Jane Eyre and Daisy Miller . a study
In both novels the narrations shape the idea that the ladies in the stories are young, inexperienced but they have a purpose, though it is not clear which it might be.Having in both cases unreliable narrators who describe with the little information they have, lets the reader judge by themselves the path the lives of these two female protagonists could follow.
In the case of Daisy Miller James uses a third person narrator with a limited amount of information to share.This perspective with certain limitations , seems to be that of Mr Winterbourne.This type of narrator makes the story rich in the sense that it creates an atmosphere of doubt about Daisy´s intentions and beleifs.The voice which is used by this narrator chosen by James is conversational and also cheerful, with a carefree tone. It appears that the author wants the reader to capture Daisy´s naive manners by using the voice of a narrator that considers her like that.
Jane Eyre on the other hand,expresses her own feelings and narrates whatever she experiences.The author uses her point of view to give the reader the same picture Jane has.The purpose of Bronte could also be for the reader to be as surprised or sad about the events as Jane is in the story.Innocent and full of hopes when she is chosen for performing a job at the manor, her voice guides the reader into her life with the same insecurities she had and her same expectations.
As a conclusion, the role of narration and point of view are essential in both stories and help the reader have a picture of the girls .By using the word picture I mean that the narrators capture moments in both lives and leave the rest to the action that develops and the decisions the girls make.
"I finished my research paper two days early."
A good way to determine active vs passive is to ask who performed the action. Did the subject perform the action, or was the action performed "by" the subject?
The subject performs the action in this sentence:
I = [subject]
finished = [action]
my research paper = [thing on which the action was performed]
In the other examples, the subject has an action performed on it.
My research paper = [subject]
was finished/is being finished = [action]
two days early = [time frame information, not really important for the discussion here]
At this point, you have no indication as to who will finish the paper, do you? No. You assume that the paper will be completed "by me," but it could just as easily be completed "by my friend."
If you can add "by [person/thing]" to a sentence, it's passive voice. If you can't, it's not. Clearly, you would never say "I finished my research paper by me."
