Closure

I finished the book today.

And I must admit, I found myself...disappointed. It seemed incredibly weird to me that Dickens concluded such a dark book with a bright ending. I know that the original ending is the more appropriate, gloomy end to the novel and that he was told to end it happily to appease critics, but it just does not seem to make sense. Normally, I would be all for an ending where the boy gets the girl and they live happily ever after. It just seems to me that after so much disappointment and hardship in Pip's life, the story should not just suddenly take a turn for good and then end.

Does anyone else have an opinion on Dicken's choice to end the book this way?

The Relationship Between Joe and Pip

This is in reply to the question that Mrs.Linneman posed: "In your opinion, what role did male influences and/or father figures play in Pip's life?"

The role that Joe plays in Pip's life is clearly equal to any father role. Under the terror of Mrs.Joe, Pip and Joe suffered together; however, that was how they formed such a relationship. The imbalance of power in the household shows Pip how to act, when he is viewed as a lesser individual in society. Joe also demonstrates to Pip how a man should not act aggressively but should be able to stand up for himself. This value is demonstrated by Joe when he knocks over Orlick. Dickens compares this to the way Pip and Herbert initially interacted. The way Pip fought with Herbert at Satis House is reflective of Joe's morals. However, Pip is tempted by his new life in London and strays from the virtues that Joe modeled for Pip. Joe sees the limits in both his own life and Pip's life. Pip, on the other hand, can only see Joe's limitations. Joe is a positive influence on Pip and instills practical values on Pip. Without Joe's guide, Pip is lead towards failure because he forgets his humble beginnings. Joe is the voice of reason in Pip's life. When Pip reflects upon his relationship with Joe, he does so with fondness, truly understanding the values Joe tried to teach Pip.

It is sensible that some people may not enjoy the character of Joe, but I respect the morals that Joe holds and thoroughly enjoyed him as a character in the novel. In many parts of the novel, I would side with Joe rather than Pip. Pip often found himself reaching for too much in life and should have taken smaller, almost minute, steps towards success, as I would presume Joe would suggest.

Marriage

This is my response for Mrs. Linneman's marriage question.

It seems to me like Dickens holds marriage in very low regards. The marriage between Joe and Pip's sister does not seem to be the happiest marriage. Joe holds her in high regard, while Mrs. Joe always seem so angry and frustrated with her life and her marriage. The same with Mr. and Mrs. Pocket. I don't get much of how Mr. Pocket feels, but by the way Mrs. Pocket is always ignoring everything for books about Titles leads me to believe she is very discontent with the fact that she settled for someone without a Title. The almost marriage of Havisham and Compeyson and the heartbreak she endured also seems to say that Dickens does not hold marriage in high regard. Nearly every couple presented appears unhappy and discontent, the complete opposite of the way marriage is supposed to be.

Pip's Expectations: Deserved or No?

As I'm reading this book, I find myself growing increasingly frustrated with Pip's character. In the beginning, Pip does nothing but dream of being a gentleman. He gets his wish, then is completely ungrateful for it! He's dissatisfied with London, because it's not the pristine, beautiful town he dreamed of. He's frustrated because he does not know the name of his benefactor, when he should have just been patient and thankful for this blessing. When he does learn of his benefactor, Magwitch, he's repulsed and abhorred by him and angry that he was wrong; Havisham was not the one who made him a gentleman and Estella is not meant for him. It seems to me that when you get something you've dreamed of your entire life, you should be grateful for it, no matter who provided it. Pip has yet to learn that life is never what you expect and I believe his expectations are undeserved.

Hi All!

I just wanted to let you know that I know I have received emails from many of you in the last week and a half, and I promise I'm not ignoring you--I've just been out of the country and had no access to email.

I will be getting back to those individuals who inquired about blogger sign ups and other stuff in the next few days. In the meantime, I'm loving these posts; you're all doing a wonderful job!

What's My Name?

I found it interesting how in this novel some of the characters had multiple names. For example, Pip was referred to as "Handel", "Sir", "Mr.", all depending on the situation and the person addressing him. Each name had a significance, such as Handel representing a man that wrote a piece of music Herbert knew of about a blacksmith. As for Sir, Pip conveyed his annoyance at hearing the title directed at him by Joe. Pip is not the only one with multiple names, his benefactor also has a few, and the novel makes quite a few mentions of characters and their "christened" names. It was also interesting that one of two conditions of Pip's coming into his "Great Expectations" was that he had to always go by "Pip". This must have carried a special significance to Pip's benefactor, Magwitch. Perhaps he was hoping to preserve some quality in the young boy even as he became a gentlemen. Or maybe he was just worried about locating the boy should he choose a different name as a gentleman. Unfortunately, this is as far as my thought process takes me. I was wondering if anyone could help me build upon the significance of names in this novel. :)

Objectification and another look at Pip and Estella

 In my earlier post, I interpreted Dickens's ending to mean that Pip and Estella eventually did marry. However, since the ending of Great Expectations is rather open-ended, I've decided to reinterpret Estella and Pip with an ending in which the two "part as friends" and nothing more.

Contemporary writer Terry Pratchett once wrote that "evil begins when you begin to treat people as things." Throughout Great Expectations, however, both Pip and Estella are often seen as objects by many characters. For both Pip's aunt and Mr. Pumblechook, Pip is a burden, not a boy: something to be seen to, not something to be loved. Later on, Mr. Pumblechook sees Pip's successes as only a prize for himself: something that can further his reputation, not something that will aid Pip in life. However, while Pip does have friends who view him as human, Estella has very few of these. From childhood, she has been seen even by Miss Havisham, as an object, something with which Miss Havisham will "wreck her revenge on men." Her  
adoptive mother sees her as a tool while her suitors see her, because of her beauty, as ornamentation. The only person who does eventually acknowledge her humanity is Pip: though he, like the many men before him, initially sees only Estella's beauty, by the end of the novel he learns to respect her choices and humanity by accepting that the two will part as only friends. Pip, who himself has repeatedly treated as though he were an object and not a man, learns in his turn not to treat the girl he has loved as thus. While Pip is eventually left alone, his solitude ironically yields a much more satisfying and rich ending than if he had stayed with Estella.  

Reading Tips?

I'm not going to count this as one of my blogs, but I must ask this question. Does anyone have any reading tips for this book? I find myself really confused as I'm reading it. Hopefully, I'm not the only one having trouble....

Estella and Pip: An Archetypal Failure

If I were to describe the romance between Estella and Pip, I would have to, sadly, call it a Victorian-era reverse gender repeat of Twilight. From the beginning, Pip is infatuated with Estella not for her mind, not for her personality - which is, frankly, about as warm and inviting as an iceberg - but for her beauty. Pip loves Estella because she is beautiful; he follows her for several years because of her beauty, and nowhere is it suggested that he loves her for any reason other than this same beauty. Of course, I realize that in Victorian England, women were hardly expected to be anything more than beautiful ornaments, and that, moreover, the trope of the long suffering lover whose patience eventually is reward is a long used and long loved archetype. However, in the case of Pip and Estella, this trope does not work because Dickens relies solely on archetype when creating Estella; besides making her cold yet beautiful, Dickens gives her little else in terms of character. She is a skeleton, a flat character we cannot emphasis with - and, as a result, her romance with Pip is as believable as normal weather in Missouri.

Outside Sources

Please remember that your summer homework essay needs to incorporate at least three outside critical analyses. Sparknotes, enotes, random websites and dictionary definitions are not acceptable. (We'll talk more about this in August).

The Internet Public Library is one of many good places to look for sources. Here's a link of some for Great Expectations.

http://ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?au=dic-25

Feel free to post any other resources you have found to be useful

Welcome!

Hello, Future A.P. Lit-ers, and welcome to your class blog! We will use this blog as an extension of our class discussions and analysis. Although some postings will be required, feel free to create your own posts and comment on anything class-related. This is an excellent forum for late night homework questions and essay assistance.

As indicated in your summer homework packet, you will be required to make four postings before the start of class on the first day of school. I have posted a few sample questions to get you started. You may comment on one of these questions, or post your own questions/comments.

In order to post new threads, you will need to be added as an author to this blog. I have already sent out email invites to the addresses given to me on the summer home work sign up sheet. Check your junk email box, and if you need me to resend the invitation, please contact me at Kimberly.Linneman@fhsdschools.org

On the right side of the blog, I've linked some helpful resources, including the Purdue Online Writing Lab's MLA site, and Turn It In.

Once again, I look forward to working with you, and I have Great Expectations for the coming school year! :)

Happy Reading!

Characters

Many of Dickens' characters seem exaggerated and outlandish. To acheive this effect, Dickens employed several characteristics common to the Gothic and Romantic genre, as well as several popular literary conventions, including: the poor orphan, the reclusive woman, the mysterious benefactor, unrequited love, notions of city versus country, and the noble savage, among others. Explain how any one of these facets served to influence the novel as a whole. (Do not merely offer plot summary!)

Marriage

In the novel, the reader encounters many marriages. Why do you think these couples decide to marry? What do these marriages suggest about Dickens' possible views towards marriage? Be specific

Symbolism

In what way(s) does Dickens employ light and dark as symbols within the story? Provide specific examples of the author's use of such symbolism.

Role Models

In your opinion, what role did male influences and/or father figures play in Pip's life?

Coincidence?

The believability of Dickens' storyline relies on the readers' acceptance of several coincidences. Identify at least one such coincidence, and explain its signifcance to the story.

Pip's Character

What single adjective do you feel best describes Pip and why? Point to at least one specific textual example to support your claim. (This needn't be a direct quote, just a direct detail/example).