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How did Brontë seek to spread feminist ideals?

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How did Brontë seek to spread feminist ideals?

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Thesis: Through Jane Eyre, Brontë advocated feminist values: under the veneer of a Romantic drama, Jane’s independent nature, rejection of traditional expectations, and assertion of gender equality represent practical manifestations of how women could rebel against misogynistic systems.

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The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays. Select a fictional character who is in opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications for both the individual and the society.

Despite being born into a Victorian society with stringent expectations for women, Jane’s ambitions and standards for herself allow her to successfully carve her own path in the world.

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Prompt: Choose a character from a novel and write an essay about the standards of their society and how they are affected by and respond to these standards. 

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Prompt: Choose a character from a novel and write an essay about the standards of their society and how they are affected by and respond to these standards. 

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Thesis: In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, the titular character lives in the restrictive and patriarchal society of England in the early 19th century, however she is too aware of this as she is willing to sacrifice her happiness to avoid becoming too similar to the housewives that she pities.

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Analyze how a symbol functions in the work to express an idea or meaning (Kindred)

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Analyze how a symbol functions in the work to express an idea or meaning (Kindred)

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As one of the few precious possessions that Dana manages to bring with her to the past, her map symbolizes hope to secure safe passage and maintain her connection to the present. Burning this map at the behest of Rufus severs this connection, threatening Dana’s resolve and forcing her to rely on her skills of self-preservation to maneuver her unfamiliar surroundings as an enslaved person.

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The nature of the character’s villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work

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The nature of the character’s villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work

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While Tom Weylin is clearly a villain throughout the novel with his vicious punishment of slaves, his son, Rufus Weylin, proves to be the ultimate villain as he transforms from Dana’s ally to her biggest enemy, suggesting that villainy is learned practice and not an inherent trait.

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Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader’s or audience’s views. Avoid plot summary. (1987)

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Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader’s or audience’s views. Avoid plot summary. (1987)

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Although many view one of the main messages of Jane Eyre to be a strong critique of the entire Victorian class system, which it is, Jane Eyre herself is both judgemental of the destitute and the wealthy; Brontë thus implies that even more significant than the limitations of class and gender is the difficulty and complexity of meaningful social change at the time.

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Overcome with a bitter hatred for his father, Rufus from Octavia Butler’s Kindred depicts a noxious father-son relationship poisoned with physical abuse, which contributes to the novel’s theme of awareness of one’s surroundings. Employing personification, foreshadowing, and symbolism, Butler articulates the detrimental effects of an unstable kinship on one’s surroundings.

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Choose a novel or play in which cultural, physical, or geographical surroundings shape psychological or moral traits in a character. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how surroundings affect this character and illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole.

Rufus exemplifies the idea that one’s upbringing determines his or her personality and ideals. He starts as a lovable young boy but, over the course of the novel, transforms into a cruel slave owner.

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Prompt: A character’s attempt to recapture the past is important in many plays, novels, and poems. Choose a literary work in which a character views the past with such feelings as reverence, bitterness, or longing. Show with clear evidence from the work how the character’s view of the past is used to develop a theme in the work. You may base your essay on a work by one of the following authors, or you may choose a work of another author of comparable literary excellence.

Thesis: Though Rufus’s reason for calling Dana is always because he is in danger, Dana’s thoughts before jumping through time slightly transform with each event. The hatred and fear Dana feels the first jumps turns into feelings of duty and opportunity, emphasizing the complexity of familial bonds.

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(Jane Eyre) In a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities, show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

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(Jane Eyre) In a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities, show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

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The war in Jane’s mind between passion and moral righteousness takes its course all throughout the novel, and her decisions to leave Rochester at Thornfield for the Moor house and vice versa reveal that, ultimately, Jane’s passion is fueled by her sense of socio-economic independence.

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2004, Form B. The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. (page 248 Alice hangs herself)

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2004, Form B. The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. (page 248 Alice hangs herself)

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The death of Alice in Kindred illuminates how purposeless the lives of slaves are once separated from their families, as Alice’s mind and body lose all motivation to continue living after Rufus sells her children.

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Select an important character who is a villain. Analyze the nature of the character’s villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work. 

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Select an important character who is a villain. Analyze the nature of the character’s villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work. 

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Jane Eyre: (EDITED)
By looking at Bertha Rochester, who most fits the role of a villain in Jane Eyre, we can see that she represents a rebellious and passionate side of Jane. Furthermore, without Bertha, the "happy" ending in which Jane is content with Rochester is owed to her, as only after Jane has become independent and Rochester, crippled, can the pair truly be equal in modern society.

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Bildungsroman and the pivotal moment in a novel

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Bildungsroman and the pivotal moment in a novel

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Despite popular opinion that the pivotal moment in Jane Eyre reveals itself in Rochester’s confession of his love for Jane, Jane actually faces the most development after she has fled Thornfield and lived on her own in poverty. Through these actions, she is able to discover the sense of belonging she had once longed for at the Rivers’ home and experience the freedom that she coveted while living in Rochester’s shadow.

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prompt: About bildungsroman...Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman. Then write a well-organized essay that analyzes how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

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prompt: About bildungsroman...Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman. Then write a well-organized essay that analyzes how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

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By looking at Jane’s journey from her youth to her adulthood, we can see the negative effect that Jane’s status has on her confidence and decisions, which most readers don't see; this is important because as she gets older, she is afraid to take certain actions due to the fact they believes her low status will affect how she carries them out. When Jane tells Rochester that she must have her own identity rather than submit to him through a relationship, Jane recognizes her place in the world and leaves to find out where exactly she belongs.

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 Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman

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 Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman

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Although Jane Eyre desires a balance between strong relationships and her desire for independence, her rejection of St. John’s proposal, a potential opportunity to live a stable life, deviates from her core beliefs as she chooses to pursue a life of passion and happiness with Rochester in spite of his past.

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Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. 

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Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. 

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The suicide of Alice is a pivotal moment in Kindred - it serves as a stark symbol of Rufus’ moral corrpution and as a reminder that death is often the only escape for enslaved people. Yet, it also reveals the extent to which Alice loved her children with Rufus despite her hatred for him, exploring the complexity of familial relationships created by slavery.

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The struggle to achieve dominance over others frequently appears in fiction.” Choose a novel in which such a struggle for dominance occurs, and write an essay showing for what purposes the author uses the struggle. Do not merely retell the story.

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The struggle to achieve dominance over others frequently appears in fiction.” Choose a novel in which such a struggle for dominance occurs, and write an essay showing for what purposes the author uses the struggle. Do not merely retell the story.

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While initially a more submissive character, Jane Eyre brazenly challenges Rochester to a constant struggle for dominance to ensure he respects her opinions and appreciates her personality. Her newfound confidence and outspokenness when speaking to Rochester and others like St. John and Mrs. Reed result from the development of her identity from a powerless child to an independent woman.

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Prompt: One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.

Thesis (revised): Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred portrays power as a corrupting influence over people’s lives; through delineating Rufus Weylin’s development from a compassionate child to an abusive, power-hungry tyrant as he comes into his slave-owning inheritance, Butler shows that the desire for power weakens morality and inevitably instills arrogance in its pursuers.

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Describe a character's response to a collision (cultural, societal, religious, etc) and explain its significance.

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Describe a character's response to a collision (cultural, societal, religious, etc) and explain its significance.

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Thesis: Through the collision of the present and the past, Dana questions not only her own identity, but also her perceptions of slavery and systemic racism. By displaying the intersection of opposing ideas from 1976 and 1815, Butler demonstrates the influence of society over the individual.