Title

While I was reading Great Expectations, I couldn't get over the title itself. I kept thinking about how the characters referred to "coming into money" as having 'great expectations' and how to current readers, "great expectations" could mean just about anything. As I continued to read I noticed that Pip's expectations of what his life was going to be like didn't match up with what I expected to happen. Namely, that everything he was hoping for would end up in the pooper.

Down to the Wire!

I see many of you already have submitted your essays and can relax in the knowledge that you're finished. Bravo! A quick glance at my email inbox this morning showed that a few of you still have a little work to do--happy writing!

I wanted to let you know that I do not know how much access I'll have to email before the submission time. I will definitely be checking and answering emails from my phone, but I will not have access to send you any documents you might need, including the summer homework packet. Since most of the questions I have received in the last few days have concerned signing up for Turn It In, I've included the directions below. If you still need to sign up for blogger, I will try to get you set up as an author; however, if you do not hear back from me, you DO still need to go ahead and post. You can comment on any established post on the blog; without authorial privileges you just can't create your own new posts.

Best of luck! I look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks. Enjoy these last couple (Summer Homework Free--woo hoo!) weeks of vacation!

Also, if you have any questions about the homework, feel free to post them here! Your classmates are excellent resources :)

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Summer homework will be submitted electronically via Turn It In. Before you can submit your work, you must create an account by following the steps below:

1. Go to www.turnitin.com

2. Click on “create account” (top right corner of the screen)

3. If you have used Turn It In before (A.P. Lang students), you can use your same username and password. Log in as you normally would. If you are new to Turn It In, scroll down to “Sign Up For Turn It In,” and follow the directions for creating a student account.

4. Regardless of whether or not you have used Turn It In before or not, you will need to enroll for this class!!

Class ID: 4044451

Class Enrollment Password: ilovelit

**NOTE**
Please plan on registering for Turn It In and submitting your essay before the due date! Last minute technical issues will not qualify as an excuse for late submissions.

After the specified time on the due date, Sunday, July 24th, by 11:59pm, late penalties will accrue at a deduction of 20% per day.

Women's Role

As I was reading the book, I really took an interest in the role women play. Honestly, I found that they don't play much of a role at all. It seems to me that the women are no more than trophies, to be flaunted and won. The only strong woman I really identified in the novel is Mrs. Joe. She runs her household with a firm hand and refuses to take anything from anyone. Aside from her, women are mostly seen as objects. In the novel, Herbert even refers to his future bride Clara as a child, as if she needs someone there to take care of her or she won't survive. Reading that made me realize how far women and feminism have come and it made me so glad we don't live in a society like this anymore.

Pip and Estella: Two Peas in a Pod

I was amazed when I discovered that Estella was the biological daughter of two criminals. In my mind I thought that was an interesting similarity Pip and she shared. Both characters were born into families that would never have high stature in the community and out of sheer luck the both became very prominent members of society.
Personally I think the two chacters were cursed by thier good fortune. Estella might have actually understood the concept of love if she hadn't been raised by Miss Havisham. Pip might have given up the notion that he had a chance with Estella if Magwitch hadn't given him his fortune. In both situations, the characters would have been better off and possibly happier as commoners. Through these two characters Dickens illustrates that a person's status does not bring a person happiness.

Does anyone else have any comments on this theme?

I thought it was really interesting that as the book progressed and Pip was in the influence of smarter, wealthier people, Dicken's altered the language that Pip spoke with and even the words Pip kept inside of his head. I love how gradual it was too, and that once he spoke to Joe again, Joe's grammar was much less clear in comparison. Dickens portrayed each of Pip's ages perfectly as well. I loved his innocence in the beginning, and the way he perceived certain ages, especially when Estella made him cry out of frustration. It was so easy to relate to the the feelings that go along with Pip's age when Estella makes him cry that first day, when it says "She put the mug down on the stones of the wall and gave me the bread and meat without looking at me, as insolently as if I were a dog in disgrace. I was so humiliated, hurt, spurned, offended,angry, sorry-- I cannot hit upon the right name for the smart-- God knows what its name was-- that tears sprang to my eyes" (60). I became attached to the character of Pip particularly through these kind of instances.

The novel as a whole

Just two minutes ago I finished reading Great Expectations-- this being precisely the ninth time I've been "finished" with it, but the first time I've come to the end of the book. I must say, I'm quite satisfied! I had a few laughs, learned a lesson or two, and now I don't have to just pretend to know of Dickens' literature.  Throughout the novel, Dickens utilizes far-fetched coincidences and, at times tart, comedic twists to accent in Pip's life the course that most human's take anyway: From arrogant childhood, into dream and shame filled adolescence,  through remorse and mistake riddled young-adulthood, and finally the arrival at great peace with age! This path of sour to sweet is not only seen in the life of Pip, but in the themes of the novel as well, such as marriage. During the former half of the story, marriage is portrayed as an unhappy and destructive affair; beginning with the description of Pip's parents who are already dead (perhaps as a symbol of childhood, and the "stiffness" of ignorance and arrogance), and then with Joe's mother and father, as well as Joe and his own wife, couples who both possess very abusive forms of communication (this could be considered a symbol of adolescence with its strong accompaniment of dissatisfaction and self-destruction), onto the marriage of Mr and Mrs Mathew Pocket and the failed marriage of Miss Havisham (both relationships containing themes of crushed dreams, perhaps representing young adulthood); however, towards the novel's end, a few very satisfied and healthy relationships present themselves; those being Herbert with Clara, and Joe with Biddy (finally we've reached a point of repentance and happiness-- marriages that symbolize adulthood). So it would seem that Dickens uses his tale as a whole to present the natural revolution of human life. All this being said, I quite enjoyed Great Expectations, and find it now to have been a worth while venture.

Need the Blog Invite Resent?

I noticed there are only 20 of you signed up for the blog thus far. If you have not already signed up using the link I sent at the beginning of this summer, you'll find that it has expired. Just shoot me an email from the email address you'd like to use and I will resend the invitation.

Also, I've heard some people are struggling through this book. PLEASE do not let this discourage you from the course. We will read a variety of books throughout the year; it's not a year long study of Dickens, so if this isn't your favorite reading, we'll find something you enjoy, I promise. :) I will also say that this is the lengthiest read. I scheduled it as the summer reading because I figured it's more manageable when you don't have other coursework on your plate.

Enjoy these last few weeks of summer!