Bunyan once in his book named Pilgrim’s Process described a place named ‘Vanity Fair’ where all kinds of vanity are sold, such as houses, lands, honors, preferments, titles,lusts, pleasures and delights of all sorts. As a matter of fact, we are living in such place today. We gradually become the participants of this fair and loyal followers of these hollow things. Espencially our modern grils’ changing view toward marriage, money and social status. They believe that they could easily live a life like a grand lady without making any efforts if they marry a wealthy man. As female college students, how to stick to our own belief and aviod being assimilated by the complex society, Thackeray’s novel Vanity Fair could give us a good instruction. Through the Rebacca’s attitude towards money, social status and marriage, I realize what is most important thing for a female.
Thackeray described the life of ruling classes of England in the early decades of the 19th century, and attacked the social relationship of bourgeois world by satirizing the individuals in the different strata of the upper society. Rebacca(becky) Sharp is a classic example of the money-grubbing instinct. Her only aspiration in life is to gain wealth and position by any means. Thackeray does not regard Rebacca as an exception. Everyone wishes to gain something in the Vanity Fair and acts almost in the same manner as Rebacca.
As an orphan, Rebacca’s birth can easily win our tears. It is an undenible fact that she is quite an ambitious and clever girl. As far as I am concerned, she could easily live a decent life with her own hand. However, because of the society and the innate deficits in her characteristics, she becomes very sophisticate and even tried to suduce her best friend’s brother so that she could win her place in the upper society and other’s admiration. However, for the people in the upper class, Rebacca’s humble birth cuold never be erased even though she married a rich man. In other’s eye, she was just a coquette who was quite good at suducing rich men. Why not use your own hand to create a bright future and win others’ true respect instead of relying on the man’s shoulder.
Rebacca liveed in a society which is ruled by money, everyone was crazy about money, Rebacca was no exception. She held the dream of living a life of a grand lady, wearing luxurious clothes and shining dimonds. In order to realize her dream, she used all kinds of immoral means to win the love of rich men. Finally, she got married with Rawdon Crawley, a good man who will inherit a large sum of money from her ant. However, the old lady refused because Crawley married Rebacca---a woman of low social status. Rebacca and her husband live a quite luxurious life in Pairs even though they could not make the both ends meet. Finally, Mr.Crawley was put in to prison because of heavy debets, while Rebacca started searching for another rich man who can pay for her luxurious bills. Rebacca betrayed her soul in the process of pursuiting money and gradually forgot the meaning of love.
Marriage is a holy thing in everyone’s life, but if you regard marriage as a good method of gaining money and improving your social status, you will suffer a lot from it. Although you live a decent life and gain other’s admiration,you may never be ture happy because you never know what is love and responsibilty. Rebacca’s marriage is a good example. She took a quite easy attitude towords marriage. Her marriage was just a method which helped her get in to the upper class and live a rich life. Ther is no wonder that she was so cruel to her husband and flirted with another rich man when her husband was in the prison. Here I want to mention another female----Amelia, a girl of simple mind. In Rebacca’s mind she was a fool. At first, she held the same view as Rebacca. Her husband’s death in the war made her become a sorrowful widow. Till one day Rebacca told her that her husband once asked Rebaccato run with him. Amelia was angry and married a man who has taken care of her for several years uncomplainly. Amelia is not a cold hearted women, although her dream of being a grand lady had vanished,but she experienced a life of being truly loved. While for Rebacca, she will forever lived in the Vanity Fair and never has the chance to experience this kind of love. In my eye , Amelia is wiser than her.
Rebacca is a tragic female during that period. Although this novel ended with a happy ending--- Rebacca got marriad with Amelia’s brother and inherited a large sum of money, liveed a grand lady’s life ---who dare to say that Rebacca will stop betraying her soul and keep away from Vanity Fair? I would like to give an advice to her and to the grils in our modern society: please keep always from Vanity, and take a correct attitude towards money, social status and marriage. Money is not every in our life. The improvement of our social status needs our own efforts instead of relying on others. Mrriage is a holly thing in our girls’ life, which requires our responsibility and loyalty. Or we will forever live in a hollow world and the dream of vanity will finally destory us.