Jane+Austen

=Jane Austen = Jane Austen was an English novelist born on 16 December 1775. Her works of romantic fiction are extremely well-known, and the realism and reflection of society at that time that she portrayed have made her novels some of the most beloved throughout the world.


 * Family **

Daughter of George Austen, rector of an Anglican church and Cassandra, his wife, Jane's life was one of peace, spent mostly with her family. She had six brothers, James, George, Edward, Henry Thomas, Francis William (Frank), Charles John and one sister, Cassandra Elizabeth, whom she was very close with throughout her life. Henry, a banker and Anglican clergyman, granted Jane opportunities to witness the world of society with his large circle of acquaintances.

//AAAAAAAAAAAAAA // After birth, Jane lived with her neighbor Elizabeth Littlewood for a little over a year. Both Jane and Cassandra were sent to Oxford to be educated in 1783, and two years later her family moved with her to Southampton. Jane and Cassandra nearly died after catching the typhus disease and was homeschooled afterwards until they left for boarding school. They returned home in December 1786, since the familiy did not have enough money to afford the school fees.
 * Early Life **

Jane participated in many local activities and socialized well with her neighbors. Her activities included playing the piano, assisting her mother and sister, and attending church every week. She was also very fond of dancing and her accomplishments as a seamstress.

The family decided to move to Bath in December 1800, and moved again in 1809 when Jane's brother Edward welcomed them to Chawton village.

 Jane Austen

 * Death **

Jane Austen's physical condition began to gradually weaken during early 1816. Jane dismissed her illness as nothing too serious and continued to work despite her illness until mid March in 1817, but finally stayed in bed in April when she had very little energy left. Jane Austen was brought to Winchester for medical treatment in May under the care of her siblings Henry and Cassandra. However, at the age of 41, Jane Austen died on 18 July, 1817 in Winchester. People have recently suggested that there is a likely possibility that Jane Austen died from a disease called bovine tuberculosis, but nobody is certain.

//AAAAAAAAAAAAAA // Jane showed interests in books and literature under the guidance of her father and unlimited access to his large collection of books. She experimented in writing with the expensive materials that her father had supplied them with. Jane also participated in various plays that her family put on with close friends, which probably influenced her ironic, humorous and slightly mocking writing styles. Also, in society of the time, wealth and class was of a high importance, which the social hiearchy was based on. Stories about women marrying to secure their fortune and such would also have inspired her more or less and given her ideas about the story plots in her novels.
 * What Inspired Jane Austen? **

//AAAAAAAAAAA // Jane Austen completed many accomplishments during her lifetime. She also wrote many of her novels under a pseudonym, therefore she went unknown as the author of many books until it was discovered and revealed in the later years. Jane went back to her works - such as //Sir Charles Grandison// - from time to time to edit and continue. Some of her novels weren't officially published until after her death. Perhaps the most well known of all is //Pride and Prejudice// with Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. Here is a table of some of her achievements:
 * Achievements **

//AAA // || Lady Susan (1794, 1805) || The Watsons (1804) || Sir Charles Grandison (1793, 1800) ||
 * **Novels** || **Short fiction** || **Unfinished fiction** || **Other works** ||
 * Sense and Sensibility (1811)
 * Pride and Prejudice (1813) ||  ||  Sanditon (1817) || Plan of a Novel (1815) ||
 * Mansfield Park (1814) ||  ||   || Poems ||
 * Emma (1815) ||  ||   || Prayers ||
 * Northanger Abbey (1817) (posthumous) ||  ||   || Letters ||
 * Persuasion (1817) (posthumous) ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **Juvenilia – Volume the First** || **Juvenilia – Volume the Second** || **Juvenilia – Volume the Third** ||  ||
 * Frederic & Elfrida || Love and Friendship || Evelyn ||  ||
 * Jack & Alice || Lesley Castle || Catharine, or the Bower ||  ||
 * Edgar & Emma || The History of England ||  ||   ||
 * Henry and Eliza || A Collection of Letters ||  ||   ||
 * The Adventures of Mr. Harley || The Female Philosopher ||  ||   ||
 * Sir William Mountague || The First Act of a Comedy ||  ||   ||
 * Memoris of Mr. Clifford || A Letter from a Young Lady ||  ||   ||
 * The Beautiful Cassandra || A Tour Through Wales ||  ||   ||
 * Amelia Webster || A Tale ||  ||   ||
 * The Visit ||  ||   ||   ||
 * The Mystery ||  ||   ||   ||
 * The Three Sisters ||  ||   ||   ||
 * A Beautiful Description ||  ||   ||   ||
 * The Generous Curate ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Ode to Pity ||  ||   ||   ||
 * The Generous Curate ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Ode to Pity ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Ode to Pity ||  ||   ||   ||

Many of Jane Austen's works have been adapted to TV mini-series and films such as the 2005 version of //'Pride and Prejudice'// directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley, Talulah Riley and Rosamund Pike. There are also many documentaries, novels and biographies based on the life of Jane Austen herself.


 * Why Is She A Groundbreaker? **

Jane Austen is considered a groundbreaker in a less obvious way. During her time, parents often wished for their daughters to be married off to rich men so that they would live a luxurious life. It was all about match-making, connections and building alliances between families. Through her novels, Jane Austen reminded people that characteristics and qualities are more important in marriage than the person's wealth and fortune. Her unique characters and moving stories persuaded a certain amount of readers to reconsider what the most important part of marriage is. She has also influenced the world in means of literature, and many authors to this day still uses what relates to her style of writing.


 * Reflections **

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">1. What is success?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Success is overcoming difficulties, reaching goals, and fulfilling dreams. It is when one tries his or her best to do something and is victorious.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">2. What personal qualities are needed for success?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Determination, courage, perserverance, responsibility and confidence are all personality qualities needed for success. To succeed, we also need to believe in ourselves. If one always thinks "I can't do this" then one will find it very difficult to achieve accomplishments. "Anything is possible if we try." For onlookers, friends and family members, their support is great encouragement for those around them because their trust and belief means a lot to the person trying to succeed. Also, we should never give up on hope because we should always believe that there is still a possibility - no matter how small - of succeeding and being triumphant.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">3. Find a dictionary definition of success

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted" - TheFreeDictionary.com

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">4. Form your own definition of success

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Success is when you achieve your goals - whether they are short term or long term - and pursue your dreams until you accomplish something desirable. It is the outcome of something which you have done your best in. Not everyone is as lucky as others, therefore it could be difficult for them to even think about doing something great or of their liking. But - and this doesn't just apply for those less fortunate ones, but for all of us as well - once you have tried and learned from your mistakes or from new things and gained experience, you have succeeded. Also, success doesn't necessarily have to be about making lots of money, living in a mansion and having servants obey your orders every minute. Everybody has a different definition of success. Some may think they have succeeded when they are healthy, united with their family or made an effort to help another. I think one has succeeded when one is happy, knows he or she has tried his or her very best and is satisfied with the outcomes and results.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">5. Why do people fall short of achieving their potential?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">People fall short of achieving their potential because they don't try their best and give up halfway. People tend to get lazy sometimes and put off work, which leads to not contributing enough and not being fully committed. In order to achieve their full potential, people has to work their hardest each time and go great lengths to pursue perfection for the best, ideal outcomes. If people lack enthusiasm and hope, then they would not find the importance in doing the things listed above and therefore fall short of achieving their potential.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">6. Why does God want us to achieve our full potential?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">God wants us to achieve our full potential so that we can discover our talents and live our life to the fullest. Perhaps God also wants us to appreciate all that he has granted us and blessed us with, and truly feel the greatness of it all. Then, using our full potential, we would be able to help those around us who are in need and make positive changes in the world.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">7. What did you learn during Ms Rogge's workshop?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Through Ms Rogge's workshop, I have a better understanding of the topic on success. I now know that there are many different areas such as career, health, spiritual, emotional, time, financial and such that we can all achieve to succeed in. The journey of success can be both long or short, and the main characteristics include the ability to let go, to focus, to have coach-ability, to commit and to act. If we want to succeed, we have to be able to move on and not give up.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">My definition of success is to have a good career and live a happy, peaceful and healthy life with my family and friends, knowing that everything I have done is fair, honest, and contributes to society well. However, for now, all I ask of myself is to study well each day, get high grades and earn the pride of those around me.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">8. What do you think about this WIKI project - compared to a written assignment? What do you like and dislike?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">I like this WIKI project compared to a written assignment because it allows us to work and gather information on the computer and type it all up instead of writing it by hand, which saves a lot of time. Also, WIKI allows us to comment and edit on each other's work, which is an efficient way to help us communicate and help one another through the internet. This project is also a great opportunity for us to learn the key factors of researching online - which sites are most reliable, how to format our text, how to enter bibliographies and such. Some things that I do not like about this WIKI project is that the formatting and layout of the pages are shown differently on different computers. For example, when using my computer at home, everything looks fine. However, if I go on the webpage on another computer, all the words and pictures are messed up. Also, at times, I am not able to save my work properly, therefore all the information that I have added are lost, unless WIKI automatically restores the previous session. This wastes a large amount of my time and makes it slightly difficult for me to work on the project. These problems would not have occurred if we were working on paper, thus these are the things that I do not like about WIKI.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">9. Read 1 Corinthians 12:4 and 12:12-27. Search for the section where the writer explains how God made us all different so that we can function together to achieve a greater purpose. We are not all called to be successful groundbreakers at the same thing, but each of us has our own unique potential and giftings to achieve <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">﻿ amazing things.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In the Bible, the passage of 1 Corinthians 12:4 says that "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them." This means that although each and every person is different and unique in their own way, we are really still the same. Despite the fact that we have different appearances, personalities, talents and lives, given to us from God, we still mainly work towards the same goal with the same spirit. We all try to succeed and change the world for the better. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Corinthians 12:12-27 says that we are all a part of Christ and this world, and that although we are all different, there is no superiority nor inferiority. We play different roles in each other's lives, but there is a need for everyone and there is no such thing as being more important than another. Corinthians 12:26 says that "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." This tells us that we are all respected and equal before God, and that we are like a huge family, working together and moving forward as one.


 * <span style="color: #666619; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Bibliography **

Author, Page Title, HTTP address, Date of Visit

Author unknown, "Jane Austen", [], August 31, 2010 Author unknown, "Jane Austen's impact on society and woman?", [], September 28, 2010 Author unknown, "Jane Austen's Quotes", [], October 3, 2010

Pictures

[], October 3, 2010 [], October 3, 2010 [] October 3, 2010