Pride and Prejudice Reading Comprehension



Jane Eyre Reading Comprehension

As you read, consider these questions. When you meet with your group, discuss the questions and jot down notes about how you want to answer them. Remember, each answer should be about ½ page and include specific scenes or lines—cite page numbers or chapters where relevant.

1. What are your impressions of John Reed? What do you make of the abuse that Jane suffers? Is it realistic or romanticized?

2. Jane Eyre was a watershed novel at the time it was written because it blended two styles of novels: the romantic novel and the gothic novel. According to Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictions of the English Language, romanticism emphasized content rather than form; encouraged “freedom of treatment,” “introspection,” and celebrated “nature, the common man, and freedom of the spirit.” The same source defines the gothic novel as a type of fiction “characterized by picturesque settings; an atmosphere of mystery, gloom, and terror; supernatural or fantastic occurrences; and violent and macabre events.” Where do you see both elements in the novel so far?

3. Bronte makes liberal use of French in her dialogue. What does this say about her audience? How do you compare to that audience? Does your knowing or not knowing French impact your understanding?

4. By chapter 20 in the novel, it is very clear that Rochester is deeply involved with some mystery surrounding Grace Poole. At the end of chapter, who does he initially hint may help him find happiness? When Jane cannot respond to Rochester’s hinting, his tone and attitude change immediately. What does this say about Rochester’s character?

5. As the author of the text, Bronte is the artist who choose what events happen in the plot (much the same way a painter can choose the composition of a painting, or a sculptor can choose where and how to carve the elements of a sculpture). Why did she choose to create a section where her main character goes through so much pain by Chapter 28? Is it necessary? Why or why not?

6. What do you make of Jane creating a harsh piece of artwork for herself and a lovely piece of artwork depicting Miss Ingram? How does this contribute to what happens with these characters and Mr. Rochester when the novel is complete?

7. In Jane’s impassioned speech beginning with “I tell you I must go!” you should be able to find pieces of both Bessie and Helen Burns. How do the philosophies of these two influential characters color Jane’s words?

8. Jane Eyre is running from an unattainable love. Who else is running as well, and what are the details/

9. Characterize the similarities between St. John’s offer of marriage and Rochester’s. Why does Jane refuse St. John when she is willing to accept life with him in India? Couldn’t she grow to love him? How does her response fit in with what we know about Jane as a character?

10. Bronte ends the novel on a religious note. In fact, she has been building the religious closure since Rochester’s admission of prayer in chapter 37. What effect does this have on you as a reader? What effect would it have had on Bronte’s audience?

Choose any 4 quotes, write who says each, and respond in one paragraph each with your ideas about how the quote contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

1. “If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while you own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.”

2. “Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education: they grown there, firm as weeds among stones.”

3. “Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.”

4. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.”

5. “I knew you would do me good in some way, at some time: I saw it in your eyes when I first beheld you; their expression and smile did not strike delight to my inmost heart so for nothing.”

Choose any 1 project and complete by the end of the unit for up to 25 extra credit points!

1. Construct a Web site that could be used as a resource for other students reading Jane Eyre. The site could include a page about major themes in the book, a page about Charlotte Bronte, and a page about the time period.

2. Create your own rendition of Jane’s drawings based on her descriptions of them.

3. Write a short sequel to the novel, describing Jane’s and Rochester’s life after the end of the book.

4. Write a poem about the feelings of one of the characters. Include any 5 of the following poetic devices: simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, alliteration, personification, imagery, hyperbole, or rhyme.

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