Re: Poll: How many of you have actually read "Jane Eyre"?
Posted by: Anonymous User (---.hsd1.tx.comcast.net)
Date: August 08, 2005 12:24AM
My own "pretentious-ness" is a kind of joke...you see, there are several definitions:
1 : characterized by pretension : as a : making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing) <the pretentious fraud who assumes a love of culture that is alien to him -- Richard Watts> b : expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature <pretentious language> <pretentious houses>
2 : making demands on one's skill, ability, or means : AMBITIOUS <the pretentious daring of the Green Mountain Boys in crossing the lake -- Amer. Guide Series: Vt.>
I think of myself as ambitious, and when I use the word "pretentious" to describe myself, that's how I use it. But the first definition applies also. I'm pretentious to imagine that I actually matter. I'm pretentious to think that I might actually make something of my puny self. I'm pretentious to address people like I'm actually their equal. So, whenever I give myself a screenname with "pretentious" or "pompous", I can delight in my little joke...as they laugh at me, I laugh back.
I was mainly referring to that so-called pious and religious man that ran the boarding school (who brought his wife and daughter to the school in silks while demanding complete plainess from the orphans) and Jane's aunt. It was so completely obvious that Bronte was making them look like idiots, with the way they talked...I think I laughed out loud. Anyways, more emphasis on "subtle irony" than "hidden mockery". I think I only used "pretentious" and "pompous" because they are words that just occur naturally to me. I was writing that for the benefit of my ignorant peers on my weblog, not for the high-class folks on the fforum. :)
You are seven in the second grade. It really wasn't anything special, I mean, "Watership Down" /is/ a story about bunny rabbits...even if it's also an epic novel about a very human-like journey.
It took me a chapter to "get into" Jane Eyre. Only that. The first pages were a drag, but as soon as they throw her into the Red Room it gets interesting.
I have yet to read "A Tale of Two Cities". It took me three re-reads to digest the first two pages alone...and I only recall that these were about the queen and king of France and England. Wow.