Literary+Devices+in+Sense+and+Sensibility

Throughout //Sense and Sensibility//, characterization was evident. Characterization, as defined above, allowed the reader to receive either direct information about the character, or indirectly told about the character. Austen described Colonel Brandon as, “He was silent and grave. His appearance however was not unpleasing, in spite of his being in the opinion of Marianne and Margaret an absolute old bachelor, for he was on the wrong side of five and thirty; but though his face was not handsome his countenance was sensible, and he address was particularly gentlemanlike” (//Sense and Sensibility// 22). This described Colonel Brandon as kind and simple. Austen also used more indirect characterization in //Sense and Sensibility// than in //Pride and Prejudice//. Marianne was constantly talking about her life and how bad it was. Therefore, readers could conclude that she did not like to hide what she was feeling or thinking. Marianne was melodramatic about her life. Austen also, was careful when she gave each of her characters names. Although not all of them have an appeal when the name was said, when ‘Dashwood’ was said, it left a calm feeling, while ‘Lucy Steele’ was a harsh name just as she was pretty harsh herself. By looking just at the names of her characters, readers would know a little about each one. Characterization was used to enhance the characters, and allowed the reader to connect them to themselves.

No matter what piece of work it was, conflicts exist; without conflicts the story would be dull and uninvolved. A major conflict throughout the novel dealt with Elinor. Elinor had gone through a lot, but never once did she leave her guard down. She put up a front and acted like everything was okay, when in reality she battled against her own heart and mind, and was constantly trying to figure out what to do. Inside of her body there was a raging war, while externally, she acted like she had it all together. For example, Elinor was told that Mr. Edward Ferrars was already engaged to Lucy, when Elinor really wanted him. “Mr. Edward Ferrars, it seems has been engaged above this twelvemonth to my cousin Lucy” (//Sense and Sensibility// 176). Elinor was devastated, but did not really show much emotion and did not go all around sharing her problems. Although Elinor tried to keep it together through all her conflicts, Marianne, on the other hand, shared all her conflicts and allowed the world to see what was going on in her life. Marianne had conflicts involving Willoughby. Marianne fell in love with Willoughby, and when he went off to London for business, she was absolutely devastated. Conflict was internally happening Marianne was not sure if she would survive without her love. Conflicting feelings were occurring throughout the story in how she should react and feel towards him. Later on, she discovers that although she had loved Willoughby at one time, she no longer cared about him. This was a resolution for the internal conflicts she was dealing with.

Throughout //Sense and Sensibility//, figurative language was apparent: including symbols and metaphors. Symbols are “a person, place, thing, or event that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself” (__Elements of Literature__ 1202). By looking just at the title of Austen’s work, there was a symbol. Elinor was considered to be the sensible one in //Sense and Sensibility//. Sensibility represents Marianne because she is full of emotional response, also known as sensibility. In the long run, once Marianne came to her senses, she would receive a husband who would be a compatible match for her. A metaphor “makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things without using a connective word like, as, than, or resembles” (__Elements of Literature__ 1196). Metaphors in Sense and Sensibility deals with Mr. Willoughby, who saved Marianne; “A gentleman carrying a gun, with two pointers playing round him, was passing up the hill and within a few yards of Marianne, when her accident happened” (//Sense and Sensibility// 27). Mr. Willoughby was like a hunter and he was hunting Marianne. Also, because he was hunting Marianne, and usually hunters hurt who they hunt, Mr. Willoughby would eventually hurt Marianne and she would take a while to recover from the heartbreak Willoughby put her through. Lastly, Mr. Willoughby tried to give Marianne a horse to show his affections for her, but in reality, only a valuable gift should and would be given to his wife if he was a true man. Although, he was so willing to give the horse to Marianne, Elinor stopped that from occurring. Symbols, in general, make the reader think and analyze the story even more than they typically would.