"Bop To The Top"- The Story of Naval Officers in 1800s England

Changing Social Order in Persuasion

            Jane Austen uses satire in her novels frequently to poke fun at the society she was living in.  In Persuasion, Austen makes remarks regarding class structure and mobility, along with how people of different standings viewed each other.  Austen makes Sir Elliot the embodiment of pride and vanity.  He is obsessed with his family history and its placement in society.  He even reads the Baronetcy, the history of his family, for enjoyment as it pleases him to see his stature in society.  Sir Elliot also looks down on the men of the Navy because he believes the job gives them an undeserved climb up the social ladder.  He tells his family how being in the Navy “brings persons of obscure birth into undue distinction, and [raises] men to honours which their fathers and grandfathers never dreamt of; and secondly, as it cuts up a man’s youth and vigour most horribly” (Austen 13).  Sir Elliot is part of the landed nobility in England at this time who cherishes his rank due to birth and appreciates others of his similar standing.  Because these new naval officers are gaining wealth and merit and moving up the social ladder, even though they were not born with a good standing, Sir Elliot sees them as unworthy of being in the same level as him.  Sir Elliot carries this bias towards naval officers throughout the novel which shows his character’s emphasis on pride and rank.

Austen uses Sir Elliot’s character to show the change in the view of the typical gentleman.  During the early 1800s, the time when Austen was writing Persuasion, England was at war with multiple different nations and their Navy was at its prime.  Naval officers, having good manners and being strong and independent, were beginning to be seen as the new gentleman compared to the older landed gentry.  Austen uses many characters, such as Admiral Croft and Captain Wentworth, to show the increased appreciation for the naval gentleman.  When describing Captain Wentworth, Austen points out how “his genius and ardour had seemed to foresee and to command his prosperous path… He had distinguished himself, and early gained the other step in rank and… [has] made a handsome fortune” (Austen 21).  When Anne was engaged to Wentworth, her family and especially Lady Russell did not approve of the match because he was of lower ranking than Anne.  Because of him being poorer and less noble, Anne called off the marriage.  However, after eight years, Wentworth becomes a prominent naval captain and gains a lot of money, which puts him higher on the social ladder.  His acquirement of wealth and merit allows him to be seen as more of a gentleman and able suitor.  After learning of Wentworth’s higher importance, Anne’s family and Lady Russell agree to their marriage and accepts Wentworth.

            Along with the changing social order, Austen satirizes how people in society viewed each other.  Mary constantly makes remarks of how the Hayters are of lower standing than the Musgroves so she can never associate with them.  Also, while in Bath, Sir Elliot makes it a priority to befriend his cousin, Lady Dalrymple, because she is part of the nobility.  Sir Elliot and Lady Russell are two main characters who value place of birth and use ranking to decide who they associate with and the appropriateness of marriages.  Elizabeth, being Sir Elliot’s daughter, does not want to invite the Crofts to dinner because the Elliots do not want to be associated with them due to their lower standing.  Class placement is a frequent motif in Persuasion because social standing dictates who everyone hangs out with and how people view others. 

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Persuasion. Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc., 1997. Print. 

Reaction to the Grotesque in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"

            Joyce M. Wegs explains the appearance and significance of the grotesque in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”  Wegs describes grotesque as a “familiar world suddenly appearing alien… and [suggests] a transcendent reality which reaches beyond surface realism to evoke the simultaneous mystery and reality of the contradictions of the human heart,” (Wegs 99).  I found this use of grotesque similar to the way Oates gives two different descriptions of Connie throughout the short story.  Her one personality at home contradicts her personality away from home which gives the story different levels.

            I found it interesting how Wegs makes the connection with religion in the short story.  She explains how Oates “employs a debased religious imagery to suggest the gods which modern society has substituted for conventional religion,” (Wegs 100).  Connie takes superficial things and makes them into the things she praises and lives by.  The music she listens to, the places she goes, and the things she wants in life (boys) are the things that run her life.  The drive-in restaurant that Connie loves to go to is like a church or “sacred building that loomed up out of the night to give them what haven and blessing they yearned for,” (Oates 27).  Wegs sees how Connie and her friends believe that the restaurant is wonderful and nothing can ever go wrong when they’re there.  The music that plays in the background at the restaurant makes the place seem lighter and more significant, because Connie is obsessed with music.  She always plays music in her room and I believe the music is part of the connection she feels to Arnold Friend because he was playing the same music she was listening to when he came to her house. 

            Going along with religion, Wegs makes the comparison between Arnold Friend and Satan.  I liked her explanation of how Arnold imitated the devil in drawing Connie in and then eventually taking her to hell.  Arnold, like Satan, “is in disguise; the distortions in his appearance and behavior suggest not only that his identity is faked but also hint at his real self,” (Wegs 102).  Arnold wears a wig, make up, and even draws on a fake mole to add to his costume.  He also stuffs cans and paper into his boots to make him seem taller which shows how much of his appearance is a disguise.  Wegs goes on to show how Arnold Friend’s initials could stand for Arch Fiend which I thought was very interesting.  Also, Arnold says to Connie how he can see what is happening at the barbeque at that moment and describes to her who all is there.  His vision can connect to Satan’s supernatural all-knowingness, along with how Arnold knew everything about Connie and her family.  The grotesque mixing of reality and the subconscious is apparent when Connie gives up trying to fight Arnold and instead walks outside to go with him.  Connie’s unconscious, the boy crazy immature side, is attracted towards Arnold.  Wegs makes it clear when she says “in a sense, [Connie’s] body with its puzzling desires ‘decides’ to go with Arnold although her rational self is terrified of him,” (Wegs 105).  Connie’s confusion between her rational and irrational selves contribute to the grotesque terror in the short story. 

            Wegs’s critical paper on “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is very insightful to me.  I liked the points she makes about the religion in the story and Arnold portraying Satan.  Also, the mixing of reality and Connie’s subconscious is an interesting way to analyze how she acts at the end of the story, when she stops trying to fight Arnold and actually goes with him. 

Works Cited

Oates, Joyce Carol. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2002. Print.

Wegs, Joyce M.  “’Don’t You Know Who I Am?’: The Grotesque in Oates’s ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” Journal of Narrative Technique 5, 1995. Print.