Great_Expectations

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Reading Log Assignment #3 (Chapter 40-59) By: Oliver Ng Class: English 1DE Teacher: Mrs. Arbogast Date: February 20th, 2013 Titles: 40) A Lurker on the stairs… 41) Will Pip continue to take his money' 42) Magwitch’s life story 43) Conversation at Fireplace 44) Unemotional Women 45) Warning to cause Confusion 46) Chink’s Basin and the Old Green Copper Rope-Walk 47) Apparition of Compeyson 48) Estella’s Mother' 49) Miss Havisham’s Intentions 50) Estella’s Father 51) Reluctant Jaggers 52) Anonymous yet Curious Letter 53) Kidnapped and Rescued 54) Recaptured 55) Wemmick’s Wedding-Party 56) The Last of Magwitch 57) Falling Ill 58) Back home 59) United The dominant atmosphere in this section of the novel is revelation, because, all the answers to the mysteries and unsettled questions are disclosed to Pip. From Provis, Pip was taught of his shady past and who he really was. Pip learned from Miss Havisham her intentions, and who Estella was and how she came to be. More and more was imparted to Pip, such as Joe and Biddy’s well-being and their still caring for him; how Estella was getting along with him; about Drummle’s death; and what Mr. Pumblechook really made of Pip. An important setting in this part of the novel is The Satis House because it is where Pips journey as a gentleman began, and where it all ends! Earlier in Pip’s life, The Satis house “which was of old brick…had a great many iron bars” (p. 50) and “windows [that] had been walled up” (p. 50). “The court-yard in the front…was paved and clean, but grass was growing in every crevice” (p. 50). “At the side of the house there was a large brewery, a large paved lofty place” (p. 50) and “the brewery buildings…and the wooden gates… all empty and disused (p. 51). “Behind the furthest end of the brewery was a rank garden with an old wall” (p. 58). The garden “was overgrown with tangled weeds, but there was a track upon the green and yellow paths” (p. 58). At the front of the house, “the great entrance and the passages were all dark” (p. 58). But after many years, when Pip returned for a visit, “there was no house….no brewery, no building whatever left, but the wall of the old garden” (p. 440). This space “had been enclosed with a rough fence…and some of the old ivy had struck root anew, and was growing green on low quiet mounds of ruin” (p. 440). The setting contributes to the plot because it represents the sprout of Pip’s journey as a gentleman and the end of his adventure. The Satis House is where Pip first acquired a desire for great expectations – to be an educated gentleman and to have Estella as a wife; and it is also where, after so many years of Pip chasing Estella to be his wife, they met to settle their misunderstandings. Theme: Affection, loyalty and conscience exceed the importance of social advancement, wealth and class. This is demonstrated in the novel because, after Pip succeeds in becoming a gentleman, his life is no more morally satisfying than his life as a blacksmith’s apprentice. Through the examples of Joe, Biddy and Magwitch, he learns that social and educational improvement is irrelevant to one’s self-worth. For example, no matter if you are a homeless person on the streets, or a rich and accomplished business-man with class, their self-worth is persistent. Character Selection: The character that I selected from this section of the novel is Pip because Pip is the main character of this book and I have not used him as a character yet! Characteristic Proof (In our words) Supporting quotation from novel Page # 1. Trustworthy Pip kept many secrets. “I left him to infer that I knew from Miss Havisham what I in fact knew from Wemmick” p. 430 2. Gentleman It was Pip’s goal, as well as that of his benefactor, Magwitch, for Pip to be a gentleman – a man of refinement. “I get liberty and money [and] I’ll make that boy a gentleman”, says Provis. p. 334 3. (was) Coarse an Common Estella thought so; and Pip admitted it himself. “[he had] coarse hands and common boots…”, says Estella. “I knew I was common”, says Pip. p. 65 p. 73 4. Curious Pip inquired upon many things. “Curious to know…I asked her why she didn’t like him”. “I was curious to know what the book could be”. “Curious to know how the old gentleman…”. p. 139-140 p. 196 p. 307 5. Irresponsible Pip keeps got into deeper debt since he had not yet repaid his earlier dept; he didn’t control how much he spent. “I began to contract a quantity of debt”. “As we got more and more into debt…”. “For we always ran into new debt immediately to the full extent of the margin…”. p. 285 p. 288 p. 290