Great Expectations: Thoughts on reading

I really liked Great Expectations. The plot was my favorite part because it was so original compared to all of the other books I've read. The only thing I didn't like was how Charles Dickens seemed to drag his sentences on and on along with some of Pip's dialogue. This made more sense to me when I read and article about how he wrote this is chapters for a magazine and would get paid for however much he wrote. Some of the mysteries I was able to guess before they were clearly solved is that the letter telling Pip to go to the marshes was from Orlick and that Miss Havisham was not his benefactor but that one of the convicts was. I enjoyed the settings although they were sometimes confusing on where they were. The characters were perfectly chosen in my mind. There was the upper class and the lower class. Joe, Biddy and Pip were my favorite characters. Also up there are Mr. Wemmick and of course Herbert. I never slacked in reading this novel. I have a thing where I get really stressed if I wait until the last minute to do things or put them off until later so when I would come home from school each day around 3 I would read the assigned chapters. I started out reading to myself but I would get bored and space out thinking about things other than the novel. When this would happen I realized I wasn't totally tracking what was going on so I researched for some kind of recording I could listen to. I was going to get the CD from the Timberland Library but it was out of stock and I found Libribox. It was very helpful even though the guy reading it had a funny accent for the characters. Then a couple days later Mrs. Gilman told us about it so I knew it was a good website. My plan for reading it was, I would get home, turn on my fireplace, lay out all of my supplies and get my laptop ready then read. It worked very well for me and I was always right on the scheduled reading or ahead.

Great Expectations Photo!

A concept in Great Expectations I found very important was the different settings. The setting of the foggy marsh is a recurring setting which pairs with the motif of mystery. Fog is usually used in written work to show the story being unclear. In the beginning there were so many mysteries but as we come closer to the end it becomes more clear just like this picture. If you look in the distance, it is the most hard to see but the closer and closer you get the better you are able to view it.

Picture- To Kill a Mockingbird and Great Expectations

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Connection to Great Expectations

I had to think about this prompt for a while but I finally came to the conclusion of To Kill a Mockingbird being comparable to Great Expectations. One of the main themes in To Kill a Mockingbird is crime and punishments and has the motif of mystery and jails. Scout and Jem go to the jail where they check on their dad and Pip goes with Mr. Wemmick to meet with someone who is being sentenced to death. In addition to having a similar motif and theme, these two books also have significant character who are lawyers.

Not only are there similarities, but there are many differences. Jaggers is a tough mysterious man and Atticus isn't. Atticus is a very good teacher to his kids and is very honest and open. Whenever Pip asks who his anonymous benefactor was, Jaggers says that he simply cannot answer. When I judged the main themes in both of the books I found that they are very different. In To Kill a Mockingbird I think the main theme is loss of innocence while in Great Expectations it is becoming a gentleman.

Great Expectations, 2nd Stage

One character that helps enhance themes and motifs is Herbert, also known as, "The pale young gentleman." He cleans up some of the confusion that is brought up in stage one. He tells Pip about Miss Havisham and is the same boy who fought Pip in the yard. Charles Dickens includes many characters who have a brief part in the beginning but come back to have a greater role. Mr. Jaggers, the man who Pip walked past on the stairs at Miss Havisham's house comes back to be the giver of Pip's great expectations. Self improvements is a big theme in Great Expectations because of how Pip longs to be a gentleman. Toward the end of the first stage and the beginning of the second, Pip's dreams come true. The main cause of self improvement is for Estella and Miss Havisham. Pip is ashamed of home and pictures Estella laughing at him while he worked at the forge with Joe.

A motif that we talked about in class was Dickens use of doubles. The main example so far is Biddy and Estella. Estella is a wealthy ward who is put to work trying to break Pip's heart, as Miss Havisham tells her whenever she happens to be around Pip. Biddy is a girl Pip's age who is very intelligent but is not high class or wealthy. Biddy is sweet and caring and advices Pip when he needs it. When they are walking in the marshes together, he tells her how he likes Estella so much and wants to see her. Biddy tells him that is not a good idea and really she is right. Not only are Biddy and Estella doubles but so are Mrs. Joe and Miss Havisham. Both of these women are invalid. These women are cruel and selfish but Miss Havisham is upper class and wealthy and Mrs. Joe is not.

Passage- Great Expectations

When my small group in honors English were talking about this passage we came to the conclusion that Pip is talking about gloom, convicts, and mystery when he talks about thorns and the chain of iron. But he wasn't only talking about this, he was comparing all of these dreary objects to speaking about gold and flowers. In chapter nine, Pip returns from the Satis house and lies to Mrs. Joe and Joe about his time at the house. This day made him feel so guilty for lying that he finally told Joe. I believe this is a positive change in his life because he no longer wants to be common. He plans on getting a good education and impressing Estella. He begins learning without paying for the tuition because his family does not have the money to do so, yet.

The memorable day that started my chain was when I "accidentally" called 911 instead of my dad, like I told my mom. I got to scared and hung up but 911 called back to make sure everything was okay. That small amount of time I felt so guilty. Like the police would come to my house any second. I was so young that I thought they could arrest me. A quote of Pip's that goes along with my story at that moment was, "Before the fire goes out, Joe, I should like to tell you something." Right before my mom answered I yelled and told her I called 911 and that I was really sorry. Even today, I still feel guilty when I do the littlest things that some people would do without any thought. Pip and I are actually very similar because of the way we get after we do something wrong.