GE Thoughts on Reading

Let me start on saying this, I wouldn't pick Great Expectations as a choice for reading outside of class. I understand that in English this novel shows a unique writing style of Charles Dickens, and has important morals and literary devices/techniques. In the beginning of the book, it was overwhelming how there were so many literary things coming at you, sometimes it was hard to catch everything. For me, it was boring at the beginning but I understand it was building the structure of Pip's life before becoming a gentleman; and of course it was exciting right in the middle of stage 2 until the end. I liked the characters background stories, because they all connected together. It was also fun trying to figure out the rumors of relationships. There were many settings throughout the book. At first it was confusing and now that I finished reading, I thought it was very realistic how people call places by the street and not by name. For example, when we say we are going to school we do not keep repeating Olympia High School because that would be repetitive and sound odd. Sometimes I have to keep remembering that the narrative is from Pip, but him as an adult looking back and telling us. Dickens writing was fun to read from, and you can compare his style to other authors like Edgar Allen Poe. I liked Biddy as a character because nowadays, there are more teenage girls that are like her instead of Estella. Her character is easy to relate to, but the funniest character was the Aged Parent. He lived in the "castle/fort" and was fun. My absolute favorite parts about books are the mysteries that lie in them, they are fun to figure out. I was excited that I find out Estella's parentage, and the reason why Miss Havisham is dark and twisty.

The second week I got behind in my reading, by Friday I had to read around 100 pages. I always caught up in my reading before the week was over so i could do my annotations and weekly journal on Thursdays. Usually before I go to sleep I try to read the assignment, but then I get tired and stop then I only have a chapter or a few pages left to read before school. Sometimes I tried to read before even getting into bed but I got distracted with something else. My favorite spot reading is on my living room couch where I hear some noise from the kitchen where there are faded conversations. I think I like reading with some noise because it'll focus me to read instead of doing something else. In the middle of the book I didn't annotate much while reading, If I haven't done enough annotations I do it before school  Friday. however,  during the end of the book I annotated a lot. I always do my weekly journals around 8 pm, I always remember because I watch Grey's Anatomy at 9 pm, and always wanted to finish the journal before the show started. Having a routine of doing my weekly journals was easy, sometimes during that I put few more annotations in. Half-way through the book I got my routine down and it was easier to look back on what I read and not cram everything before school started on Friday.

GE Photo Post

 

The character, Pip, in Great Expectations was very lovable when he was younger. He was more interesting when he was naive and childish; we liked Pip because we could relate to his feelings more than we can now. He is older and making decisions that he is not completely liking afterward. As we read the book we see him getting older and having relationships with different types of people like Wemmick. I compared Pip to a flower because he was a daisy in spring, healthy and full. As time goes on flower petals fall off, the events happening to Pip makes indecisive. The flower cannot restore it's petal in one day, the daisy will come back in spring and repeat the process. Pip is loosing all his petals, he isn't becoming his true self. In chapter 40 he learns that his benefactor is someone who was even lower class than he originally was. Pip is learning the true facts about people and society and is uncovering the lies. When pip becomes happy again with his life, he will bloom next spring once more.

Making Connections with GE

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens reminds me of a short story I read, The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. Starting from the second stage of Great Expectations, I notice Pip's narration feeling more sad and extremely guilty in the last few chapters we read. My mind instantly thought of Poe's work including his books and poems. Poe usually written his work from a dark perspective that looks back at past things that already happened; like Pip's narration. I think that's one reason why classmates and I are sometimes confused that Pip's character sounds present tense and we get so caught up, we forget he's looking back when he is older. The unnamed narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart represents Pip, he has reached what he always wanted then feels ultra guilty about it. If my prediction goes correctly, then Pip will tell all his loved ones his faults of being a gentleman to be relieved. Pip's expectations are represented as the old man's body pieces underneath the floorboards. The cop that enters the old man's house in the short story is simliar to Pip's loved ones such as Biddy and Joe.

 The suspense from Poe's short story seems more noticeable to feel the guilt; but in Dickens' novel, the suspense of Pip learning from his guilt trips are interesting to readers. In The Tell-Tale Heart ,the narrator begins to hear a faint noise. As the noise grows louder, the narrator comes to the conclusion that it is the heartbeat of the old man coming from under the floorboards. The sound increases steadily, though the officers seem to pay no attention to it. Shocked by the constant beating of the heart and a feeling that not only are the officers aware of the sound, but that they also suspect him, the narrator confesses to killing the old man and tells them to tear up the floorboards to reveal the body. I think Pip is going to do the same with his expectations because between chapters 27-35 viewing all the guilt, but in chapter 35 he really wants to come back to visit Joe and Biddy. He is revealing that he can solve the problem but it is going to be hard to actually do it.

Pip's Second Stage

At the start of the second stage of Great Expectations, Pip arrives in London disappointed in what he sees. Pip was excited that he is growing to be a gentleman when he arrived there. Since he already feels superior over his family and friends It seemed that he started a new perspective of his life after the first stage, it is expressed in the ways he talked to his old friends like Joe and Biddy. Pip was getting But for the readers sake, you get more of an understanding of events that happened earlier. The reader knows now the story behind Miss Havishams so this shows that the motif of mystery is there for a reason.


In the first stage Pip was trying to prove to everyone that he desperately wants to be a gentleman. Everyone made him feel unwanted and doesn't deserve the things he gets from his sister and Joe. The motif of doubles occurs through characters a lot. They are pairs for every character to show how Pip reacts to each character of the pair. It also confuses his opinion on things like who to trust. The two convicts on the marsh Pip met that he does favors for and then soon felt guilty. Mrs. Joe and Miss Havisham are the two "invalids", according to Pip. Also the two girls that Pip likes are Ella and Biddy. Pip's convict asks for food and the file; but the other convict gave him money this lead Pip having people wanting him but not the "right people". I found that Mrs. Joe and Miss Havisham are oddly similar, but they haven't had an altercation or made contact yet. Estella and Biddy are two different girls with very different aspects that Pip likes. Estella was told to break Pip's heart right in front of him, she just wants to play with Pip's feelings. He wants Estella because she is uncommon, he wants what seems to be unpractical for his social class. Biddy actually understands Pip's situations and makes him feel better, this makes Pip's decisions hard to make because there will always be two choices and only one decision to make.

Chapter 9 Quote

Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.

Pip is thinking about what he has already done and is going to do, can really affect his future. The narration is telling the reader to think of a moment from your life and if you haven't done a certain actions led to an important thing in your life. when Pip first went to Miss Havisham's house began his "chain". It soon leads into other mischief and meeting Estella.
The beginning  of a "chain" would be the start of every school year for me. You don't know what is going to go on from the first moment you are there. Going from class to class you get your feel from the routine and friends. I look back from that and I see progress being more happy and learning from old school days.