In her novel Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen channels many of her perceptions of 18th century English society through her dominant and smaller characters. Austen unfailingly uses Mr. Bennet's sarcasm as a vehicle for the deception and spite rampant in such a community. While Mr. Bennet's teasing remains humorous and harmless in Volume I, his playful banter becomes mean-spirited and ruthless in Volume II. Instead of continuing to target foolish and unsuspecting individuals as he had done for his own quiet amusement, Mr. Bennet begins to victimize his undeserving family members; comments he considers only light-hearted and smile-inducing soon become irrevocably hurtful to his emotionally unstable daughters. The book's heroine, Elizabeth, who once appreciated her father's humor, is now surprised and offended by his senseless and unsupportive comments, and begins to wonder whether he is now approaching his duties as a father with the seriousness that his role requires. Austen shows Mr. Bennet's subtle but undeniable transition from comic teaser to callous bully through speech (and lack thereof), structurally simple sentences, and details that outline the repercussions of his actions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Austen uses words, or the absence of words, to shape Mr. Bennet's interactions with his most intimate relationships. Whether the effects of Mr. Bennet's speech provoke bewilderment or unconscious gratitude, the language he employs powerfully conveys his interpretation, and subsequent exploitation, of his associates' confessions. Using words that perfectly contradict his feelings, he has the ability to use sarcasm to ridicule, even just for fun, the expressions of those he is talking to. Following his wife's insistence that she visit Mr. Bingley, a young bachelor who recently moved into the neighborhood, Mr. Bennet exploits his wife's gullibility and presumption by mockingly responding, "You and the girls can go, or you can send them alone ". , which perhaps will be even better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may think you the best of the bunch." (ch. 1, p. 6) Mrs. Bennet, reacting exactly as Mr. Bennet had anticipated , agrees with her husband and feigns modesty. Although such an exchange is strictly humorous, Mr. Bennet's continuation of sarcastic diction in serious moments shows his inability to control the way he uses his words. At his daughter Lydia's request to " "follow" soldiers into the city of Brighton, Mr. Bennet's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, runs to her father in protest; such an action, she claims, will reinforce her sister's wild and immature behavior, thus jeopardizing the reputation of the whole family. In response, Mr. Bennet calmly expresses his inveterate mockery: “We will have no peace at Longbourn if Lydia does not go to Brighton. Let her go then... Fortunately she is too poor to be the object of prey for someone. In Brighton it will also have less importance as a common flirtation than it has here. The officers will find the women who most deserve their attention... In any case, she can't get much worse, without authorizing us to lock her up for the rest of her life. (ch. 41, p. 196) The implicit wit in Mr. Bennet's speech shows his inability to deal with the situation in a serious and reasonable manner, thus exposing his inadequacies as a father. Austen uses sentence structure and complexity to further describe Mr. Bennet as.