Persuasion+Questions+and+Discussion

=Persuasion Questions and Discussions=

Use this page to post your questions about //Persuasion// and to begin any discussions you would like. This page can be especially helpful for those who feel shy about participating in class or for those who are struggling with understanding a tricky concept in the novel. Whenever you post a question, please be sure to sign it using the four tildes (~). Responses should come below the question and also include a signature. If you're responding to a response, please place it directly beneath the response you're responding to.

Example question:

I am confused by the beginning of the novel and the book that Sir Walter Elliott is reading? Can anyone help me find more information about this book? And how significant do you think it is that Sir Walter Elliott keeps reading it? Or what's the significance of his reading it? 1310047577


 * Discussion Questions Posted by Dr. Lake:**

1) What do you think is the significance of the title, //Persuasion//? How is the term used throughout the novel? Who is persuaded? What is persuasive? Do you think that the novel thinks being persuaded is a good or a bad thing? Under what conditions? How does the ability to be persuaded (or to be firm) affect our idea of a person or a character in the novel? Based on my summary of the articles about the novel, what do you think researchers believe is the significance of the title?

2) Leaving aside Anne and Captain Wentworth, who are the important characters in the novel? In other words, if we were ranking characters from 1-10, 1 being the most important and ten being the least important, we would put Anne and Wentworth at 1 and 2 (or 2 and 1?). But who would we put at 3, 4, 5, etc? Justify your ranking. Additionally, consider what other elements of the novel (its setting, for example, or references to war) are most important in helping us understand individual characters.

3) Which character do you like or identify with more: Anne or Wentworth? Which one seems to you to be the better character, or which one seems to have the most accurate outlook on life and love and to take the most appropriate actions? Why? How does their relationship conform or not conform to the cultural standards about marriage that were prevalent during Austen’s lifetime?


 * Discussion Questions Posted by Students:**

I'm curious about whether or not Lady Russell had reason to keep Sir Elliot unmarried. Did she gain anything by Mr. Elliot remaining the heir or was she really concerned with the best interests of the family? Or was it that she just didn't want the family marrying down? If that be the case, why was she so concerned?1315973614

There's no evidence to my knowledge that Lady Russell has a horse in the game, as it were -- she doesn't gain anything if Mr. Elliot inherits anything. With regards to Mrs. Clay, her concern would be the ways such a match would denigrate the family's social standing. 1316091915

One of the sources I read said Austen viewed the Navy as the gateway "into a whole new world," allowing a shift in society ans its views on marriage and status. Yet she doesn't seem to have an entirely positive view of Benwick, it seems. She makes it seem as though Anne pitys him more than she actually likes him1316298460