Jane Eyre: A New Movie, Plus Essay & Project Ideas

We talk a lot about new YA novels here at Novel Novice, but we also make no secret that we have a love and admiration for the classics — especially considering how influential those books are on contemporary literature. And we take no small amount of joy in helping show you how you can relate the classics (you know, those books you get assigned as pesky homework reading!) to the new books hitting the YA shelf at your local bookstore.

One such classic is Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre — which is getting some fresh attention with the upcoming movie adaptation starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. And while we always believe in reading the book FIRST, we do love a good movie adaptation. This new version of Jane Eyre looks quite promising, and we’re hoping it can help introduce a new audience to this classic novel.

For students in the Portland, Oregon area, you also have a unique opportunity involving the new film — and all it takes is putting pen to paper. (Okay, well, fingers to keyboard — but that sounds less eloquent). Here are the details on an exciting contest for high school students in the Portland, Oregon area:

The Multnomah County Library & The Heathman Hotel present:
An Evening with Jane Eyre

Portland, OR-area high school students are asked to submit a one- to two-paragraph esssay about some aspect of the novel Jane Eyre. 25 students will be selected at random from all eligible entries to participate in the event, to be held at the Heathman Hotel on March 16th. The event will include refreshments from the era in which Jane Eyre was written, plus a reading from Jane Eyre by New York Times best-selling novelist Chelsea Cain. From there, the students will be whisked away to a special advance showing of the movie.

And in fact, ANY student (again, in the Portland, OR area) who submits an entry, will receive a pass and guaranteed seating at the screening — and will be entered into the drawing for An Evening with Jane Eyre.

The official contest begins February 25th, but entries can be submitted as of now. The deadline for entries is at NOON on March 9th.

Entries can be submitted in person to any of the 19 Multnomah County Library branches, online at the Multnomah County Library website, or by mail to this address:

JANE EYRE
PO Box 47087
Seattle, WA 98146

Be sure to include your name, e-mail, phone number & mailing address when you enter!

And because we want to help you out, we’ve compiled several essay topics relating to Jane Eyre to help you get started:

* In what ways do Jane Eyre fit the model of a classic Gothic novel? Explore some of the novel’s Gothic elements.

* Discuss the way women’s roles in Victorian society are explored in Jane Eyre. What sort of comments do you think the novel is making about this subject?

* How do societal roles and class play a role in the events of Jane Eyre? How would the story be different if told today? (For comparison, you can read April Lindner’s Jane, a modernized retelling of Jane Eyre.)

* Compare and contrast Rochester and St. John. How are they alike/different? What are the different options they each offer Jane?

* Discuss the role of dreams and visions in Jane Eyre. How do these supernatural elements play out in the novel’s realistic setting?

* How does Jane compare to Bertha Mason? Though at first they seem completely different, do they share similarities? What do these similarities reveal to us about the characters?

* Based on his behavior, do you think Rochester is a sympathetic character or unsympathetic? Why/why not?

* There are many autobiographical elements to Jane Eyre. Discuss how the novel relates to Charlotte Bronte’s real life.

And remember, you can use these ideas to get started on Jane Eyre essays for school, too, even if you can’t enter the contest in Portland!

Meanwhile, you can learn more about the movie online and on Facebook. Plus, check out the theatrical trailer here: