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.

Photographic Expectations

     The rather snarky photo I have chosen for my photo-blog attempts to reflect Pip as he appears at this point in the novel. It is not "Greed" that I am referring to, but the subtitle. Pip views Magwitch as filthy and tainted because of his appearance, ignoring his enormous generosity in granting Pip his fortune. He worships Estella because she is the epitome of the upper-class woman, even with her lack of a personality, ignoring Biddy because she is not elegant enough for him. Pip almost criminally neglects Joe, not wishing to associate himself with a "common" man, and in the process damages his friendship with the kind and gentle man.
     Pip, if he continues on his current course, is likely to end up like the mummy in the coffin, surrounded by riches but having made no true impact on the world by valuing appearances over reality.

Great Expectations Connections

     This post is actually quite convenient; one such connection occurred to me quite a while ago. If any of you have read the Bartimaeus Trilogy, you might understand what I'm talking about.


     Outwardly, the two novels are quite different. Bartimaeus was written a few years ago, taking place in a sardonic, fantasy world where the British Empire is run by a large number of paranoid magicians, lacking the ability to do anything the commoners think of as magic but one: they summon spirits to do their work. Tired, I know. But what makes the story interesting is that it is told simultaneously from the perspective of a long-suffering spirit known as Bartimaeus (hence the title) and the upstart apprentice who has summoned him known as Nathaniel. To be more specific, Nathaniel, circa the second book in the trilogy, is the character I am relating Pip to.

     Like Pip, Nathaniel has come into a large amount of money at a fairly early age. Nathaniel has earned his money through serving the rather corrupt government, whereas Pip has gotten his seemingly randomly, but they are similar in the fact that although they are rich, they have little experience with others.

     A striking parallel to me was the scene where Pip thinks of how to offer Herbert money in order to repair the damages that he has inflicted on Herbert's formerly idyllic life; a nearly identical scene appears in the Bartimaeus books where Nathaniel, upon encountering his former art tutor, cannot fathom why she is saddened by his offer of wealth and prestige in the government. This theme is strongly present in both books, that money gained rather than earned through experience does not supply wisdom.

     Another motif that appears in both novels is the nature of the cities. Nathaniel's London, like Pip's, is a strange and pretentious place. Pip remarks on how the purpose of the Finches seems to be not to enjoy, but to give the appearance of pleasure. Likewise, Nathaniel lives in a world of false smiles, where no one quite means what they say.

Great Expectations: Stage II

In Stage II of Great Expectations, Pip once again meets the pale young gentleman he met back in Stage I, whose name, it turns out, is Herbert Pocket, the son of the man to teach Pip. From Herbert, Pip learns manners and makes a friend his own age for the first time. The two room together, and Pip learns of Ms. Havisham's past mishaps with men, which may explain her bizarre urgings for her ward Estella to "break his heart."

This relates to several motifs established earlier in the novel. To begin with, it is a massive coincidence that Pip's roommate just happens to be the same pale young gentleman who he boxed earlier in the novel. Herbert also, by teaching Pip manners, assists in his goal of becoming a true gentleman. In some relation to that, Pip seems to have become less uptight and rude after his time with Herbert, contrasting with the motif of money corrupting Pip in the first stage. And finally, the mystery surrounding Ms. Havisham and Estella, another major motif from the first stage, has been cleared up somewhat, revealing even more wrinkles to the story.

Pip's Turning Point

When Pip, in hindsight, sees and points out to the reader the long chain of events beginning on that fateful day, he seems to be setting a point of reference for the reader, allowing Dickens to make him relatable to the reader. Pip's introduction to Miss Havisham, Estella, and the unfamiliar high-class lifestyle, in addition to his lying to Joe and starting to break away from his home, has so shaped his future that it deserves a step back to reflect. After this day, Pip begins to look down upon Joe and his old life, going so far as to resent his apprenticeship, and looks more towards Miss Havisham and Estella for how he should be, creating a motif within the novel of Pip's attempts to "become a gentleman."

It's difficult to look back and try and pick out one particular moment that has lead to something today. Usually, it has been a combination of causes that starts a chain of events. Still, in an effort to avoid being preachy, I shall try and pinpoint the event that caused me to become a Beatles fan. In seventh grade, my conductor in Orchestra decided we ought to play a more popular song to try and outdo the band in an assembly for once. She chose "Eleanor Rigby," and as I heard it, I was hooked. I listened to the song on YouTube, eventually getting more music from my friend, and constantly marveling at the quality of it all. This chain of events has lead to my taking the piano and violin a bit more seriously, and to my efforts to arrange pieces for the piano and even write my own.

Question on Great Expectations

In Chapter 4, one of Mr. Wopsle's statements puzzled me greatly. It says that "'Swine,' pursued Mr. Wopsle, in his deepest voice, and pointing his fork at my blushes, as if he were mentioning my christian name; 'Swine were the companions of the prodigal. The gluttony of swine is put before us, as an example to the young.'" (Dickens, pg. 25)

Prodigal generally means gifted, or at the very least intelligent, yet Mr. Wopsle says the word as if it is a bad thing. Either he is saying that young men should be gluttonous, or his meaning of "prodigal" is entirely different from what I know the word as.

Group Essay Collaboration

     Overall, my essay has not changed very much. I have modified some word choice issues, fixed some grammar, and rectified a bit of punctuation, but my concrete details and commentary remains the same. Assuming all of the others are also unchanged, we shouldn't have too much work to do on Monday.
     Do you think we need to fix up the conclusion? I checked over it again and it looks like it needs to flow a bit better, possibly by adding more transitions. Also, I'm not entirely sure whether one of my concrete details is correctly embedded, as I am unsure how to include dialogue from multiple characters when the source material is a script. Is it all right to just put a set of quotes around each and transition or does that count as two concrete details?

Thanks,

Sherwin