Why we still love Jane Austen



 

Jane Austen is for sure one of the most popular writers and there is hardly anyone not knowing "Pride and Prejudice" or "Emma". Apart from our desire to read something romantic that makes us feel like being a part of the late 18th and early 19th century, it is Jane Austen`s special way of writing that still makes us addicted to her books- and to Mr Darcy :-).

Austen is known for her sarcasm and the hilarious dialogs between her characters. The perfect example is the novel "Pride and Prejudice" and the dialogs between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, as they are that different, but still think the same way. The dialogs in Austen´s books are not only sarcastic, they also point out parts of the character`s personalities. So Jane Austen does not tell us about her heros or heroins, but we discover their character by reading the dialogs.

Another thing her fans love is that she is such a well-spoken author that while reading her books it feels like she is a friend of yours. You feel like the novel has only been written for you. Especailly women love Jane since she has her own way of telling stories, a way, most of the time only women can unterstand.

What especially attracts are her heroines, which we still consider as admirable, the plots, since characters learn from their mistakes ( a skill we also want to possess) and for sure the romantic life those days. Who does not dream of getting the perfect proposal form the perfect Mr Darcy?

We can see that her perfect describtion of Mr Darcy, who is nowadays still considered to be the perfect gentleman for some women, is only one reason why we still love Jane Austen- and will always do. :-)

YOUPOST 1 , WS13, SUK1, GROUP 5, MELISSA

THIS IS HALLOWEEN

Whenever I hear someone talking about Halloween, I feel like thousands of pictures are hitting my mind at once. For example, I think of children, dressed up in cute costumes, going from door to door and asking for Sweets, or I think of all those pumpinks looking like ghosts infornt of the doors, and last but not least I think of one of my favourite movies "Nightmare before Christmas" and start singing the theme song. :-)

 

Although not really an Austrian holiday, due to the rising influence of the American lifestyle on our daily lives, Halloween becomes more and more popular and while some of us are deadly against bringing a new tradition to our counrty, I simply wish to be eight years old again and dress up as a ghost, asking for Sweets.

 

No matter if people like Halloween or not, it is a fact that only a few of us are aware of the historical background, which is also quite an interesting one.

 

While most of us consider Halloween to be an American holiday, it actually has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival, which was called "Samhain". "Samhain" was a festival where Celtic people celebrated the end of autum and believed that, on this day, the season of life meets the season of death. They wore masks or costumes in order to appease the evil spirits.

 

The Christian Church named the 1st of november " All Saints Day", also know as "All Hallows Day". On this specific day they honored their Saints and the night before was called "Hallows Eve", which is already close to Halloween.

 

When we think of the Halloween, we think of a typical American holiday, but acutally immigrants brought this tradition to the USA in the nineteenth centruy and there it developed to be Halloween as we know it now- one of the most commercial holidays, only Christmas comes first.

 

Maybe not refered to as "Halloween", but all over the world the night between the 31st of october and the 1st of november is somehow special. In Spain and Latinamerica, for example, inhabitants usually celebrate this day for 3 days and its know as " El Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead). They celabrate in order to honor the souls of their dead relatives. Therefore they construct an altar and bake a tratidional bread which looks like their dead relatives and is eaten on the 3rd of november, when the whole family has a picnic together.

 

To me, Halloween is one the best holidays all over the year, apart from Christmas. Now, after being informed about the historical background, I consider it to be even a bit more interesting and worth celabrating. :-)

 

Here is the link to the theme song of "Nightmare before Christmas". Hope you enjoy. :-)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpvdAJYvofI