Pass the Tea: A Year of Reading English Lit

[gokeisha18]

Reflections on a Year of Reading English Literature

Word count: 592

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. “Jane Eyre” by Jane Austen. “NW” by Zadie Smith.

General Reflections:

England is a very sophisticated country. Very organized in way. Follow a strict set of commands. I feel as if English authors follow those same structures. English authors are very sophisticated and their diction is beyond the young generation mind. You would have to love English literature to read it. Most English books, well at least the good ones, are the old ones. The one common theme most of the books I read have in common is love. Love plays a big part in English literature and so does betrayal. There always has to be some type of betrayal. Characters in English literature, if a female are portrayed as poor but strong and independent. While the male is more so rude and is a narcissist. They always think they’re better than most. Oh, don’t even get me started on the rich people. They look at servants so below them. The English book I read didn’t take place during modern times. Jane Austen’s work is very outstanding if I say so myself. She knows how to reel her readers in and make them be able to relate. Jane Austen will forever have an impact on the literature world. Her works are being adapted in movies and TV shows.

Pride and Prejudice:

Pride and Prejudice taught me that no matter who the guy is you shouldn’t just fall for him just because he has money. It’s the personality that counts and Darcy was not a nice man and Elizabeth didn’t go running into his arms. Sis made him work real hard for her. Elizabeth taught me not to care about what others have to say about me. She taught me that when you love yourself no one can ever make you feel worthless. Elizabeth’s was wise and because of that she wasn’t naive and I admire her for that. She taught me to always look past a person's persona because sometimes that not who they are at all. She looked past Darcys persona.

Jane Eyre:

Jane Eyre taught me that no matter where you come from always know your worth. Don’t settle for less when you know you can have more. She also taught me to never give up and to continue persevering because what you are going through now is not what you’re gonna go through forever. This is just an obstacle on your path to success. She overcame so many obstacles it was admiring to watch her grow into herself. She made a voice for herself and she taught me to make a voice for myself because if not people will just run over me.

NW:

I really didn’t learn much from NW because I had just started it. All I can say is that it taught me to not be so quick to trust a person just because they are in “crisis.” They might just be playing you and you wouldn’t know. Have a nice heart but be careful who you let into your home.

What I Learned About Myself:

lol this is going to be funny coming from me. I learned that I love romance. Yeah, I said it. I love romance. Only fiction though, I’m not a really big fan of real life romance because those get messy and rarely ever get fixed. Even though I did not like Mr. Darcy, I still wanted him and Elizabeth to get together and Same for Mr. Rochester and Jane. I love the story behind romance. It’s so raw but pure at the same time. It’s crazy and I just love it. Feed me the sappy stuff because I will eat it all.

[gokeisha18]

“The spinach is farm to table.”

- Zadie Smith, “NW” (97)

[gokeisha18]

Week 20 Blog

NW

by Zadie Smith

Pages read: 45-90

Words: 306

Summary

Turns out Leah is pregnant and while she was at work. She starts thinking about how she is the only white female surrounded by a bunch of black women from different African countries. She's hiding her pregnancy from her co-workers as well as her family. She tries to act normal at work, but she always feels as if she needs to act different in order to fit in. The women are always making comments. Some of them even made a joke on how Leah's white and she has the last black man on earth. Leah prints out direction to a place but not mentioning the name of the place, only the address. When she reaches her destination she began describing the people there. While walking back home, Leah finds Shar at a payphone and when Shar saw her she dropped the phone. Michel, Leah’s friend started accusing Shar of stealing money. Leah calls Shar a thief. Leah was taking a walk around her neighborhood when she saw Shar. She had a black eye that turned into a yellow bruise. Shar was crying and when Leah reaches her she confess that she’s a drug addict and that she really did steal Michel’s money. Leah being the nice person she is offers to help Shar with the drug problems.

Critical Analysis

“Massive tablets covered in ivy, in lichen, in spots of yellow mold and moss.” (78) In this quote, Smith focuses on plants by using details such as ivy and lichen that appeal to the tombstones in order to create a strong image in the reader’s mind and convey the idea of what an old tombstone could possibly look like.

Personal Response

These chapters are wicked small. There’s like a page chapter and it was barely a page. It was more like half a page. This book is weird. Leah is weird.

[gokeisha18]

“Massive tablets covered in ivy, in lichen, in spots of yellow mold and moss.”

- Zadie Smith, “NW” (78)

[gokeisha18]

“On the grandeur of this Victorian house, the length of the garden, that he should know a barrister and a banker, that he should find funny the things they find funny.”

- Zadie Smith, “NW” (67)

[gokeisha18]

“Currency trading. The exploitation of volatility.”

- Zadie Smith, “NW” (54)

[gokeisha18]

Week 19 Blog

NW

by Zadie Smith

Pages read: 0-45

Words: 219

Summary

Leah is home, reading a magazine and trying to write on it. The doorbell rings and Leah opened the door to a screaming lady. Her name is Shar. She’s waving a bill in her hand and screaming about her sick mother who’s in the hospital. Leah makes some tea for her and she notices that her clothes aren’t looking right. Leah tried to calm her down but nothing seem to work. She tried getting her a taxi to the hospital because Leah doesn’t drive. Oh Shar couldn’t even remember where they took her mother. Then they start talking about some girl name Natalie. Leah asks Shar how much money she needed for the taxi, she said 20 but later said 30. Leah’s mom reprimanded her for giving her 30 for the taxi.

Personal Response

Honestly I have no idea what’s going on this book. It’s really confusing, especially when they talk. My summary wasn’t great because I don’t remember what happened from all the pages but I do remember what happened towards the beginning of the book and I understand it because I had to read that part twice. There’s a lot of foul language in this book which I’m totally okay with because it makes me feel somewhat grown. It’s only the beginning of the book, hopefully it gets better.

[gokeisha18]

“To Adina a university degree is like a bungee cord, lowering in and pulling out with dangerous velocity.”

- Zadie Smith, “NW” (35)

[gokeisha18]

“For always. Time will stop. I’ll never die. Very banal, this fear.”

- Zadie Smith, “NW” (27)

[gokeisha18]

“She unfurls her fist, let’s the pencil roll.”

-Zadie Smith, “NW” (4)

[gokeisha18]

Week 18 Blog

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bronte 

Pages read: 522-568

Words: 388

Summary 

Jane doesn’t know if her mind is playing games with her but regardless of what she thinks she got on that coach and went to Thornfield. She finds a note from St. John telling her to not believe what's going on in her mind and to resist temptation. Once she got to Thornfield she sees that it is ruined. She asked what happened and they told her that Bertha Mason (Rochester’s crazy wife) set the house on fire. Rochester  managed to save his servants but he wasn't able to save his wife because her crazy self jumped out of the window and died. Rochester lost a hand and went blind. She found out where Rochester was living and she went to him. The maid was going to bring Rochester food but she suggested that she does it. He doesn't know that it's her but then he gets the feeling that Jane is there. He thought she was ghost but once she reassured him that she wasn’t he was overjoyed. The next day they went for a walk and Rochester ask Jane to marry him again and she said yes. She also assured him that she was not in love with St John. Jane and Rochester gets married with no witness only the people that are suppose to be there. Jane writes to her cousins but St. John being the petty man that he is doesn’t write back but Mary and Diana does. They wish her luck. Rochester eventually began to regain vision in one eye and when their first child was born, a boy, he was able to see him.

Critical Analysis

“My seared vision! My crippled strength!” (556) The author uses a metaphor here to compare strength and crippleness (that’s not a word?). This comparison suggests that St. John is a weak man and can’t handle rejection. Even if it’s from his own blood line.

Personal Response 

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! JANE AND ROCHESTER FINALLY GETS MARRIED and I want to thank the Lord. If you can’t tell, the book has finished and it was kind of a happy ever after tale. At the end everyone got what they rightfully deserved and it couldn't have gone any other way. Thank you Charlotte for this amazing book and thank you Jane for being such a strong, independent, strong protagonist. Yeah, I know I said it twice. Free my back.

[gokeisha18]

“My seared vision! My crippled strength!”

- Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre” (556)

[gokeisha18]

“Oh, you are indeed there, my skylark! Come to me. You are not gone: not vanished?”

- Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre”

[gokeisha18]

“The wondrous shock of feeling had come like the earthquake which shook the foundations of Paul and Silas’s prison; it had opened the doors of the soul’s cell and loosened its bands.”

- Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre” (528)

[gokeisha18]

Week 17 Blog

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Brontë

Pages read: 462-522

Words: 313

Summary

One night Jane was reading and St. John came up to her and started telling her a story. He started telling her story. But he doesn’t know that that’s her story because she gave them a false name and has been really good at hiding her past. But St. John suspects that the woman is her but she doesn’t reveal herself. Jane ended up revealing herself to St. John because St. John received a letter saying Jane Eyre must be found because John Eyre died and left her his fortune. St. John and Jane finally realizes that they’re related and Jane is delighted. Jane also shared her inheritance amongst her cousins. St. John wants Jane to marry him and Jane kindly rejects him but he’s very persistent and won’t leave her alone. One night at dinner, St. John prays and she was left in awe. She almost felt compelled to marry him but at that same moment she hears what she think is Mr. Rochester’s voice and she snapped out of it.

Critical Analysis

“Reason, and not feeling, is my guide; my ambition is unlimited: my desire to rise higher, to do more than others, insatiable.” (468) Brontë shows with this quote that St. John is egotistic because he seems to think that he is better than everyone else. This is not just a passing emotion because since the first night he met Jane he was like this.

Personal Response

Can you believe St. John? He really had the nerve to ask Jane, his cousin, to marry him. Like is he right in the head? That’s incest. Anyways, I hope Rochester is really back and ready to snatch his girl up because St. John who? Although, Rochester can be a pest at times, I’d rather him than St. John. So far the book is not bad but it’s not something I’d read just to read you know ?

[gokeisha18]

“A female curate, who is not my wife, would never suit me.”

- Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre” (517)

[gokeisha18]

“God and nature intended you for a missionary’s wife. It is not personal, but mental endowments they have given you: you are formed for labor, not for love.”

- Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre” (503)