Kevin McAdam
AP English 11/ Mr. George
11/29/09
P&P Character Analysis #1

Mr. Wickham was a selfish man whose hostility and bitterness towards Mr. Darcy altered society’s opinion of him from graceful and humble to stubborn and inconsiderate.
At first glance, Mr. Wickham seemed to be a respectable and sincere gentleman. His noble conduct with the Bennet family established his credibility, especially with Lizzy. Wickham used his version of the story detailing the conflict between him and Darcy to further present himself as a righteous man. However, Wickham gives the impression that he is a good man just so he could extract as much as possible from the Bennets, and then disappear. Wickham’s true qualities are revealed to the Bennets when he runs off with Lydia. Wickham’s character is also shown in his previous history in which he would take everything he could from a certain town, departing quickly, and leaving behind a massive debt which he obviously could not pay. These actions quickly change Lizzy’s view of him and destroy all positive feelings she had towards him. In reality, Wickham does not care about Lizzy’s feelings towards himself or anyone else’s opinion because he only cared about his own benefit in life.
Mr. Wickham is a bee. A bee floats around from flower to flower, sucking up all the nectar it can until there is nothing left. Its continuous scavenging for a means to survive is very similar to the way Mr. Wickham lives his life. Secondly, a bee uses its stinger to keep off those that oppose it. Mr. Wickham acts similarly in dealing with Darcy. Wickham’s explanation of the feuding between him and Darcy isolates Darcy and takes a shot at his character.
A modern day example of Mr. Wickham would be Sawyer from Lost because of their constantly selfish attitudes and self-centered actions which eventually detach them from society’s good graces and them to fend for themselves.


Kevin McAdam
AP English 11/ Mr. George
11/29/09
P&P Character Analysis #2


Mr. Darcy is a proud gentleman who, despite people’s derogatory opinions, is a kind and compassionate man that does not believe himself to be superior to others.
Mr. Darcy’s awkward attitude when associating with new acquaintances is the basis for his misunderstood character. Darcy often gave off a sense of arrogance whenever he met someone for the first time. These negative first impressions allowed people who hardly knew him to create inaccurate opinions of him which gave him a poor reputation in society. However, those closest to Darcy would stand by him until the very end because of his remarkable character and manners. As Mrs. Reynolds stated, “He [Darcy] is the best landlord, and the best master that ever lived… There is not one of his tenants or servants but what will give him a good name,” (Austen 188). Darcy’s pride and honesty towards others is what gives the impression of arrogance, but his kindness and generosity, especially coming from someone with such wealth, are Darcy’s truly admirable qualities.
Mr. Darcy is very similar to a shark. A shark gets a bad reputation because of what other people report about it. Also, its reputation comes from people who have never had a true experience with a shark. Instead, the people who believe sharks are terrible beasts have only seen a shark in movies like Jaws. In reality, professionals who work with sharks in their natural habitat know how peaceful sharks are. Sharks only attack when they are out of their comfort zone and are frightened. There are many parallels between the characteristics of Mr. Darcy and sharks. Mr. Darcy may seem arrogant and insensitive when out in public because he is out of his comfort zone. Like a shark, accurate opinions of Mr. Darcy can only be calculated while witnessing him with those he is comfortable with.
A modern day example of Mr. Darcy would be Simon Cowell. He has been given an arrogant reputation on American Idol even though he is being truthful and often telling people what they do not want to here.