In Sense and Sensibility, Austen depicts several ambitious and greedy individuals. How are human relationships, including the notion of marriage, impacted by the frantic pursuit of social status and wealth?

Sense and Sensibility book by Jane Austen

Essay 1 (Austen, Sense and Sensibility)

Select one of the two topics below and write a two, full-page essay. Support your discussion with at least one quotation (or paraphrase) from the primary source (novel itself). NO secondary (outside) sources may be used for this first
assignment. The focus is on your ideas!

1. In Sense and Sensibility, Austen depicts several ambitious and greedy individuals. How are human relationships, including the notion of marriage, impacted by the frantic pursuit of social status and wealth?

2. Both Willoughby and Colonel Brandon are privileged men but also constrained by their social position as landed gentry. What explains their vastly different treatment of women, especially Marianne Dashwood?