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To Jackie,
My question is: We already know that Mr. Rochester and Jane are lovers, yet the only obstacle is Lady Ingram. So, how do you think Mr. Rochester will end things with Lady Ingram?He doesn’t need to end things with her, she already did it for her. It mentions in the reading that once he spread a rumor around that he wasn’t nearly as rich as everyone had previously thought, Lady Ingram and her mother immediately distanced themselves, not interested in matrimony or even friendship.
To Alexa:
If Mr. Rochester was Jane’s age, would their relationship be different? Would they be together by now?I think that if they were the same age that perhaps Mr. Rochester would not have been as tender towards Jane as he is now. Though he is still pretty, well I don’t know if rough is the right word, on her in that he always calls her “sprite” or something of the sort, and seems to belittle her often, he also refers to her as his little friend. It’s very fitting of the Jesus allegory in that Jane is like his little lamb. If they were the same age, I think that their relationship would be more balanced, and that they would’ve gotten together a lot sooner in the book.
Though I think Mr. Rochester is a hero, he certainly has some questionable aspects to his personality. He’s cowardly, reckless, lacks self-control, and is way too sarcastic to fit the role of Prince Charming. Despite this all, Mr. Rochester does manage to come off as charming. He’s confident in himself, of what he wants, and doesn’t care what others have to say about it. He’s far from awkward-his pride would never allow that. He’s rude and abrasive, he’s fully aware, because he knows he can get away with it. He’s constantly playing with the boundaries of what is socially acceptable, and that’s why I think he finds Jane so alluring. She defies everything he’s come to expect from people and presents a whole new set of boundaries for him to test and push. He’s also the exact type of person Jane needs in her life, someone who knows her flaws and, instead of punishing her, loves the little imperfections.
My question is, Do you think Mr. Rochester ever pushes Jane too far? If so, what is a signal of that?
I think there are really two sides to this question, why the Greeks needed myths, and why the myths turned out the way they did, so full of detail.
For the first one, I think the Greeks needed a way to explain the world around them. In myths, they answered their own questions as to why lightning struck, or why the seasons changed.
As to why myths are so detailed (with vivid character personalities and seemingly irrelevant events) is because the Greeks also needed to give deeper meanings to things. What use was their a god that bares lighting if he never angers enough to use it? They needed to give deeper emotions to the figures they created, not just in this example, but in order to give a greater meaning to their own lives. Like others have said, if they suffer, at least they know there’s a purpose to it.If you’re like me, you walk around all day creating scenarios in your head for different things, anywhere from “Why was that person so rude to me?” or to “Hey, a cool idea for a story would be…” and then you go on to create certain events and dialogue. If you can relate to this, do you think the first myths were created in this fashion? Or were they thought out with more precision amongst several people?
To Erin, about why people worshiped such imperfect gods.
At their origin, they were designed by imperfect people, ones that had no grasping at there COULD be a perfect God. The only basis they had would be of each other. So these violent, bipolar gods were born to Olympus. But I think that this also gave them some semblance of hope. If the gods were immortal, indestructible, and they were so flawed, could mortals also rise above their flaws? They saw gods that could also take pity on them, for one of the gods might have been in the same situation as they. For example, if someone were in love with a person their mother absolutely hated, they may feel inspired and aided by Cupid, who had experienced the same thing. With their imperfections, the Greeks also saw ways to relate to the gods, and prayed the gods felt the same towards them.Is there any god, goddess, or other figure from mythology you feel you can relate to?
To Jalonzo,
about your comment that there is a big difference between mythology and science/philosophy. You stated that mythology IS NOT based on observation. I think you’re missing the point. Mythology had EVERYTHING to do with observations. The Greeks observed that for some reason the leaves would turn brown in the fall, and that for no apparent reason, the earth would tremble beneath them. They made observations all the time, and what they found was, they didn’t have the answers to their questions. They explored the realm of stories, of gods and goddesses, making up and applying their own truths. But the point of all of this was that it DID take observations of the world around them.To totsmagoats,
I think that while Louise was happy with the life she chose in Truitt, I think that there will always be apart of her that feels uneasy towards Caroline, but I don’t think she envies her anymore.Do you think it is possible to recover completely from such a childhood, or are the scars an inevitable byproduct?
To Alexa,
I think that if Caroline had done so and become friends with Louise that both girl would’ve accomplished nearly the same things. I think Caroline would’ve still married Call and moved to New York to become a singer, and that Louise would’ve left Rass to attend the boarding school during high school, and still would’ve gone to medical school afterward. However, I don’t think she would’ve gone to Truitt to become a midwife.Are you happy with Louise’s decision to be a midwife, or would you have liked to see her be a doctor?
Something I’ve noticed in a lot of people’s comments is that there seems to be a negative attitude towards Louise. I don’t know if I’m making assumptions, but it makes me curious.
When reading Jacob Have I Loved, did you find it easier to empathize with Louise, or to be irritated by her?
“Did Caroline deserve to marry Call? Or should Louise have married him?”
To Jackie,
I’m personally really glad that Louise and Call didn’t get married. Call couldn’t have made Louise happy in life. Intellectually, Louise is above him, and he never understands her jokes. Moreover, his personality is generally dull and simple. He’s a better match for Caroline, whose personality is similar in that they’re both very calm. Louise on the other hand is dramatic, and wants to be understood, which is something Call couldn’t do.Do you think Joseph was the best possible person for Louise to marry?
“Not to be rude or anything, but what up with Sara and her kiddy, 6yrold temper-tantrums?! Why does she feel the need to suddenly flare up at Caroline and then when the Captain tries to calm her down, she makes a scene and darts out the room?! ”
To answer your question, Cameron,
I think it’s very easy to understand where Louise’s anger comes from, but only if you’ve ever had someone who acted like Caroline did to Louise. Louise feels helpless in her life, like she has no control and Caroline rules the whole world. To her, making a huge scene is all she can do to help herself and make others understand. And when Captain tries to calm her down, it’s almost like a betrayal, like he has chosen Caroline’s side like everybody else. She realizes that no one is going to listen or understand her, so she leaves because she doesn’t want to be around them. I do think that Louise overreacted on some occasions, but don’t really blame her.What are some better ways that Louise could’ve handled things? What could she have done to mend her relationships earlier on?
In Jacob Have I Loved, most of the entire novel, Louise victimizes herself. Though it is true that Caroline was more popular and generally more liked, Louise could’ve done many things to change this. She could’ve been more friendly towards others, or she might just have adopted the attitude that wouldn’t let her sister’s overwhelming success get to her. Louise grew up after having a conversation with her mother, one in which her mother divulges that the life she lives is the one she chose. Louise realizes she has had the power over her own life all along, and Caroline never did. This is the truth she is driven to understand. This is also why she decides to go to medical school, and furthermore, decides to leave medical school to become a midwife in Truitt. Her decisions seem to nearly mirror her mother’s life, another woman who chose her destiny.
In Kira-Kira, Katie spends her childhood idolizing her sister Lynn. For a lot of the novel, Lynn seems to be able to do no wrong. When Lynn gets sick and eventually dies, it must’ve been hard to accept. A person you look up to is supposed to be better, greater, stronger; they’re not supposed to die before they even get a chance to go to college. Lynn’s death pushes Katie to understand that terrible, tragic, unfair things happen in life. When Lynn dies, Katie loses her innocence. However, the loss of innocence does not mark someone to be grown up or not. Wisdom and maturity do those things. It was Lynn’s lesson to Katie to find the glittering side to things that gave her what she needed to grow up. Even after she’s experienced an awful circumstance like her sister dying, she is able to see the brighter side of things.
Do you agree that wisdom and maturity are signs of growing up? Or does innocence have more to do with it?
To Paige,
I think the difference between Louise’s feelings towards her sister and Katie’s towards Lynn is the root of where the hate comes from. Louise’s hatred of Caroline comes from feelings of inadequacy in herself, while Katie’s mild hatred of Lynn comes from missing the relationship that she and Lynn once shared.Which bread of hatred do you feel is more common?
In Jacob Have I Loved, Louise’s jealousy is more apparent than Katie’s. Caroline seems to take everything from her, and leaves nothing for Louise to call her own. For a long time, I think that Louise never truly plotted revenge, at least not in a practical way. It was easier for her to feel pitiful and sorry for herself. It was when she no longer lets Caroline rule her life that she exacts real revenge and becomes the bigger person.
In Kira-Kira, I think though Katie may have wanted to be like Lynn in many ways, I don’t think she was every truly jealous or vengeful towards her. However, Katie was admittedly jealous of Amber, and sought her revenge by fighting with Amber after she had “dropped” Lynn.
My question is, do you think revenge is necessary in the healing process when others have wronged you?
I believe that Caroline and Lynn were kept very active in the novel through the thoughts of Louise and Katie. Both Caroline and Lynn are always on their sisters minds, and dominate a large part of the text. It’s because of this that both sisters learn valuable lessons from their counterparts and influences the outcomes in both novels. Louise learns that she has the power over her own destiny, and Katie learns to see the brighter side in everything.
My question is, has a sibling or someone else close to you ever taught you a life lesson?
Cameron, two things: One, it was Tree-ear and not Juan who was robbed. And two, it says in the last chapter of the book that Juan went to work in one of Esteban’s studios. He wasn’t long gone. He had the opportunity, he just never took it.
To Becca,
I believe that orphans were treated as bad luck charms because of their own bad luck. The circumstances of the parents’ death could be a factor. If they died because of a plague, it could be feared that the child carried it too. Or if the parents had died in a fire, who’s to say that the child didn’t start the fire himself? Or maybe the parents were robbed and killed because of some curse the child carried, and nobody wanted the curse to catch them. People were superstitious, afraid, and gossipy. They punished the children for tragedies that took their parents away.What are some ways people still punish children for the mistakes of their parents?
To Andre on what Crane-man brought out in Tree-ear,
I think that Crane-man didn’t so much as bring things out in Tree-ear, but teach them to him. He taught Tree-ear the importance of honesty, and honor, and taught him to never steal. Crane-man raised Tree-ear to be a good person, and in effect, helped him win Min’s trust.
