Lavender's AP Lit Class Blog
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Limited First Person Perspective
The topic i would want to talk about in Jane Eyre is the limited first person perspective. What i mean by this is that we only see things out of Jane's perspective. What im trying to figure out is if its for the better good of the novel. i could argue that it is good that its only from Jane's perspective because most of the mystery and excitement comes from Jane trying to figure out things like Bertha and Grace Poole, going in the red room, the relationship between Jane and Rochester, etc. Then again i could argue that Jane's limited perspective is boring and could have been more exciting if there was a third person perspective because you could see what the other characters were thinking and their opinions on what's happening. Jane's perspective was a little bit too plain for me at times and maybe if we got different characters perspective then it would have been a more interesting read. At the moment im leaning over to the limited first person perspective is a bad thing, but im still deciding what would be a better argument.
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In my opinion, the first person perspective is vital to the novel. Without it, you would lose all of the intrigue and mystery. You would have found out about Grace Poole's mystery before Jane, it would have been a much less interesting book without it. But this is just my opinion and I think you could argue either way.
ReplyDeletePersonally i think that first perspective was one of the most important things in the novel. Yes i understand your point of view, that at times it might have been too plain or too boring, but it is also because of the first person perspective that the book was so mysterious which led to the intense ending. Like you said though, you can argue either way. Great topic choice by the way!
ReplyDeleteNathan,
ReplyDeleteThere is a post somewhere further up on the blog that also addresses the issue of first person narration (I can't remember whose it is just now). Check out my comments on that post, and then let me know if you need any further guidance in making the case that the 'isolation' of the first person narration (the very limited point of view) mirrors the isolation Jane often feels (even as it helps maintain the mystery that drives much of the novel).
This novel is an autobiography of Janes life. I feel that if there was multiple view points, the reader would find the novel not interesting at all. All of the mystery of the novel would be gone and I believe it would be incredibly boring. But thats just my opinion. With the 1st person narritave we are allwed to see and feel the way Jane does, which is a much more interesting read for the reader. A 3rd person perspective would have completely ignored Janes views and ideas and the reader would not have been able to connect and understand Jane. You could argue either way but do the side that has more evidence and that you personally believe is right.
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