Jane Eyre 12.

“ . . . like a wild, frantic bird rending it’s own plumage in desperation . . . “(Brontë 257)

Many times when birds become flustered they flap their wings in desperation to take flight to safety. However more often than not they wind up with a broken wing or flap themselves into exhaustion and die. Brontë compares Jane to a frantic bird because Jane is acting out immensely because of Mr. Rochester’s actions. She believes him to be getting married to Miss. Ingram and she decides to leave. By Brontë saying she will render her own plumage she means that if Jane continues to act the way she currently is than she will end up losing Rochester and everything she’s worked for.

Jane Eyre 11.

“ . . .a careless shepherd if I had left a lamb. . . so near a wolf’s den . . . “ (Brontë 219)

At this point in the novel Rochester has left Jane alone with a bleeding patient in dire need of assistance. She is frightened to the extent where she is almost incoherent. She is incapable of bandaging his wound and fears greatly that he will die before the return of Rochester and the surgeon. Brontë compares Jane to a lamb because before a lamb matures into a sheep it is entirely dependent on either it’s mother or it’s shepherd. In this case Jane’s shepherd is none other than Rochester and him leaving her alone could have dire consequences due to the fact that she is so dependent on him.

Jane Eyre 10.

“ . . . with her long curls and blue eyes . . . just as she was painted . . .” (Brontë 25)

At this point in the novel everyone in the Reed household is gawking over Georgiana’s beauty. They disregard Jane as part of the family, not only because of her behavior but because she is not much to look at. Brontë made such a big point of this because she wants to make the reader realize that appearance was a huge part of life and social status in the mid 1800’s. Even more interesting is that appearance is still a huge part of fitting in in todays society some hundred years later.

Jane Eyre 9.

" . . . remorse is the poison of life . . . " (Brontë 138)

When Brontë says this he means that if life if lived through regret and remorse than there really is no living. Jane Eyre has a lot to regret from her life but she has chosen to push past it and more forward, living for the future. If she had not chosen to do so she would be over come by depression because of her child hood and would never be able to move on. She would forever be stuck seeing out of the eyes of that little girl.

Jane Eyre 8.

" . . . an uncongenial alien permanently intruded on her own family group . . . " (Brontë 16)

At this point in the novel Jane Eyre resents her Aunt more than ever, and her Aunt is none too fond of her. Brontë could have chosen to use to term 'alien' for more than one reason. The word alien is often used to describe a foreigner which Jane technically was. The only reason she was living there was due to the fact that her father was deceased and had requested she stay there. Another usage for the word alien is in the extraterrestrial sense. Jane was not classically "beautiful" and her Aunt was never shy to tell her. Brontë could have been using this term to describe her lack of blending in with the Reed family.

Jane Eyre 7.

" . . . they let us ramble in the wood like gypsies . . ." (Brontë 78)

Gypsies, among other things, are known for their free spirits and diverse, spirited travels. By Brontë comparing the girls to gypsies she is simply saying that they took everything in, every bit of nature that surrounded them and appreciated every inch She also meant that the girls frolicked to and fro through the woods with out a care in the world or a destination, much like gypsies.

Jane Eyre 6.

" . . .Solomon said . . . "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith . . . " (Brontë 75)

Solomon was known not only for creating Jerusalem and the Holy Temple but also for his wisdom, his wealth, and his writing. He is often times quoted much as he was in Jane Eyre. This particular quote has been paraphrased an umpteenth amount of times over the years. It is saying that it is better to be poor and have love than to have all the riches in the world and know only hate. Brontë used this quote because she was explaining the differences between Lowood and Gateshead. Although Gateshead was much more pristine and seemed to be "better" at a glance it was filled with nothing more than bitter memories for Jane.

Jane Eyre 5.

". . .we feasted that evening as on nectar and ambrosia. . . " (Brontë 73)

Nectar and ambrosia are said to be "foods of the Gods". They were fortunate enough to have the luxury to dine on nectar and ambrosia. Food played a large role in greek mythology ; those who ate deserved to eat and those who went hungry deserved that as well. Hunger was seen as a punishment. By Brontë saying that they feasted on nectar and ambrosia she means that the food was fit for a God and truly decadent.

Jane Eyre 4.

"...heathen who says his prayers to Brahma and kneels before Juggernaut . . . " (Brontë 67)

The Brahma and the Juggernaut are both important figures in the Hindu religion. Brahma is said to be their God and the Juggernaut is said to be not only a God but the Lord of the entire World. At this point in the novel Jane is being accused of having sinned because she has "lied". By Brontë comparing her to someone who worships Hindu Gods she is stating that Jane is a misbeliever and a traitor and has obviously committed sins. Not only did Brontë compare her to a "heathen" but she said that she was worse.

Jane Eyre 3.

". . . march forward . . . "as stalwart soldiers" . . . " (Brontë 60)

The definition of a stalwart soldier is "one who is physically and morally strong". The students had to face the elements and endure a two mile walk to church every Sunday. Their spirits were always slow as they had to deal with the frigid air and bitter snow. Miss Temple referred to them as stalwart soldiers to lift their spirits. Brontë used this particular term to compare the girl to strong minded soldiers because in this part of the novel that's what they seemed to be. They seemed to be an army, marching to their destination of church. The battle they fought were the elements.

Jane Eyre 2.

". . . You are like a murderer . . . you are like the Roman Emperors . . . " (Brontë 10)

Roman Emperors were often known as cruel and evil. They obtained unlimited power and did with such power as they pleased. They were dictators and the lives of commoners and people that inhabited Rome had no effect on the way they chose to rule their territory. They only saw people as stepping stones to better themselves. When Brontë refers John Reed to not only a Roman Emperor but also a slave-driver she truly means that he is repulsive. That he is a retched little boy who believes that he deserves better than everyone else, especially Jane.

Jane Eyre 1.

"..I sat cross-legged like a Turk..." (Brontë 7)

When Brontë says that Jane was sitting as a Turk he means that she was sitting cross-legged. In Turkey Islam is the most prominent religion, Islam is a distinct sect of Muslim. A Muslim is bound to perform the Salaah five times a day. While performing this religious ritual of prayer they spend most of the time in the "indian style" cross-legged position, among others. When Brontë states that she was sitting as a Turk he could also have meant that she was in an almost meditative state; she was calm and serene.

Works Cited

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"HMS Terror (1813) -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Terror_(1813).

"Concertina wire -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concertina_wire.

"Gautama Buddha -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha.

"Ave Caesar morituri te salutant -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave_Caesar_morituri_te_salutant.

"Huntley & Palmers -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntley_&_Palmers.

"Ludovico Ariosto -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovico_Ariosto.

"Satan, The Fallen Angel Who Tempted Adam In The Garden Of Eden." HubPages. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://hubpages.com/hub/SatanFallenAngel.

"Pandemonium -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemonium.

"Nightingale -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingale.

"Mahomet and His Successors." Yahoo! GeoCities: Get a web site with easy-to-use site building tools. Web. 01 Sept. 2009. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2092/paper5.htm.

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Heart of Darkness 26.

“…To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land… burglars breaking into a safe…” (Conrad 40)

Conrad is saying that each day people are being less careful and less grateful for the earths natural treasures; we cultivate the ground, tear down trees, explode cliff sides, with no real regard or remorse for doing so. He is comparing our guiltless destroying to the guiltless mind set of a robber; a robber steals from other beings, we steal from our earth, what’s the real difference?

Heart of Darkness 25.

"...I felt as though, instead of going to the center of a continent, I were about to set off for the center of the earth..."(Conrad 17)

The center of the earth (the core) is said to be as hot as the sun but the temperature fluctuates regularly; it is composed primarily of nickel-iron alloy. To travel to the center of the earth is absolutely impossible, you would die instantly, not to mention that difficulty of cutting through the other layers of our earth. Conrad is stating that when Marlow said this he meant that this was going to be a frightful, dangerous and quite possibly, impossible journey.

Heart of Darkness 24.

1.) “…I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice…” (Conrad 85)

When Marlow decided to find Kurtz he knew what could become of it, he knew the dangers that were possible and he had signed himself off to do this. When he says he should be loyal to the nightmare of his choice he means that though things are not going completely as smoothly as planned he allowed this to happen to himself, he placed himself in his own horrible nightmare and must continue to do so until it is finished. Conrad is stating that most people don't own up to their mistakes or follow through with what they signed up to do, but Marlow has to, he doesn't have a choice.

Heart of Darkness 23.

1.) “…I was completely unnerved by a sheer black fright… distinct shapes of danger…” (Conrad 83)

Have you ever been so scared you were paralyzed, unable to move, to think, to breathe? Sometimes people get scared to the point where they aren’t even aware that they are scared, the world just stops, your vision become skewed and you don’t know what scared you in the first place. When Marlow discovered that Kurtz had vanished he was struck with this type of fear, nothing else in the world could have scared him more because Kurtz was so essential, he didn’t believe it because he didn’t want to believe it and couldn’t feel fear because he was scared to the point where being frightened was no longer an option. Conrad is making a point to describing the type of fear Marlow is feeling, Conrad is trying to explain in such a way that each of us can relate to.

Heart of Darkness 22.

1.) “…She must have had the value of several elephant tusks upon her…” (Conrad 79)

Elephant tusks are made of ivory which makes them very, very valuable which causes poachers to kill thousands of elephants to obtain their ivory. When Conrad said that she looked as though she had several elephant tusks upon her it was not meant in the literal sense but in the sense that she was wearing very fine jewelry that must have been very expensive.

Heart of Darkness 21.

1.) “…Perhaps you will think it passing strange this regret for a savage…no more account than a grain of sand in a black Sahara…” (Conrad 65)

The Sahara desert is the world’s largest non-polar desert; it stretches 3000 miles over Northern Africa, and is covered in sand. To compare someone to a single grain of sand is pretty much stating that they are unaccountable for. Conrad is stating that the ‘savage’ is not accountable for, and not even worth thinking of, he’s just another grain of sand to walk all over.

Heart of Darkness 20.

1.) “…A loaded Martini-Henry leaning in one corner…” (Conrad 57)

The Martini-Henry was a lever-activated rifle that was adopted by the British in 1871. Much like the Winchester the Martini-Henry was also stored on most ships to protect the passengers from attack. They were also always loaded for easy access and kept in the corner closest to the door.