Jane Eyre
McCrum, Robert. “The 100 Best Novels: No 12 – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847).” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 9 Dec. 2013, www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/09/100-best-novels-jane-eyre.
How would you best describe the central idea of this chapter?
Which phrase from the chapter best helps develop the central idea?
The book Jane Eyre (published in 1847), describes the experiences of an orphan girl and her struggles with the class systems of her time. In the passage that I read, the narrator is in a school classroom when the headmaster of the school comes in, Mr. Brocklehurst. This school seems to be all female, and have extreme roots in religion and the church. There are many occasions where Mr. Brocklehurst comments on the corrupt nature of all the students' souls, and how religious purity is the only way to cure it. For instance, when Mr. Brocklehurst sees one of the young red haired girls with her hair left curly, he bursts out in anger, "Naturally! Yes, but we are not to conform to nature; I wish these girls to be the children of Grace: and why that abundance? I have again and again intimated that I desire the hair to be arranged closely, modestly, plainly." Mr. Brocklehurst, who acts as an extension of the church and its values in this passage, is arguing that modesty is the only path to achieving God's grace. This belief is reiterated all throughout the passage. Over and over the schoolgirls are ridiculed for the various ways that they are not "up to code" so to speak.
One pivotal moment in the passage was when three women, the wife and two daughters of Mr. Brocklehurst, walk into the room. They enter shortly after Mr. Brocklehurst had just finished ranting about the importance of simple, humble, and toned-down clothing. Our narrator then begins listing the countless elegant and expensive accessories and dresses that these women have on. This shows the reader that seemingly the only reason our narrator and the other girls have to bow to these extreme limitations is because they are young and confined to their school, which is essentially a part of the church given its administrative figures. These women are free from the bonds of low class life, freed from the bonds of the administration of Lowood, and thus free to make their own decisions regarding freedom of religion, and seem to be thriving all the more because of it.
As I said earlier, Mr. Brocklehurst openly stated that in hopes of maintaining piousness in all the girls, they must all follow all of his rules and regulations. Given the quiet and seemingly succumbing/defeated nature of the class, we were previously lead to believe that these values of religion and purity were shared by all except perhaps the narrator; however, even the rebelliousness of the narrator was in question at times. But as the passage progresses, we are eventually led to the line, "I could see the looks and grimaces with which they commented on this manoeuvre: it was a pity Mr. Brocklehurst could not see them too; he would perhaps have felt that, whatever he might do with the outside of the cup and platter, the inside was further beyond his interference than he imagined." What this reveals to the reader is that feeling of dissent and disapproval are most definitely present in this group of young girls. By saying that, "the inside [values and beliefs of these girls] was further beyond his interference than he imagined," our narrator is openly displaying to the reader how non consenting these teenagers are. Any part they currently play in advancing Mr. Brocklehurst's religion is solely forced, none of them are true believers. Given the chance, they would soon become just like the flamboyant and expressive women that were previously described, they are simply being chained down and controlled at the moment.
In this passage of Jane Eyre, themes of anti-religion are present throughout. It seems that during this time religious devotion was starting to become less and less prominent; however, there were still many in power that continued grasping for its previous power in hopes of using it to maintain their own. This time in history was one where the relationship between the church, the state, and universal societal values began to be questioned, and Jane Eyre does a great job at analyzing these massive societal shifts, all while keeping the lens through which her reader sees her argument relatively low key and relatable, I mean who doesn't relate to having an overbearing teacher figure.
Good job, Ryan! This blog starts out with a very decisive, perceptive introduction that sets the tone well and gives the reader the necessary information/background behind the text. Your use of language was very clear and purposeful. I agree with your explanations and points concerning the anti-religious perspectives and notions that were continuous throughout the passage, as well as your position on the importance of them. Overall, this blog was very direct, but well supported and explained. Well done.
ReplyDeleteHey Ryan, I liked the background information you included in this blog post. I liked your argument regarding the anti-religious thoughts and views, and thought that your consistency in mentioning this point aided in your overall blog. I thought your choice of textual evidence was also effective.
ReplyDeleteDespite not being able to pronounce "Jane Eyre", you did a solid job writing this blog. I enjoyed your clear structure in how you built your argument because it was easy to follow your train of thought and made the conclusion stronger. I feel as though your analysis on the effect of complete control on behavior was accurate and interesting. I also felt as though you did a good job of integrating quotes from the text to strengthen your point. Overall, nice.
ReplyDeleteGood work overall. I really liked how you contextualized the chapter to bring yourself and the reader to the central point you were trying to make. All of your analysis was spot on in my opinion, however the only small critic I have is to focus on the one and only, best quote (whichever one that might have been) at the beginning of your blog. I only say this as to satisfy the prompt and in reality I have zero issues whatsoever with what you wrote. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts and I can't wait to hear more of them.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how the blog started out with background information as to what was occurring within the chapter as it provided better understanding for the audience behind your overarching argument. Introducing the main point at the beginning and then extending upon it at the end was also very beneficial as it helped to redirect each paragraph in supporting it. Overall, good job!
ReplyDeleteYour blog was strong! I liked how you didn't just establish what the central claim was, but how it was made and what it added to the text as a whole. You did a good job with structure, and your voice made the post easy to follow. I would suggest you would connect that the depiction of the women in Mr B's family and the depiction of the female students is irony, and discuss why the author chose that specific technique (the way we do in Paper 2). However, I felt your post was strong without it, and your argument was well developed. Good job :)
ReplyDeleteRyan!! Superstar!! I really enjoyed your analysis and the way in which you answered the question. You very clearly outlined your thoughts and the argument which you developed, I thought it was really solid. You did a good job of including examples and support for your argument making everything very straight forward for the audience. Personally, I think your blog was really strong and enjoyable to read! Good job! :)
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog post. I enjoyed your analysis and use of outside information that you used in the answering of this question. I liked the formatting that you used because it made it easier to understand. Awesome job Ryan. -Jacob Poteat
ReplyDeleteI do like how you used a casual tone but managed to keep your points insightful. Nice job on providing support for your claims, especially those concerning Mr. B. Also nice job on addressing the context (time when written) because a lot of people missed out on that opportunity. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan!! I really enjoyed this post, as it gave me a new perspective on the chapter. Your claims were well supported, your thoughts flowed clearly, and your tone stayed consistent throughout the whole post. The only thing I would suggest for future posts is to add more links to the blog post, as this would further support your claims and give more information. Great job!!
ReplyDelete