First Major Assignment: Reading Things

How Can We “Read” Objects in Victorian Novels?

Main text: Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847)

Secondary source: Elaine Freedgood, The Ideas in Things: Fugitive Meaning in the Victorian Novel (2006).

Following Elaine Freedgood’s lead, this assignment is about taking the “things” in these novels seriously, not just as details that contribute to “realistic” description, but as clues pointing towards larger stories about selfhood and power.

Choose a description of an interior space in Jane Eyre. (We will brainstorm possibilities together in class.) Give a “reading” of that space and its details. What stories do these details have to tell us? What questions do they raise for you? How can you connect these details to a reading of the novel as a whole? Does your reading support, complicate, or contradict Freedgood’s argument in Reading Things?

Skills That I Am Asking You to Practice

  • Careful and attentive close reading
  • Connecting your close reading to your interpretation of the novel.
  • Placing your interpretation of the novel into conversation with historical context and with the interpretations of others. Being able to briefly introduce and summarize a scholarly interpretation and relate it to your own perspective or stance.
  • Scholarly citation practices.

Basic Requirements

To receive credit for the assignment, you should:

  • Have a thesis or argument about how your close reading of an interior space advances an interpretation of the novel.
  • Place your reading of the space in conversation with the interpretations and evidence in Freedgood.
  • Make your argument in about 1,000 words.
  • Use MLA citation conventions to cite the novel and the secondary sources.

Collaborative Rubric

Expanded checklist of requirements that we came up with in class for the assignment. We will refer to this checklist in revising the draft for the assignment.

Primary Source Work (Evan W. Viviano G. Natalie M.)

  • Close description of interior space in novel that uses strong elements to communicate a deeper meaning to the reader.
  • Close reading to interpret details for a thorough comparison to secondary sources/ Freedgood article
  • Proper citation from primary source

Secondary Source Work (David A. Dasilva O. Elvir C.)

  • Place your reading of the space in conversation with the interpretations and evidence in Freedgood.
  • Introduce what Freedgood discusses while comparing and contrasting it to your observations.
  • Are there any overlaps between Freedgood’s views and your observations?

Genre/Voice (Melanie C, Damini R)

  • Using Jane’s feelings and reactions to her surroundings to get a better understanding of the relationship she has with the location
  • Writing indicates in depth knowledge of setting throughout the novel
  • Assess how well the writer’s voice engages the reader and conveys the tone that was intended
  • See if the writer has evidence to support what the writer is saying

Focus/Organization (Isahmar C.,Bushra B, Naima A.)

  • Clear and concise thesis statement that outlines the main point of your interpretation
  • Support your interpretation with relevant evidence and examples. 
  • Introduce the book and author and speak a little about the book overall 

Purpose (Tess M, Rasmiyah C, Deniro R)

  • To interpret the novel in a unique and specific way, and advance that interpretation by doing close reading + using historical context.
  • To look at overlooked objects inside a story and interpret the story through its association with the culture and the people that live inside of these rooms. 

The in-class document that we made for the collaborative rubric is available here.

Due Dates

Brainstorming: 2/13
Proposal2/15
First Draft2/20
Peer Review2/20
Final Draft2/29
Reflections on Revision2/29