The I and the Eye of the Author notion lele

My presentation will deal with the theme The « I » and the « I » of the writer.

This theme includes several genres of writing such as the autobiography or the diary and allow the readers to understand better the writers.

We may wonder : How can authors, through autobiography, cause us to identify to the stories of their lives?

To answer this question I have chosen to talk about « Boy »written by Roald Dahl, the Chapter 7 of « Jane Eyre »by Charlotte Brontë and Maya Angelou’s autobiography book « I know why the caged bird sing ».

My first document, Boy: Tales of Childhood, published in 1984, is a funny, insightful and at times grotesque glimpse into the early life of Roald Dahl. In it, he tells us about his experiences at school in England, the idyllic paradise of summer holidays in Norway, and the pleasures and pains of the local sweetshop in Llandaff, Wales. The author established a psychology relationship between the reader and him by confiding painful and harsh moments of his boyhood such as the loss of loved ones or the famous corporal punishment in Chapter 7 « Mrs Pratchett Revenge. He therefore allows us to insight those very intimates memories, to being moved and concerned. The pain the author went through since his cradle seems relatable to the reader since childhood memories can be blurry. He pushes us to think about our own past struggles, our little stories of our own.

Well, in the similar tone of childhood mistreatment but with using a entertaining, light and funny style we can also talk about Jayne Eyre a lot more serious piece of work, which will be my second document.

Charlotte Brontë is one of the prominent writers of the Victorian Era. At the time, not many women writer were recognised for their works, and strong, leading female characters were not as common as they are today. In her novel Jane Eyre, Brontë develops a story based on the life and experiences of Jane, who narrates the novel.

The story can fit into several genres and tackles several themes. It is a romance, but also a social novel; it has Gothic features but also realistic elements. Indeed, Victorian novels were sometimes inspired by all the genres that developed throughout the 19th century.

In the Chapter 7 of this autobiography Jane is beginning to adjust to life at Lowood and thinks it to be okay since she is around other children that aren't constantly mean to her. She feels as if she is becoming accepted and has even made a new friend, Helen. This all changes when Mr. Brocklehurst returns. His presence makes Lowood even colder and there are more rules that are enforced. Jane is also worried about Mr. Brocklehurst's promise to Mrs. Reed about informing everyone that Jane is a liar. This unfortunately comes true when Jane accidentally drops her slate in class. She is forced to sit on a chair in front of the class while Brocklehurst tells everyone what a horrible child she is. Jane is painfully embarrassed and saddened by this.

We can understand what the character is going through because of the very common feelings of culpability, sadness and shame. Even though her childhood is special because of the difficulties she confronted, any reader can easily relate to the fact that she feels rejected and alone in this very particular

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