Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is about a girl named Jane grew up with her aunt and cousins who hated her. When she was ten she was sent to a boarding school, and when she was almost eighteen she took a job as a governess, and fell in love with her boss, Mr. Rochester. Right before they got married Jane found out that Mr. Rochester was married to a crazy woman. In this book there were many example of different forms of power. Three main ones were power in love, power in fear, and power in guilt. If someone loves another person, he or she will do anything his/her lover wants. If a person is afraid of another person, he or she will fear consequences of not obeying. Finally, if someone feels guilty he or she will want to make it up to the other person.

Brontë’s book shows many examples of power in love. One example is when Mr. Rochester and Jane got engaged Jane wanted to remain a governess, and see Mr. Rochester rarely. Mr. Rochester wanted to see Jane more, but he agreed because he loved her. “I shall just go on with it as usual.” Jane said this when she was talking to Mr. Rochester. It was because he loved her that Mr. Rochester was opposed to Jane seeing him only once a day like usual, but because he loved her he wanted Jane to be happy, so he let her have her way. Another example of power of love is when Jane left and Mr. Rochester fell apart. “But many think he had better be dead.” A man who was describing Mr. Rochester to Jane said this phrase. The power of love can occur in many ways. There was the one above, where someone will agree to something his or her loved one wants, but there is also one where someone can make his or her loved one extremely miserable, or extremely happy. This power is less conscious. Jane didn’t want to make Mr. Rochester fall apart, but with love comes power, and she had more power than she thought. A final example of power in love is when Jane was in boarding school, and she had a really nice teacher named Ms. Temple. Ms. Temple got her students to do what she wanted by making them love her. Ms. Temple was the only nice one to Jane, so Jane did anything she said. This example is love between a teacher and students, but it has the same effect as love between people who are romantically involved. Power in love is interesting, because it can cause love to end if one person has too much, but it can also cause love to succeed, if both people have the same amount.

Another type of power is power in fear. One example of this power is when Jane was little, and Mrs. Reed had power over her. Jane described how Mrs. Reed treated her when she said Mrs. Reed had made a, “Line of separation” between her family and Jane. Jane was afraid of what Mrs. Reed would do to her if she misbehaved. But Jane feared more than that. Mrs. Reed was Jane’s only parental figure, and Jane feared that if she misbehaved Mrs. Reed would hate her more. Mrs. Reed had her power from fear, but the fear came from love. Jane just wanted someone to love her. That’s why she feared so much. Another example of power in fear is when Jane was at school and the man who owned the school, Mr. Brocklehurst, told everyone Jane was a liar. “This girl is-a liar!” Mr. Brocklehurst announced that quote to the school. She feared him, so he had the power to make her extremely miserable. This example is a different type of power from fear than the first one. This was power to make someone extremely depressed, or extremely ecstatic. A final example of power in fear is when Jane first came to Mr. Rochester’s house, and everyone feared what he would do if they did something wrong. The housekeeper said, “I always dress for the evening when Mr. Rochester is here.” He has power to make everyone at the house do things that aren’t necessary. Mr. Rochester didn’t consciously get this power, he doesn’t care what they wear, but since he is their boss he gets the power that comes with it. Power in fear is dangerous, because unlike power in love the two people don’t always like each other. As the power gets higher, so does the fear, so the power keeps going up.

A final form of power is power in guilt. One example is when Mrs. Reed was dying and she sent for Jane. She felt guilty for ruining Jane’s life, so she used her last dying energy to give Jane a letter from Jane’s uncle on her Eyre side. Jane had power over Mrs. Reed because Mrs. Reed felt guilty. Another example of power in Brontë’s book was when Jane was staying with her cousins on her father’s side. The maid Hannah didn’t want to let Jane in, and Jane would’ve died. “You munnut think too hardly of me.” Hannah really wanted to change Jane’s opinion of her. Jane had the power to make Hannah do a lot, but Jane didn’t want that power. She didn’t like power in guilt. That’s why Jane forgave Hannah, and Mrs. Reed with nothing in return. A final example of power in guilt is when Jane found out that Mr. Rochester was married to a crazy woman. “Mr. Rochester, I must leave you.” Mr. Rochester had to let Jane go because he felt guilty. This power in guilt came from power in love. He loved Jane, and that’s why he felt guilty. Power in guilt is strong, but it only works for people who are loved by the people they have power over.

There are many forms of power. There’s power in love, power in guilt, and power in fear. Charlotte Brontë’s book, Jane Eyre shows good ways to use power, but often in life power is not used well. Love and power are different, but they are related to each other. Often power sprouts from love.

            The book Fox is about a bird who thinks fire is ruining her life, but really fire’s making it better. In Fox the author uses fire to represent danger, but also a solution. The bird, Magpie, gets a burnt wing, and thinks her life is over. The burnt wing was a problem, but overall she learned that she didn’t need her wing. Later a fox comes, and he is described as looking like fire. He separates Magpie from her friend, Dog. This is a problem, but when it happens Magpie realizes how much she loves Dog, and Dog’s friendship with Magpie deepens.

Fire is used as a symbol of danger. Magpie loses her ability to fly because of fire. “‘I will never be able to fly,’ she whispers.” Magpie is so devastated by her loss, that she won’t let Dog comfort her. Fire caused her to lose her wing, which made her think that flying is more important than friendship. She got so caught up on little things that she forgot what was important.

Another evil thing represented by fire is Fox. Fox separates Magpie from Dog. Fox also makes Magpie think she needs to fly more than she needs wings. “‘This is nothing like flying. Nothing!’” Magpie didn’t realize that she relied on Dog for friendship. She thought he was only a replacement for flying. Magpie replaced him with Fox much too quickly. Fox was an upgrade because he was faster than Dog, but Dog was more than just a substitute for wings. He was her friend.

Finally, fire ruined Dog’s life. Fox took Magpie away from Dog. “But then she thinks of Dog waking to find her gone.” Dog used to be a trusting and considerate animal, but after Fox took Magpie away, Dog would probably become cold and untrusting like Fox. He would wake up, notice Magpie gone, and in the time it took Magpie to get home he would completely change. Even if Magpie came and they went back to their routine Dog would never really be the same. Throughout the book, numerous times fire represented evil.

            Though fire represented the conflict in Fox, it also represented the solution. For example, Magpie realized she didn’t need to fly. “‘FLY DOG, FLY! I will be your missing eye, and you will be my wings.’” When Magpie’s wing burned she realized that life would go on, and everything would be okay as long as Dog was there. She did what Dog needed, and Dog did what Magpie needed. Magpie realized that even without her wing, life would be good.

Another example of how fire represented the solution was that fire caused Magpie to realize that she needed Dog, not because he was her wings, but because he was her friend. “But then she thinks of Dog.” Magpie was alone without her “wings.” If she still thought she needed Dog to be her wings she wouldn’t have thought of him in that moment. Magpie wouldn’t have gone back if Dog weren’t extremely important to her.

A final example of fire playing a solution is that fire helped Dog’s life. If it hadn’t been for the burnt wing, Dog wouldn’t have become so close to Magpie. If it weren’t for Fox, Dog would be friends with someone who thought she was with him only because he was her missing wings. Dog was a simple character, and he needed to grow. Fire helped him mature, so he could be wiser. Without fire, Dog would still be quite naïve. Overall, fire helped develop the characters into stronger animals.

This theme of fire in the book Fox relates to real life. For example, just like in the story, fire can be good or bad. Fire is used to help people cook and stay warm, but also causes destruction. This is relevant to life because it shows that nothing is white or black. Everyone has what he or she thinks is a good reason for why he or she does anything that someone else thinks is “bad.” Finally, the book teaches an important life skill: be careful not to get distracted by little things. Magpie got too caught up in the destruction of fire to notice that she had an excellent, sincere friend. This book reminds people to always look at the good parts of life. Fox really teaches people many lessons they can relate to their lives.

In conclusion, the book Fox shows that everyone can have two sides. Fire was the conflict, and the resolution. Magpie lost, but in her loss she learned a lot. Dog grew as a character. He used to be innocent and naïve, but he grew into a wiser animal. The book shows that when things are tough, just wait for the flames to die away, and it will get better.

Some of the Best Books Ever

I read many great books in 2013. I also found that I was very interested in multiple genres. I narrowed the long list of amazing books I read to three. One book was realistic fiction, one was historical fiction, and one was science fiction. I loved each of these books for many different reasons. The books are: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

            The Fault In Our Stars was about a girl named Hazel who had cancer. She fell in love with a cancer survivor named Augustus. When Augustus relapses the book really shows how meaningful life is, and teaches about life. This book is a very deep meaningful book. I loved this book because it taught me more about the world, and more about how people with cancer feel. Hazel and Augustus are always treated differently because they have cancer, but they just want to be treated like normal teenagers so they can have a normal teenage experience for the rest of their lives. Another reason I loved this book is because it really brought the characters alive. By the end of it I felt like I knew Hazel and Augustus. By bringing the characters alive the book taught me how to deal with death. I didn’t want any characters to die, but by the end I understood more about death. The Fault In Our Stars really helped me deal with Sammy’s death. I didn’t really notice it, but when this book was over I felt better about Sammy. The Fault In Our Stars is a really witty book that helped me get through a hard time. This book made my cry and laugh at the same time.

            The Book Thief sucked me in from the beginning. I was really inspired by the main character. It’s about girl, who lost everything to the Germans, and the Germans just expected her to give them everything. The main character, Liesel, rebels by housing a Jew. She saves a man’s life. Liesel is a very inspiring character. I loved the book thief because it showed me that anyone can help someone, no matter how small a person is, and how big his or her opponent is. The Book Thief also really shows how life was in Nazi Germany. Everyone is taught to believe that the Germans were atrocious, but not everyone was bad. Even some of the people who hated Jews weren’t evil. Hitler hypnotized everyone into having his opinions. It was either his opinions, or death. The Book Thief really shows both sides of history.

            Cinder was an amazing book. Cinder is based off Cinderella, but it takes place in the future, and there are some twists. Cinder lives with her stepsisters and stepmother, but she is half robot. Meyer took Cinderella, a very simple story, and made it come alive. Cinderella is not a strong character, and in the short fairytale the reader doesn’t really get to know her. Cinder is a passionate, and strong character. Cinder was really fun to read, and to figure out all the mysteries of the book. In Cinder there were some traumatic problems, like death, and Meyer really showed the effect of everything on Cinder. Cinder also showed that a person has to carry on his or her duties even if he or she is depressed. Cinder’s sister died, the whole city thought she was evil, and a very powerful person was going to kill her, but Cinder had a duty to save Earth, so she risked her life, even though it would be easier to just leave.

            These books have changed my life, mostly in good ways. The Fault In Our Stars in a very deep way, The Book Thief in an educational way, and Cinder in a way that taught me about writing, and developing characters. These three books have helped me grow as a person, and helped me deal with events in my life. That’s why these are the best books I read in 2013.