At the time Jane Austen’s novels
were published – between 1811 and 1818 – English literature was not part of any
academic curriculum. In addition, fiction was under strenuous attack. Certain
religious and political groups felt novels had the power to make so-called
immoral characters so interesting that young readers would identify with them;
these groups also considered novels to be of little practical use. Even
Coleridge, certainly no literary reactionary, spoke for many when the asserted
that “novel-reading occasions the destruction of the mind’s powers.”
These attitudes towards novels help
explain why Austen received little attention from early nineteenth-century
literary cities. (In any case a novelist published anonymously, as Austen was,
would not be likely to receive much critical attention.) The literary response
that was accorded to her, however, was often as incisive as twentieth-century
criticism. In his attack in 1816 on novelistic portrayals “outside of ordinary experience,”
for example. Scott made an insightful remark about the merits of Austen’s
fiction.
Her novels, wrote Scott, “present to
the reader an accurate and exact picture of ordinary everyday people and
places, reminiscent of seventeenth-century Flemish painting.” Scott did not use
the word ‘realism’, but he undoubtedly used a standard of realistic probability
in judging novels. The critic Whately did not use the word ‘realism’, either,
but he expressed agreement with Scott’s evaluation, and went on to suggest the possibilities
for moral instruction in what we have called Austen’s ‘realistic method’ her
characters, wrote Whately, are persuasive agents for moral truth since they are
ordinary persons “so clearly evoked that we feel an interest in their fate as
if it were our own.” Moral instruction, explained Whately, is more likely to be
effective when conveyed through recongnizably human and interesting characters
than when imparted by a sermonizing narrator. Whitely especially praised Austen’s
ability to create character who “mingle goodness and villainy, weakness and
virtue, as in life they are always mingled. “Whitely concluded his remarks by
comparing Austen’s art of characterization to Dickens’, starting his preference
for Austen’s.
Yet, the response of
nineteenth-century literary critics to Austen was not always so laudatory, and
often anticipated the reservations of twentieth-century literary critics. An
example of such a response was Lewes complaint in 1859 that Austen’s range of
subject and characters was too narrow. Praising her verisimilitude, Lewes added
that, nonetheless her focus was too often only upon the unlofty and the
commonplace. (Twentieth-century Marxists, on the other hand, were to complain
about what they saw as her exclusive emphasis on a lofty upper middle class.)
In any case having being rescued by literary critics from neglect and indeed
gradually lionized by them, Austen steadily reached, by the mid-nineteenth
century, the enviable pinnacle of being considered controversial.
The author mentions that English
literature “was nor part of any academic curriculum” in the early nineteenth
century in order to
Yellowstone National Park is the
U.S. States of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. It became the first National Park in
1872. There are geysers and hot springs at Yellowstone. There are also many
animals at Yellowstone. There are elk, bison, sheep, grizzly, black bears,
moose, coyotes, and more.
More than 3 million people visit
Yellowstone National Park year. During the winter, visitors can ski or go
snowmobiling there. There are also snow coaches that give tours. Visitors can
see steam (vapor water) come from the geysers. During
other seasons, visitors can go boating or fishing. People can ride horses
there. There are nature trails and tours. Most visitors want to see Old
Faithful, a very predictable geyser at
Yellowstone Visitors can check a schedule to see the exact time that Old
Faithful is going to erupt. There are many other geysers and boiling springs in
the area. Great Fountain Geyser erupts every 11 hours. Excelsior Geyser
produces 4,000 gallons of boiling water each minute! Boiling water is 100
degrees Celsius, or 212 degrees Fahrenheit – that’s very hot! People also like
to see the Grand Prismatic Spring. It is the largest hot spring in the park. It
has many beautiful colors. The beautiful colors are caused by bacteria in the water. These are forms of life that
have only one cell. Different bacteria live in different water temperatures. Visiting Yellowstone National Park can be a week
– long vacation or more. It is beautiful and there are activities for everyone.
What are bacteria?
Paul’s wife knows Paul loves to read cookbooks. She decides to
get him one for his birthday. Paul tells her he will try to make a new recipe
for three days in a row. On Monday, Paul makes blueberry pancakes for
breakfast. He gets the blueberries from the farmers’ market. On Tuesday, Paul
makes beef soup for dinner. He puts in cubes of beef, carrots, and onions. The
recipe calls for cream, but Paul does not cream. He uses water instead. On Wednesday,
Paul makes a tomato salad with cucumbers and onions. He picks the cucumbers and
tomatoes from his garden. He likes this dish best. It was also the easiest for
him to make.
Which dish does Paul like best?
