Chantelle's Contemporary Relevance

SECTION 4

Prejudice is Pride

                The novel Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen deals with many themes that relate to our society today. Elizabeth Bennet’s first impression of Mr. Darcy causes her to become prejudice towards him, leading to an unexpected chain of events. It is evident that from the title of the novel, pride and prejudice will be key aspects of it. Pride according to Jane Austen “relates more to our opinion of ourselves.” (Austen, 21), where as prejudice is when one preconceives attitudes, opinions, or feelings towards something or someone beforehand without full reason or knowledge. Elizabeth is forced to let go of her prejudice impression of Darcy of being a man full of pride, in order for their love to prevail. Mr. Darcy must let go of his pride in order for him to get the woman he truly wants; Elizabeth.

                In our society, prejudice is seen every single day and even though we may not admit it, we can be prejudice towards people without even noticing. It is seen throughout the novel as a stumbling block to relationships. When one makes a judgement about another without even taking the time to know them, it is unfair and changes everything. Choosing to be prejudice is ultimately prideful because you deduce without knowing. Your pride and thoughts of yourself make you feel entitled to preconceived opinions when in reality we have no right to judge another person. Prejudice has affected society and the world as a whole in ways that don’t benefit anybody.

                Today, media would have to be one of the most influential aspects that affect our prejudice towards others. Most of our prejudice opinions have probably stemmed out of what media feeds into our lives. From the music we listen to, to the movies we watch, and the magazines we read, we are surrounded by stereotypes that convince us of the “truth” of who people are. Stereotypes affect us more than we think and reason us to make an opinion of a person or group of people who we don’t even know. Whether it be racial background, appearance, or status we as a society tend to judge.

                We as people part of the society must do our part to overcome prejudice together. Love overcame the obstacles Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy faced, and we must do our part out of love. We need the truth and once we come to the realization who we are and what we are in need of, it should drastically change our lives and stop our prideful prejudice.