Question

read the excerpt from pride and prejudice by jane austen. the manner in which they spoke of the meryton assembly was sufficiently characteristic. bingley had never met with pleasanter people or prettier girls in his life; every body had been most kind and attentive to him, there had been no formality, no stiffness, he had soon felt acquainted with all the room; and as to miss bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful. darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion, for none of whom he had felt the smallest interest, and from none received either attention or pleasure. miss bennet he acknowledged to be pretty, but she smiled too much. how does austen use diction in this excerpt to contrast bingley and darcy? ∘ she uses critical language to describe bingley’s reaction, and favorable language to describe darcy reaction. ∘ she uses emotional language to describe bingley’s reaction, and indifferent language to describe darcy’s reaction. ∘ she uses positive language to describe bingley’s reaction, and negative language to describe darcy’s reaction. ∘ she uses humorous language to describe bingley’s reaction, and serious language to describe darcy’s reaction.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the diction (word choice) for Bingley and Darcy:

• For Bingley: Phrases like "pleasanter people", "prettier girls", "most kind and attentive", "no formality, no stiffness", "angel more beautiful" are positive.
• For Darcy: Phrases like "little beauty and no fashion", "smallest interest", "received neither attention nor pleasure", "smiled too much" (critical) are negative.

Now we evaluate the options:

• Option 1: Incorrect. Bingley's description is positive, Darcy's is negative (not favorable for Darcy).
• Option 2: Incorrect. Bingley's language is positive (not just emotional), Darcy's is critical (not indifferent).
• Option 3: Correct. Bingley's reaction is described with positive language, Darcy's with negative language.
• Option 4: Incorrect. The language for Bingley is positive (not humorous), and for Darcy is critical (not just serious).

Answer:

C. She uses positive language to describe Bingley’s reaction, and negative language to describe Darcy’s reaction.