When we were first assigned this project, I was a little confused. I found it hard to understand how we could incorporate different materials and sources while still keeping "one voice." After talking it through with Laila and Kira, my group mates, I began to understand and got excited. We chose the theme of independence to stay away from the major theme of love that runs throughout Jane Eyre but still keep an important idea. We then split up to find our evidence and quotes that we would then group together to make into one flowing idea.
For me, finding the quotes within Jane Eyre was the most restricting. I knew that the idea of independence was everywhere, but it was hard to find fifteen different passage that expressed it. Some passages worked within the story, but if they were pulled out of context they wouldn't make sense. Eventually, though, we found each of our passages. I felt the same way about finding quotes from other sources within the curriculum. I felt very limited, and it took some time to find passages that would work. We did find these as well, but it wasn't as easy as I would have expected.
I enjoyed finding outside elements much more because I felt more free. After thinking about this, I realized that when it comes to bringing different elements into one idea, I enjoy freedom. Usually I'm okay with restrictions, because it helps me know what the teacher wants, but for this kind of project I liked having a wide range of elements to choose from. I believe it allowed me to be more creative with this project and share my knowledge from many different places, not just what we studied in English. It was easier coming up with connections from outside the English curriculum because they were the ideas that came quick and naturally to me, the ideas that popped up into my head when someone said "independence," instead of being forced or looked for. I do believe that it's good for me to find connections in everything, but I had more difficulty with this project when I was told where to look for these connections.
I like the fact that I was comfortable with the free aspect of this assignment. Usually the open-ended part of assignments makes me nervous, so it was a nice change to feel confident in my ideas. I wish I had an easier time understanding this assignment originally, though, because if it had been individual I would've had difficulty. In the end I really liked this assignment. It definitely brought together many different elements and ideas that I never thought could've been brought together.
