Canterbury Tales & Jane Eyre

QUESTION 2: How would you best describe the central idea of this chapter? Which phrase from the chapter best helps develop the central idea? 

Before I get into the central idea of the chapter, I want to outline the two events in the chapter that influence the central idea most

1.  Mr. Brocklehurst saying that the young Julia Severn's, red curly hair is a disgrace to their religion and to their house.  He states:

"...we are not to conform to nature; I wish these girls to be the children of Grace: and why that abundance? I have again and again intimated that I desire the hair to be arranged closely, modestly, plainly. Miss Temple, that girl's hair must be cut off entirely..."

He is stating that even though her hair may be naturally the red color and naturally curly, it is still an outlier to the normal society.  To show her true dedication to her religion, her hair must be the same basic hair as all the other girls.  This would require her shaving all her hair off.  His reasoning for this is:

"...I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world: my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with braided hair and costly apparel..."

  
2.  Mr. Brocklehurst forcing  young Jane Eyre to stand on a stool for hours as a punishment and as a way to show the other girls what a "disgrace to god" looks like.  The girls and teachers are told to shun her.  He states:

"Fetch that stool," said Mr. Brocklehurst,
"Place the child upon it." And I was placed there, by whom I don't know: I was in no condition to note particulars; I was only aware that they had hoisted me up to the height of Mr. Brocklehurst's nose"

Jane has no idea why this is happening to her, as she expresses in the text.  Mr. Broklehurst later explains his actions as showing the wrong way to the lord to all his students.  He is just doing his job by raising these girls by the rules of the lord.  His reasoning in the text is as follows:

"...God has graciously given her the shape that He has given to all of us; no signal deformity points her out as a marked character. Who would think that the Evil One had already found a servant and agent in her? Yet such...is the case... it becomes my duty to warn you, that this girl...is a little castaway ...You must be on your guard against her; you must shun her example..."

After analyzing these two specific events in the text, I have come to the conclusion that the central idea of this passage is that religion, if used improperly like Mr. Brocklehurst, has a negative impact on individuals rather than a positive one.  This is furthered in the passage by the two examples of "justified torture" done by Mr. Brocklehurst.  His evil actions, although he justifies them using religion, are still evil and should not occur.  We see in the text that not everyone agrees with his actions through Miss Temple and the one girl who communicated with Jane while on the stool.  The phrase that sums of the central idea of the passage best is as follows:

"...exclude her from your sports, and shut her out from your converse. Teachers, you must watch her: keep your eyes on her movements, weigh well her words, scrutinize her actions, punish her body to save her soul..."

The whole phrase, but specifically the highlighted section, is Mr. Brocklehurst's whole reasoning.  The audiences reaction to the phrase creates the central idea that this form of controlling is negative and hurtful rather than helpful.