Full title · Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

author · Lewis Carroll

type of work · Novella

genre · Fairy tale; children’s fiction; satire; allegory

time and place written · 1862–1863, Oxford

date of first publication · 1865

narrator · The narrator is anonymous and does not use many words to describe events in the story.

point of view · The narrator speaks in third person, though occasionally in first and second person. The narrative follows Alice around on her travels, voicing her thoughts and feelings.

tone · Straightforward; avuncular

setting (time) · Victorian era, circa publication date

setting (place) · England, Wonderland

protagonist · Alice

major conflict · Alice attempts to come to terms with the puzzle of Wonderland as she undergoes great individual changes while entrenched in Wonderland.

rising action · Alice follows the White Rabbit down a well and pursues him through Wonderland.

climax · Alice gains control over her size and enters the garden, where she participates in the trial of the Knave of Hearts.

falling action · Alice realizes that Wonderland is a sham and knocks over the playing card court, causing her to wake up and dispel the dream of Wonderland.

themes · The tragic and inevitable loss of childhood innocence; Life as a meaningless puzzle; Death as a constant and underlying menace

motifs · Dream; subversion; language; “curious,” “nonsense,” and “confusing”

symbols · The garden; the mushroom

full title · Jane Eyre

author · Charlotte Brontë (originally published under the male pseudonym Currer Bell)

type of work · Novel

genre · A hybrid of three genres: the Gothic novel (utilizes the mysterious, the supernatural, the horrific, the romantic); the romance novel (emphasizes love and passion, represents the notion of lovers destined for each other); and the Bildungsroman (narrates the story of a character’s internal development as he or she undergoes a succession of encounters with the external world)

language · English

time and place written · 1847, London

date of first publication · 1847

publisher · Smith, Elder, and Co., Cornhill

narrator · Jane Eyre

climax · The novel’s climax comes after Jane receives her second marriage proposal of the novel—this time from St. John Rivers, who asks Jane to accompany him to India as his wife and fellow missionary. Jane considers the proposal, even though she knows that marrying St. John would mean the death of her emotional life. She is on the verge of accepting when she hears Rochester’s voice supernaturally calling her name from across the heath and knows that she must return to him. She can retain her dignity in doing so because she has proven to herself that she is not a slave to passion.

protagonist · Jane Eyre

antagonist · Jane meets with a series of forces that threaten her liberty, integrity, and happiness. Characters embodying these forces are: Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, Bertha Mason, Mr. Rochester (in that he urges Jane to ignore her conscience and surrender to passion), and St. John Rivers (in his urging of the opposite extreme). The three men also represent the notion of an oppressive patriarchy. Blanche Ingram, who initially stands in the way of Jane’s relations with Rochester, also embodies the notion of a rigid class system—another force keeping Jane from fulfilling her hopes.

setting (time) · Early decades of the 19th century.

setting (place) · The novel is structured around five separate locations, all supposedly in northern England: the Reed family’s home at Gateshead, the wretched Lowood School, Rochester’s manor house Thornfield, the Rivers family’s home at Moor House, and Rochester’s rural retreat at Ferndean.

point of view · All of the events are told from Jane’s point of view. Sometimes she narrates the events as she experienced them at the time, while at other times she focuses on her retrospective understanding of the events.

falling action · After Jane hears Rochester’s call to her from across the heath, she returns to Thornfield and finds it burned to the ground. She learns that Bertha Mason set the fire and died in the flames; Rochester is now living at his home in Ferndean. Jane goes to him there, rebuilds her relationship with the somewhat humbled Rochester, and marries him. She claims to enjoy perfect equality in her marriage.

tense · Past-tense; Jane Eyre tells her story ten years after the last event in the novel, her arrival at Ferndean.

tone · Jane Eyre’s tone is both Gothic and romantic, often conjuring an atmosphere of mystery, secrecy, or even horror. Despite these Gothic elements, Jane’s personality is friendly and the tone is also affectionate and confessional. Her unflagging spirit and opinionated nature further infuse the book with high energy and add a philosophical and political flavor.

themes · Love versus autonomy; religion; social class; gender relations

motifs · Fire and ice; substitute mothers

symbols · Bertha Mason; the red-room

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1226