Great Expectations Journal Essay, Research Paper
Great Expectations Journal1. What is your first reaction to Pip and his crisis with the convict? Would you have acted and felt thesame way? Write down any thoughts, opinions or questions that you may have. When Pip meets the convict in the churchyard I felt that Pip would be subjected to great danger. Afterthe boy is grabbed and shaken while upside down the convict interrogates the boy. I think Pip might havetold the convict too much. In today’s world telling a stranger specifics about location and occupationcould lead to robbery or the murder of a whole family. After that Pip feels empathy for the convict andalso thinks it would be great to have something of his own. This is why he later calls him “My Convict”. When he arrives home he steals the wittles (food) and a metal file for the convict. He sets off to thechurchyard and after a run-in with the other convict Pip gives the food to the fugitive he met the nightbefore. The convict sincerely appreciates his gesture and that the boy kept his promise. The fugitiveturns out to be a kind-hearted fellow and is much in debt to Pip. When the convict finally gets capturedhe admits to stealing food from Pip’s home to !ensure Pip will not be held responsible for the lost food. At this point the saying “What goes aroundcomes around” is seen. I think this also shows foreshadowing because it suggests that that convict willcome back to see Pip once again. If I were placed in the same situation I wouldn’t have acted like Pip. If the convict had let me go back to my house I would tell my father. In the world today you can’tdepend on the kindness of strangers. Perhaps the convict would kill me because I could identify him,much the same way as After The First Death when Kate realizes that she will be killed because she sawMiro and Artkin unmasked.4. Pip is a dynamic character, changing considerably as the novel progresses. Several problems orconflicts are experienced that make his life so difficult. Choose one that stands out to you and explainwhy you think it is important. As Pip becomes more mature and is on his way to be a gentleman it is very important to look back onsituations that changed him and made his life difficult. Only in recalling the past can one predict thefuture. Pip is some one who seems unlucky. When his parents die he is left with his older sisterGeorgiana who doesn’t seem that keen on raising Pip. She is very mean to Pip and freely uses the ticklerto teach him discipline (a tickler is a stick with melted wax at the end used to beat Pip). Shecriticizes him and she does the same with her husband. She is obviously a very touchy person. Howevermuch of this Pip endured for such a long time, the first meeting with the convict had to be one of themost important conflicts that make his life difficult. When Pip meets the convict in the churchyard he is threatened immediately. The man says that ifhe does not keep his promise and bring him the items he requested something terrible would happen. “Youbring ‘em both to me…or I’ll have your heart and liver out”(3) shows how the convict terrified Pip intothinking he would be maliciously killed if he were to disobey the convict. Not only were the convictsword threatening he also grabbed the boy and shook him to see what the contents of his pockets were. This shocking event would even chill my bones. Pip brings the items to the convict the next day to savehis heart and liver. At this point I believe Pip finds himself sympathizing with the convict. He isactually a nice man who thanks Pip for keeping his promise. I think Pip can relate to being scared andsometimes feeling alone. This changes his life directly and indirectly. After this episode he calls theconvict “My Convict” which shows how he has found a friend o!ther than Joe, this is a direct example. After the convict shows gratitude by claiming he stole thefood, he adopted Pip in his mind and vows to himself all the money he makes will be used to make Pip agentleman. This helps Pip to change into a gentleman and to pursue Estella. 5. Choose one of the following quotations from the story. Explain what you think the quotation meansabout the character ands in the story and people in general. For this journal entry I am choosing to explain the quote, “Break their hearts, my pride and hope, breaktheir hearts and have no mercy!”. This quote is said by Mrs. Havisham to Estella and shows the ethics inwhich she raised her. When Mrs. Havisham was young she fell in love with a man who, on their weddingday, left her. To add to this torment she was left with a note, she wasn’t even presented with a chanceto meet him face to face. It was supposed that this man had gotten a share of the business for aridiculous price and then later left with the money and split it with his half-brother. After that Mrs. Havisham devoted her life to seclusion and to bringing Estella to wreak her revenge. The way in whichshe was seduced into thinking she was in love and then tossed aside as a part of some scheme made Mrs. Havisham very bitter towards all males, good or bad. She teaches Estella to play with young man’s heartsby making them jealous and cheating on them. This corresp!onds to the first part of the quote; “Break their hearts”. The second part of the quote deals with the
pride and hope that was taken from her when she was devastated by the evil deed done to her by herfianc . Her pride and hope is to be reclaimed by having Estella make innocent men feel the same pain andhurt that she did. The third part of the quote is the same as the first except it says, “and have nomercy”. This shows how Mrs. Havisham is so bitter she wants Estella to have no pity because the man thatdid it to her didn’t. 7. What is your first reaction to the news of Pip’s shocking great expectations? Does this narrativehook remind you of other stories or books you have read? Are there any movies, television shows, orother people that this sudden change in fortune resembles in any way? If it doesn’t remind you of otherchanges in your life, explain why it doesn’t. Upon first receiving the news of Pip’s great expectations I felt that Pip could finally get achance to move away and start a new life. This new life would be free of the tormenting memories, hisabusive mother; the run in with the convict; and the poor living conditions. Pip feels guilt aboutleaving Joe and skipping out of the apprenticeship, however he will feel no guilt later and in fact beembarrassed by Joe’s presence. The dream of becoming a gentleman for Pip will lead him into London wherehe lives with Herbert Pocket, the boy he fought at Mrs. Havisham years earlier. I believe that if Pipbecomes a gentleman he will never be excepted by the Higher classes. In England there was not onlyemphasis on how much money you had but where it came from and how long you’ve had it (I did research). Pip’s attempt to marry into high society was to become Estella’s wife, which I don’t think will happenbecause I doubt she is the benefactor. This narrative hook does not remind me of any books I have read in the past. I hardly ever readfiction; I like to read manuals and books about real events. Most of these books don’t have narrativehooks and are interesting the whole way through, not at just one point. I guess this is why I hatefiction. There are many movies and televisions show where people who get large sums of money changetheir personality for the worse. One such movie that is like Great Expectations is Indecent Proposal. In Indecent Proposal when the money is won it changes the relationship between the wife and husband. They thought the money would make them happy and they could forget about what happened. In GreatExpectations Pip’s relationship with Joe and Biddy change because he feels he is better than they are. Money doesn’t bring Pip happiness and jeopardizes the friendship between him, Biddy, and Joe. Thisdoesn’t pertain to my life at all because I have never acquired any large sums of! money, which has changed my personality. My views and ideas are sometimes manipulated by events but mybehavior usually stays the same. 9. “Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence.” Mr. Jaggers’ wise remark to Pip goescompletely unheeded until the very end. What did he really mean? How could Pip have really listened, andthen have avoided so much pain?When Mr. Jaggers says this to Pip he is referring to who the benefactor is. Pip thinks that thebenefactor is Mrs. Havisham but it really turns out to be the convict. Mr. Jaggers wants to tell Pipthat he should not believe it was Mrs. Havisham because all the evidence pointed to the convict. The manstirring his drink with the file and the man giving Pip the shillings were all sign that the convict hadbeen involved with making Pip a gentleman. Mr. Jaggers knew that it might appear that Mrs. Havisham wasthe benefactor because she had invited Pip over and intended him to play with Estella. I think that Pipcouldn’t have really listened. He was in love with Estella, who was cruel and abusive towards him. Despite this he really wanted to please her and become her husband. He is so caught up in his desire tobe with Estella that he does not and can not stop to think that Mrs. Havisham might not be thebenefactor. If Mrs. Havisham were not the benefactor than Estella wo!uldn’t be promised to Pip. 10. Does the cliffhanger at the end of Stage Two shock you? Why or why not? Why did the reader and Pipthink that it was Mrs. Havisham all along? Is Pip unhappy with this news? The cliffhanger at the end of Stage Two didn’t shock me at all. I had a very good feeling it wasthe convict the whole story. It was quite obvious that since the boy helped the convict in his time ofneed that he would try to help him. The reason I think the gruff old convict would help Pip is becausehe really respected the boy and the way he kept his promise. This is shown when he takes the blame forPip about the food that had mysteriously disappeared. Also when the convict was sighted with the fileand giving the boy the shillings was another clue. I really don’t see how and why Mrs. Havisham wouldbenefactor Pip. Mrs. Havisham brought up Estella to wreak her revenge on the male sex. Pip believed Mrs. Havisham was making him a gentleman so he could marry Estella. I just can’t put those two together andmake sense of it. Pip is very sad about this information, he thinks there is no chance he will be withEstella now. He also thinks that being in cohorts with a co!nvict would ruin his reputation much the way he felt about having Joe visit him. Pip is shocked anddistraught, he should have seen t coming. Greeting Card:This is a greeting card for small children who can’t read that well and understand that much but wouldstill like to independently read his or her birthday cards.