How my Spring Break was "epic"

I went to Arizona for the first week and a half of Spring Break. For the first week, my parents and I went to a ranch in Southern Arizona and rode horses twice a day (or at least I did, my parents didn't). That was really fun because we haven't been in three years. However, the second part of my trip was the "epic" part: we went to the Grand Canyon. It was so huge and gorgeous. Probably the most "epic" part of visiting the Grand Canyon was watching sunset. It was kind of cloudy all day long, so sunset wasn't super pretty on the canyon itself. However, right before the sun finally went below the horizon line, it peeked out from the clouds and turned the sky into an amazing light show on the clouds over the canyon. Below are some pictures from that evening (the two on the bottom are from my iPhone, which is why they are lighter than the top one from my camera, which I haven't edited). 

"Pride and Prejudice" -- post 1

In this post, I will be discussing how various characters view vanity and pride in the first half of  Pride and Prejudice. Please note that my page numbers may be different because I have an ebook version.

 Mary defines both qualities during the Bennets' conversation with the Lucases about Mr. Darcy, saying, "Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves;vanity to what we would have others think of us" (Austen 55). Elizabeth seems to judge people whom she thinks as proud very harshly. This is the primary cause for her extreme dislike of Mr. Darcy, who has a persona of being excessively proud. He also insulted her pride  She also looks down on vanity with disdain, but doesn't judge vain people too harshly, but rather views them as silly, foolish, or immature (ex: Lydia and Kitty). Mr. Bennet's opinions of these two qualities are almost the opposite of his favorite daughter's. Although it is very hard to tell his true opinions due to his sarcastic/cruelly humorous nature, it has become evident in the first half of the novel that he despises vanity more than pride because vanity is entirely superficial (he is also surrounded by it). Mr. Darcy, a seemingly proud man, has several discussions with Elizabeth about pride, and he argues that pride isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is in fact, a trait of an honest person. He remarks to Elizabeth that "nothing is more deceitful ... than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast" (Austen 82). This point displays his opinion that pride, although probably not the best of virtues, is more honest (and thus more admirable) than being humble. All of these characters have different opinions of pride and vanity, which helps contribute to the dynamic of their interactions and relationships.