What If?: Being a Boy

What if I was born a boy? I am convinced that my life would be much, much easier. Truly, guys have it easier! Jane Eyre has put this thought in my mind even more than usual. First of all, boys clearly do not have nearly as much pressure on them to look good as girls do. I know that I have spent many, many hours fretting over my appearance and comparing myself to other girls. Second, I feel like guys are in general much nicer to each other than girls are. Girls are by nature incredibly dramatic and catty. It makes things extremely difficult and uncomfortable. Also, in relationships, it seems like men have all the control. This isn't just within relationships, but in the circumstances leading up to them as well. Women spend days and months and years fretting over men, but in the end, it really comes down to boys to take initiative. We see how this affects Jane in her longing for Rochester. She has admitted to herself that she is in love with him, and cherishes her moments with him, but Rochester is "committed" (hmm... we'll see) to Blanche and there is nothing she can do about it. While women have gained many political rights and recognition over the years, men still seem to have the upper hand in social and romantic situations. Is this because this is nature, or protocol, or just "how things are supposed to be?" It seems like it would make sense for it to be more accepted for women to have equality in relationships just as they have gained it in other areas. Sometimes tradition is nice (like when it comes to proposals, etc.), but it certainly seems like sometimes boys can be too dumb to be trusted!!

Dialectic: Feminism and Love in Jane Eyre

I will start off by saying I am very unsure if I am doing this blog correctly... but I will do the best I can!

The two major themes of Jane Eyre are feminism and love. The feminism comes up as Jane is continually struggling to gain recognition as an individual in society. Her status as a woman certainly hinders her in the 19th century Victorian world. We see how Jane is extremely thoughtful and intelligent, and if she were a man who perhaps had a little bit of money, she could certainly make a difference in the world. We as readers are constantly impressed by her thoughts and opinions.
And then, along comes Rochester. While Jane impresses he and the readers with the intelligent conversations the two share, when we again gain access to Jane's thoughts we see how her love for Rochester has had at least some effect on her thinking. At the end of Chapter XVI, Jane becomes thoroughly consumed by her anxiety that Rochester will fall for Blanche, the beautiful girl. At this point in the story, it seems to me like she has at least temporarily abandoned her mature, non-conformist thought and is thinking very... conformist-ly. She is acting just how women are supposed to, focused on appearances.
I think it will be interesting to see how Jane's feminist struggle plays out with her love for Rochester as the story progresses. I am hoping that she will be able to both make a feminist stand while finding love. Today, being a strong woman and being in love would not be very remarkable. 200 years ago, though... well, I'm excited! Power to Jane.

Blogging Around

First I commented on Tess's blog post. She talked about how we discussed the importance of objects to humans, and I really liked the point she brought up.

Tess, I really like your post! It is so true how certain "things" can make us feel so many different emotions. So much of our world can only be fully grasped through the senses; many attempts to describe something through words fail miserably. This is the essence of a big challenge for writers: how do you communicate the full beauty, or horror, or sadness, etc. of an object simply through writing? I think I am going to have a difficult time describing things in my short story. It's so hard to show and not tell. Not only does this apply to describing physical objects, but also to showing people's thoughts and reactions. Thanks for a great post! It helped me realize something I really need to focus on when writing my story.

Next I commented on Dylan's blog. He wrote a "What If" blog, contemplating the possibility that in class any random student would be called on and asked to share what they're thinking. Here's my comment:

Dylan- This is an AWESOME idea! Of course, I'm saying that right now after reading about it and how great it could be, and I would probably curse the universe if I was ever called on to share what was going through my head at a given time, but still- it's a good idea. I'm not one to talk very much in class because I think I will never say something that's smart enough. If I was simply asked to share what I was thinking, though, it could generate discussion and I wouldn't be judged because, well, I don't have a ton of control over what thoughts go through my head! This wouldn't work so well if I happened to be daydreaming at the time of being called on... then I would be forced to make up something that I'm not really thinking just to avoid the embarrassment of sharing what I am actually thinking. Really, though. If this worked, it could be awesome! The whole class sharing their thoughts without getting judged? Sounds great to me. A+ idea ! :]