Determining Literary Merit

Much arrogance was felt throughout my senior English Literature class when we were told to ask ourselves: "As an AP student, is this book worthy of my attention?" I know that Mrs. Klefas, my freshman English teacher and quite possibly the sweetest woman in the world, would answer with a resounding yes! However, her opinion alone is not enough to establish merit; I had to resort to criticisms and quality reviews as well as my own reading of the beginning of the novel. After this research, I have determined that Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is surely meritorious and worthy!

From the first chapter, I can tell that Jane is a very independent and honest character; surely one of the strongest women characters in 19th century novels. In the introduction written by Joyce Carol Oates, the novel is described as "a work of stubbornly idiosyncratic intelligence" with particular "strengths in passages of introspective analysis." This novel has been transformed into nine big-screen movies, four made-for-TV movies, and three mini-series, which shows me that is widely loved and worthy of my reading.

The 1996 movie adaptation of Jane Eyre, given 4 stars

Also, while inspecting a blog of teenagers who had read the book, I noticed that some absolutely adored Jane while others completely despised her. This shows me that the novel is up for much interpretation, giving way to different opinions depending on how you look at it. I believe this characteristic of the novel gives way to AP-worthiness, as the students must do their own critical thinking of the novel in order to really form an opinion of it.

Lastly, I have noticed that Bronte takes her time when explaining setting and details, never to leave out the name of a flower or forget to include details of a persons' features. This lengthy writing style requires the reader to be patient, appreciative, and able to paint a picture in their minds. AP students possess these qualities, making Jane Eyre further meritorious.