Jane Eyre Final Reflection

1) The book fit in well with the "growing to adulthood" theme. Jane starts as a young girl, goes to school, grows up, and geets married. I liked that it had a happy ending and everything worked out well for Jane.

2) What didn't work for me is how long the book was. I feel like it could have been written in much less words and pages. You can't change that because it was the authors writing obviously, but maybe giving us a few more nights for each section would have been more helpful.

3) This book should be taught in College Literature because it is very challenging and will prepare us well for the future. Although I didn't love this book, it probably helped me more than I know. I was able to get through it and understand it. In college I will have to read things I might not enjoy, so this helps me get ready for that.

4) I liked the ending. Jane and Rochester loved each other so I'm glad they got married. I thought it was kind of weird that they could get married because Bertha jumped off of the roof and committed suicide though. It was almost as if he felt like a free man all of a sudden and moved on to wanting to marry Jane right away.

The Yellow Wallpaper Reflection vs. Jane Eyre

I think the main similarity between The Yellow Wallpaper and Jane Eyre is the characters. In The Yellow Wallpaper, John is taking care of the narrarator who is sick. I think this represents Mr. Rochester and his wife, Bertha in Jane Eyre. Also, John and the narrarator are married, and so are Mr. Rochester and Bertha. As you can tell from the story, the narrarator seems crazy. She sits in a room and stares at the wall paper, trying to find a pattern. Bertha is also considered "mad" in Jane Eyre. Overall, Mr. Rochester and John, and the narrarator and Bertha are similar. That is my opinon on how The Yellow Wallpaper is related to Jane Eyre.

Fire and Water Motifs

Throughout reading Jane Eyre, we have noticed many different motifs. Colors, birds, and art are a few examples, however, I believe that fire and water are very large motifs. For example, water is brought up in the beginning when the girls are washing their nails and faces in the morning. The water is cleansing and calming. It froze over night so the girls couldn't use it. It also rains later in the book when Rochester and Jane are outside talking. Those are only a couple examples to show how water is a repeated theme.

Another motif is fire. One of the biggest events of the book is when Mr. Rochester is asleep, and there is a fire in his room. Jane hears some noise and wakes up. After noticing smoke coming from his room, she rushed in and put out the flames. Also, fire is always mentioned in minor events such as candles or using metaphorically for being angry. Our group decided that fire stood for the passion and rebelliousness in Jane.

Jane Eyre Early Reflection

So far we have read 219 pages of Jane Eyre. I don't really like the book that much. It is hard to read and takes a long time. The vocabulary used is very high level. The story line is alright, but it is a pain to read. It shows Jane growing into adulthood. She starts off as a 10 year old girl living with the Reed family. She is an orphan and treated horribly by them. They send her to Lowood school and she gets an education. Eventually she is a teacher and after 8 years at Lowood, she moves to Thornfield Hall as a governess. She earns double the salary and lives with Mrs. Fairfax at Mr. Rochester's home. The rest of the story has been stuff that happens there, especially between Jane and Mr. Rochester. Overall, the book would be better if it wasn't so difficult and time consuming.

The Catcher in the Rye Inspires Murder of John Lennon

It has been said that The Catcher in the Rye was the reason Mark David Chapman shot and killed the Beatles' John Lennon. Chapman read the book many times and started to adopt some of Holden Caulfield's beliefs. One was that people are phonies. Holden mentions people being phonies and how much he hates them in the book. Also, before he killed Lennon, Chapman said something about Lennon knowing where the ducks go in the winter, which is a reference to The Catcher in the Rye. There were some other examples from the book that might be a a reason it drove Chapman crazy. On page 104 there is a paragraph that describes how Holden wanted to kill the elevator man, Maurice, for taking an extra $5.00 from him. It makes him seem like a psycho.Another is when holden says "I swear to God I'm a madman." Chapman could have believed since he was like Holden he had to be a madman too. Finally, throughout the book, Holden mentions being depressed constantly. This could have had an affect on Mark David Chapman as well.

Visions of Childhood

I think the movie "The Little Giants" is a great depiction of childhood. I believe this because the movie is about a bunch of friends who play football. A lot of kids have childhood memories of playing sports with their buddies and having fun. This is where a lot of good times are made. In the movie they aren't the most talented team, but they enjoy playing and work hard. They work together and in the end are able to knock off the All-Star Dallas Cowboys youth football team. It tells a story about teamwork and just having fun. A big part about childhood is hanging out with your friends!

In the four stories we have read, childhood is depicted as being young and confused about the world. The Sutton Pie Safe, Every Little Hurricane, and Bottle Caps are all examples of this. The child in the Sutton Pie Safe doesn't understand why the dad is upset or what is going on with Mrs. Hanson. In Every Little Hurricane, the boy sees the alcohol abuse and violence around him, but isn't really sure why they all act this way yet. Finally, in Bottle Caps, the younger brother steals his older brothers bottle caps because he doesn't understand it is part of a collection. He uses them for his insect cemetary. A difference is the background each person comes from. Cates comes from a farm family in the countryside. Victor grows up on an Indian Reservation. Connie and the boys in Bottle Caps are from cities. I think they are right about not understanding everything, but only to a certain extent. Once kids hit a certain age, they start learning why things happen. Overall, i think they do a pretty good job depicting childhood, although there don't seem to be any happy times in the stories.

Childhood Memory

When I was 16 I passed my drivers test. This was a huge moment in my life because I gained a lot of responsibility. I could drive myself to school, the movies, or anywhere i needed to go. Also, I knew that it was important I drove safely and followed the laws. I grew up because this sort of gave me a new freedom. I didn't have to rely on anyone for a ride anymore. It has changed my life for the better.