At Gateshead Jane Eyre grew up with her malicious cousins and Aunt. This fictitious location is placed in a part of England north to London. The name Gateshead has significant meaning in the book. This location was the “gateway” to the rest of the world. Also, this is where Jane grew up, so evidentially it was the “head” or beginning of all her tribulations in life. Throughout the rest of the book, all that Jane has to deal with is linked back to her childhood there at Gateshead. Abused verbally and physically by her Aunt and cousins, Jane felt an outsider among her kinsmen. She was ostracized by Aunt Reed from the rest of the family. At one point when her Aunt became extremely oppressive, she locked adolescent Jane into the dreaded …show more content…
Reed. Even so, Bessie was the only motherly like figure in Jane’s early years of life. The years spent at Gateshead were difficult ones for Jane and the problems that she faced there forever changed her. The time that Jane Eyre spent at Lowood was a low point in Jane’s life, hence the name. Jane goes to describe the quality of life there. The food that the students must consume is often burnt and meager portions. Every girl must wear a matching straight cut dress, hair pulled straight back into an unbecoming fashion. Jane continues in further detail that Mr. Brocklehurst forced a young student to crop off her naturally curly hair because he claimed it was vain. This was oxymoronic because he and his family dressed in clothing of the highest fashion. Because conditions were poor at Lowood, Jane was often felt gloomy and discontent. Furthermore, when Mr. Brocklehurst falsely identified Jane is a scoundrel in front of the whole school, which Aunt Reed had relayed to him, Jane was profoundly wounded from it. Though Miss. Temple, the head teacher, put straight the incident Jane still held a deep rooted hatred towards Mr. Brocklehurst. However Jane did have a few blissful moments and friends during her stay at Lowood. Jane’s first true friend was Helen Burns. Being several years older than herself, Helen possessed a wisdom like none Jane had previously known. In the instant where Jane was chastised by Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen consoled her by saying “If all the world
I would love too go to Xavier High School’s HAP Program! I heard everyone is nice there and the faculty is great. The education is awesome and people are successful when they graduate. I would love to be part of that!
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’’.
In Louise Ederich’s book Tracks the story is told with two narrators. Having two narrators helps show you the two different points of views. That’s what make humans unique, the way we view things, the way we hear things and interpret things is different from anybody else. So we are reading two completely different forms of the story. Do we know if that information is reliable, well I guess that’s for you as a reader to figure out? Many different forms of literary devices were used very well in this book, but the use of Metaphors and Symbolism is what really stood out. One of the most important things in this book is survival, it plays a pivotal role in just about everybody’s life
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
As a young girl, she is essentially trapped in Gateshead. This sprawling house is almost her whole world. Jane has been here for most of her ten years. Her life as a child is
In the early stages of Jane's life she was a very autonomous girl. She grew up in a hostile environment in the home of Mrs. Reed and her three children, John, Eliza, and Georgiana that is known as Gateshead. The Reed family showed no love or any sort of affection towards Jane in any way, shape, or form; for they all despised her. She spent most of her time out of contact of others. The most contact she had with someone was a
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is presented in the Victorian Period of England. It is a novel which tells the story of a child's maturation into adulthood. Jane's developing personality has been shaped by her rough childhood. She has been influenced by many people and experiences. As a woman of her time, Jane has had to deal with the strain of physical appearance. This has a great effect on her mental thinking and decision making. Jane Eyre's cognitive and physical attributes have been affected by her environment throughout her life.
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
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre can be characterized in many ways as a variation of Cinderella. There are several versions of this popular fairy--tale. At the time Bronte’s novel was published, the Grimms’ book of tales, which included Cinderella, was very popular. According to Sally Mitchell, "The serious interest in folklore was spurred by the translation, in 1823, of the stories collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm." A version of Cinderella was also written by Charles Perrault. Both Perrault’s and the Grimms’ tales have a place in Bronte’s narrative. There is no specific evidence of her reading these yet, "Bronte could easily have known two versions of the Cinderella tale: the
Following this dramatic scene, there are many situations in which her individualism can again be sensed. During her stay at Lowood Jane is emotionally subdued and her personality is in many ways suppressed. It is not until after Miss Temple, the person that seemed to shine light on the school, leaves that Jane realizes the restrictions that she is under. It is at his point that she has the sudden urge to leave the confinements of the school, seek a job as a governess, and experience the “varied fields of hopes and fears,
The second issue raised in the novel is that of Jane’s isolation. Bronte utilises Jane to address isolation overtly, which was uncommon in Victorian literature. Jane openly refers to her struggles with isolation is due to her traumatic childhood. This feeling of loneliness is especially present while Jane lives with the Reeds as a child and when she enters Lowood boarding school. In the Victorian era and today, childhood is a fragile stage when bullying, peer pressure, and self-consciousness surge both at home and at school. Jane experiences terrible isolation and loneliness at Gateshead, her childhood home, she mentions, “I was a discord in Gateshead Hall; I was like nobody there; I had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children, or
Charlotte Brontё’s Jane Eyre stresses a variety of important premises. Three of the most important underlying themes in the novel are: prejudice, religion, jealousy. The prejudice aspect of the novel is seen most prominently. There are several notable examples, and Jane is witness to this notion throughout the novel. The first time Jane experiences prejudice is at Gateshead.
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
When the story begins, Jane is ten years old and lives with her aunt at Gateshead. She was constantly terrorized by her relatives. In her description of her life at Gateshead, she said, “John Reed was a schoolboy of fourteen years old, four years older than me, as I was but ten” (Brontë 12). His superiority in both age and size led him to constantly harass Jane while they lived together. Eventually, Mrs. Reed decided to send Jane to Lowood school where she would spend the rest of her youth. After being there for a bit of time, she stated,
In taking a peak at a current history lesson taught in a classroom, the common outsider will likely find nothing wrong with its content or presentation. They hear many famous names and key dates of the famous people and events of the past and do not bat an eyelash because they learned history in the same way. On the other hand, if a historian were to walk into that same classroom, they would be incredibly disappointed by the fact that students are not really learning how to practice history. Granted, they probably learned about history in the same way at one point or another during their educational careers, but that was in the past and this is the current day. As science, technology, and other subjects advance, why is the general public resolved to allow history to remain in the past? Is it not possible for history education to progress as well? The answer is yes, it is possible and it needs to be done. There is no doubt that students enter school with preconceived notions about history, which are often sustained by teachers as they present the subject in their classrooms, in direct contrast to how historians actually practice history; however, wrongs can be righted and historical analysis can be integrated into student learning.