01-06-2008, 09:53 PM
It seems we agree on that point. How about how religion affects or influences certain characters in the book: Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, Jane Eyre, St. John, Edward? (I can't think of anyone else in the book who referred to religion.)
I'll start with Brocklehurst: What a pompous ass! He reminds me of several characters from Dickens' novels. He is blind to his own and his family's faults and uses God to instill fear into others. Or perhaps he likes to attribute his own sins to others. You can see how stupid he was when he asked his son whether he wanted the nuts or a passage of the Psalms, and when his son answered that he wanted the Psalms, he was rewarded with the nuts. I think his family knows how to manipulate him.
I'll start with Brocklehurst: What a pompous ass! He reminds me of several characters from Dickens' novels. He is blind to his own and his family's faults and uses God to instill fear into others. Or perhaps he likes to attribute his own sins to others. You can see how stupid he was when he asked his son whether he wanted the nuts or a passage of the Psalms, and when his son answered that he wanted the Psalms, he was rewarded with the nuts. I think his family knows how to manipulate him.