Lavender's AP Lit Class Blog
Friday, October 14, 2011
Jane Eyre Essay
Although there are hundreds of topics i could decipher for Jane Eyre, I've come to realize that what truly interests me at the moment is the bigger meaning of the content. I'm interested in writing about the relationship between the literal meaning of the text and what Charlotte Bronte really wanted the reader to perceive. For example, at the end of chapter 23 we as readers acknowledge that the horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard has been struck by lightning and split in half. This acknowledgment is the literal meaning of what occurred in the text but if we take a closer look at the bigger idea, we infer that Bronte is perhaps foreshadowing that Jane and Rochester will split up since the tree where the proposal was made was split in half. I will find more examples of the bigger meaning obviously but for now that is one of my main ideas. This topic should be interesting since thinking beyond the literal meaning and finding connections can often be difficult as well as deceiving due to the wide variety of ideas. Good thing we talked about it in class.
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I think this is very interesting! I take this as you are basically analyzing the symbolism in the novel which is extremely prevalent. I think another good example of this that we never touched on is the pearl necklace that Rochester gives to Jane and keeps when she leaves. . .it is definitely a symbol of purity so just an idea.
ReplyDeleteDorsi,
ReplyDeleteThere is a time-honored tradition of doing just what you're proposing here--showing HOW the meaning of a work arises from its symbolism. But be wary, there's a lot of it in this book (and accounting for all of it might be too big a task for a 3 to 5 page essay). I think that by focusing on images of separation (the chestnut tree, the veil that is torn in two) you could make the case that Bronte is subtly suggesting the idea that there very definitely is an impediment to Jane and Rochester's marriage, even before we know what that is. There's a post further up on the blog that also addresses the role of the chestnut tree as symbol, and you might want to check out my comment on that one as well. This looks to be a well-focused (and fun) analysis, one I'm anxious to read!