Look Into your soul

Look Into your soul——————Book Review of Jane Eyre Classicals invigorate meditations.Then the restless is ruled by silence.One hundred and sixty years ago, when Charlotte Bronte created Jane Eyre, she could have never thought that it would become eternal. As a matter of fact, in the world of today, there are tens of thousands of Jane Eyre, each living in a reader’s heart, breathing with him the same air and sharing with him the same happiness and sorrow. Her rich mental world has become an inexhaustible resource of spiritual power. From Jane Eyre, people who are timid and shy get confidence and self-respect; people who feel imprisoned get independence and freedom; people who are lonesome get love and care. However, what I get from Jane Eyre is the courage of inner questioning and self exploring.Who is Jane Eyre? As the story extends, more and more things are added to the answer. From the beginning, we know that Jane is a young orphan raised by Mrs. Reed, her cruel, wealthy aunt. From her experience at the Lowood School, we found Jane a plain-featured but intelligent and honest girl. Her courage to fight with all the hardships, oppression and inequality makes a deep impression on us. When she meets Rochester and St. John, Jane shows us both her passion for love and her sticking to her principles of justice, human dignity and morality.While we are getting to know more about Jane Eyre, she is also exploring herself. When she leaves Gateshead, the little girl doesn’t know what to expect in the future. She has endured so much unfair treatment that all she desires is freedom. However, when Jane gets freedom, she finds herself yearning for new experiences, which can change her life of loneliness and neglect. She follows her innermost feelings and accepts a governess position at a manor called Thornfield, where she falls head over heels in love with her employer, Rochester.Then it comes to the most important decision that Jane has to make in her life. Rochester already has a wife, but Jane wonders how she could ever find another man who valuesher the way Rochester does. To leave, or to stay, Jane is caught in a dilemma. At this moment, Jane closes her eyes and looks into her soul. I can well remember the words she says to herself: “I care for myse lf. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” Guided by her soul, she flees temptation and leaves Thorfield. The second test comes when St. John urges Jane to accompany him to India as his wife. In many ways, the proposal tempts her, but it alsomeans sacrificing passion altogether and devoting herself wholly to principles. Where to go? Again, Jane softly touches her innermost feelings. Who am I? What am I longing for? Is it pure freedom, or passion of love, or principles? From Gateshead to the Lowood, from the Lowood to Thorfield, from Thorfield to Moor House then to Ferndean, Jane has finally got the answer. Having gone through all these years, Jane no longer goes to extremes. What she is seeking for throughout her life is a kind of perfect balance between moral duty and earthly pleasure, between obligation to her spirit and attention to her body. Jane knows herself well and thus can have the strength to hold her own bliss in hand.Jane Eyre sets us a perfect model of inner questioning and self exploring. How about us?Looking back on the development of Jane Eyre’s character, we can see clearly the important role inner questioning and self –exploring has played. “What you are you do not see, what you see is your shadow.” Self-knowledge is a hard process that everyone must go through. There are times when we are overwhelmed by all kinds of desires and lose ourselves in the crowded world. There are times when we just follow what others are doing and abandon our own dreams. To be specific, when asked why you are at school, how many students can honestly say that their answer well reflects their soul?Virtually , it is the question that my Mentor asked me one day. We were walking together in the garden, talking about my school life. I told him that I often have to burn midnight oil,tough I’m only the freshman. “You are working hard!” he smiled, and then looking me in the eye, he asked, “But do you know what you are studying for?” I stammered. At that moment, I was completely at a loss. What am I studying for? Is it simply for getting a good score in exams or getting the master’s degree of doctor’s degree and then finding a good job and leading a comfortable life? I feel confused.He patted on my shoulder, “Y ou know something? Every brilliant life is different. What kind of life do you yearn for?”I didn’t answer Grandpa. Only then did I realize how little I knew about myself. I have never before questioned myself what I really want. I thought about Jane Eyre. She is always exploring and questioning herself. That is why she is able to make her perfect life.Jane Eyre gives me the strength. Now it’s time for me to look into my soul to see who I am and what I am longing for. I will no longer wander around, the moment my soul answers me with her deepest voice. I will fix my eyes on the road ahead, my own road, and keep going. I will hold my brilliant life in hand.。