Jane Eyre

FrayedAroundTheEdges · Mon Jul 16, 2007 4:44 pm

I have to read Jane Eyre for school *my summer reading assignments*. We have to read two other books but I usually read the ones that are the dullest first just to get through it. But Jane Eyre is SOO dry!!! We have to take a quiz on it so i need to find a way to read it. Has anybody read it, or used to Sparknotes on it? Can I just use the Sparknotes or are they not rly detiled enough??

Thursday Next · Post by **Thursday Next** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:31 pm

I've read it and I will admit it's not an easy read, but it's really a good story. One option that might be open to you might be audio books which you can find at your local library. Sparks notes generally won't get you through because teachers expect you to read the entire book and will ask questions that you can only answer by reading the book.

JesusIsAlive · Post by **JesusIsAlive** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:51 pm

Thursday Next wrote:I've read it and I will admit it's not an easy read, but it's really a good story. One option that might be open to you might be audio books which you can find at your local library. Sparks notes generally won't get you through because teachers expect you to read the entire book and will ask questions that you can only answer by reading the book.

diddo.

Its a good book, but it is long and hard to read as well. Once you get through the first 5 or 10 chapters, it get much more interesting. $\:D/$

Elf of Rivendell · Post by **Elf of Rivendell** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:54 pm

Also, teachers often anticipate students using Sparknotes and are familiar with the information it offers. So. Yeah.

EK · Post by EK » Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:57 pm

Elf of Rivendell wrote:Also, teachers often anticipate students using Sparknotes and are familiar with the information it offers. So. Yeah.

Yeah.

"Don't use every Sparknotes...
you know what you doing."

GlennAdams · Post by **GlennAdams** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:14 pm

Wow, I can actually say that I have read that book. I did this year for school. I agree with Jesusisalive, the book does get better eventually. But im pretty sure sparknotes does a good job. Some chapters though are so boring that i just skimmed it and read sparknotes then tried to read the rest... So try your best. Oh yeah, don't put this off till the last minute like i did. Not good. (Spending the end of christmas break reading a long book isnt an ideal situation... if you get my drift) hope this helps.

Kait · Post by **Kait** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:07 pm

Hmmm *thinks that she must be wierd*

I loved that book and I couldn't put it down! It was Very interesting! Wasn't dry, boring or slow at all!

Post by **Catspaw** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:55 pm

I've read Jane Eyre several times, first on my own, and then for two different college classes. I enjoyed it more each time I read it. I really encourage anybody who has to read it to actually do so - you miss so much if you think that a chapter summary is an adequate substitute for actually reading the material! Keep going, and maybe use other material to aid your understanding, but don't let other stuff replace the actual book.

JesusIsAlive · Post by **JesusIsAlive** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 12:06 am

Catspaw wrote:I've read Jane Eyre several times, first on my own, and then for two different college classes. I enjoyed it more each time I read it. I really encourage anybody who has to read it to actually do so - you miss so much if you think that a chapter summary is an adequate substitute for actually reading the material! Keep going, and maybe use other material to aid your understanding, but don't let other stuff replace the actual book.

Indeed!

In fact, I liked the book so much that I don't want to see the movie or else it would ruin my mental "movie" of it.

Post by **Catspaw** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 12:17 am

JesusIsAlive wrote:
Catspaw wrote:I've read Jane Eyre several times, first on my own, and then for two different college classes. I enjoyed it more each time I read it. I really encourage anybody who has to read it to actually do so - you miss so much if you think that a chapter summary is an adequate substitute for actually reading the material! Keep going, and maybe use other material to aid your understanding, but don't let other stuff replace the actual book.
Indeed!

In fact, I liked the book so much that I don't want to see the movie or else it would ruin my mental "movie" of it.

That's smart - my sister and I decided to watch a movie version once, and it wasn't very good.

They took out all the connections that make the book interesting, and therefore made the story far less than what it is in the book.

Thursday Next · Post by **Thursday Next** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:27 am

Actually A&E and Masterpiece Theatre did pretty good adaptations of the book. I watched the Masterpiece theatre version this past winter and was actually pleased of how good it was and was pleasantly surprised on how accurately it followed the book. The actress who plays Lucy in the recent adapation of The Chronicles of Narnia was young Jane.

Shad Lexer · Post by **Shad Lexer** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 12:46 pm

I have to read it this summer also. I'm not looking forward to it.

My advice would be to just read it. It's a pain, but oh well.

Post by **Catspaw** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:21 pm

Thursday Next wrote:Actually A&E and Masterpiece Theatre did pretty good adaptations of the book. I watched the Masterpiece theatre version this past winter and was actually pleased of how good it was and was pleasantly surprised on how accurately it followed the book. The actress who plays Lucy in the recent adapation of The Chronicles of Narnia was young Jane.

Thanks for the recommendation! I think I saw a BBC version...I can't remember at the moment. I'll see if I can find the Masterpiece Theatre one somewhere.

Sherlock · Post by **Sherlock** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:46 pm

I understand the sentiments. I absolutely rebelled against reading Jane Eyre, or, to stick with the Jane theme, anything written by Jane Austin.

As I got a bit older though, I came to appreciate and even thoroughly enjoy the subtleties of the interaction that takes place in those stories - especially given the historical context.

I completely agree though that when you have absolutely no interest in reading a book, you're not going to get much enjoyment out of it, especially if it for an assigned reading. However, I would encourage you not to give up on it permanently - in time you may come back to realize a love for certain books that don't seem so great right now.

Lucy Pevensie · Post by **Lucy Pevensie** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:56 pm

I've never read Jane Eyre, although I've heard of it . . . One good way to get through the book is by listening to it (unabridged, of course, so that you don't lose anything). I just love audio books--give them a try if you can.

Thursday Next · Post by **Thursday Next** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 7:44 pm

My experience with reading Jane Eyre was just like any other book I've read. I was determined to get through it in spite of the fact that some spots are harder than others to read. However I am glad that I read it because a few years ago I discovered a new author, Jasper Fforde who basically writes glorified fan fiction. His first book is titled, "The Eyre Affair" and it's about Jane Eyre. To really get the gist of what he's done it really helps to have read the book.

COWBOY OF TEXAS · Post by **COWBOY OF TEXAS** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:01 am

I had to read it my tenth grade for English... it was okay, kinda boring. Sometimes you just have to sit down and just read it, no matter how boring it gets at points....

-Cowboy

totustuus · Post by **totustuus** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:39 pm

I read it for pleasure because one of my friends recommended it. It was very slow at parts, especially at the beginning, but I didn't have much trouble reading it. I just think the plot's creepy at parts. Why on earth does she love that guy?

Kenric · Post by **Kenric** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:00 pm

I read it in fifth grade on my own, and then for the summer assignment you're doing. I'm guessing your other two books are Shakespearean & Modern? Anyways, it resides as one of my favorite books. Jane Eyre plays out like a soap opera. It's slow-paced, but when you read the last page, you'll feel as if Jane was a dear friend.

I would not recommend using primarily SparkNotes. While it is a good preface to a chapter, so you have a feel for what's going on in the chapter, it won't cover for your need to evaluate deeper themes. The commonly-spotted pieces of literary genius are included in the SparkNotes, but your teacher may not always use those and most likely will not.

As for entertainment, I couldn't care less when the little French girl stayed over, but other than that - it was pretty good.

The Town of Odyssey

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre

wow