This is the prose part of our English Literature exam :D
* * *
Question:
"The characters in Jane Eyre experiences the tensions of passions and self-control."
Explore the methods which writers use to present those tensions to capture the readers' attention.
In your response, you should focus on Jane Eyre to establish your argument and you should refer to the second text you have read to support and develop your line of argument.
Answer:
The characters in Jane Eyre experiences the tensions of passions and self-control. This does not only apply to the main character who is Jane Eyre but also other minor characters.
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte – the authoress – has used different methods to present these tensions so as to capture the readers' attention. For example, Jane Eyre loses her self-control when she 'attacked' John Reed. Charlotte Bronte used Jane Eyre's bottled-up fury in order to unleash a side of Jane Eyre kept dormant until that fateful day when she yelled, '"Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer – you are like a slave-driver – you are like the Roman emperors!"' This rage also serves as a form of satisfaction for the readers that Jane Eyre has finally stood up for herself.
Secondly, Charlotte Bronte creates characters in order to present these tensions. For example, the creation of Helen Burns; Jane Eyre's first friend at Lowood School. She exercised a great deal of self-control in the school, like when Helen Burns does not take the initiative to explain to Miss Scatcherd that the reason why she had not cleaned her nails was because the water was frozen. Instead, she 'quietly, and without being told, unloosened her pinafore, and the teacher instantly and sharply inflicted on her neck a dozen strokes with the bunch of twigs'. Even so, she did not react to the pain and only let a tear escape when she was no longer in Miss Scatcherd's presence. This may infuriate some readers because detest for Miss Scatcherd has been born but also acts as an interesting aspect for them to read on.
Thirdly, Charlotte Bronte introduces love to create the tension of passion. This exists between Mr Rochester and Jane Eyre and captures readers' attentions because back in those times, a relationship between two people of two different social statuses was seen as impossible. Jane Eyre even reprimands herself in that sense, as seen on page 186 when she says: '"You a favourite with Mr Rochester? You gifted with the power of pleasing him? You of importance to him in any way? Go! Your folly sickens me,"'as well as when she says: '"It does good to no woman to be flattered by her superior, who cannot possibly intend to marry her; and it is madness in all women to let a secret love kindle within them, which, if unreturned and unknown, must devour the life that feeds it and, if discovered and responded to, must lead, ignis-fatuus-like, into miry wilds whence there is no extrication."' Readers would definitely be spurred to read on as this serves as part of the climax in which Jane Eyre must now decide how to cope with her budding feelings for her employer.
In the event that it is doubted that tensions of passion and self-control capture readers' attention, let me divert to Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, which serves as a prelude to Jane Eyre. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys creates tension by setting Antoinette Cosway and her family in the middle of a sort of racial community where she is very much disliked for being a 'white nigger' and, more frequently, a 'white cockroach'.
Jean Rhys also uses the similar method of introducing love so as to create passion. The two characters involved are Mr Rochester and Antoinette Cosway. However, unlike the scenario in Jane Eyre where the feeling of undying love is mutual, the love in Wide Sargasso Sea is purely one-sided. Even though Antoinette has agreed to marrying him, Mr Rochester does not respect his marriage. He even engages in amorous activities with Amelie, the help. This also creates possible tension in the readers, who cannot believe Mr Rochester would do such a thing.
Also, while in Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre is able to practice self-control when it came to choosing between staying at Thornfield Hall as Mr Rochester's mistress or leaving, in Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette Cosway was not as fortunate. The thought of another woman had served as a psychological trigger, unleashing the insanity she had inherited from her mother, Annette. This can be observed when Mr Rochester narrates: 'She lifted her eyes. Blank lovely eyes. Mad eyes. A mad girl.' It can be said that this turn of events caught readers' attentions and urged them to continue reading.
This goes to show that, as human beings, we are subject to the pain of passion and intense self-control when it comes to living our lives. We learn self-control to prevent hurting others and experience passion in areas of variety such as love and work. In a nutshell, we have to take hold of our desires and tame them so as to prevent unnecessary strain on ourselves, as is shown in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.
Marks: 33.5/40
~#~
Whoo~ This is my personal best, honestly. And I liked what I wrote too. Haha, that's the egoist in me speaking :P
CIAO!!
P/S: Please click on my Nuffnang ads :) Thanks!!
No comments:
Post a Comment