[ Help! ] Problème pour le plan de l'extrait 7!

Je me suis donc mis à mon plan (à rendre demain, je le rapelle!) et au final, je le trouve trop court. Je me demandais si quelqu'un pouvait m'aider sur ce qui serait intéressant de rajouter...







At that point of the story, Rochester seems ready to believe Daniel Cosway even if his wife confides in him about who she really is. Christophine decided to go away because she doesn’t really like Rochester and can’t along well with him. Before she goes, she frightens Amélie with voodoo to make her stop seducing Rochester.
Getting a lot of problems –mostly with Rochester- Antoinette decides to go to Christophine, seeking for help.


I. Antoinette’s problems
- Rochester doesn’t love her and besides, she even thinks he hates her.
- She is like broke: indeed, according to the English law and her marriage, Rochester owns all her money -> she is trapped because she can’t do anything by herself without money.
- She doubts everything: Rochester who seems to hate her, and moreover, she doubts herself: she doesn’t know who she is, she is “selfless”, she doesn’t have an identity. Rochester calls her “Bertha”, she’s not English, and she’s not black -> she doesn’t know where she belongs, and because of that, she starts to be crazy.


II. Confrontation between Christophine and Antoinette
- As she doesn’t know what to do, Antoinette goes to Christophine, her surrogate mother.
- Christophine advices her to go to Martinique but Antoinnette would prefer to go to England.
- Antoinette’s dual vision of England: she is attracted by this country but, in the same time, she has something like a vision from the future: herself, dying in England.
- Antoinette changes her mind and decides not to go. She can’t because she hasn’t got money, she still loves Rochester, and she is afraid of him.
Actually, she doesn’t really want to go.
- Antoinette wants Christophine to make her a love potion even if Christophine says it’s useless: she is completely desperate.



Not only does Rochester make Antoinette suffer by taking her for granted but he also steals everything she has: he takes her money, he makes her argue with her only friend, Christophine. Indeed, for the first time in the novel, Christophine and Antoinette don’t understand each other and we
have the impression that there is a little clash between them in that extract.
Antoinette starts to be crazy because of Rochester’s behaviour and besides, she is trapped: without money she can’t do anything, and because of her love for Rochester she doesn’t want to be logical.
-> This extract shows us how important is Rochester’s influence on Antoinette.

that's not bad at all I think. You made a few mistakes, nothing too horrific though.

what you can say better:
language level: "- She is like broke" --> (very colloquial .....)
"she is “selfless”": might be a bit ambiguous; perhaps you should say: she is being deprived of her identity
"she starts to be crazy": she is beginning to lose her sanity / her mind


what I liked particularly: "Actually, she doesn’t really want to go." you're quite right! it's so true!
what I find most debatable:your conclusion of conclusion. you should end with something really striking and important if you mean to impress your (usually tired and bored) examinator

Okay, thanks teacher!
(By the way, "Selfless" was the tittle of a Buffy episode! ^^)

Je met en ligne mon extrait, on ne sais jamais, ça servira peut être pour quelqu'un !
Pour ce qui est de ton plan, nicow, je trouve qu'il tient la route ...
en revanche, j'ai eu plus de soucis avec l'extrait 6, une idée de plan ne serait alors pas de refus !





Antoinette and Rochester knew nothing each other when they married. Yet, they do all they can until the time when Rochester received a letter from Daniel Cosway who pretends to be Alexander Cosway’s illegitimate son. All along the letter, Daniel Cosway slanders Cosway family so, the English man becomes more suspicious. Affected by her husband’s strange behaviour, feeling that he has become cold and angry, Antoinette seeks Christophine’s advice on how to win him back. Unfortunately, the situation seems to be more difficult. This section, narrated by Antoinette, affords a glimpse of her own impressions regarding Rochester, En gland and her current unhappiness. Her narration draws Christophine back toward the center of the plot, whereas Rochester’s narration has pushed Christophine to the margins.



I) Antoinette’s disarray :

a) She is totally distraught :



- She needs support, she is dependant of people: her mother, Christophine, Tia, Rochester. They let her down one by one. Only Christophine is present, although she leaves Jamaica for a time. So, she doubts Christophine’s love.

à She is her only hope: “Oh Cristophine, do not grow old. You are the only friend I have, do not go away from me into being old” (page 71, on line 5)



- She thinks her husband doesn’t love her: “he doesn’t love me, I think he hates me “ (page 68, on line 20).



- She becomes to doubt her identity : Rochester calls her Bertha which her mother’s name. It is the door opened the madness.



- Premonitions of evil haunt Antoinette’s thoughts and the surrounding landscape: haunting forest dreams, she sees signs of betrayal in the cock crowing, and she feels that England will be a cold and unwelcoming place. Where she tells her vision of England, she has a vision of her future.



b) An appeasing visit :



- the place where lives Christophine is a refuge, as the old wall in Coulibri Estate’s garden : “this is my place and this is where I belong and this where I wish to stay”(page 67, on line 15)



- She is closed by nature. Description of the landscape with a raw poetry



- Christophine’s presence comforts her.



II) The considered solutions :

a) Leaving of Jamaica :



- Christophine tells Antoinette to leave her husband but she refuses :

à She depends of him; she has not the responsibility of her money. Like Coco, Antoinette has had her wings clipped by an English man.

à She seems to be afraid of Rochester. If she tries to leave, he would be furious : “ there would be a scandal if I left and he hates scandal” ‘(page 70, on line 35)



- In spite of all, she wants to leave in England. She has a dual vision of this country :

à Attraction (She imagines England as a paradise, a dream)

à Fear: “I know that house where I will be cold and not belonging” (page 69, on line 13)



b) The love potion :



Antoinette dismisses these fanciful thoughts and admits the real reason for her visit.

Christophine is renowned for practicing obeah and that’s why Antoinette wants a love potion to get her husband’s love back. But, Christophine refuses because she thinks it’s no use: “If the man don’t love you, I can’t make him love you” (page 70, on line 4).

Instead, she urges Antoinette to simply talk to Rochester, to explain her background and her feelings. Christophine has not altogether bad opinion of Rochester, she just thinks he listens to the bad people.



III) European and Afro-Caribbean ideas of womanhood clash in the conversation between Christophine and Antoinette :

a) concerning independence :



Believing that women are fool to rely on their husbands, Christophine herself remains single and independent. She has had three children, all by different men, and has held onto her money.

She despises men. She is categorical when she slanders them: “Men like that”

When Christophine urges Antoinette to take her inheritance and leave, she is shocked to learn that, according to English law, Antoinette’s wealth now belongs to her husband. Indeed, Antoinette cannot break from her husband, on whom she is financially and socially dependent.



b) concerning England :



Christophine claims that England as Antoinette imagines it doesn’t exist.

That Christophine doubts England’s existence echoes Antoinette’s earlier conversation with Rochester over ‘unreal” or “imaginary” places.

However, Christophine knows that Antoinette’s total dependence on Rochester is not imaginary, and she urges Antoinette to escape.

à She is realistic, cleat sighted, honest and direct.




Surprisingly, the old woman complies and gives finally the love potion. Antoinette’s premonitions suggest that she possesses a sort of sixth sense, a gift that ties her to the supernatural, magical world of Christophine. However, Antoinette’s whiteness and her European heritage render her unfit for the use of obeah magic. Indeed, Christophine senses something taboo in giving Antoinette the potion. The exchange of money, a colonial accessory of power, for the rights to a spiritual ceremony sullies the transaction and seems to spoil the potion, subverting its effects. It seems that nothing can protect Antoinette from her downfall. Evil haunts her actions and her surroundings.

Waow, vraimnt bien ton plan! J'aime particulièrement la troisième partie à laquelle je n'avais même pas pensé!
Pour le plan de l'extrait 6, j'ouvre un autre sujet!

c'est vrai qu'on pense pas forcément à ça !
je le trouve super bien ton plan !