English Speech for Visual Representation

Good Morning _____________, today my visual representation will be a depiction of the

novel Emma by Jane Austen. Jane Austens novel is a fantastic novel that follows the selfdiscovery of the protagonist, Emma who grows vastly throughout the narration to become a
person of her own. Throughout the tale that Austen has created we are able to see a range
of themes and the one I will be focusing on is the idea of perceptions in the society Jane
Austen has created for Emma.
What are perceptions? Well perceptions are impressions. They are an attitude or
understanding based on what is observed or thought. Emma is from Highbury, an area
where from the first step into the novel we are able to see how much people perceive. The
day to day gossip is the best example of how this small town survives on the happening of
the people around them and its something Emma has had to face for her entire existence.
Every action, every word, every gesture, every decision is watched by the people around
her. My visual representation is a portrayal of how society can be a stage full of eyes with the
centre piece being the talk of the gossip held within a cage. In my diorama the centre piece
within the stage is Emma and Jane who encounter their fair share of gossiping.
There are many examples of perceptions within Highburys society with many involving
Emma but later growing to include Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill as they move to the
town. A good example is seen in one of the quite rememberable scenes in the novel being
the Coles dinner party. During the dinner Emma joins in on a conversation led by Mrs Cole
which has captured the attention of many of the women at the table. It is a recount of Mrs
Coles visit to Miss Bates home and how when she entered their living room she sees a
very elegant looking instrument not a grand, but a large-sized square pianoforte.this
pianoforte had arrived from Broadwoods the day before to the great astonishment of both
aunt and niece. This quote contains many techniques put in place by Austen, two of them
include descriptive language that enhances and adds a flare to the gossip and emotive
language which allows the audience to feel curiosity just like Jane and Ms Bates as to who
the mystery gift bearer is.
The scene that follows portrays the idea of perceptions in another light as it shows the centre
of gossip as part of the gossiping. This is presented to the audience as Jane Fairfax is seen
by John Knightley going early one morning to the post office in the rain. When she attends
an event later that evening she is met with Mr Woodhouses apology I am very sorry to
hear, Miss Fairfax of you being out this morning in the rain. Which is then joined by Mrs
Eltons remark of My Dear Jane, what is this I hear? Going to the post office in the rain.
You sad girl. These two quotes not only show how quickly the actions of an individual in a
society can spread but it also shows how it can be observed by different people in different
ways. Austen again uses the technique of emotive language to allow the audience to
empathise with how these two quotes have been portrayed with the use of different emotions
such as concern by Mr Woodhouse and a fake concern full of belittlement by Mrs Elton. We
also see the use of a rhetorical question which is a technique that in this context adds
disdain to her already belittling comment.
In the text a large scene where a lot of issues arise is the Boxhill scene. During the groups
expedition at Boxhill Frank suggest a game where they have to say one thing clever, two
things that are moderately clever or three things dull. When Ms Bates replies to this saying
she will have no problem coming up with dull things to say Emma loses herself in the
moment and makes a harsh comment stating that she is limited to say only three things.
After the rude remark a lot of the group disperse to go exploring and she is later confronted
by Mr Knightley who says I cannot see you acting wrongHow could you be so unfeeling to

Miss Bates. So insolent in your wit to a women of her character, age and situation. She
is poor Her situation should secure your compassion. In this quote we see Austen using
the techniques of instructive language and also a formal and serious tone. There is also the
use of a rhetorical question which enhances Mr Knightly serious and scolding tone.
In the three examples I have provided they are all different forms of how people perceive
different action, words, gestures and decisions made by others. They also show just how
much the eyes of society can pry on the lives of individuals like Emma and Jane.
Thankyou for listening.