AS AQA English Literature Jane Eyre and Great Gatsby

I'm doing Jane Eyre and Rebecca!

how are you finding Jane Eyre?

Is anybody doing Jane Eyre and The Great Gatsby for their comparative question in the exam?? I have no idea what to write, or how i can link it to other novels. Thanks!

It's okay! I'm trying to reread it before the exam and pick out key quotations that I can use. Also I am planning my structure for the question by looking at the spec mark scheme of A01's to A05! These are what to include in the essay.

Well of course you don't know what to write cause you haven't seen the exam question yet .

But aside from that bad joke, I would suggest you pick out some themes first of all that showcase character's attitudes. This is the most easy way to ensure you try and get down everything you can.

I assume this is the Love Through the Ages? So you need to compare how different types of love are presented in both texts.

So start by looking at what type of loves are identified within both texts and how are they portrayed.

I'm not doing Jane Eyre but what I would do is look at different themes and collect quotes from each novel per theme. Then find a couple of critics for each novel, read up some context, look at wider reading and maybe have a look at a film?

I like to structure my points like so:

Point
Rebecca evidence
Gatsby evidence
Analyse and compare
Context
Rebecca evidence
Gatsby evidence
Analyse and compare
Critic/comparison novel analysis
Link back to question

E.g say the question was on marriage:

point: marriage is negative because of adultery
Rebecca: 'they made love to her of course"
Gatsby: "The fact that he had one (mistress) was insisted upon wherever he was known"

Analysis: "they" compares to "mistress" = both cheating but Rebecca with multiple men. Also "insisted" "of course"- they're not hiding it= have no shame

Context: typical of 1920's America where people were hedonistic- Tom slept with women because he wanted to. But less expected for a 1930s English woman- defies patriarchy which is why she has to die - supported by historicist/feminist critics

Then I would add more quotes, comment that the Luhrmann film of Gatsby shows Gatsby and Daisy committing adultery- even though it's only ambiguous in the book- suggests every marriage is affected by it

Could compare it to Jane Eyre- Rochester is married, yet has Ms Varens as a mistress and tries to make Jane the same

Then I would tie back in: this represents that marriage is overwhelmingly negative as both novels present it as contaminated by adultery, suggesting that marriage cannot exist as a pure institution.

that's a really good idea, would you be able to send me the structure that you've come up with by any chance?

My structure is point, quote, analysis of quote, comparision to other text with quotes and analysis, context/social expectations and then any literary criticism/wider reading that shows my point as well. So typicalities of the time period etc!