Essay #3 on Persuasion Essay #3: Important Themes in Jane Austen’s Persuasion Purpose The purpose of this essay is to use the knowledge we have acquired throughout this semester and implement it into this essay, which will include: establishing proper authorial context, integrating evidence correctly, citing information, and analyzing sources in a thought-provoking manner. Plot Summary Jane Austen’s Persuasion is about love, second chances, power, wealth, marriage, class conflict, and change. When 19-year old Anne Elliot is persuaded to reject Frederick Wentworth’s marriage proposal on account of his poverty, he angrily leaves with the Navy and takes part in the wars raging between England and France. Then, seven years later, he returns with wealth, power, and status, ready to marry any suitable young woman, except of course Anne. Despite his intentions, the lovely, quiet, and thoughtful Anne Elliot captures his attention yet again, and a romance that took root in the past is now allowed to finally bloom. Guidelines Your essay should be 5-6 pages, in correct MLA and with a well-formatted Works Cited page. You should have a total of 6 sources in this essay: the first source should be the book, the second source should be a scholarly article from the Criticism section of the book (near the back of the Norton edition), the third source should be a scholarly article from Jasna.org, and the fourth source is one you may choose yourself (it must be credible and it can be a web, multimedia, scholarly, or book source). Topics 1. In the battle of the sexes, which side is most constant? (Argument) Anne Elliot, our beloved heroine, has very few lines of dialogue in the novel; that is however, until the end when she engages in a friendly debate with Captain Harville over the constancy (or lack thereof) of men vs. women. In a moment of emotion, Anne declares, “All the privilege I claim for my own sex […] is that of loving longest, when existence or when hope is gone” (166). This dispute goes on for quite a while, and it ends in a friendly truce with neither side winning. Even though this dialogue takes place in the early 19 century, it seems that we are still debating this issue. Generally, men are considered more active, assertive, risk-taking, while women are seen as passive, obedient, and cautious. This also translates into romantic relationships, where the stereotype of “the player” creates the impression that men tire of women easily and their fickleness in love causes them to cheat more often than women. However, this can be disputed. Consider masculine and feminine behaviors when answering this question and determine who is ficklest and who is most constant in both the novel and our current society. 2. Who has the power? (Comparison/Contrast) In the 18 century, the aristocracy possessed power, and with power, control. Then came the French Revolution, followed by Napoleon Bonaparte, who represented meritocracy, free will, and indep.

1. Essay #3 on Persuasion
Essay #3: Important Themes in Jane Austen’s Persuasion
Purpose
The purpose of this essay is to use the knowledge we have
acquired throughout this semester and implement it into this
essay, which will include:
establishing proper authorial context, integrating evidence
correctly, citing information, and analyzing sources in a
thought-provoking manner.
Plot Summary
Jane Austen’s Persuasion is about love, second chances, power,
wealth, marriage, class conflict, and change. When 19-year old
Anne Elliot is
persuaded to reject Frederick Wentworth’s marriage proposal on
account of his poverty, he angrily leaves with the Navy and
takes part in the wars
raging between England and France. Then, seven years later, he
returns with wealth, power, and status, ready to marry any
suitable young
woman, except of course Anne. Despite his intentions, the
lovely, quiet, and thoughtful Anne Elliot captures his attention
yet again, and a romance
that took root in the past is now allowed to finally bloom.
Guidelines
Your essay should be 5-6 pages, in correct MLA and with a

2. well-formatted Works Cited page.
You should have a total of 6 sources in this essay: the first
source should be the book, the second source should be a
scholarly article from the
Criticism section of the book (near the back of the Norton
edition), the third source should be a scholarly article from
Jasna.org, and the fourth
source is one you may choose yourself (it must be credible and
it can be a web, multimedia, scholarly, or book source).
Topics
1. In the battle of the sexes, which side is most constant?
(Argument)
Anne Elliot, our beloved heroine, has very few lines of dialogue
in the novel; that is however, until the end when she engages in
a friendly debate
with Captain Harville over the constancy (or lack thereof) of
men vs. women. In a moment of emotion, Anne declares, “All
the privilege I claim for
my own sex […] is that of loving longest, when existence or
when hope is gone” (166). This dispute goes on for quite a
while, and it ends in a
friendly truce with neither side winning. Even though this
dialogue takes place in the early 19 century, it seems that we
are still debating this issue.
Generally, men are considered more active, assertive, risk-
taking, while women are seen as passive, obedient, and
cautious. This also translates
into romantic relationships, where the stereotype of “the player”
creates the impression that men tire of women easily and their
fickleness in love

3. causes them to cheat more often than women. However, this can
be disputed. Consider masculine and feminine behaviors when
answering this
question and determine who is ficklest and who is most constant
in both the novel and our current society.
2. Who has the power? (Comparison/Contrast)
In the 18 century, the aristocracy possessed power, and with
power, control. Then came the French Revolution, followed by
Napoleon Bonaparte,
who represented meritocracy, free will, and independence. A
change began to occur and with this change came a shift in
power. The aristocrats
began to lose their control and a new class rose to the top based
on their talents and achievements. Captain Wentworth and
Admiral Croft are
examples of this new class. Still, the strength of this novel
rests, not so much in what it professes, but what it hides
between the lines. I am
therefore asking you to take note of this power, especially
paying attention to who has it and how it was achieved, and
then observe who has the
power now. Are there changes? Who runs our society? Is social
class as relevant now as it used to be (particularly during the
late 18 and early
19 centuries)? In answering this question, I would like you to
compare/contrast Austen’s society with our own.
3. Is obedience a virtue or a vice? (Argument)
Obey your God, obey your parents, and obey your superiors.
Since childhood, we have been raised to obey, sometimes with
no questions asked.
We obey customs and traditions, laws, society, and even what

4. we think is our own personal beliefs or values. Anne Elliot, for
example, obeys her
th
th
th
th
family and Lady Russell when they persuade her to cut all ties
with Frederick Wentworth. Deep down inside, she does not want
to listen, but she
still obeys like a dutiful daughter. In all arenas, there is some
authority to obey. What would happen if a police officer pulled
us over and we refused
to comply with his demands? Would we maybe spend a night in
jail? Possibly. There have been numerous psychological and
sociological studies
done on obedience, some of the most important being the
Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo experiments, which all
point to one undeniable
truth – that we all obey. However, is this always a good thing?
Think of Anne’s decisions and regrets? Was her obedience a
mistake? Also consider
all the institutions and authorities you obey. Is your own
obedience to these forces such a good thing? Answer this
question with both the novel and
our society in mind.
4. What is the strongest kind of marriage?
(Comparison/Contrast)
Most of us tend to see marriage as a union between a man and a

5. woman, usually based on love. However, this was not the reality
in the 18
century. In fact, marriage was (and it can be argued, still
sometimes is) a contract that legally binds a man and a woman.
In Persuasion, women
had no choice but to marry – that was basically their
occupation. Then, with marriage came money/fortune, dowries,
and land/property. Love was
an added bonus but not a necessity. We have marriages
represented in a variety of ways. One example is the loveless
marriage that Mary and
Charles have where both partners have their separate functions.
Another example is an equal marriage like Admiral and Mrs.
Croft, who have
genuine affection and friendship. Whether it is based on a
contract, convenience, advantage, friendship or love, marriage
can still succeed.
Analyze Austen’s perspective of an ideal marriage as well as
your own perspective in relation to marriage in our current
society.
5. Which kind of love, passionate or prudent, is strongest and/or
most ideal? (Argument)
In the beginning of Persuasion, Anne and Wentworth share a
passionate love but one that is interrupted and forbidden by
others. Then, years later,
they develop a prudent love based on mutual respect and
admiration. It is often suggested that love has to be passionate –
that it has to burn in
order to be real – but it can also be argued that love without
wisdom is reckless and even sometimes dangerous. Therefore, it
is up to you to
decide which kind of love we should seek. Keep in mind that,
while trying to prove which is the stronger kind of love, you
should also strengthen

6. this point by showing the other side – the kind of love that does
not work, the kind that is most problematic, and maybe even the
kind that fails. The
head and the heart seem to always clash; which do you think
holds victory over love?
6. What is the importance of manners? (Comparison/Contrast)
Manners are extremely important in Persuasion. There is great
emphasis placed on pleasantries and common civilities; men and
women bow and
curtsey, they treat others with respect and consideration,
especially when they hold a higher ranking in society. For
instance, when Mr. Elliot is
th
Essay #3 Rubric for Persuasion
introduced in the novel, we are told he has “an air of good
sense” and this is primarily because he has impeccable manners.
But as the novel
progresses, we come to realize that his manners are fake and
that the person underneath uses, mistreats and selfishly takes
advantage of the
members of the lower class. In a sense, Mr. Elliot proves that he
is not a gentleman, and this revelation tarnishes his name and
reputation. In
answering this question, describe the role of manners in the
novel. How is it represented and what does it show about
characters? Then, compare
manners then to manners today. Are they as important? Do our
personalities and characteristics today get shaped by our
manners?

7. Total Points: 100.0
Criteria Ratings Pts
15.0 pts
25.0 pts
25.0 pts
25.0 pts
10.0 pts
THESIS
Writer answers the question thoroughly, considering the purpose
of the assignment (writing an argument or comparison/contrast).
He/she consistently defends and supports thesis.
15.0 pts
Full
Marks
0.0 pts
No
Marks
SUPPORT
Writer has sufficient detail that allows them to show instead of
just tell. This includes strong quotations (at least 2-3 quotes
from the

8. novel and at least one quote from each source you're using) and
paraphrases, with correct MLA citations and correct integration
methods (consult our Quote Integration Workshop for more
information).
25.0 pts
Full
Marks
0.0 pts
No
Marks
ANALYSIS
Writer goes beyond and explores his/her thesis in a meaningful,
thought-provoking and critical way. Analysis relates to the
evidence
used and provides a variety of interpretation strategies (consult
page 6 of our syllabus).
25.0 pts
Full
Marks
0.0 pts
No
Marks
SOURCES AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS
The essay is 4-5 pages, in correct MLA format, with a well-
structured Works Cited page, and meets all 4 source
requirements (our
book, a scholarly article from the Criticism section of our book,
a scholarly article from Jasna.org or JSTOR, and another source

9. of
your own choosing, which includes web, multimedia, scholarly
or book). These sources are well-chosen, relevant and strong.
They
enrich our understanding of the thesis.
25.0 pts
Full
Marks
0.0 pts
No
Marks
GRAMMAR/STYLE
The writer's overall style is engaging, interested and invested in
the topic. The grammar is mostly clear with minimal errors,
showing
that the writer made a genuine effort to proofread and revise
his/her essay in a strong way.
10.0 pts
Full
Marks
0.0 pts
No
Marks