1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.
In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the male protagonist, Mr. Rochester, confronts the conflict created by the innocent governess Jane Eyre and the responsibilities he has to his wife, the mad woman secretly locked in the attic. For much of the novel, Mr. Rochester's behavior towards jane, and the woman in the attic, shows how the past relationships someone has, can effect the present ones.
Mr Rochester through out the novel wanted to give Jane the luxury of the life she never had by claiming her as his wife and treating her like so. As the love grew between them, Rochester starts having more internal conflict about his secret wife in the attic. He felt he had been mis led by his in laws about his wife's history and character. Jane represented good, to which Rochester is deeply drawn too, while the crazy woman in the attic represented evil, which Mr. Rochester had a very interesting relationship with in the past. he is bound to preserve this evil and keep it safe. Rochester's conflict is that the two can not coexist in his world, because he had this relationship with his wife, it prevented him and Jane to have a relationship in the present.
Rochester through out the book is a dark and mysterious persona, he is brusque yet occupies a high place in society. People who have worked for him for years still felt they didn't know all of the aspects of his character. Although he seems cold, he adopted his former mistress's little girl and brought her from France to England with him. Having to keep his wife a secret from Jane enhances his mysterious quality. To try and resolves this conflict, Rochester tried to keep his wife a secret and marry Jane. By keeping his wife a secret, it created an even more confusing aspect to Jane and Rochester's relationship. This shows how complex and desperate Rochester wanted to forget his past, and continue on in the present like nothing happened.
The Novel Jane Eyre showed readers how the part can affect the present, and sometimes ruin it. Mr. Rochester's urge to get rid of his evil past, and go on with his good future, showed how his passion got in the way of him seeing the reality, that eventually everything would come out, and ruin things.
Your thesis does not adequately address all the goals of the prompt. Remember that by first establishing a solid thesis, it will be much easier to write the rest of the essay. I especially liked your analysis of Rochester's character and how that related to the plot of the novel. I would recommend spending more time analyzing the connection between the nature of the conflict and Rochester's character to the central theme of the story. Even though it is hard to accomplish these goals in the time limits of the open prompt, try to make the plot summery concise and rather use it to lay out evidence that you can use to support your analysis.
ReplyDeleteI think you may have slightly misinterpreted the prompt. You talk a lot about the past and the present, but the prompt actually wants you to focus more on responsibility vs passion. Jane Eyre seems to work very well in this essay, but you could try to pick details more in keeping with what's being asked. Good use of textual evidence, though, keep it up!
ReplyDelete