David Morales
Mrs. Lopez
AP English IV
July 25, 2015
The development of Jane in novel can be seen through the people and places she stays/lives out throughout the course of her life. These people and places help her develop as person, and help Jane discover who she is. Jane's origins and upbringing help influence her future decisions and aspirations. Being an orphan in an abusive household then moving to a boarding school under poor conditions envelop Jane's young life. Becoming a governess at Thornfield, falling in love with Rochester, eventually running away and ending up at the Moor House, then go through the fallout of St. John and goes to Ferndean to rekindle the her relationship with Rochester. This envelops Jane's adult life and the
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In this part of the novel, we are introduced to Jane and the Reed family. Jane's time at Gateshead was rather unpleasant, oppressive, and cruel. The Reed family viewed Jane as a nuance and never treated Jane as her own. This can be seen in Chapter 2 when Jane is put in the red room and exclaims, “All John Reed's violent tyrannies, all his sisters' proud indifference, all his mother's aversion, all the servants' partially… Why was I always suffering, always browbeaten, always accused, for ever condemned?” (1) This shows the division and the apathetic nature of the Reed's family towards Jane Eyre. Jane describes her stay at Gateshead as oppressive, gloomy, and as a prison; especially at her stay in the red room. Though not all was bad for Jane at Gateshead. There were some supporting characters that helped nurture Jane through the dark, depressive times of her youth. This is shown in Chapter 4, “Christmas and the New Year has been celebrated at Gateshead with the usual festive cheer… I was, of course, excluded....” (2) Bessie comforted Jane during her red room stay and during her down times. As well as Mr. Lloyd, who listened to Jane and considered the idea to Mrs. Reed to put her in school. Her stay at Gateshead symbolizes the dark, unfortunate beginnings of Jane Eyre. It shows a child who is lonely and mistreated because of being born at the wrong place, …show more content…
This is one of the most difficult times for Jane in the novel. Begging, alone, and heart broken, she ends up the Moor House with the aid of St. John. The reader is met with character like Mary and Diana, St. John's sisters, and other inhabitants of the place. This is a time in Jane's life is one of the hardest because the search of identity and purpose. Her relationship with Rochester shows Jane's regret and embarrassment. This is shown in Chapter 29, “ I felt a burning glow mount to my face; for bitter and agitating recollections were awakened by the allusion to marriage.” (8) St. John has a powerful influence over Jane throughout the chapters at the Moor House. More developments occur that change Jane's status and image. Towards the end of her stay at the Moor House, she has a large inheritance and doesn't need to rely on St. John. In this point of the novel, Jane can achieve independence, but needs to break the control of St. John over her by she refuses to marry St. John, which distraught him. Though the voices of Rochester call her back, and by the end of the Moor House era, she was ready to live the life she wanted to
Jane begins her life in isolation at Gateshead, abused and misunderstood by her Aunt Reed and cousins. She is constantly reminded of her worthlessness to them and the fact that they view her as a burden, and is literally
In Part IV of “The Boys in the Boat,” Brown continues to elaborate on the challenges Ulbrickson and the boys were facing to find a perfect boat. He finally makes the boat with the addition of Joe Rantz. Now, Ulbrickson just needs to worry about Ebright’s crew that seems to the press to be doing great. Both universities race on Lake Washington and Washington sweeps the regatta. The boys now needed to think about their next journey. If all went well, then they would not be back until September(many months away). Washington recieved a magnificent sendofff to Poughkeepsie at the train station.
In the first few opening chapters Jane Eyre is seen as a mentally and physically abused child, during her years at Gateshead Hall. John Reed displays violence towards Jane in the first chapter. He punishes and bullies Jane; it is not known why the Reed family resent her so much. Her situation is seen as desperate within the first few paragraphs. Her cousins and Aunt make her life impossible and unbearable, she is not seen as a member of the family. Jane is simply seen as ‘’less than a servant’’ as she does ‘’nothing for her keep’’.
With these standards Jane feels she lacks equal standing, even with her romantic equal. And though she admits her love to him, she holds her desires back because of lack of confidence. She refuses his initial marriage proposal because of her own feelings. Though she finally finds a home in Thornfield Hall, she leaves her “delightful life” because she views herself as “poor, obscure, plain, and little... ” (290-291).
Furthermore, this demeaning and negative attitude Jane is exposed to is further instigated when her cousin, John Reed, expresses her situation by saying: "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us". The truth of Jane's unfortunate situation is expressed against her which results in her feeling no true support from this family and confides only in her childhood nursemaid- Bessie, who although behaves inconsistently and has “a capricious and hasty temper”, is the closest mother figure to her. Furthermore, the friction between Jane and John is further emphasised when the first physical aspect of violence is introduced to the reader through a graphic portrayal, further showing the ultimate rejection Jane experienced
Jane Eyre is a coming of age story following a young woman and her journey of self-growth. At the start of the novel Jane is living with her aunt and three cousins. They continuously abuse her, treating her like a stranger rather than a family member. At the age of ten Jane leaves her aunt's house and attends boarding school. It is at this school where she learns lessons of forgiveness and hope from a meek young woman named Helen Burns. Subsequently studying and teaching at the school for eight years Jane decides to become a governess at the mysterious Thornfield mansion. She falls in love with the owner of Thornfield and the two make plans to marry. Nonetheless on the day of there wedding Jane discovers that Mr. Rochester is already married and that he keeps his insane wife Bertha trapped away in the attic of Thornfield. Devastated by this information, Jane flees Thornfield and nearly dies from cold and starvation. Soon after she is taken in by the Rivers, two sisters and one brother. The passing of Jane's uncle reveals that she and the Rivers are cousins. It is also revealed that this uncle has left Jane all his fortune. This in turn leaves Jane extremely wealthy. Her cousin St. John Rivers ask Jane for his hand in marriage. However Jane comes to the conclusion that she still loves Mr. Rochester. After declining St. John's proposal Jane journeys back to Thornfield. When she arrives at Thornfield Jane discovers the mysterious mansion in burnt ruins. It is revealed that the
Throughout the book Jane Eyre, the protagonist Jane goes through a variety of stages in her life where the setting/environment of where she lives in forms a part of her character and who she becomes as a person. The first setting in the novel is the Reed family’s home in Gateshead, England. As an orphan with no parents, she is taken in by Mrs. Reed who promised the late Mr.Reed to take care of Jane. Playing the role of the “mean stepmother”, Mrs. Reed as well as all of her cousins John, Eliza and Georgiana treat her as if she was a lowly, undeserving girl. At the fragile age of ten, Jane develops an almost rebellious character and has a lot of anger built inside of her because of feeling wronged by the unfortunate deeds of the Reed family that drives her to become lonely and miserable as a child. Being locked up in the red room also gave her a superstitious side that also proves as a part of the prejudices that form around her when people don’t
After refusing to marry Mr. Rochester she leaves Thornfield with no destination. She turns up at the Moor House, the residents there are St. John Rivers and his sisters Diana and Mary. These residents Jane learns are her cousins. After having stayed there for quite some time, St. John starts to have feelings for Jane. In an attempt to hide his true feelings, he asks Jane to marry him for the sole purpose to be his missionary wife in Africa.
After Miss Temple left Lowood, Jane realized she needed to resign her position at Lowood and explore new possibilities of employment. Jane accepted a job as a governess at Thornfield, a manor six miles from Lowood. Immediately, Jane falls into a smooth career of instructing a young girl, Adele. As time passes, however, the growing affection between Mr. Rochester, Thornfield's owner, and Jane swells into a passionate love affair. Unfortunately, at the wedding, Jane was informed that Mr. Rochester is married to a lunatic. After the interruption, Jane prayed to God for solace. Jane was terribly reluctant to leave Thornfield, but strongly objected to Rochester's attempted bigamy and refused to consider living with him while church and state deemed him married to another woman. Jane's every desire and emotion yearned for her beloved Mr. Rochester, but her morals and strong faith lead her away from the manor. "I longed to be his; I panted to return" (Bronte 306) but "I knew what I had to do, and I did it mechanically." (Bronte 305) For days Jane wandered over unknown territory without a cent to her name and without the only love she had ever known. The only comfort she had was the unwavering belief that "God must have led [her] on." (Bronte 306) Dismissing true love and a life-long friend, is perhaps the ultimate sacrifice. Nevertheless, Jane stumbled upon Moor House and recovered from the tragic loss.
At Gateshead, Jane is a poor, lower class girl, lives with the upper class Reeds oppress and mistreat her. Jane does not relate to their worship of money and status; she values learning, reading, and equality. Jane feels isolated and abused , especially by her cousin John Reed: “Every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of my flesh on my bones shrank when he came near” (16). Jane’s exaggeration here emphasizes her terror and misery at Gateshead, where her lower class is the cause of this mistreatment. Growing up with no caring relationships, Jane becomes insecure in her class and thought she does not want to have the same morals as the upper class, she wants to be higher in class so that she can have more opportunity.
Jane's growth throughout the novel will reflect back to her childhood. B.F. Skinner, the psychologist, explains that "a person's history of environmental interactions controls his of her behavior." A person's behavior is followed by a consequence. The nature of the consequence modifies the person's tendency to change or repeat the actions in the future (Stanford Encyclopedia). Jane is nurtured by the people around her and the problems she encounters. Jane has lived a secluded life: isolated from family, isolated from luxury, and isolated from love. When Jane enters a new world of unexpected scenarios, she does not yet know how to react.
While at Gateshead, Jane is trapped by her relationship to the Reeds, which is reflected in the environment around her. At the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane states that “there was no possibility of taking a walk that day” (Brontë 6). This beginning immediately puts Jane in her own bubble and exemplifies that she has no other form of positive interaction in her life. Initially, Jane is “[connected to] the natural environment, but also separate[d from it] with an unnatural boundary” (Fuller 152). Thus, this begins the recurring symbolism of how Victorian women were held back by gender roles in society. During her time at Gateshead, Jane is restrained by her
The pivotal moment that affected Jane Eyre’s outlook on life was due to her harsh upbringing by her aunt and her cousins. It is first introduced to the reader that Jane was adopted by her kind Uncle Reed, and his family, while Jane was sent to the red room as punishment and she was pondering about the past in order to pass time. The red room was a chamber, with décor that was almost all red, which could be locked from outside. The reason Jane was sent to the red room was because she had lashed out at her snobby and obnoxious cousin John Reed that on a regular basis would torment Jane. After years of pent up anger and frustration Jane couldn’t take it any longer. On regular occasion, she was outcast by her own family, although only she was only blood related to her deceased Uncle Reed and partly to his children. Before he had passed, Jane’s uncle had made a promise with his wife that she would raise Jane as if she were one of her own children. But, as time went on the Reed family’s
Jane would not like to be poor as poverty is looked down upon and equivalent to being an immoral and degraded human being. For Jane to be a respectable woman in society she must remain with the Reeds. John acknowledges Jane’s dependency: “You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, momma says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg and not to live here with gentleman's children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at out mamma’s expense (14).” Jane is continuously reminded of her inferior position at Gateshead and powerless dependency to people that do not even love her. At this early age Jane has already been integrated into Victorian society as negative notions about the poor have been internalized. Born the daughter of a poor clergyman, Jane is believed to be of lesser value than the Reeds; however, she has passionate tendencies and is unable to control her emotions when necessary.When being abused by John and accusing him of being “like a murderer” (14) she is described as being a “picture of passion (15).” Jane must learn to temper her “fire” because untamed emotions have consequences. Her consequence comes when she is imprisoned in the red room, a visual representation of the intense emotions that have manifested in
Those living in the Victorian period,consider it normal to treat people with cruelty. As a child, Jane constantly faces oppression. Jane faces constant abuse while living with her aunt at Gateshead. Bronte illustrates this point through Mrs. Reed, the Aunt Jane is sent to live with, who says, “Take her away