Jane Eyre vs. Wide Sargasso Sea

VS.

Comparing Novels:

These two novels have quite a bit of similarities, yet they differ a lot as well. Similarly, they are both on the same type of story just with point of view from a different character. Jane Eyre is from the view point of Jane who eventually marries Rochester. Rochester was originally married to Bertha. Wide Sargasso Sea is the story of Antoinette who is really Bertha. It was really interesting to read these two stories and to see it from the perspective of differing characters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading both of them, although I was sort of disappointed with the ending of Wide Sargasso Sea, because I wanted everything to work out for her. Some other similarities I saw, were that Rochester was pretty much still the same person that he was in Jane Eyre. He was still the same rude, indifferent man in WSS that he was in Jane Eyre. The way that Bertha did in Jane EyreI was the same way that Antoinette died in WSS.

There were several differences that were quite noticeable as I read both of these books. First off was the name difference. I wonder why Jean Rys decided to change her name, it just seemed wierd to me. Secondly was the time change. WSS's setting was set before emancipation, which differed to Jane Eyre. Lastly, was my perspective as a reader. When I read Jane Eyre I didn't feel bad for Bertha because I really believed that she was crazy. When I read WSS, my opinion was completley changed. After reading it, I felt as if she was not crazy until the end and that Rochester was really the one that made her turn crazy. In Jane Eyre I totally thought that Bertha was really crazy, but after reading WSS, I felt that it was the complete opposite. These were just a couple of the differences that I noticed as I read both of these books.

Overall, I was glad that I read both of these books, because reading WSS helped me to better understand Jane Eyre. They were both really interesting and actually kept my attention as I read both of them. Also, they were fun topics to discuss in class, because we could relate the two books to the same story. Even though I was left with disappointment after reading them, I still really enjoyed reading both of them!!!

Explotation vs. Exploration

This picture shown above I really liked and thought that it would be perfect for this topic. I picked this picture of jelly beans because it describes our race, ethicity and gender. It shows that everyone is different, for we all are different sizes and our skin types. I just felt it was a perfect symbol for this topic.

Race/Gender/Ethnicity:

In Jane Eyre and Wide Sagrasso Sea, there are some prominent relationships between race, gender and ethnicity. For starters Bertha also known as Antoinette is mix of english and native. Throughout Wide Sagrasso Sea she seems to be lost with her identity for she doesn't fit in with neither the english nor the natives. This seems wierd to me because nowadays it is more prominant and completely accepted. Back then it was looked down upon, therefore noone would consider you part of their race. Also, the fact that she is a female doesn't help her one bit. The discussion of gender can go back to some of our earlier books such as Robinson Crusoe which is a great example of gender differences. In this novel girls are portrayed upon as objects that are used by the men when they want them. Throughout the whole book women are mentioned a total of 2 times. The first time is a good mentioning with the widow holding on to Crusoe's fortune, but the second time is for prostetution. In Jane Eyre, Jane is portrayed as this innocent girl who is not very cute, and who is fragile. Just gives off the vibe that all girls are this "stereotypical" girl, which is beyond true. This just goes to show the time, and the manner of what people felt was womens jobs and placement in the world. As for ethnicity, it makes me think back to Othello, and how we had a huge debate about whether or not O was thought to be different because of his race and ethnicity. Overtime these attributes about people are more excepted by our society. This just goes to show that exploration and explotation is more cleary understood, and can more can be exlpored because people have more rights and liberties.