Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Feb. 26, 2009: Journal Entry

Charlotte Bronte

Noted Works:
-Jane Eyre

Analysis of Jane Eyre:
Probably what caught me the most through reading the first couple of chapters of Jane Eyre was when she was pouring her life story out to Helen Burns. Helen noted that Jane remembered every single bad thing that Mrs. Reed did against her. Helen "scolds" her and says, in other words, to not let the pessimistic things people do or say affect you so negatively that it ruins your life. So many times people dwell in misery because one bad thing was caused by their enemies. Letting them get you down may sometimes bring satisfaction to the wrong-doers, which may sometimes encourage them to repeat the same action again, if not the same, maybe worse. God teaches us to return, not evil for evil, but evil for good. It's a lesson that was taught to a ten-year-old, but it's one that still has to be learned and practiced by all.

Application:
It's funny how I can also remember all the bad things people have done to me, but I can barely remember all the good they've done for me too. I think it's because the "evil" things had a greater effect on me because of my lack of appreciation of the good things. I'm going to make it a subconscious goal to return evil for good even though I love to seek revenge and give people what they deserve. But I know that God gives me a ton of grace, so the least I can do is try to love my neighbors (enemies) as myself.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the thoughtful post and application. It was appropriate for my personal life as I need to remember all the good as well. Don't forget to support your analysis (parenthetical reference).

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