First, Jane Eyre is a favorite of AP Lit teachers
for summer assignments. So why did I choose it? Our reading during the
year doesn’t include a Victorian novel; and, frankly, a Victorian novel is long
for reading during a busy school year. (And I used a semi-colon in that last
sentence because I’m writing about Victorian novels.)
(Yes, there’s a recent Jane Eyre movie. I liked it. You might like it, too, even watch
it before or after reading the book. But watching the movie doesn’t substitute
for reading the book.)
Second, a disclaimer that I have borrowed many of these
ideas. Just as I expect you to do, I’ll acknowledge the source of my
information. Much of what follows comes from EDsitement, a great humanities
website sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Third, the internet has a boatload (literally) of
opinions/papers/blogs/rants about our friend Jane. Don’t look at it. Really.
Your thinking will be a fresh look at the book, not a rehashing of someone
else’s opinion. Few people make a living commenting on books, but we all need
to learn to think for ourselves and to write clearly.
We’ll spend first semester considering ways to read and think. As
you read Jane Eyre, you’ll think about the historical implications of
the book, specifically about how Jane relates to the ideal Victorian woman. Author Charlotte Bronte took
flak for her creation of Jane, but according to Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography
of Bronte,
She [Brontë] once told her sisters that they were
wrong—even morally wrong—in making their heroines beautiful as a matter of
course. They replied that it was impossible to make a heroine interesting on
any other terms. Her answer was, 'I will prove to you that you are wrong; I
will show you a heroine as plain and as small as myself, who shall be as
interesting as any of yours.'"
So what’s the summer assignment?
1. Read and take notes on background information. (Links
are at the end.) The guiding questions for this part of your reading are the
following: What is the ideal Victorian woman? What are her traits? With what
activities does she concern herself? These notes can be compiled digitally or
in a bound notebook. During the year, you’ll develop close reading and response
strategies. You’re beginning that practice over the summer.
2. Consider the following question: How does Charlotte
Brontë's Jane Eyre refute the notions associated with the ideal
Victorian woman? (This is a fairly common question people ask about the novel.
We’ll discuss other aspects of the novel, too, at the beginning of the year.)
3. Read Jane Eyre with this background information
and question in mind, using sticky notes to mark significant passages that
reveal Jane’s character and the expectations of the society toward women. Then
create a close reading journal with excerpts from the book and your own
analytical comments in response to those excerpts. How many excerpts? I won’t
give you an exact number, but your journal should be thorough and robust in its
exploration. You’re not counting excerpts, but thinking through the novel.
4. Write a 1-2 page response to the question listed in
#2. Make specific references to the novel to support your thinking.
5.Take a picture of yourself reading Jane Eyre in some
summer location.
Due Dates:
August 15:
The picture should be sent to the following address no
later than August 9:
This is an address you’ll use all year long for turning
in essays.
August 30 (tentatively – the school calendar
hasn’t been adopted): the first Friday of your senior year!
The complete response journal, including notes on
background information, notes on the novel and your 1-2 page response.
Links for background information:
“Ideal Husbands; or, School-Girl Fancies” from a March 1850
Godey’s Lady’s Book. Read just the first chapter of this story. (Godey’s Lady’s
Book is a primary source: you can browse the whole issue here.)
