Jane Eyre Psychological Articles

Sexuality in Jane Eyre
-When Jane meets Rochester she feels blessed to have someone close to her. This is because she has never really had someone close to her in her childhood.
-This novel has a happy ending, although it started out rough.
-"Jane's childhood, her early relations with those loving or unloving to her, her position in the world and her degree of independence, her relative inexperience, her moral and religious values, her sense of belonging to a family, her relation to supportive females or female images . . . etc."
-This quote is saying that what her childhood and experiences were like, is what made Jane react how she did and behaved how she did towards the future.

Jane Eyre's Moral Choices
-This article is saying that Jane has multiple personalities.
-She is independent, she has good morals, she is emotional, intellectual, and committed.
-Jane's personality was formed by nature. Because of the things around her, she adjusted to them and that gave her her personality.
-There are times where Jane does something foolish, but this is just because it is what nature taught her to do.
-Because of her religion, it would have been best for Jane to stay away from Rochester when she left him since he was married. However, her feelings and nature kept her close to him.

Background to Jane Eyre
-Jane's characteristics are just like the author's (Charlotte Bronte).
-For example:

• Charlotte along with others in the family, were governesses. A governess is a woman trusted with the upbringing of a child. Jane was a governess as well.


• Both Charlotte and Jane went to harsh private schools when they were young.


• Both Charlotte and Jane later taught at the school they attended.


• Most of Jane's physical features were just like Charlotte's.

-Many things about the girls' background are similar, and the two are similar as well. So since they both had tough childhoods, they both grew up to be so strong and independent.

Bibliography!

Benvenuto, Richard. "The Child of Nature, the Child of Grace, and the Unresolved Conflict of Jane Eyre," ELH 39, no. 4 (December 1972): pp. 631–633. Quoted as "Jane Eyre's Moral Choices" in Harold Bloom, ed. The Brontës, Bloom's Major Novelists. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BMNBron17&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 13, 2011).

Bloom, Harold, ed. "Background to Jane Eyre." Jane Eyre, Bloom's Guides. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BGJE003&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 13, 2011).

Maynard, John. Charlotte Brontë and Sexuality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984): pp. 143-144. Quoted as "Sexuality in Jane Eyre" in Harold Bloom, ed. The Brontës, Bloom's Major Novelists. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BMNBron22&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 7, 2011).

Jane Eyre: Approach

Psychological Approach:

I think that the forces motivating Jane is the fact that she had an evil aunt and was sent off to school. Everyone treated her like she was not good enough, so she tried her hardest to prove that she was good enough.

Jane's behaviors she has that are conscious are independence and headstrong. She always thinks that she has to do things on her own and she has to be strong.

One huge behavior Jane has that is unconscious is love. She unwillingly falls in love with Rochester. She can not help it and she does not think about it.

The unconscious conflicts between Jane and Rochester is falling in love. Jane did not want to fall in love with him and Rochester was already married, so that is a conflict.

Jane's behavior is very plausible. This is because of her background. She was taken care of by her cruel aunt, and she was also sent off to school so she was miserable. That forced her to be headstrong.

The only character that is a recognizable psychological type is Rochester's wife Bertha. She is crazy, but it never states what disease she may have.

A psychological approach would account for different reactions in male and female readers because they behave and think differently.

The work reflects that the author might have had a rough childhood and that forced her to be headstrong.

Jane's behavior reveals that she has a strong psychological state.

The work reflects the author's unconscious dimensions of their mind because she probably was not thinking when she wrote about being strong or falling in love.

If the reader had a tough childhood then they could relate to the story or if they fell in love with someone they did not think they should.

That is the type of approach I would have used if I wrote the story Jane Eyre, and a few follow up questions.

Jane Eyre #11: Major Conflicts

Major conflicts of a story can very well lead up to the story's climax. Or a major conflicts can be the climax itself. In Jane Eyre there were many conflicts that the main character Jane ran into. Starting off the novel, the author Charlotte Bronte has Jane living with her aunt, Mrs. Reed. This is a conflict because Mrs. Reed is evil and very cruel to Jane. Jane cannot wait to get out of that house, and she is actually thrilled when she finds out she is being sent off to school. Everything goes well at Lowood school, and later on Jane becomes a teacher there. After two years at the school Jane accepts a job also teaching at a manor called Thornfield. This is where Jane runs into another conflict. While teaching at Thornfield, Jane falls secretly in love with her employer, Rochester. This is a conflict because Jane knows that Rochester would never marry her because of her social class. And then Rochester brings home a woman named Blanche that everyone thinks he will propose to. Surprisingly enough, Rochester instead proposes to Jane. Shocked, Jane said yes not knowing about Rochester's little secret. He is married to a woman that had gone mad. This is the biggest conflict of all. Jane does not know how to deal with this so she just runs away and does not marry Rochester. A few years later Jane hears that his wife had died in a fire she made. So Jane rushed to see him and they then got married. Throughout the book Jane faced many conflicts. But because of her independence and strength she overcame them and in the end everyone was happy.

Jane Eyre #10: Main Character

The definition of a main character, or protagonist, is the main person in the story who receives most of the attention and is sometimes considered a hero. In the novel Jane Eyre, the main character matches the title. The main characters name is Jane Eyre. She starts out as a little girl living with her evil aunt, then she goes out into the world and finds a job and family. The first characteristic Jane had that stood out to me was independence. She was never pushed around, and she could handle herself on her own. There are several examples from the novel that proves this. First is when Jane is sent off to Lowood school. She is all alone at this school but she sucks it up and finds at least one friend. Soon after that is another sign of independence and strength; Jane's new found friend dies from an epidemic at the school. She is alone once again. Then after getting out of that school, Jane finds herself out on the streets. She learns to take care of herself even though she does not have any money. She survives and later finds a job. So this series of events show how independent Jane was in her times of weakness. She was strong and self-sufficient, and that got her through a lot. That is the main character traits that I saw in the main character Jane.

Jane Eyre #9: Tone

The author's tone, or attitude of a novel is very important. It shows how the author feels and it effects the feelings and opinions of the reader as well. In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte shows a numerous amount of tones or attitudes that she has about her novel. The very first one that I noticed was independence. I saw this tone in the very beginning of the story, and I noticed it because of the main character, Jane. She is very independent. She does not let anyone push her around and she gets by on her own. She always thinks like that and it shows. Another tone that I saw was romance. Bronte's writing was very romantic. There was always someone falling in love. Especially Jane. She found friends, family, and the love of her life. This tone was set towards the end of the story, but the tone was very strong. The tone was also sad and depressing at times, especially in the beginning of the story when she is mistreated by her aunt. And also when she is sent to the orphanage. Therefore, those are just three tones that I noticed Bronte set. There are many more throughout the story.

Jane Eyre #8

If a classic novel is written, this novel's history must be reflected accurately. In the novel Jane Eyre, Bronte does an excellent job with the history. The main difference between back then when the novel was written and now, is the social classes. Back then there were social classes depending on how much money you had or how much land you owned. Now, it does not really matter how much money you have or how much property you have. All in all people are somewhat treated the same. We do not have slaves and we do not abuse and neglect the people that do not have as much money as us. Back in the 1800's there were social classes everywhere. For example, when Jane was sent to an orphanage, she was treated very poorly. This is because orphans are a much lower class so they were neglected. As for blacks and whites, that was not really noticeable in the novel. Also, the rights that women had compared to men did not seem that different. They could own land, however I am not sure if they were allowed to buy it. So the history was reflected accurately because there were social classes back then.

Jane Eyre #7

When writing a novel, the author must use techniques to keep the reader reading. A few examples of techniques that authors use would be: suspense, mystery, persuasion, and many more. I believe that Charlotte Bronte used suspense when writing the classic novel Jane Eyre. As I said in my earlier blogs, the story line is amazing. There was a twist at every corner and it kept my wanting to read more. That is a key technique to making a novel classic or timeless. A great example of suspense is when Rochester proposes to Jane. No one expected that coming, especially Jane. This is because a few days earlier Rochester brought home a different woman named Blanche and everyone expected Rochester to propose the her. Then there was a twist in the plot and he proposed to Jane. After this happens, the readers feel the need to keep reading to find out what Jane will say and what will happen next. Coming up after that, Jane says yes and it is their wedding day. Everything is going how it is planned until Jane is informed that Rochester is married. That is the biggest suspense of all. So the wedding is called off and Jane runs away. No one expected that to come. And after that the readers want to keep reading to see if Rochester and Jane ever see each other again. Therefore, Bronte used the technique of suspense, and she did an excellent job of using it.

Jane Eyre #6

If you want a novel to be a classic, it must be timeless. Classic and timeless mean pretty much the same thing; a piece of work that is never forgotten. People are always talking about it, even if it is hundreds of years after it is published. A novel can be timeless for many things. I think that Jane Eyre is timeless for many reasons.

The first reason is because of the novel's characters. The main character, Jane Eyre, is incredibly timeless. This is because of her traits and characteristics. She is a great role model for any women that reads this novel. Jane is independent; no one pushes her around, and she does what she wants and she tries as hard as she can to reach her dreams. She can do all of that because she is intelligent. So the protagonist Jane does a huge part to making the novel timeless.

The second reason as to why this novel is timeless, is just because of the the plot. I think that this story line is amazing. There is a twist at every corner and it kept me wanting to read more. That is significant in a classic novel; it really makes it timeless.

Jane Eyre #5

In the novel Jane Eyre, I noticed that there were behavioral issues, social issues, and a symbolic and thematic significance. In Jane Eyre there were several characters that seem to have behavioral issues. The character that stood out to me the most with behavioral issues was Bertha. I believe this is because she was crazy. She often acts like an animal when she crawls around on the floor and growls at people. She also started a fire at Thornfield. Obviously this is a behavioral issue because no human being should act like that.

There were also one or two social issues in this novel. Jane was wanting to marry Rochester, but because she did not have a very high social class and she was working for him, she know that that would be impossible. Then Rochester brought Blanche home. Jane thought for sure that they would get married because of her social class. This also shows how naive people were back then, and that is also a behavioral issue.

As for the symbolic significance, it is mainly about love. Even though there were many obstacles for Jane and her love, she found a way through it. She was a strong woman, she was intelligent, and she was independent. And in the end everything turned out great for her. So it is symbolic because Jane Eyre is an excellent role model for any young lady that reads this novel.

Jane Eyre #4

Somehow, someway, there is always a hero in a novel. In the novel Jane Eyre, I believe that Jane Eyre is the hero. She is a hero for herself. Her heroism is one of independence and intelligence. As an orphan she is clearly unhappy, but she sticks through it. When she is sent to school she is independent, especially when she loses her only friend, Helen. She is strong and holds herself together. Even when the typhus epidemic, she struggles through it. This shows that she really is a hero. She finds herself many jobs as a teacher, and after working at Thornfield, she finds herself out on the streets. Jane fends for herself and overcomes her hunger and being broke. Eventually she finds a job and her employer just so happens to be her cousin, St. John Rivers. He informs Jane that her uncle passed away and he left her 20,000 pounds. She also encounters Rochester again, and they get married since his wife passed away as well. They have a baby boy and everything turns out great. Everything turns out great for Jane because of how tough and independent she was. She was definitely her own hero and she showed in numerous times throughout the novel.

Jane Eyre #3

I have come to notice that the universal theme of Jane Eyre is extremely similar to Wuthering Heights. The theme of Wuthering Heights was that with love there are obstacles. But if you are truly in love, it was always find a way. I believe that this is the exact same theme as Jane Eyre. In this novel Jane finds love with her employer, Rochester. At first she decides to keep her love a secret from him. Surprisingly, Rochester brings home a woman named Blanche Ingram. This is an obstacle that Jane must overcome if she really loves Rochester. Jane thinks that Rochester will propose to Blanche. Surprisingly again, he does not. Rochester then turns around and asks Jane for her hand in marriage. Jane is so surprised, but of course she says yes. As they are in the midst of their wedding, Jane is informed that Rochester is already married. He got married in Jamaica to a woman that had gone crazy. So there is just another obstacle that their love must face. Later on there is another fire at Thornfield, and because of the fire the crazy woman, Bertha, lost her life. That is another obstacle that they got over. Then they got married, gave birth to a son, and they lived happily ever after! Therefore, the theme is that love can make it through anything. There might be speed bumps or road blocks, but in the end it all works out right.

Jane Eyre #2

When it comes to the novel Jane Eyre, there are a numerous amount of gains and loses. There are gains, but most of them do not show up until a little later in the novel. Jane starts out the story as an orphan. So that right there is already a loss. She lost her family and now she has to live with someone else who does not treat her right. Then Jane is sent of to school. That could be counted as a gain because Jane is getting away from her so called "family". When she is at this school she meets Helen Burns, who becomes her friend. But, with a gain, sometimes comes a loss. Later on Helen dies from a typhus epidemic that swept the school. Helen was Jane's only friend at the school, and Jane spent the rest of her years there lonely. After the school, Jane finds a job as a teacher of Adele. Rochester is the man that gave her the job, and she later comes to find that she has fallen in love with this man. That is gain, but as I pointed out earlier in the blog, with a gain, comes a loss. Rochester did ask for Jane's hand in marriage, but she soon finds out that Rochester is married and he has been hiding his crazy wife on the third floor of Thornfield. In the end, there was a fire and his wife dies, so Rochester and Jane get married. This gain is a cause to another gain, a little baby boy. Therefore, there are many gains, causes, and loses in this novel.

Jane Eyre #1

The perspective of a novel is the author's point of view in which it was written. The novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, is in first person. Also, the narrator of the story is Jane Eyre. So it is from Jane's perspective. I know that the point of view is first person because in the story Jane uses words such as I, me, my, and mine. As for attitude, an author's attitude in a novel is much like the author's tone. Bronte's attitude or tone in this novel is very romantic. There are a number of people falling in love and asking one another to get married. Early in the novel after Jane is sent of to school and she becomes a teacher there, she gets a different job teaching Adele. Jane's employer, Rochester, is a man she falls in love with. So that is an example as to why the tone is romantic. Also very early in the story, the attitude seems to be more gloomy and depressing. It is depressing because in the beginning Jane is an orphan and she is mistreated as she is being raised. Then she is sent of to school where the lifestyle is hard and strict as well as a few of the teachers. After that things get a little bit better for Jane but as of the beginning of the story, the attitude set was gloomy and depressing.

Wuthering Heights #11: Major Conflicts

There is always something going wrong in novels; there are conflicts. These conflicts usually lead to the climax of the novels. In Wuthering Heights but Emily Bronte, there are quite a lot of conflicts. The first conflict and certainly the biggest conflict, would have to be when Catherine Earnshaw agrees to marry Edgar Linton. She does this even though she is in love with Heathcliff. Catherine just marries Linton for his money and social class. Also, Heathcliff is very immature and does not have as much money or social class as Linton. So because of this decision, it causes a conflict between all three of them. And Heathcliff automatically wants to get revenge on Linton for stealing the love of his life. Then, on top of everything, Catherine passes away. This adds to the stress and bitterness of Heathcliff. This makes the biggest conflict of all mainly because Heathcliff spends the rest of his life trying to get revenge on Linton, and this eventually leads to his death. So he spends his whole life caught up on revenge. The conflict between Heathcliff, Catherine, and Linton is just one of many. But it is definitely the biggest conflict of all because it goes on all throughout the novel.

Wuthering Heights #10: Symbolism

Symbolism is when the author uses an object to express a deeper meaning in the story. With novels, come symbols. Symbolism is a key part of a classic novel. The readers look for symbols in everything they read. When I read the classic novel Wuthering Heights, there were just a couple of symbols that I noticed.

The first symbol that stood out to me were the moors. The moors as I discussed in an earlier blog, they are a type of landscape that are always described in the novel. The two love birds Heathcliff and Catherine always went to the moors together and played when they were little. So in a way these moors that they played in were symbolic because it was a part of their loving relationship.

The second symbol that stood out to me were the ghosts. There seemed to be a lot of ghosts showing up in this novel. One ghost appears early in the novel, the ghost of Catherine that Lockwood sees. Another ghost appears near the end of the novel, the ghost of Heathcliff that all of the villagers see. These ghosts may be fake or real, but either way they symbolize how the people that died still linger in everyone's memories.

Wuthering Heights #9: Tone

In literature, the definition of tone is the author's attitude that is seen in the story. When writing, one must add a tone to their work. There can be a numerous amount of tones in a novel. But in this novel, I only noticed a couple of them. As for Emily Bronte when writing Wuthering Heights, her tone seems rather gloomy. I think it is gloomy because of the characters. A lot of these characters are never really happy and they are always seeking revenge. It is also gloomy because of all of the events that happen throughout the novel, like all of the deaths that take place. Bronte's tone also seems quite tragic because of the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff that never works out. This is all just in about the first half of the novel. Her tone changes towards the second half of the novel. In the end Bronte's tone seems to be more interested and happy. This is because of the new relationship between Catherine and Hareton, and because they are happy as well. Things work out a lot better than they did in the beginning of the novel. So that explains Bronte's change of tone. And those are the couple of tones that stood out to me in Emily Bronte's novel.

Wuthering Heights #8

Reflecting history accurately can be difficult. However, I feel the author Emily Bronte did quite well reflecting history in her novel Wuthering Heights. Back in the mid 1700's to 1800's (the time period this novel was written in), people's social class was very important to one another. An excellent example to show how the history was reflected was when Catherine decided to marry Edgar Linton. The only reason she married him was to be socially advanced, and also to be wealthy. Being in a high social class was extremely important to people back then.

As for any types of discrimination of that time period, people were quite racist against women. Women never had close to as many rights as men did. They could never buy or own property. If land was to be inherited it, the son would inherit it. Just like the Earnshaw manor. After Mr. Earnshaw died, Hindley inherited the property. And when Hindley died, Heathcliff inherited the property even though he was not a part of the family. Catherine could not inherit the property no matter what. This novel is great at showing what times were like back in that time period. The econmy was extremely different and so were the rights that people had.

Wuthering Heights #7

A numerous amount of things come to mind when I think about techniques that the author may use. One technique that I noticed in Bronte's writing was suspense. Suspense is always a good technique to use to keep the reader interested. If you use suspense the reader will keep on reading because they will want to know what happens next. For example, the complicated relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine can be suspenseful at times. When Catherine agreed to marry Edgar, the readers would want to keep reading to see why Catherine agreed to it and what Heathcliff's reaction would be. Also, after seeing Heathcliff's reaction readers would want to keep reading to see what Heathcliff would do to get revenge.

Another technique used by Bronte would be symbolism. Symbolism is when the author uses an object to express a deeper meaning in the story. One symbol in this novel would be the moors. Moors are a type of landscape that always describe the setting in Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff and Catherine would often play in the moors as children. In this way the moors are symbolic because this adds to their love affair that the two had. These are just a couple techniques that stood out to me in Bronte's writing.

Wuthering Heights #6

One reason classic novels are so classic is because they are timeless. No matter how old they are people still read them because they are so good. I think that Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights is timeless for many reasons. The main reason I think is because of its universal theme. The theme is about love and how hard it can be to handle. About its obstacles but it always works out. This novel is timeless simply because the theme is. Any age group in any time period can relate to this theme.

The main character Heathcliff is timeless pretty much for the same reason. His traits and actions that he take are relatable to many of the novel's readers. He gets heartbroken because of love and then he out to seek revenge. This happened often to people back then and people today as well.

After reading this novel we can learn what love can really be like. You can hit obstacles and not make it through them, or you can hit them and make it through. This can also make your relationship stronger. We also may learn that it is not always best to be revengeful. It might not turn out how you had planned.

Wuthering Heights #5

To start off, the time period of the stories Nelly told was in the mid 1700's in Yorkshire. The behavior and social issues of that time was a lot different than this time period. For example of behavior, people back then were much more polite to strangers. I noticed many different times that people were being invited over for dinner, having pleasant conversations, etc. You do not see too much of that happening with strangers today. As for social issues, the major one I found was Catherine Earnshaw agreeing to be engaged to Edgar Linton. This can be a social issue because Catherine was greedy and wanted money, and most of all she wanted social advancement. I do not think that this happens as much as it does in our time period than it did back then.

Symbolic and thematic significances are key to a novel. This novel had one symbol that really stood out: love. Some hearts were broken throughout the novel and because of that, it made an interesting story. Also, it is not always the best idea to seek revenge. It does not always turn out how you think it will. And much like the theme, love is tough and hard to handle. There will be obstacles but it will always be worth it.

Wuthering Heights #4

Most novels always have a hero in their story. When reading Wuthering Heights, there really was not a hero that I noticed. Also, the protagonist of the story is usually the hero of the story. Heathcliff is the protagonist of this story, but he does not really show any heroic characteristics. Although, he is the most heroic character in this novel. So I guess if I had to I would choose him to be the hero. As for his traits, the two that stood out to me were revengeful and miserable. He is always seeking revenge. For example, on Edgar Linton for marrying the girl of his dreams. Then he is also miserable because he did not get to marry Catherine. The only accomplishment that Heathcliff accomplished would probably be getting his revenge. The only thing that I think Heathcliff represents as a hero would be revenge, since he is so keen on seeking it. He also seems evil because he is so cruel to many people. This never would have happened if he would not have gotten his heart broken. But because it did, it made him the man he was. Even though Heathcliff was not much of a hero, he might have made a good villain.

Wuthering Heights #3

Every novel that is written must have a universal theme. The authors have a lot of thinking to do. In the novel Wuthering Heights, there is one universal theme that really stands out to me. The theme is that love is tough at times. There will always be obstacle you will have to go through. But in the end it will be worth it. Just like Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship. There were very many obstacles for the two and that resembles many relationships. So Bronte did a good job with the theme because many of the readers could relate to it.

As for human nature, I think that Emily Bronte understood that very well. Revenge is one of the many things that are common in human nature. Bronte noticed that and put a lot of revenge in her novel. She also knows that greed is in human nature. So when Catherine decides to marry Edgar, it is out of greed because she just wants money and to be in a higher social class. She chose money over love. And many humans make that mistake. Humans make mistakes in general and Bronte did an excellent job of adding that human nature in her novel.

Wuthering Heights #2

The causes, gains, and loses are a big part of a novel's plot. These are the things that lead up to the climax, or it could even be the climax. In Wuthering Heights, there numerous amounts of causes, gains, and loses. When I think about causes and loses, I automatically think about Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Heathcliff and Catherine were madly in love, but for some reason Catherine agrees to marry Edgar Linton. She does this because she wants to move up socially, even though she is in love with Heathcliff. There seem to be many deaths throughout this novel. Many people pass away, but one important death was Catherine Earnshaw. She died while giving birth to her only daughter. She was named after her mother, Catherine. This was a major lose because one of the main characters lost their life.

Now, trying to find some causes and gains in this novel was a little bit harder than the loses. I believe that all love is a gain. And there were a lot of people falling in love. Heathcliff and Catherine started it all, but that did not turn out too great. One couple that did turn out great was towards the end of the book. Hareton Earnshaw and Catherine Linton fall in love and it does turn out great. There are actually several gains. This is just one.

Wuthering Heights #1

When writing, it tells a lot about the author's values and attitudes. In Wuthering Heights, I noticed a lot about Emily Bronte's attitudes. She seems very serious when it comes to writing this novel. She is humorless; there is nothing funny just seriousness. Just like the protagonist of the novel, Heathcliff. In the beginning of the novel Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship or love is almost like a tragedy and her attitude is unhappy. She also has many values towards love because of their relationship. Therefore, Bronte shows a lot of values in her novel.

Moving on to Bronte's perspective in the novel. Her perspective is quite gloomy. It is not really depressing, but it is not really uplifting or happy. As I said earlier in the blog, Bronte has an attitude that seems unhappy. Another definition of perspective would be the point of view that the author is writing from, and who the point of view is coming from. In this case, Bronte's perspective is from Mr. Lockwood. So she is narrating through him. The point of view would be first person. I noticed this early in the novel because I saw words such as I, me, my, and mine.

Bronte showed many different values and attitudes. She also had many different perspectives as well.

"Why Read the Classics?" #8

The reader's reaction is very important if an author wants to get good reviews on their essay or whatever they are writing. My reaction of Nabokov's "Good Readers and Good Writers" was not so good, but my reaction of Calvino's "Why Read the Classics?" was a lot better. Nabokov's writing was a little negative, so that made my reaction towards it negative. Calvino's writing was more positive, therefore my reaction was positive as well. I really enjoyed reading this essay and it made me want to pick up a classic novel and read it. Since this essay was very logical (so it makes sense that I had a logical reaction towards the essay), I feel like I have more knowledge when it come to classical novels. This will come in handy when I continue to read the novels Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I feel that the essay "Good Readers and Good Writers" will help me with my reading and writing, I just do not like the way the help was provided. However, "Why Read the Classics?" will also help me. It will help me with my reading and it will also help me with comprehending classic novels. As opposed to Nabokov's essay, I enjoyed reading this one. So you could say I am a fan of more logical type essays.

"Why Read the Classics?" #7

When it comes to writing essays, novels, short stories, etc. there are a lot of decisions to make. The authors of these writings have to choose things like the point of view, the plot, the characters, the setting, and the theme that they want to send out to their readers. Italo Calvino knew he had a lot of authority when he decided to write his essay "Why Read the Classics?". Although, he does not have to make as many choices. Since this is a fictional and also an informational essay, he did not have to choose the characters or the setting. The plot and the theme are extremely similar to the title of this essay. Calvino decided to make the plot about reading classic novels, and why. It tells you that just in the title. After deciding what he wants his essay to be about, Calvino gets to choose the theme of the essay. I think that the theme or message was that reading the classics is a really good decision. After reading the essay I feel that reading the classics will be better for me in the long run, and I will never forget them. The point of view is also a decision made in the early stages of writing. Calvino chose to use first person. I know this because he uses words such as I, me, my, and mine.There is a huge amount of authority for the author. Without the author, there would be no essay or novel. After all, you can not spell authority without author!

"Why Read the Classics?" #6

Defining a Word or Phrase, Turn About, Asking Questions, Using an Anecdote, Using Quotation, and the Funnel Method are the six methods used to organize introductions. If it is possible, the introduction must be the whole first chapter. The title of the first chapter is "Why Read the Classics?" so that must mean that the whole chapter is leading up to what the essay is about. The method used in the introduction is Defining a Word or Phrase. I can tell that it is Defining a Word or Phrase easily just because of all of the definitions given by Calvino. Defining is a good idea because telling the readers what the definition of a classic is will interest them and they will want to read on.

As for the conclusion of the essay, it is extremely similar to the conclusion of "Good Readers and Good Writers". Neither of these essays really have a strong conclusion. Calvino's conclusion just talks about a Russian author named Tolstoy. This really has nothing to do with his whole essay, which is about reading classics. He talks about how Tolstoy thinks outside of the box, and somehow that can relate to the classics because they are unique. And that is what makes them classics.

"Why Read the Classics?" #5

Functional, logical, chronological, and spacial are the four terms that come to mind when talking about the organization of one's essay. Organizing is important to do when writing an essay. It helps with the flow of the essay and makes it easier for the readers to comprehend the theme. I believe that Italo Calvino organized his essay "Why Read the Classics?" using logical organization. I believe this because he is using logic to inform the readers. He is using logic by giving many definitions. Here are just a few examples of definitions in the essay: "9. Classics are books which, the more we think we know them through hearsay, the more original, unexpected, and innovative we find them when we actually read them.", "10. A classic is the term given to any book which comes to represent the whole universe, a book on a par with ancient talismans.", and "12. A classic is a work that comes before other classics; but those who have read other classics first immediately recognise its place in the genealogy of classic works." Because all of these definitions in Calvino's writing, these leads me to choose that he used logical organization when writing this essay.

"Why Read the Classics?" #4

In Italo Calvino's essay "Why Read the Classics?", there were several passages that stood out to me and caught my attention. The first idea I noticed was all of the definitions that Calvino put in his essay. My favorite definition is on the fourth page of the essay. It says that classic books are ones that exercise the reader's imagination, and they will never forget it. That book will always be in their memory.

"3. The classics are books which exercise a particular influence, both when they imprint themselves on our imagination as unforgettable, and then they hide in the layers of memory disguised as the individual's or the collective unconscious."

Writing out definitions of classic books is one thing that stood out to me. Another thing that I noticed and admired was how Calvino used examples of other authors and their writing. An example of this is on page 143 of the essay. He used an excerpt from the diary of young Cesare Pavese. This shows that he admires other authors and their work. And that is what I admire about Calvino. There were many other things that caught my attention in this essay, but these were the two things that I enjoyed the most about "Why Read the Classics?"

"Why Read the Classics?" #3

Common examples that are often used in writing are metaphors, similies, ironies, hyperbolies, onomatopoeias, and much more than that. As we have learned in earlier blogs, a rhetorical device is a technique of writing that an author uses to effect or persuade the reader. So in his essay, Calvino is trying to persuade his readers using different techniques. While reading "Why Read the Classics?", I noticed several rhetorical devices used. One that caught my eye was anaphora. Anaphora is repetition of a word at the beginning of consecutive sentences.

"4. A classic is a book with each rereading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading.

5. A classic is a book which even when we read it for the first time gives the sense of reading something we have read before.

6. A classic is a book which has never exhausted all it has to say to its readers. Whereas definition 5 suggests a more elaborate formulation, such as this:"

All three of these sentences have the same few words in the beginning: "A classic is a book..." So this is just one rhetorical device I found in Calvino's essay. There are many many more, so check out the essay for yourself.

"Why Read the Classics?" #2

The author's tone of a novel or essay says a lot about that author. The readers' reaction could be negative or positive. Italo Calvino in "Why Read the Classics?" seems to have the opposite tone that Vladimir Nabokov had in "Good Readers and Good Writers". In comparing the two authors' tones, I noticed that Nabokov's tone was a bit harsh and demanding. However, Calvino's tone is much more genuine and nice. It seemed as though he was more interested in what he was doing than Nabokov was. Readers probably enjoy reading Calvino's writing as opposed to Nabokov's writing; I know I do. He is a lot more uplifting and positive. And that is definitely his tone in this essay. He is positive, encouraging, and he seems very intrigued in informing the readers. This is an excellent message to send the readers. This example is very good with showing how informative Calvino can be: "To reassure them, all one need to do is to point out that however wide-ranging any person's formative reading may be, there will always be an enormous number of fundamental works that one has not read." He telling the readers how to reassure themselves, not judging them or pushing them around. I believe that Italo Calvino is a great writer all because of the tone that he has established.

"Why Read the Classics?" #1

"Let us begin by putting forward some definitions.

1. The classics are those books about which you usually hear people saying: 'I'm rereading . . .', never 'I'm reading . . .'"

I believe that these first few sentences in the introduction are the thesis of this essay. It is informing the readers about what is to come, which is reading the classics and why it is so important to some people. So by this thesis I can comprehend that this essay will be about classic books and why it is so important and fascinating about them and why I should read them. It is also in the beginning of the introduction. This is the definition of a thesis, therefore, it must be a thesis. This thesis is implicit. The definition of implicit is something that is implied and not plainly expressed. So that means that the thesis is there, it is just not easy to see. And that is the case in "Why Read the Classics?". The thesis in this essay is a little bit harder to find than others. By rereading the first page like Vladimir Nabokov suggested in "Good Readers and Good Writers", eventually I found the thesis I was looking for.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #8

There are so many different reactions that people could feel when reading this essay by Vladimir Nabokov. I guess the first thing that came to my mind when reading this was emotion. Nabokov said some pretty harsh things and was being pushy. He was cocky and arrogant. "This lowly variety is not the kind of imagination I would like readers to use." This sentence shows how cocky Nabokov can be. He is ordering readers around telling them how to be imaginative. But then Nabokov has informational quotes just like these ones: "We ought to remain a little aloof and take pleasure in this aloofness while at the same time we keenly enjoy—passionately enjoy, enjoy with tears and shivers—the inner weave of a given masterpiece. However, I did notice that all of his writings were knowledgeable and informing." In this sentence he is suggesting more and is not really ordering readers around. It is also very informational. I guess you could say that my mood changed the more and more I read "Good Readers and Good Writers". I was pretty upset with the way Nabokov was sending out his information but more towards the end I learned to appreciate what he had to say. I noticed that he was just writing in a clever and creative way. He must be a very well respected writer.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #7

The author of an essay or a novel has a lot of authority. It all starts with decision making. The author gets to choose what he wants to put in his essay. He can choose on the thesis, the climax, the plot, the characters, the setting, and even more than that. For the point of view of the essay Nabokov decided to use first person. This means that he talks about himself and uses words such as I, me, my, and mine. One important decision that there is to be made by the author is the thesis. The thesis is pretty much the whole essay or novel wrapped up in one sentence. This is in the introduction so the reader knows what is ahead of them. The most important thing that the author has authority of is the plot. The plot is the plan of the essay, or what it consists of. If the author did not have this kind of authority, there would be no essay or novel. So Nabokov's decision of the plot was to write an essay that informed the readers about the skills of reading and writing. The author has a huge authority when it comes to writing, and that means making huge decisions.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #6

There are several methods one can use to start off an essay or an introduction. The six that come to mind are: Defining a Word or Phrase, Turn About, Asking Questions, Using an Anecdote, Using Quotation, and the Funnel Method. In "Good Readers and Good Writers", Vladimir Nabokov used the Using the Quotation method. A reader can figure this out just by reading the first paragraph of the essay. In the introduction this quote is used: "What a scholar one might be if one knew well only some half a dozen books." This quote suggests how better off one would be if he read. Another method that was used is Asking Question. "Can we expect to glean information about places and times from a novel?" was one question asked by Nabokov. He is asking if readers can except information in the novels given by the author.

As for the conclusion of the essay, I noticed that it was not as organized as the introduction and the rest of the essay. The last paragraph of the essay focuses more on the skills of being a good writer. It just emphasizes the four keys of being a good writer. It does not sum up the essay, or talks about the thesis. So there really is no conclusion paragraph for this essay.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #5

The way a writer organizes his essay says a lot about that writer. It is very important to be organized with your writing. There is no need to confuse the readers. There are four different types of organizing writing. And they are spatial, chronological, logical, and logical. Vladimir Nabokov organized his essay, "Good Readers and Good Writers" spatially. Spatial organization describes things because of where they are located and what they are related to. It has many details, helps to compare things, and gives directions. To start off, this essay gives directions on how to be a good reader. An excellent example is when Nabokov gives the little quiz he made up for the readers to take.This quiz is located on the second page of the essay. It has ten definitions of a good reader, and then you choose four that you think applies to being a good reader. So he is giving directions to the reader. Then it moves on to directions on how to be a good writer. It also compares these two skills. Therefore, Nabokov organized this essay using spatial organization. Mainly because he is giving directions to the readers and using great detail while doing it.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #4

I had many reactions to "Good Readers and Good Writers" when I first started reading it. I noticed that Vladimir Nabokov was being very pushy and as I said earlier, he thinks very highly of himself. On the other hand, he seems to know what he is doing and he is just trying to help spread his knowledge to others. I do not like the way he is presenting himself and his ideas, but I do respect his information. "Going back for a moment to our wolf-crying woodland little woolly fellow, we may put it this way: the magic of art was in the shadow of the wolf that he deliberately invented, his dream of the wolf; then the story of his tricks made a good story. When he perished at last, the story told about him acquired a good lesson in the dark around the campfire. But he was the little magician. He was the inventor." This quote from Nabokov was one of my favorites. I like how he used an example from a different book to prove one of his points. He used many different techniques and ideas. Another idea I also liked was the ten definitions of a reader. It showed me ten things I needed to have to become a good reader. Therefore, I have mixed reactions to Nabokov's essay. I like his information and knowledge, but I am not too fond of the way he presented it.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #3

A rhetorical device is a technique of writing that an author uses to effect or persuade the reader. "That mist is a mountain—and that mountain must be conquered. Up a trackless slope climbs the master artist, and at the top, on a windy ridge, whom do you think he meets? The panting and happy reader, and there they spontaneously embrace and are linked forever if the book lasts forever." states Nabokov. This is a hyperbole. Just one example of many of the rhetorical devices used in "Good Readers and Good Writers". A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration, and in this quote it says that at the top of a mountain a man meets a happy reader. Which is very unlikely. Also, he states that the book lasts forever, and no book can last forever. Another rhetorical device used is a simile. Similes are very common; a comparison between two things using the words like or as. "There are three points of view from which a writer can be considered: he may be considered as a storyteller, as a teacher, and as an enchanter." This quote is comparing a writer to many things. It is also using the keyword, as. Those are just two examples of rhetorical devices used in this essay, and there are many more.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #2

Vladimir Nabokov sets several tones in his essay "Good Readers and Good Writers". One can tell that Nabokov thinks very highly of himself. He thinks he is better than everyone else and everyone else should listen to what he has to say. Many quotes in this essay shows that Nabokov is arrogant and thinks he knows what he is doing. "Incidentally, I use the word reader very loosely. Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only reread it. A good reader, and major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader. And I shall tell you why." This is an excellent example of a quote said by Nabokov that shows how cocky he can be. This quote is him telling the reader what he thinks, or knows, what a good reader is. So he is right in every case, what he says is true! At least that is what Nabokov thinks. He is even cocky in his writing, and he makes sure to let it show. Another tone he has set is happiness. Nabokov is truly excited when it comes to reading and writing. He adds a lot of personality to his essay and this shows happiness. After reading this essay I know that Vladimir Nabokov is an arrogant and cocky writer that loves what he is writing about.

“Good Readers and Good Writers” #1

When I read just the title of this essay, "Good Readers and Good Writers", I concluded that the main thesis of the essay is how to become a better reader and/or writer. So the thesis is in the title. If someone is wanting to know how to read well, they should read this essay. It shows them how to notice details in writing and to appreciate it. Then it moves on to talking about the writer. I think this quote from "Good Readers and Good Writers" by Vladimir Nabokov is very informational about how the real writer should be: "But the real writer, the fellow who sends planets spinning and models a man asleep and eagerly tampers with the sleeper's rib, that kind of author has no given values at his disposal: he must create them himself." This tells me that a good writer has to think a little bit about what he should write. It does not always just come to him without working at his. He must create his ideas himself. Moving on, I found this essay to be explicit. I think it is explicit because the thesis and other main points are stated clearly with no room for confusion. This is the thesis of "Good Readers and Good Writers", and if it was explicit or implicit.