Today’s Blogger:
(Who is typing today?)
Important Events:
(List the important events from each chapter of the reading you did for chapters 1-10. Talk about the significance of these events.)
Important Passages:
(List at least two important passages from chapters 1-10. Talk about the significance of these passages.)
Focus Questions:
(Discuss the questions below. Record your discussion/answer for at least three prompts/questions.)
1. Readers learn about Jane through her interactions with other characters. Discuss each character and describe him or her in a phrase. What feelings does Jane have toward each person?
- Mrs. Reed, John Reed, Bessie, Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, Miss Temple
2. Discuss what happened in the red-room. Describe this traumatic experience and discuss the way Mrs. Reed treats Jane. What Cinderella-like aspects of Jane’s life are revealed? Is Mrs. Reed’s treatment of Jane justified or natural?
3. Discuss your feelings toward Lowood, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Miss Temple. What does Jane gain from her eight years at Lowood? What is her ambition?
4. Discuss Jane’s relationship with Helen. Do they need each other? How are they alike and different? What does Helen teach Jane about suffering? How could this reflect the belief’s of the author’s era?
5. Mr. Brocklehurst believes that hardship builds strong character. What is your opinion of this point of view?
6. Discuss the challenges/trials Jane faces at Gateshead and at Lowood. What do we learn about Jane from her responses to these trials? How does she grow or change from these experiences?
Extra Time – Discussion Notes:
(Record any additional discussion. What did you find most interesting? Did you disagree about anything? Was something important realized? What literary terms did you discuss? What do you think about the characters and their actions? ETC…)
6 comments:
Today’s Blogger:
Claire
Important Events:
-Learn about Jane’s family
-Jane is traumatized by being in the red room
-Jane is sent to Lowood school
-Jane befriends Helen
-Helen dies
-TIME WARP
-Jane decides to leave Lowood after being a teacher for 2 years.
Important Passages:
P.33- Jane tells off Mrs. Reed for treating her badly
P.85- Jane realizes that without Miss Temple, Lowood is not as good as before
1. Mrs. Reed- Jane doesn’t like her because she treats her differently from her own children.
John Reed- Jane hates him and thinks he’s the most horrible person.
Bessie- Jane likes her better than everyone else, finds her a little harsh at first, but grows to appreciate her.
Mr. Brocklehurst- Jane doesn’t like him, and is afraid of him.
Helen Burns- Jane admires her bravery, sees some of herself in her.
Miss Temple- Jane likes her, thinks that she is what makes Lowood bearable.
4. They are friends because they are both in the same situation, they support each other. They are different because they think differently about trouble, Helen stands silent, but Jane would rather fight back. Helen teaches Jane to control her emotions when she is suffering, and to ‘love her enemy’. This reflects the era because it represents the view of how a good Christian would act.
5. Hardship does help build strong character, but it isn’t necessary to put people through hard times for that purpose. Most people have enough hard times on their own, and don’t need others to make them for the sake of building character.
Today’s Blogger:
Katherine
Important Events:
-Jane is put in Red-Room
-Jane is sent to school
Important Passages:
-pg. 21 Abbot discussing Jane
-pg. 32 Jane says she doesn’t love Mrs. Reed.
Focus Questions:
(Discuss the questions below. Record your discussion/answer for at least three prompts/questions.)
2. Jane is first confined to the Red-Room after she defends herself against John Reed. Mrs. Reed does not care about Jane’s reason for hitting her son, she just punishes her. In the Red-Room, Jane believes that she sees the ghost of Mr. Reed, freaks out, and starts screaming. Mrs. Reed calls Jane a liar, causing Jane to go into seizures. Mrs. Reed has no compassion for Jane, putting Jane on the same level as a servant instead of treating her like family.
4. Jane and Helen were not necessarily friends, but were in the same situation, and were able to relate to each other. Helen had a positive effect on Jane because she was able to calm Jane’s temper over time. Helen also taught Jane forgiveness. Jane teaches Helen to be more realistic about her situation.
5. Mr. Brocklehurst does not practice what he preaches, if he truly believed “hardship builds character” he would treat his daughters they way he does. He puts the girls of his school through many hardships, while his daughters live in luxury. As a group we think that hardship doesn’t necessarily directly build character, but the way one deals with the situation they are in does.
Today’s Blogger: Jennifer
Important Events:
Red-room incident
Jane is sent to Lowood
Helen dies
Important Passages:
”All said I was wicked, and perhaps I might be so: what thought had I been just conceiving of starving myself to death? That certainly was a crime: and was I fit to die?” (11)
“You are sure, then, Helen, that there is such a place as heaven; and that our souls can get to it when we die?” (82)
Focus Questions:
2. John Reed beat up Jane, and then Jane, after lashing out at John, was sent to the red-room by Mrs. Reed. In the red-room, Jane thinks she sees the ghost of the late Mr. Reed, who died in that room. Jane screamed, waking the others in the house. Mrs. Reed then sent her back into the red-room and locked her in, where she got sick. Mrs. Reed treats Jane as if she’s an infectious animal that needs to be kept away from her children. Jane’s life is Cinderella-like in that she is locked away by Mrs. Reed, for absolutely no reason. Mrs. Reed’s treatment of Jane is neither justified nor natural. John is the one who should be punished, and it is a natural inclination to comfort a child one he/she is hurt, not take them away from your sight.
3. Discuss your feelings toward Lowood, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Miss Temple. What does Jane gain from her eight years at Lowood? What is her ambition?
Lowood Institution is a place that is likely to kill a person if you are not completely healthy upon entering. The amount of food received is pitiful, and malnourishment will kill almost anyone who enters the building. Mr. Brocklehurst’s belief in simplicity and humbleness leads to most of the students dying, and he is just a cruel man, who uses his religion as an excuse to be cruel. Miss Temple is the only person who is nice and actually cares about the students. She alone takes the place of mother, teacher, companion, and nurse for her students. Jane learns from her eight years at Lowood how to be subdued, calm, and tranquil. She becomes disciplined and educated. Jane’s ambition is to become a governess, however this is only after Miss Temple leaves Lowood and leaves Lowood an awful place that Jane finds impossible to live in without her.
5. The view that hardship builds character is correct, but the way Mr. Brocklehurst uses this theory is extremely cruel.
Today’s Blogger:
Reilly!
Important Events:
1. The encounter with the ghost in the red room
2. Goes to school
3. She meets Helen Burns
4. Helen becomes ill and dies
5. Bessie comes back to talk to Jane. Jane figures out that her real dad came back to find her.
Important Passages:
“I’m glad you are no relation of mine… I will tell anybody who asks me questions this exact tale.” Marks family and emotional liberation (33)
“I was left there alone-winner of the field. It was the hardest battle I had fought, and the first victory I had gained.” Jane finally stands up for herself. (34)
Focus Questions:
2. Jane sees a ghost while sitting in the red room for her punishment. Jane experiances sickness, we think, because she had cried so much and freaked out. The way Mrs. Reed treats Jane is unacceptable. This part of the story is like Cinderella in the aspect that she is not really "in" the family and they definitely do not treat her like family at all.
3. We as a group really like Miss Temple. She treats everyone fair and teaches in a way that they will learn. Mr. Brocklehurst is a nut job. Lowood, at first, sounds dreery and strict. As the story went on, it seemed to brighten up and get better for Jane. In her eight years, Jane gained the knowledge to become a teacher, which is her amabition.
5. His beliefs are true, to a point. After a while, such strong beliefs can break a person down.
Today’s Blogger:
Elise
Important Events:
- Jane is unjustly punished for a fight with John
- Sees Uncle Reed’s ghost
- Mr. Brocklehurst comes to evaluate Jane for Lowood School, accepts her
- Mrs. Reed warns Mr. Brocklehurst Jane is a liar, after which Jane tells Mrs. Reed off
- Goes to Lowood School
- Drops her slate in front of Mr. Brocklehurst, who humiliates and punishes her in front of the entire school, he calls her a liar
- Becomes friends with Helen Burns and Miss Temple, who console her and tell her she’s not a liar, prove her innocence to entire school with letter from Mr. Lloyd
- Helen dies from Typhus fever
- Mr. Brocklehurst is relieved of his executive duties, conditions start getting better at Lowood
- After eight years, Jane decides to leave Lowood and become a governess at Thornfield Manner
Important Passages:
- “‘Unjust!—Unjust!’ said my reason.” (page 10)
- “Why was I always suffering, always browbeaten, always accused, forever condemned?” (page 9)
- “I now pass . . . eight years almost in silence: a few lines only are necessary.” (page 84)
Focus Questions:
(Discuss the questions below. Record your discussion/answer for at least three prompts/questions.)
3. Discuss your feelings toward Lowood, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Miss Temple. What does Jane gain from her eight years at Lowood? What is her ambition?
Lowood seems like an okay place, and the only reason it would be miserable is because Mr. Brocklehurst made it so. However it does seem a demeaning place to a person such a Jane, who has such high hopes and dreams. However, the reader is able to see that after a time Lowood grows on every character, as Jane soon finds it to be her safe haven, and says “I would not now have exchanged Lowood with all its privations for Gateshead.” (page 75)
Mr. Brocklehurst is a cruel man and is very conceited in his views. He likes to abuse the power he has and has no conscience when it comes to humiliating people.
Miss Temple is a sweet soul, and is the one who TRULY deserves executive authority at Lowood. She really does care about the children at Lowood and it shows in every single one of her actions.
Jane’s ambition is to become something where she should never need to truly rely on other people. At Lowood she gains confidence, independence, and hope in her future, and all of these help play directly into her goal of achieving something in life.
4. Discuss Jane’s relationship with Helen. Do they need each other? How are they alike and different? What does Helen teach Jane about suffering? How could this reflect the belief’s of the author’s era?
Jane and Helen care for each other dearly, and both need each other in the way that Jane looks up to Helen for an example of how to be strong, and Helen needs Jane as that everlasting support. They aren’t really that different from each other, as they both learn to see the world in the same way, where you must be strong in order to survive. Helen teaches Jane that suffering builds strength, and this may reflect on the author’s era where it seemed a lot like the Survival of the Fittest.
5. Mr. Brocklehurst believes that hardship builds strong character. What is your opinion of this point of view?
As a group, we DO believe that hardship builds strong character, because through life you learn from your experiences. Also, life is not all bunnies and sunshine, and if you don’t know how to last through a single hard thing, you really don’t know how to survive.
Group Post 1 - 12/1
Today’s Blogger: Alex K.
Important Events:
-Mrs. Reed sends Jane to the Red Room.
-Jane stands up to Mrs. Reed.
-Jane is sent to Lowood.
-Jane meets her first friend, Helen Burns.
-Mr. Brocklehurst publicly humiliates Jane.
-Ms. Temple has tea with Helen and Jane and later exonerates Jane for Brocklehurst’s accusations.
-Helen dies of consumption.
-Jane applies and is granted a job as a governess at Thornfield.
Important Passages:
-“Why was I always suffering, always browbeaten, always accused, forever condemned? Why could I never please? Why was it useless to try to win any one’s favour?” –Jane (9)
-“If you had such (poor relatives), would you like to go to them?” –Mr. Lloyd
“No; I should not like to belong to poor people,” –Jane (20)
-“I would not now have exchanged Lowood with all its privations for Gateshead and its daily luxuries.” –Jane (75)
1. Readers learn about Jane through her interactions with other characters. Discuss each character and describe him or her in a phrase. What feelings does Jane have toward each person?
- Mrs. Reed, John Reed, Bessie, Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, Miss Temple
-Mrs. Reed- Jane hates Mrs. Reed, her benefactress, and is treated poorly by her compared to Mrs. Reed’s children.
-John Reed- John is Jane’s cousin whom she hates as well. He uses his size and position in the family to torture Jane and get away scat free.
-Bessie- While first appearing sharp and strict to Jane, Jane soon after realizes that Bessie is the closest thing she has to a friend.
-Mr. Brocklehurst- The manager and financial supervisor of Lowood, he approves Jane’s arrival to Lowood. Jane harbors disgust for his arrogance and the public humiliation that he puts her through.
-Helen Burns- Helen is the first friend that Jane has while at Lowood. Clever, but disorganized, she often takes fault where no fault is due and dies at a young age due to consumption- with Jane at her side.
-Miss Temple- The superintendent of Lowood, she is a teacher but also a friend to Jane and Helen. She cares more about the children than herself, and often performs kind tasks to help the children. Jane loves Miss Temple, as one of her dearest friends.
3. Discuss your feelings toward Lowood, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Miss Temple. What does Jane gain from her eight years at Lowood? What is her ambition?
Lowood would be a very difficult place to live in, but we think that it definitely helped Jane with her development into a young lady instead of the maudlin girl that she began as.
Mr. Brocklehurst is a pompous fool! He knows nothing, and only acts on heresay over experience.
Miss Temple is a kind woman who is the role model for the children. She is incredibly motivating and works her best to please the children.
While at Lowood, Jane gains an education, friends, and a calmer composure. She uses this to proceed later on in her life as a governess. Jane’s ambition at Lowood was to improve her character and in some ways model herself after the calm and collected Helen.
5. Mr. Brocklehurst believes that hardship builds strong character. What is your opinion of this point of view?
We think that hardship is important for building strong character, but there is a point to where hardship is simply too hard. People should be challenged, but treated fairly and as equals. We need to build character, without destroying it.
Post a Comment