Assignment: Symbols and Setting
Name:
In this course you have studied the importance of symbols, setting and asking different levels of
questions. (Review previous units if you have questions about these concepts.)
As you have read Jane Eyre you have traced the development of two symbols and considered
how it has illuminated a character or a theme. You have also looked at a variety of settings in
the development of Jane’s character.
Robert. B. Martin (Charlotte Bronte's Novels: The Accents of Persuasion. NY: Norton, 1966) points out,
The setting of the story is carefully divided into five distinct locales, each of which has its particular significance in
Jane's history and each of which is like an act in a five-act drama. Her early childhood is spent in Gateshead Hall, the
home of the Reeds; from there she goes to Lowood, where she comes under the influence of Mr. Brocklehurst, Miss
Temple, and Helen Burns; as governess to Adele at Thornfield she falls in love with Rochester; after the discovery of
the existence of Bertha, Jane runs away and is taken into Moor House, the home of her cousins, the Rivers family; in
the conclusion of the book she and Rochester are united at his crumbling hunting-lodge, Ferndean Manor. There are,
in addition, two scenes in which Jane returns to an earlier home to discover changes in both herself and those she
has known in the past: from Thornfield she returns to the deathbed of Mrs. Reed at Gateshead, and from Moor House
she returns to Thornfield to find only its blind windows and gaping walls.
Now it is your turn to use your dense questioning skills to consider symbols and setting in Jane
Eyre.
1. Using the notes and quotes from your Jane questions in the last four units write three
dense questions (check Unit 1 if you need to review what makes a dense question) about
symbols and setting in the story.
2. Select your ‘best’ dense question and write an essay in which you answer your own
question. Be sure to use quotes and notes from your reading to support your answer.