Preview

What Impression Do We Gain of Jane Eyre in the Opening Chapters? Essay Example

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1139 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Impression Do We Gain of Jane Eyre in the Opening Chapters? Essay Example
What impression do we gain of Jane Eyre in the opening chapters?

In the first few opening chapters Jane Eyre is seen as a mentally and physically abused child, during her years at Gateshead Hall. John Reed displays violence towards Jane in the first chapter. He punishes and bullies Jane; it is not known why the Reed family resent her so much. Her situation is seen as desperate within the first few paragraphs. Her cousins and Aunt make her life impossible and unbearable, she is not seen as a member of the family. Jane is simply seen as ‘’less than a servant’’ as she does ‘’nothing for her keep’’.

In the first few opening paragraphs of chapter one it is possible to see that Jane Eyre doesn’t get on with either member of the Reed family. The first example of this is when the whole family get back from there walk and all of the Reed children are ‘’clustered round there mamma’’ except Jane. Jane was ‘’dispensed from joining the group’’. This gives us the impression that Jane is lonely and not seen as a member of the family and treated cruelly.

As the chapter moved on Jane is expressed as an intelligent and creative individual. As she likes to read, and has a very vivid imagination. She starts to read ‘Bewick’s ‘’History of British Birds’’. Jane believes that ‘’each picture told a story’’. This shows Jane’s vivid imagination. She is able to escape into this book, and be ‘’happy: happy at least in my way’’. This quotation is implying that Jane is never happy in the normal bubbly way many of us experience, because of how much abuse and cruelty is inflicted upon her. But for just the short time she is reading this novel, she is able to escape from her feared surroundings.

In chapter one we also see the first time Jane is attacked. This is the first time we see Jane as a venerable character, John Reed ‘’flung’’ the book Jane was reading towards her, hitting her and making her bleed. As she, wasn’t supposed to be reading it, as they are not hers. John

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Jane Eyre is a ten-year-old girl who was left behind by her parents, therefore she was an orphan considering the fact that she lost both of her parents. Jane currently lives with her “aunt”, Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed was left widowed because Jane's uncle also passed away. Mrs. Reed has three children whom are Jane's cousins. Jane's cousins are named Eliza, John, Georgina Reed. Jane's cousins dislike her for various reasons, for example they dislike her because she is poor, an orphan, and uneducated. Later on throughout the rest of the chapters in this first part of the book because Jane's life was such a disastrous downhill but really quick her life starts to turn around and go back to good. It all started when started when Jane was obnoxiously…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This excerpt from Jane Eyre reveals Jane’s character in contrast to her cousins Georgiana and John Reed. While her cousins were spoiled and went unpunished, Jane was considered a pain no matter what she did. After John throws a book at her, Jane has a violent outbreak, which Mrs. Reed determines to be her sole responsibility and sends her to the red room to be punished. Brontë establishes these characters early on in the novel with parallelism and imagery; this preliminary characterization is seen later in the character’s actions and their growth.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jane Eyre grows throughout the novel. Other characters help her along her path of change, whether they are friend or foe. Jane is at first a young child that is completely dependent on others at and is trampled on and mistreated by the antagonists, Mrs. Reed and her son. Their mistreatment helps her to develop confidence and independence, because she finally has the courage to stand up for herself and realize that she is not below them. More noble characters in the novel such as Helen help Jane’s character development…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This description of John is incredibly negative and somewhat harsh, showing that Jane has this idea of her superiority over him despite knowing she has a lower social standing. This portrays Jane as a rather opinionative person, as is shown again and again when she describes both people and things, such as Mrs. Reed or the red room. As the first and second chapters go on, Jane describes a multitude of people and things, but they are scarcely clearly positive; this could be Bronte showing Jane as a negative person, or show her to have almost a depressive outlook on her situation, one that is quite justified it seems through the abusive nature shown towards Jane in these chapters.…

    • 539 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In chapter 11 when Jane first arrives at Thornfield She is unsure of her surroundings and the description of the thorn trees alludes to fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty and Briar Rose. This conveys Jane’s innocence and shows the reader how childlike Jane is at this stage of the novel in terms of emotional development. The theme of Jane’s limitations is also highlighted, and Jane’s focus on Mrs Fairfax’s “bunch of keys” shows the insecurity she feels about not having control over her present or future. However, Jane draws comfort from the discovery that Mrs Fairfax is also a “dependent”. This shows a departure from the uncertainty she felt when she first arrived at Thornfield, and the use of the same word as was used by John Reed in the first chapter shows how much she has developed since then in order to be able to overcome the distress that the word first caused her. This emphasises the extent to which Jane has already developed and gives the reader an impression for the scope of development still possible for Jane. In the progression from the eleventh to the twelfth chapter we can see how Jane has used her connection with Mrs Fairfax to allow her to become aware of the positive aspects of the other inhabitants of Thornfield Hall and showing that she has already become more mature and is willing to reconsider her initial opinions on the residents of Thornfield like Adele and Rochester. Jane begins chapter 12 by saying: “the promise of a smooth career...was not belied on a stronger acquaintance with the place.” She feels secure at Thornfield and that her impression of the place was correct, reading the novel…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As well as all of the above in this essay, I will also be concentrating on how isolation effects Jane's out-look on life, her behaviour towards others and herself, the reasoning behind her separation, and particularly how Charlotte Bronte uses Jane to convey her ideas to her readers, by representing a meaning deeper than that of it's obvious definition. I will also be looking at Charlotte Bronte's clever utilisation of imagery, language and structure helps her do this.…

    • 3680 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane is living with her Aunt and three cousins, who do not appreciate her being there. Her cousins Eliza, Georgiana and John Reed are particularly horrible to…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jane is a character repeatedly subjected to violence and hatred from her adoptive family, The Reeds. Her experiences are scary and abuse her body and her mind and eventually shape her into who she will become later in her life. She is also often undermined and taken advantage of and therefore made to feel small and worthless.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jane’s antipathy for the fourteen-year-old John Reed is manifested in her description of his “disgusting and ugly [outer] appearance”, namely his “heavy limbs”, “large extremities”, “thick lineaments” and “dingy[,] … unwholesome skin”. Although this description is an embodiment of Jane’s totally engrossing hatred of “Master Reed”, such physical repugnance foreshadows an inward “ugl[iness]”. This is demonstrated as he reprimands Jane for being “a dependent” and prescribes her “to beg” and “not to live” amongst…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Jane Eyre is a young orphan being raised by Mrs. Reed, her cruel, wealthy aunt. One day, as…

    • 2684 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jane Eyre Essay

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Jane Eyre is an orphan adopted by her aunt. Jane is treated very cruel by her aunt her three children. Her aunt, Mrs. Reed, never listened to Jane. Her cousins always tormented her because they knew she would be punished. Her aunt branded her as a liar.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In each place that Jane resides throughout her life, Bronte created an environment in which Jane felt misplaced in the social hierarchy. At Gateshead, Mrs. Reed and her children continually bully Jane into believing that she is not worthy of notice. Facing a similar situation at Lowood, Jane is made out to be an outsider as Mr.Brocklehurst attempts to turn Jane’s pupils against her. Lastly, at Thornfield, Jane faces a different sense of isolation in which she has more class than the servants, but less class than the Ingram party. Bronte’s use of this motif sheds light on the life of women living in the nineteenth century and their struggle to find a place in…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Self Respect In Jane Eyre

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Jane’s confrontation to her Aunt Reed is the first time the readers witness her possess a sense of confidence. Throughout her life in Gateshead, Jane is treated with cruelty and abuse, and during the event of Mr. Brocklehurst’s visit, she is treated no differently. Mrs.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eva Braun

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Mrs. Reed and her family weren’t ever mean to Jane when Mr. Reed was alive. After he died that’s when it all began. Mrs. Reed told her children that Jane was not worthy to be noticed and they shouldn’t associate with her (Bronte 23).She thinks because Jane is poor and not hers she can treat her any way she wants. Mrs. Reed also even lied on Jane to get her out of her house. This is what she said Mr. Brocklehurst” her mother was her husband 's sister. On his deathbed he exhorted her to care for Jane. She always treated her as one of her own. If you accept her at Lowood School, Mr. Brocklehurst, keep a strict eye on her. She has a heart of spite. I 'm sorry to say that her worst fault is that of deceit (Bronte 30).”…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jane Eyre, neglected and unjustly treated, for the first ten years of her life, yearns for love and affection. It is the one trait that defines her throughout her life. This want for acceptance and love is what drives Jane to do everything that she does. She yearns to leave Gateshead, even with all its physical comforts and luxuries simply because she does not get any love from its inhabitants. Lowood on the other hand, with all its physical hardships and rigorous routine, seems to her a far better place than Gateshead. As she says,…

    • 2163 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays