Question

Put students into groups of three and let them act as Jane.

Student A: You are Jane. You live with the Reeds. Tell the other students about your life there.

Student B: You are Jane. You have been at Lowood School for a few months. Tell the other students about your life there.

Student C: You are Jane. You are eighteen. You are going to work at Thornfield Hall as a teacher. Tell the other students about your hopes for your life.

After this, decide who is the unhappiest of the three ‘Janes’.

Answer 1

Student 1: I am Jane. As my parents died, I had to live with my uncle and aunt Mr. and Mrs. Reed in a town called Gateshead. My three cousins Eliza, John and Georgiana ill-treated me. After my uncle’s death, my aunt did not look after me as her daughter. She always locked me up in a red room. Besides, the maid had to listen to my aunt and did, as was told by her. My aunt wrote a letter to Mr. Brocklehurst and sent me to Lowood.

Student 2: At Lowood, I met Miss. Muller and Miss. Temple. They put me in the fourth form. There, I got a new companion Helen Burns, who told me that their school was a charity school for the orphans. But after some time, Helen got ill and passed away leaving me alone in Lowood. I spent eight years in school – six years as a student and two years as a teacher. I wanted liberty. So I advertised in Herald for situations. A week later, I received a letter from Mrs. Fairfax, Thornfield, for a job.

Student 3: There, at Thornfield, I was asked to teach Miss. Adela. She was Mr. Rochester’s ward. I liked Thornfield very much. I told Adela that I would teach her about nature, animals and flowers. We can study all we can that isn’t in books. I believe that art is the window of the soul. So I started teaching Adela and led a new life in Thornfield.

The unhappiest of the three ‘Janes’: ‘Jane’ who lived with Mrs. Reed, at Gateshead.