant issues, and embrace the beauty that prevails in this world.

Other than the beautiful message, this song has Gayatri Mantra in it, which sounds very soothing to my ears. It calms my nerves and makes me feel connected to the divine. 

Everyone should give this song a try. I'll wait to read what you have to say about this song or any other song that may have motivated or enlightened you.

I have written this post as a part of ‪#‎Fridayreflections‬.
Reflections From Me

Friday 19 February 2016

The Wonderful Journey of Reading Classic Book.2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

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After gaining unanticipated delight from reading classic Pride and Prejudice, I discovered an unfound courage inside of me to pick another classic. This time, I thought, "Why not give Alice in Wonderland a try! The worst case scenario would be that it would turn out to be a children's book, and I would have nothing to write about this book."However, the first chapter of the book, itself, was capable of showing me the error in my thought process. While falling in the endless depth, Alice talks to herself using various big words, like longitude, latitude, antipathies, and right then -- out of nowhere -- my smile appeared on my face. As the author mentioned that Alice had no idea about these grand words, she was just having fun using them for the first time. I remember how, in my childhood, I used to be happy about using big and difficult words, like cumbersome. Her enthusiasm for throwing these big words around is, something, that most of us did in our childhood; I know, I did! 

If you imagine yourself falling down an endless void, our reaction would be on the similar lines as Alice did. Initially, she was confused and afraid, but later she started talking to herself. Her conversation with herself is hilarious,

'Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?' and sometimes,'Do bats eat cats?'
The fantastic graphic display of a child's innocent mind is absolutely impeccable. Capturing the purity of a child's head is the most splendid quality of the author. Inside the empty room, Alice's curious mind makes her doubt whether she has, somehow, transformed into any of her friends, whom she believe to be not-so-smart, so to solve the mystery, Alice takes a test of herself in various categories. Her first adorable test was of mathematics,

Let me see, four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is-- oh dear! I shall never get to twelve at that rate!
As if, she nailed everything before twelve! This book is more than a little girl's dream, it is a magnificent compilation of humor, stupidity, anecdotes, bravery, and imagination. Throughout the read, I could not stop smiling. This is an extraordinary book with full of phenomenal  characters. Whether the author introduces a rabbit with a watch or a baby pig, every character is depicted with perfect exquisiteness. Can you envision yourself having real feelings for talking animals in a fantasy? Well, you will, once you read this book. 

The conversation between various characters in the book is very clever and side-splitting. I have a heap of my favorite dialogues, but sharing the one between a Mouse and Alice,

'Mine is a long and sad tale!' said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing. 'It IS a long tail, certainly,'said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail;'but why do you call it sad?'
You see, what I mean? If you think there is any limit to the hysterical parts in the book, then think again. You know, let me share a lullaby from it, to give you an insight to the unexpected humor,

'Speak roughly to your little boy,And beat him when he sneezes:He only does it to annoy,Because he knows it teases.' 
Just when I thought the plot cannot get any funnier, enters the hatter, the king, and the queen with their weird personalities. The hatter keeps annoying our little Alice with his rude comments, the king gives the readers several remarks to chuckle and the queen of hearts, with her 'off with his head,' makes the readers laugh till they drop. There are many scenes of the courthouse that I found rib-tickling comic; however, I cannot share all of those, therefore, sharing one of my favorite ones, before I publish the post,

'Give your evidence,' said the King: 'and don't be nervous, or I'll have you executed on the spot.'
Ever received these words of motivation? I hope, not!

If you liked this post, you may want to check out the review of the book by clicking here.

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Classic Book.1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Journey from Chapter.47 to the end (*May Contain Spoilers)

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For the readers, who may not have read my previous posts on this book, may start from the first post to the second postthe third, and the fourth one

My journey of reading this much-admired classic transitioned from being afraid of picking up a classic to being sad of putting it down in a very small time. I did not know that I was capable of loving a classic tale to this extent. Thanks to the incredible writing of Jane Austen that I discovered my admiration for a well-written tale. This book delivers a full package of human emotions. There is so much going on in the story that if the book was written by a less skilled writer, the reader would have lost track of who did what; however, lucky for us, Jane Austen narrated this wonderful story. 

The characters, who were hidden in the beginning chapters of the book, blossomed to hold an interest of the readers. Lydia, Kitty, Mary, I am sure, did not hold much of the interest in more than half of the book, and yet, by the end of the book, Lydia became a center of attention. Of course, Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mr. Bingley captured the interest of my wandering mind; however, I longed to know the result of her stupidity. A few events hold practical lessons for the readers like never take a decision without thinking about the consequences first, but these lessons are not conveyed in a very obvious manner. Jane Austen left the task of picking out the pieces of valued lessons to the wisdom of the readers. This is refreshing because not everyone picks up a book with an intention of learning something. 

Kitty's helplessness in understanding the meaning of Mrs. Bennet is delivered with the most humorous and realistic remark of hers,

What is the matter mamma? What do you keep winking at me for? What am I to do?
This innocent remark took me back to my childhood when I had trouble understanding these weird gestures of the elders. I could never understand what hint to take from these subtle signs. 

There was one statement of Mrs. Bennet that made me realize that the meaning of the words and phrases keeps changing with the time. At one instance, Mrs. Bennet wished to say that Mr. Wickham shows his respect and love to her whole family, but the word that the author selected to deliver this expression made me realize that this book was, certainly, written in different time,

He simpers, and smirks, and makes love to us all.
Of course, make love has a different meaning, as well, but how often is it used, today, to mean anything else than the obvious one. It may sound childish on my part, but I could not help but sharing what I observed.

As soon as, everything was settled in the lives of Jane and Mr. Darcy, I could not help but speed read the rest of one or two pages; however, the story remained interesting till the last page. It was in the end that I decided, I do not like Lydia, at all. She was mean to her sisters after a certain event in her life, and I did not like the way she tried to belittle her sisters.

Anyway, the magic of an excellent book is that it awakens many emotions in the heart of its readers for its characters. This book has achieved just that.

Tuesday 16 February 2016

Classic Book.1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Journey from Chapter.23 to Chapter.46 (*May contain spoilers)

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Oh, how I wish I had a rich vocabulary or rhythm of a poet to describe the beauty of this book! The story flows and events begin unfolding in a flawless manner. I pride myself in understanding the real character of a human being in the first meeting itself; moreover, I can guess the next chapter before the current one even ends, but this is not the case with the much-admired Pride and Prejudice. When the author introduced Mr. Wickham and Mr. Collins, I believed that they are mere distractions -- and dare I say, page filling characters. However, once again the author blinked her eyes and gave them a purpose in the whole plot. I am astonished by Jane Austen's timing to introduce a pinch of humor in the story. Everything is going on in a business-like manner, and she writes something as simple as "Their table was superlatively stupid," and, it is enough to bring a smile on the reader's lips. I am bemused by her creativity and the concrete plot that knows no bounds of imagination.

The girls have received many invitations from their relatives to visit them, and indeed, these visits added a lot to the already strong plot. Jane is deep in the pool of her sorrow but is reluctant to let her mother be affected by her condition. Elizabeth blames everybody, except Mr. Bingley, for her dear sister's broken heart. I, being a sister, can understand the pain of Elizabeth, and I admire the author for capturing the true emotions of every sister in her character, Elizabeth. I believe, this is one of the many reasons of this book's success. 

Finally, Mr. Darcy has expressed his true feelings to Elizabeth; however, her shortsightedness to Mr. Darcy's character and Mr. Wickham's unkind revelations of his conflict with him made her respond to his proposal in a very untasteful manner. Having said that, I am sure that if I was in her shoes, I would have behaved exactly the same. One thing I would like to admit here, I did not like Mr. Darcy, but since his proposal to Lizzy, I envy Lizzy on winning the heart of a man like him. His contradictory attributes of the personality are very hard to resist. He is patient, and yet, intense; he is proud, and at the same time, humble. There is so much depth to his personality that I doubt if anybody could resist his charisma.

Something very tragic has happened with one of the sisters -- or so we are made to believe till chapter.46 -- and I am suspecting that a turmoil of emotions and changes are on the way. I'll be back with the various emotions that are yet to be explored in the next post. Till then, you may browse through the wonderful journey of previous chapters by clicking here.


Friday 12 February 2016

Let us Spread the Light of Goodness and Humanity!

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Today, when our world is struggling against the darkness prevailed all around, I choose to look at the goodness in the hearts of the strangers, whom I had the opportunity to come across. After all, one cannot defeat darkness with the darkness; one must spread brightness to get rid of the darkness. A very good friend of mine once said something very interesting -- and quite mind-boggling -- that I wish to share with the world. She said,

"We are in an age when both evil and virtue are at their peak. The problem is that our mind is being put forth to too much darkness by the news. Of course, media's task is to report whatever is going on around us, and much of the attraction and interest arises to the mishaps; however, this is for us to decide whether we wish to be entangled with the darkness or witness the light. There is a large number of people who are devoting their time and energy to the welfare of the human beings; trust me, when I say this, the number of these people is a lot more than the evil-doers. Nonetheless, they do the deeds to make a difference and not to make the news."
 I'll have to admit that, though her words were powerful and made sense, I did not agree with her. I wondered whether there was any truth to her statement that in this age goodness and wickedness are, both, at the peak. After a few days, I decided that I would notice the goodness around me, and see, if there is any reality to what she said. I witnessed many people going out of their way to help others. This was very inspiring to see that even in this fast pace of life, anybody would try to give any time to a stranger. Even in the news, I started reading about the parts that had nothing to do with how terrorists are terrorizing the world and claiming to crush everybody to prove whatever it is that they wish to prove. I am happy to announce that I found plenty of gems to admire.

I am dedicating this post to two of the gems that I came across a few days back. I am learning the French language, and in order to improve the usage and pronunciation of this beautiful language, I needed a partner. So, I checked out a website called http://lang-8.com/. This is a very nice initiative to bring different language speakers on one platform and help one another out in learning another language. I met a lady named Francine on this website. She went out of her way to help me in learning this language by communicating with me on a regular basis. One may think that this is not a big deal, but for a busy lady -- like herself -- taking out time to e-mail me, is a big deal. We, often, don't share these experiences with others, and that's why the instances of humanity and care are lost while the disgusting acts of evil make the headlines. I thank Francine from all my heart, and I hope she doesn't mind that I wrote her name in my post. I'll apologize sincerely to her, in person, if she felt that I intruded her privacy. 

Another person, I wish to talk about, here, is another gem of a person, Kim. I believe many of you might have noticed that I make a few mechanical errors in my writing. I was feeling very low and decided to seek help. I wrote in BlogHer Writing Lab group of FB about the problem that I was facing. To my surprise, a wonderful lady, Kim asked me to send her a copy of my work. When I sent her one of my posts, she edited the whole thing, and she was quite humble about it, too. I have never seen anybody go to such an extent to help a fellow blogger. Not only I admire her, but also, I am inspired by her. Thanks, Kim!

I believe, if we all share a few of the good deeds with the world, we cannot eliminate the evil, entirely; however, we can spread a little light in this, otherwise, dark world. What do you say? Do you have any anecdotes that reignited the fire of humanity in your heart? I am sure that everyone would love to read about other experiences of goodness, too.

Thursday 11 February 2016

Highlights of the Book 'Salsa and Speed Bumps' by Susan M. Baganz

Image Credit: Amazon.com
If you are thinking about picking up this romantic fiction and need a detailed insight to know what to expect from 'Salsa and Speed Bumps,' then you have landed in the right post. Stephanie commits one mistake of dating a shrewd and ill-mannered man, Luis, and faces the consequences for a long time. She breaks up with him on realizing the flaws of his character; however, she cannot get rid of his threats. To add to her problems, she gets pregnant with his child. A handsome man, Roberto Rodriguez, enters her life during this dramatic situation. Roberto, himself, is far from perfect; he has a history of being a drug addict, and presently he is struggling to keep himself on the right path far from the addiction. Whether Stephanie gets this man or surrenders to Luis' demands for the sake of her baby, that is for the readers to find out. Nonetheless, this post gives a few highlights of the various attributes of the book. 


  1. Romance - This is the key attribute of the book. The attraction of Stephanie towards Roberto and his intense feelings towards her remain the central subject of the book. Events, accidents, and tragedies happen around them, and yet, romance remains the central theme of the book. This should not come as a shock because this is a 'Romantic Fiction.' 
  2. A Web of Twists - I cannot insist upon it enough that this book is full of numerous twists and turns. Susan has definitely done a lot of research before writing this book. There are medical problems, family troubles, and -- even -- judicial conflicts in the plot. The best part about these twists is that they continue to keep the readers on the edge of their seats, throughout the read. 
  3. Emotional Journey of a Single Pregnant Lady - The life of a single mother becomes very complicated. We can all imagine that, but only the ones who go through this difficult journey can tell the heights of the problems that they go through. Nonetheless, Susan has captured fears, problems, confusions, and anger of a single mom with utmost care. Stephanie's struggle with making a decision to whether to keep the baby or give up for adoption is very believable.
  4. Constant Struggle of a Drug-Addict in Recovery - Any addiction is easy to take but very difficult to give up; once you give it up, keeping your feet firm on the ground is another task, altogether. By narrating the determination of Roberto to continue on the right path, Susan has described an addict's everyday struggle.
  5. Immense Faith in God - God has been mentioned consistently throughout the book. To me, it became an overdose after a while; however, the plot of the book demanded an exhibition of the characters' dependence on God to get through their problems. 
  6. The Importance of Friends in Life - Each character in the book has an important role to serve. I could not find even one character who had no role in the normal flow of the story. Tony and Renata -- Steph's best friends -- stand with Steph through thick and thin. While reading this story, it is only normal that one may think about their own friends.
Having said all of that, I found that Salsa and Speed Bumps is an interesting book and you will enjoy the rollercoaster ride of twist and turns of this book. 

Check out the review of Salsa and Speed Bumps by clicking here.

Classic Book.1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Journey from Chapter.10 to the End of Part.1. (*May contain spoilers)

Let me tell you that the speed with which events unfolded after Chapter.10 is commendable. A lot has happened in a few chapters. A few new characters have made an appearance. One of them is Mr. Collins, a cousin of the girls, who is supposed to entail their property, as soon as, Mr. Bennet dies in the future. Of course, any mother will be appalled by such a social arrangement, and Mrs. Bennet is no exception to the same. I found no difficulty in connecting with her thought process, and for that, I believe the credit goes to the excellent skill set of the author. Mr. Colins' manner of addressing himself seemed pretentious to me, and sure enough, Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet caught the shallowness of his character. Mrs. Bennet, however, is beyond these minute observations and is enjoying his rain of compliments to her house and daughters. 

My most favorite part of these chapters has to be Mrs. Bennet's out-of-the-world reaction to Elizabeth's refusal to her cousin's proposal of marriage. She reminded me of my mother's reaction. Whenever I turned down any offer of marriage, my mom became a world class drama queen. Her dialogues and Mrs. Bennet's dialogues are so much in sync that I could not help smiling. The beautiful narration of her expression towards this declination shows the time and energy that the author must have spent on making each conversation believable. I think this simple fact makes this book so famous in each generation. I cannot move forward without sharing a glimpse of Mrs. Bennet's tantrum:
...nobody is on my side, nobody takes part with me. I am cruelly used, nobody feels for my poor nerves.
To add to her sufferings, Mrs. Bennet has received the information of Mr. Bingley leaving the town. The inclination of Elizabeth towards ensuring the well-being of her sister at a time like this is very well written. The lengths to which Jane Austen must have gone in writing each chapter, narration, event, and dialogue of this book is evident throughout the read.

Mr. Bennet is, as always, his own calm self. His way of asking a guest not to revisit them soon, the manner in which he takes side with Elizabeth when his wife is turning the world upside down, and his need to be alone in his library are all perfect and quite humorous. Mr. Darcy's increasing inclination towards Elizabeth and her ignorance towards the subject are very exciting to me.

All said and done, I cannot wait to read the next events of their lives. Oh yes, before I forget, Mary, Lydia, and Catherine have also started making appearances in the plot of the book. 

Monday 8 February 2016

Classic Book.1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Journey from Chapter.7 to Chapter.10



I know I already mentioned in my previous post about this book till chapter.6 that I like the character of Mr. Bennet; however, I think I adore him. He cracks me up. His dialogues never disappoint me. I was reading very quietly and with full concentration, and then arrived his point of view of his daughters,
From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it some time, but I am now convinced.
Then the comment of Mrs. Bennet was, as close to the reality, as it could be. She is like any mother, who praises her daughters and tries to get her husband to stop being too opinionated about his own daughters. When I read, what followed his remark, I felt as if I was standing in front of my own parents, and my mom is defending me. Of course, my dad never had such strong opinion about me. Anyway, the author has written the dialogues in a manner that, generally, everybody can connect to.

Another one of my favorite dialogues of Mr. Bennet is delivered, when Mrs. Bennet contemplates a plan. See, her plan involves sending Jane to visit Mr. Bingley's house, all the way knowing that it will rain in a while. Her plan is that she'll need to stay in their house, thus, she may get more time to impress Mr. Bingley. Whether that plan succeeds or not, that is for readers to find out; however, his sarcastic comment is really unforgetful -
...if your daughter should have a dangerous fit of illness — if she should die, it would be a comfort to know that it was all in pursuit of Mr. Bingley, and under your orders.
Isn't he is an exquisite character?

On a different note, I was a little confused with the usage of the word "loo-table." Google's kind search enabled me to know that it is a table on which a game of cards — loo — is played. An excellent piece of information!

The conversation of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are a little complex to my taste. I am using all my brain to try and understand even the topic of their discussion. Probably, I need to pay more attention. However, slightly increasing admiration of Mr. Darcy for Elizabeth and her witty responses to his attempt of approaching her are truly fascinating. As a reader, I cannot wait for them to get together; however, at the same time, I am enjoying the ongoing love-hate plot.

So far, my opinion of Mr. Darcy is same as that of Elizabeth. Whether it changes or not, we shall see soon.

À bientôt!

Sunday 7 February 2016

Classic Book.1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Journey till Chapter.6


Credits: loyalbooks.com

I picked up the famous classic 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen. To tell you frankly, I did not expect a lot, because I never thought that this book would have much to offer. Now, I feel like a fool; the dialogues of the books are very realistic and practical. I am particularly enjoying the conversations of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. As all the married couples know very well, and unmarried people are aware due to their observations of married people, there is a never-ending argumentative style and witty comments in the way a husband and a wife talk to each other. Jane has captured that essence in her book. Generally, wives tend to give updates about every detail about their surrounding to their husbands, whether the husband wishes to know or not. And this is what Mrs. Bennet does in the beginning of the chapter.1, itself. She starts telling Mr. Bennet about the fact that Netherfield has been rented, finally. On observing that her husband is not showing any interest to her piece of information, she asks whether he wants to listen to her information or not; the response of Mr. Bennet matches to the answer any typical husband gives:
You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.
Just reading his response, I understood that I am going to love this book. The way Mr. Bennet teases his wife, flatters her, and plays his innocent games with her, are fantastic and very genuine. I have seen my own dad surprising my mom, the way Mr. Bennet does with Mrs. Bennet.

The author introduces their five children, gradually and beautifully. So far, I know that Jane is the most beautiful one among her five sisters, and Elizabeth is the wittiest and the most expressive. Mary reads a lot of books. About Lydia and Kitty, however, I have not gathered a lot; I remember that the author mentions in a character's dialogue that Lydia is the youngest, but the tallest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet; and I remember the mention of Kitty only in one place where Mrs. Bennet is angry with Mr. Bennet and scolds Kitty for coughing.

Mr. Bingley's character is of a well groomed, sensible, and handsome man; whereas, Mr. Darcy —a friend of Mr. Bingley — is a little arrogant. The rise of young love in the hearts of Jane and Mr. Bingley is described with the best selection of words.

So far, I am enjoying the hatred of Elizabeth towards Mr. Darcy and his attempts to get to know her better.

See you soon with more chapters of Pride and Prejudice!