Jane Eyre hypocrisy

In the novel Jane Eyre, author Charlotte Bronte critiques the beliefs of her time, at they pertain to appearance and hypocrisy. This idea manifests itself best through Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre. A product of his times and position, Mr. Rochester believes in bestowing his beloved with only the finest items after his engagement to Jane. However when considering which aspect drew Rochester to “plain Jane” in the first place, one could see that Mr. Rochester becomes an accidental hypocrite. Through this, Bronte tries to convey the idea that one’s social position in life correlates to one’s own hypocritical idea of what defines appearances.

Mr. Rochester falls in love with the self proclaimed “Quakerish governess” not because of her impeccable looks. Rather he is smitten with her simplicity, personality, and humility. Mr. Rochester proclaimed to Jane with conviction that "You are a beauty in my eyes.” Nevertheless he planned to shower her with fine clothes, diamonds, and bracelets. If Mr. Rochester did in fact love Jane for her plainness and thought of her as “beautiful”, he wouldn’t find the need to dress her up as a high-class marionette, which she clearly didn’t intend to be. Thus Mr. Rochester’s true love for Jane and all that she is comes into question, as he stands blind sighted by his perception of what a lady is to look like.

Being of a wealthy social class, and constantly surrounded by beautiful and privileged women like Blanche Ingram, Mr. Rochester had developed a certain idea of how money can be reflective in a woman’s appearance. Proper Victorian society stressed a certain look, and Mr. Rochester was more than obliged to craft Jane in that image. This would require her to change who she is, which tenacious Jane would never agree to. Selfishly and hypocritically, Mr. Rochester’s and Jane’s shopping experience is reflective of this. When Mr. Rochester wants to buy six new fancy dresses, Jane manages to persuade to only get two both of simple color. When he buys Jane jewels, she likewise begins to feel dishonored.

Instead of making Mr. Rochester’s society love Jane for who she is, he exaggerates that he would make the world acknowledge Jane’s beauty, by means of fancy things. By not allowing hypocritical Mr. Rochester to buy her luxuries that would make her accepted and beautiful, she shows that beauty and decency are exclusive. This rejection on Jane’s part offers a new feminist perspective on the hypocritical Victorian world she lives in, which declares that she won’t fall victim to the generalized and accepted mindset of beauty.

section 4 ap practice essays

FIRST ESSAY

The post-mortem monologue, Editor Whedon, by Edgar Lee Masters, is a dark portrayal of the underbelly of today’s society. The writer tries to get across the fact that the world is quintessentially filled with lies, dirt, and the quest for hurtful intentions. However, there is still that silver lining and people have the choice to change, and save their lives by choosing the high road in life. Through the use of tone and figurative language, the author is able to convey the theme of this haunting monologue to a wider audience, and achieves to strike a personal cord with the readers.

The tone of this monologue is nothing short of pessimism. The author is blunt when it comes to describing the fake, self-seeking, scandalous, and wicked ways humans can behave. He examines multiple corners and instances of human discourse, thus giving his monologue an exposé sort of tone. Knowing that he was probably eye-witness to most occurrences, this gives his piece a more personal tone. Nevertheless there’s a change in tone towards the end of the monologue, as the author presents the idea of triumphing over the evil; “derails the express train”, where the tone is that of hope and renewed faith in life.

The figurative language also plays a crucial role in giving this monologue greater meaning and emphasis.  The author repeats the word “To” and “To be” on multiple occasions with a technique known as anaphora. Through anaphora, humanity is portrayed to have infinite abilities of manifesting benevolence onto the world, but also the abilities to save one’s own life from this force; “to win at any cost.” The author also uses hyperboles throughout his piece to exaggerate and intensify the corruption in the world, for example “glory to the demoniac power” and “paranoiac boy”. Lastly, the author relies on juxtaposition throughout parts of the poem, allowing his readers to take on the piece in distinctly personal ways, and leaving room for ambiguity. 

SECOND ESSAY

The story of the once beautiful young woman that embarked to Milan, and ended up as a cripple years later back in her parents’ house, displays the complex character of Madeline Standhope. Her last name alone serves a paradox for something that she chooses to never do again by herself, and that is stand. Nevertheless her manipulation of people helps her regain that “hope”; and shows off the multifaceted aspect of her personality and misleading character along the way.

The “It girl” of Italy, who had captured the hearts of all. Ironically enough, Madeline choose to marry a disreputable man of “harsh temper and swarthy face” named Paulo Neroni. Just the idea that she picked Paulo over any other man shows lack of good, well thought out judgment. It also makes the reader question Madeline’s credibility, intelligence, and most importantly self-honesty. Madeline then turns into quite the conformist and “obedient wife” type as she stays in Rome with Paulo, where “his” life and career are already established. The author describes him as “vainly endeavored to induce his wife to remain behind him.” Knowing this, it seems that Madeline was willing to sacrifice her true self and character for a man she probably didn’t even love, and “probably had no alternative.”

                Six months after wards she turns home to her parents as a cripple and mother. At this point in the story, Madeline’s complex character clearly shines through. The reader can infer that she is most likely a liar when it comes to explaining how she really became a cripple to her parents. “Falling in ascending a ruin” is probably a cover up for extreme martial abuse she may have endured at the hands of Paulo. This shows that as a character she has too much pride and is most likely embarrassed to cope with her failed marriage. Madeline might also be trying to avoid having fingers pointed at her, and being criticized for her bad choice in husband. Like the readers, it can be inferred that her parents might shun her marriage, and more importantly her bad decision making when it comes to a choice of husband.

Despite being a cripple, Madeline never lets the outside world be aware of her disability. She can be viewed as peculiar in her over exaggerated techniques to come off more pretentious, especially the way she conducts herself in public at “the opera” and “saloons of the noblesse.” By using her charms, and her past life in Rome to create a less commonplace and hard life for herself, she effectively covers her disability, and the mistakes she made in her marriage. “It was impossible that have purpose could have been achieved with less” (servants and helpers).She can in this sense be viewed as cunning, and ingenious. However deep down inside, Madeline is no longer the radiant and independent teenager. In reality Madeline morphs into a superficial and manipulating personality.

THIRD ESSAY

Oftentimes, a novel centers around a “radical thinker” whose vision contradicts that of the norm. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this idea manifests itself best through the character of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who becomes the victim of an internal dilemma after he commits adultery, and has a secret lovechild, Pearl, with the town exile, Hester Prynne. The conflict between what’s expected of him in society, his independent thoughts, and haunting secret are what tear Dimmesdale apart. Through him, Hawthorne employs his novel with a radical thinker, willing to challenge God and society for what he truly believes in.

Just the fact alone that a revered Reverend would commit adultery in his strict Puritan community can be considered radical of the times. It shows that even the respected and holy can fall victim to sin and evil. Nevertheless, months later as Hester Prynne is released from jail and made to stand upon a scaffold, it is Dimmesdale that exhorts her to reveal the name of the man who was her lover. This act could also be considered as radical because it shows that Dimmesdale would easily give up his respected position for what he feels is moral. This seems to also be one of the central themes of the novel. Luckily, Hester refuses to fault Dimmesdale in front of society thus protecting his reputation for nearly a decade.

As he holds the secret hidden in him, Dimmesdale physical appearance and health also seem to change significantly. Radically, he disfigures his body through self-masochism, and denigrates mentally and spiritually. After being reunited with Hester years later, Dimmesdale switches gears, as he plans that he will leave the community and move with her to Europe. This move is none the less radical, as it shows that he would easily give up one of the most respectable positions in society to be with the woman he still has feelings for. It also could be considered as drastic because he never before considered this plan. As a result the once conservative Reverend turns into an invincible man, ready to release his inhibitions and carry out his life the way he, and not society wants it.

The climax of Dimmesdale’s reign as a radical thinker comes at the end of the novel when all is revealed to the public through a sermon he gives. Dimmesdale, unable to cope with all the lies admits to being an adulterer and Pearl’s father. In the eyes of the community by breaking the law, Dimmesdale also broke God’s law. This idea portrays Dimmesdale’s society as intolerant, which shuns any form of human faults and temptations. However it is only through his confession that this radical thinker can finally find peace.

jane eyre essay

The 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, is a bildungsroman tale of the title character, Jane Eyre, that matures from childhood to womanhood in Victorian England. On her journey to adulthood she must overcome impediments, and her social status which is imperative in her world. As her fundamental quest for love lingers, she realizes that it is not her ability to love and have her love reciprocated that defines her as a woman. Instead Jane learns how to maintain her autonomy in a world dominated by men and a high class society. As a result of this coming of age novel, Jane emerges as an early feminist willing to stand her ground, and firm in her beliefs.

From a bildungsroman aspect, the novel encapsulates Jane’s experiences and emotions as she grows into adulthood. She is first portrayed as a fiery orphan, which is tormented and shunned by her cousins and aunt. By being enrolled at a boarding school at age ten, Jane exemplifies character building, and manages to keep some of her psychological demons and scaring at bay due to the caring people that she meets. As she becomes a governess as Thornwood, she enters yet another phase of her life, which is the search for true love, without sacrificing her autonomy. Her life at Thornwood serves as an important milestone in the life of Jane because it exposes her to vulnerability, social threats, and the loss of a beloved. Post Thornwood, and her abrupt sacrificial marriage termination, the new Jane emerges as a more analytical woman, sure of her position in society, and able to forgive the torture she had suffered at the hands of the Reed household.  By the end of the novel, Jane emerges as an early feminist, by accepting her newfound social role, and is no longer the once needy and penniless orphan.

By incorporating Jane’s search for autonomy in her novel, Bronte helped welcome in a new genre of literature, which subtly condemned the Victorian era of her time. This era was dominated by women who were trapped in their “subservient housewives” roles, and “proper ladies” positions. Jane Eyre however defied this stereotype on multiple occasions, which also happen to display her coming of age persona. Whether it was rebelling against authority at the Reed house or at the Lowood school, Jane was not afraid of pushing her limits as a child and then as a woman. Her defining moment of staying true to herself and her autonomy comes when she refuses Mr. Rochester’s love and marriage proposal, after finding out he was still married to another. She refuses to simply give up her own honor and dignity, in exchange for the sense of being needed, or emotionally fulfilled. This whole idea was revolutionary in the Victorian era, because it helped establish a new sense of womanhood; in terms of making one’s own decisions, and proclaiming independence from male authority.

Finally, coming to terms with herself and her role amongst the upper social classes of the Victorian era helps solidify Jane’s journey in this bildungsroman novel. Bronte’s use of the social class theme in the novel at imperative times in Jane’s life displays her progression as a character. The two most crucial times when Jane deals directly with the burdens of the upper social class are at Thornfield; first when she has to compete for the love of the man she loves, and the other when she has to make the decision to let him go. Jane receives competition for Mr. Rochester’s heart from the rich and beautiful Miss Ingram. Though Jane is by far more intelligent and more than Miss Ingram, she still serves as a hindrance and is frowned upon when in her aristocratic presence. Equality also manifests itself when Jane refuses to marry Mr. Rochester due to their different social standing; and prior seems to reject many of the articles of wealth that he tries to bestow upon her.

By realizing that poverty does not define a person’s character, Jane is able to emerge as a headstrong independent woman, and unlike her Victorian counterparts, does not need a man to provide for her and reinforce her position in life. Thus by means of this idea, Jane also takes on the role of a modern feminist.