Romeo, Juliet, and me.

     Romeo and Juliet is quite different from what I expected. I foresaw the byzantine yet beautiful dialogue, yet the relatability and humor of the story caught me rather off-guard. I am not speaking of Romeo; I cannot find anything in his instantly shifting lovesickness, nor in his long, somewhat confusing dialogue that resembles me. Well, perhaps the dialogue, but not entirely. Juliet is slightly more relatable, with her obedience but subliminal resistance to the will of her parents, but although I can empathize, I cannot relate to her closed-off, lonely world of parentally-determined destiny. The character I relate most to is, somewhat ironically, Mercutio, more specifically his response to hearing of Romeo's dreamed premonition. Like Mercutio, I am often somewhat cynical, ill-inclined to believe in the words of others without checking them first, particularly if they sound implausible. As an additional facet of this cynicism, I do not put up well with romantics. I have no faith in "love at first sight," believing it to be somewhat of a biological reaction, and if the two people are actually compatible, I pronounce them extremely lucky. Likewise, Mercutio turns a bit of a level head to Romeo's talk of finding his perfect woman, balancing him somewhat. In addition, I, like Mercutio, can easily be accused of liking the sound of my own voice. I recognize that I have a tendency to talk a lot, although probably not at the scale that Mercutio does during his "Queen Mab" speech. Additionally, I can often make up somewhat consistent stories on command, in this fashion.

     I am learning to understand Shakespeare, word by painstaking word. In the beginning, I had to read the first scene twice until I understood it, but now I can comprehend the story somewhat better. I am only using the book and the incredibly helpful words on the opposite pages to understand the story at home. Reading in class, especially aloud and with Mrs. Gilman's analysis to help, I don't think I would have understood many of the references. Certainly the jokes, anyway. This dual reading is ensuring I understand the novel beyond its surface.

Theme

Thematically, Dickens intended Great Expectations to express to the reader that money is not happiness, cannot buy happiness, and has no relation to the character or success of the person. In each person there is potential, but that potential can be affected by the environment drastically. Because of this, many perfectly good people are hurt unjustly, and others who are less worthy may rise to the top. Looking at a person's wealth or status does not give one any idea of the content of their character. Money and happiness are intimate strangers at best, and we would all to do well to remember this and not confuse the two.

Thoughts on reading Great Expectations

     After finishing reading Great Expectations, I must say my view of the novel has changed significantly. To begin with, Pip's character arc, from innocent orphan to his corruption in the city to the wisdom he gains as a result of it, became much more clear. In essence, Dickens had created an update of the biblical story of the prodigal son for his audiences. I thought the settings and some of the minor characters, particularly Wemmick, added a note of humor in an otherwise very Gothic novel, which was appreciated. As for Dickens' style, early in the novel, I had trouble with it but by Stage Two I could understand his flow with ease. Even Joe and Magwitch's speech stopped bothering me. As an author, I think I might have managed to enjoy his style, and might look into another of his books in the future. Although he is not my favorite author, he still managed to capture my attention by the end. In the case of the mysteries, I knew that Magwitch, then known as Pip's Convict, would be important later on, and I knew that Pip's benefactor, having not been revealed for so long, could not have been Havisham, I half-jokingly guessed that Magwitch was Pip's father and benefactor. One of two is not bad, I suppose. Loose-lipped freshmen who had read ahead might have been more of an issue than sophomores or Sparknotes, but some of the revelations at the end, particularly Joe and Biddy's wedding, managed to come as a surprise.

     I actually did read the entire book, although I may have skimmed some paragraphs while half-asleep. I never had to cram in pages, having kept up with the daily reading the entire time, but I generally left reading as the last part of my mountain of homework, so, exhausted by biology and soccer, I may have learned more of the plot from the discussions in class than from reading, particularly in Stage Two, which dragged. I generally read in my room, while one or more family members used to computer, at around 10:00, which can't have helped either. This ended up as my routine, and I can't help but think that if I had read the novel on my own time, without having to scan for annotations, I might have enjoyed it more. However, reading Great Expectations in this serialized manner, rather than over a weekend or two, did make the final revelations and the endings more enjoyable than if they came a few hours after starting Stage Three. Overall, the novel was decent, but my reading style was no help to it.