Captain Benwick's Persuasion
Watching Morgan Freeman movies can be very educational. In his movie, Seven, his character and the character played by Brad Pitt discover the killer’s identity using books. Not through the traditional method of research but they were able to use the killer’s reading habits against him. They knew his aspirations and character, from that they were able to determine what he might have read. That logic works in both directions. “Details about money, reading, blushing, sex, and death matter because they ‘reveal people’s schemes and desires’” (Emsley). Every character in Persuasion reveals their aspirations and character through their reading habits. It is easily seen through Captain Benwick, Charles Musgrove, Captain Harville, and the Elliots. Benwick’s
…show more content…
The first thing learned in the entire book is that “Sir Walter Elliot of Kellynch-hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronage, there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one” (Austen, 3). “The page at which the favorite volume always opened” (Austen, 3) is where the Baronage told “of the earliest patents” (Austen, 3) that Sir Walter Elliot is a direct decent of. The Baronage that Sir Walter Elliot reads directly correlates to his aspirations because of his “vanity of situation” (Austen, 4). Just as Sir Walter Elliot only read one book he only aspired to one thing, which was to be someone of importance and stature. Though beloved by Sir Walter Elliot, his daughter Elizabeth had an opposite view of the Baronage. “More than once, when her father had left it open on the table near her, had she closed it, with averted eyes, and pushed it away” (Austen, 7). Elizabeth Elliot was displeased “to be presented with the date of her own birth, and see no marriage follow” (Austen, 7). Her refusal to read the Baronage reveals just as much as her father’s love for it. While Sir Walter Elliot has reached his goal, Elizabeth has not met her objective of being married to a man worthy of her. Her refusal to read is parallel with her refusal to think about her
The first thing learned in the entire book is that “Sir Walter Elliot of Kellynch-hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronage, there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one” (Austen, 3). “The page at which the favorite volume always opened” (Austen, 3) is where the Baronage told “of the earliest patents” (Austen, 3) that Sir Walter Elliot is a direct decent of. The Baronage that Sir Walter Elliot reads directly correlates to his aspirations because of his “vanity of situation” (Austen, 4). Just as Sir Walter Elliot only read one book he only aspired to one thing, which was to be someone of importance and stature. Though beloved by Sir Walter Elliot, his daughter Elizabeth had an opposite view of the Baronage. “More than once, when her father had left it open on the table near her, had she closed it, with averted eyes, and pushed it away” (Austen, 7). Elizabeth Elliot was displeased “to be presented with the date of her own birth, and see no marriage follow” (Austen, 7). Her refusal to read the Baronage reveals just as much as her father’s love for it. While Sir Walter Elliot has reached his goal, Elizabeth has not met her objective of being married to a man worthy of her. Her refusal to read is parallel with her refusal to think about her