AS English LIt Jane Eyre - An Overview

You should start reading Jane Eyre as soon as possible.

Below is a table to help guide you through your reading. I hope you find it helpful.

Comment on the location – consider its physical symbolic qualities and how it relates to Jane’s progress and development			Summarise the action of the section and summarise and comment on the action of the chapter. You can also use this space to comment on Jane’s progress/development
LOCATION	VOL	CHAPTER	OVERVIEW
Gateshead	1	1 - 4
		1	Jane persecuted by Mrs Reed and John Reed – Jane attacks John
		2	Jane in the Red Room
		3	Jane speaks to the doctor. School is mentioned. Meets Brocklehurst.
		4	Meeting with Brocklehurst Tea with Bessie
Lowood		5 – 9
		5	Jane leaves Gateshead. Arrival at Lowood.
		6	Jane meets Helen Burns
		7
		8
		9	Jane is eighteen – now a teacher at the school
Thornfield Hall		10 - 15
		10
		11
		12	Meets Rochester
		13
		14
		15	Bertha sets alight Rochester’s bed. Jane saves his life. She has a glimpse of his secret
Thornfield Hall	2	1 – 5
		1	Next morning. Rochester absent.
		2	The party arrive at Thonefield Hall. Jane watches the guests from a distance. Miss Ingram introduced. The ladies attack governesses.
		3	Richard Mason. Rochester as gypsy fortune teller arrives interviews the women.
		4	Jane’s interview with Rochester as gypsy fortune teller
		5	Richard Mason’s visit ends with Bertha’s attack on him. Again Jane glimpses further into his secret world
Thornfield Hall		6 – 11
		6	Jane helps Rochester. She stays with Mason while Rochester gets the doctor.
		7
		8	Midsummer Rochester proposes marriage
		9	Joy. Rochester wants to bestow jewels and clothes on Jane
		10
		11	Jane’s wedding day. Rochester shows Jane and Richard Bertha Mason. The secret revealed .
Moor House	3	1 – 4
		1
		2
		3
		4	Jane hears of her Uncle’s death
Moor House [village school]		5 - 9
		5	Jane begins life as a school teacher. She feels humiliated. St John visits – tells Jane to forget  the past
		6
		7
		8
		9	St John’s forceful arguments and proposal of marriage to Jane. A torture and a temptation. He is turned down
Ferndean – remote and isolated property on Rochester’s estate.		10 – 12
		10	Jane is resolved to find Rochester. Her journey and her meeting with the publican. Who tells us Jane’s story and Rochester’s present situation.
		11	Jane and Rochester meet. Establish the ground rules of their relationship. Love.
		12	Conclusion

AS English Lit Jane Eyre Plotting the Novel

AS ENGLISH LITERATURE

JANE EYRE READING

READING THE NOVEL

You need to start reading this novel right now. Don't put it off any longer.

Below is a guide to help you read Jane Eyre. We will only have a short period of time to study the novel and we will not be reading it in class. However we will be reading short extracts.

When we begin studying the novel I will assume you have all read it thoroughly. We will be breaking the novel down into sections and draw on characters, themes, narrator, writing style in each section. When we have done this we will then draw all the strands of the novel together. Throughout you will be doing short exercises and 2 or three main essays.

If you have not read the novel you will very quickly become lost and will be at a considerable disadvantage to others that have.

Location	Pages*	Volume	Chapter	Page**	End chapter
Gateshead	44	1	1 - 4	11 - 55	Leaving Gateshead
Lowood	54		5 – 9	56 – 110	End of childhood
Thornfield Hall	88		10 - 15	111 – 199	Fire
Thornfield Hall	85	2	1 – 5	203 - 288	Richard Mason
Thornfield Hall	100		6 – 11	289 – 388	Wedding Day
Moor House	78	3	1 – 4	391 - 469	Uncle’s death
Moor House [village school]	80		5 - 9	470 – 550	St John’s proposal
Ferndean	40		10 – 12	551 – 591	Together

* The number of in a section

** Page numbers maybe different

Look out

As you read the novel always have a pencil and lined paper to hand.

·         Make a note at the top of each page summarising the main action of that page.

·         Underline what you consider to me key quotations in the text.

·         Underline or make a note of the features of the main character[s] as you read.

·         Underline the progress of relationships between Rochester and Jane as it develops.

·         Notice the settings of the novel and consider how they contribute to the novel.

·         Pay special attention to the weather.

·         Look out for objects that may symbolise or represent abstract ideas.

·         Bearing in mind events, characters, settings, weather and symbols; identify key themes that recur through the novel

·         Consider the structure of the novel as you read it. Identify events that signal a change in the narrative and particularly Jane’s progress through the book.

I will check regularly the progress of your reading by checking the annotations in your copy of the book and the reading journal you should be keeping.