Nadyah Hussein - News Article

Great Expectations

Major Theme

How the themes relate to contemporary society

The major theme of Great Expectations is simple and evident throughout the whole book: affection, loyalty, and conscience are more important than social development, wealth, and sophistication. In the novel, particularly the last third, Pip learns many lessons through trial and error.

When he goes to London to become a gentleman, he realizes that achieving class is not the main goal of life, and instead plays a very minor role in what he wants to become. He comes to the conclusion that loyalty is needed in every relationship, and if it is lacking, the main support has been lost because everything is doubted.

 Contemporary society is “characterized by at least three fundamental directions: increasing human interconnection through a network of relationships”.

During the time the novel was written, class and respect in society was of high importance. A person’s status relied on what others thought of them and where they stood in society.  Great Expectations, being a "gentleman" is basically equivalent to being part of the popular crowd.

Unlike today, most people do what they please and do not solely base their actions on how others will react. Pip learns that being well-liked is more about how you act than how you look.

 There are three types of ambition and improvement—moral, social, and educational; they are the reason for his varying behaviours throughout the novel.

First, Pip desires moral self-improvement. He is very hard on himself when he acts badly and feels guilty which makes him want to act better in the future. When he leaves for London, for example, he becomes mad at himself about having behaving so unjustly towards Joe and Biddy. Secondly, Pip desires social self-improvement.

In love with Estella, he longs to become a member of her social class, and when encouraged by others, he has dreams of becoming a gentleman in everybody’s eyes.

Another major theme in Great Expectations is wealth. Everyone believed all you need is love, but in Great Expectations love doesn't get far without money.

In Pip’s perspective there is no doubt that Estella will love him as a poor blacksmith's boy: he has to make his fortune. In the grand scheme of things, all that wealth is not very appealing to.

Miss Havisham had a fortune, and appears to have enough of it to make Estella who she was, but she’s depressed—and all the people who want her money are just as sad too. At the end of it all, Pip fails as a fortunate orphan but succeeds as a self-made man.

This theme is all true in modern society . Lots of people work their whole lives , without really living any of those days. On the other hand . many times , 

Analysis of Setting

            The time period in which the book takes place in is the Victorian era and is set in England. During that time period class also played a huge role in whole could be associated with who and how people lived their lives. From that time period many things have changed but some things are still similar to the way people live now. During this era, industrialization was starting to become popular as more jobs were in the city instead of farming. Also trains and railways were becoming more popular sources of travel as compared to the horse and carriage although they were still commonly used at that time. For example, when Pip was just traveling in shorter distances walking and horses were more common means of traveling but when he was moving to his new property, he took a train. Most families during this time were working class and were hardly associated with the higher classes. This played a role in the book because Pip wouldn't have been able to be with Estella when he was working class since during that time people of the same class would often marry each other as opposed to someone higher class marrying someone lower class. Women in that time were also expected to get married and they worked doing jobs mainly at home or domestic jobs. Their outfits also consisted of floor length dresses, but would vary in style and material depending on the class of the person. Gowns would often be worn by those of higher class or for more formal occasions. The men during this time would take on jobs that often involved business aspects or more manual labor. Their wardrobe often consisted of coats or jackets and button down dress shirts. They would also have clothes for different occasions such as work clothes, casual wear, church clothes and etc. It was also seen during this time that children were inferior and did not have an opinion of their own that they could share and that it was common for children to be “brought up by hand”. People during this time were also into being religious and that they prayed and celebrated Christmas in ways in which many people would gather. It also was believed that older children did not have a need to go to school if they could already be put to work somewhere and that children often ended up working for their parents or guardians once they were old enough to. 

By Ashley

I choose to answer Ashleys question that is “Why is it that Estella referred to herself as having no heart?”. In my opinion, i think that Estella told Pip she has no heart because of her lack of sentimentality. Estella was raised by Ms. Havisham and due to the way she raised and brought up Estella is why she is emotionally damaged. Estella feels not loved and lonely. However though, Estella actually does have feelings. But she just keeps her feelings (heart) locked and hidden because she doesn't want to get hurt. Eventually she does open up her heart (feelings) in the book. 

By: Akshave Arulparan

Discussion Questions

1.      If you were in Pip’s position, would you have gotten the food and file like the convict asked?

2.      How do you think Ms. Havisham felt about Pip when she first met him?

3.      Why do you think the other adults at the beginning of the book treated Pip poorly as a child?

4.      Why is it that Estella referred to herself as having no heart?

5.      Do you feel that Pip should have told Estella the truth about where she came from?

By Ashley

Critical Thinking Questions - Made by Akshave Arulparan

1. Describe Pip and Mrs. Joe’s relationship throughout the novel. 
2. What role does Miss Havisham play in the novel? 
3. Miss Havisham confesses to Pip that she adopted Estella, in order to “save her (Estella) from misery like my own." Do you think this is true? Why or why not? 
4. Why do you think Miss Havisham manipulates Pip into thinking she is his secret benefactor?
5. Why does Pip's attitude towards Magwitch change? 

Most Memorable Moment -Nadyah Hussein

In my section, which the last third of the novel, is when Pip finally finds his benefactor. When he comes to the realization that he had received the money from Abel Magwitch, he is taken aback because he had always believed that Miss Havisham had given him the money, as she had lead him to believe that. This moment is memorable because out of all the people suspected, the escaped convict was the last person he had expected to get the money from. Shortly after he turned 23, he trips over a man, and realizes that the man is the convict he met so long ago. The man gives his name as Abel Magwitch.

Later, he finds out that this was the very man that gave him the opportunity to become a gentleman to impress Estella .He is extremely grateful for this stranger's actions that changed his life. Abel states “Look’ee here, Pip. I’m your second father. You’re my son—more to me nor any son. I’ve put away money, only for you to spend.”  This is a very important line to Pip because he had not really had any true father figure in his life, and this man was the first to care for him in this way. In these moments, Pip finds out about his life and a lot of the questions that he has often wondered about were answered.

He feels ashamed for looking down upon the convict, and fearing him when they first met, almost fifteen years ago.Horrified, Pip learns the truth about what happened to Abel:he went to Australia, where he worked in sheep ranching and earned a lot of money. Moved by Pip’s kindness to him on the marsh, he arranged to use his wealth to make Pip a gentleman.  He realizes the convict was his benefactor  and not Miss Havisham, .At this point of the novel, Pip knows that he is not meant to marry Estella at all.

All in all, this scene is very memorable and significant to me because Pip realizes many things that he should have seen apparent long ago, such as knowing that him and Estella were not meant to be. It is the turning point in the novel, which is comparable to the turning point many of us have at a certain point in our lives, we learn from them and change for the better .

Character Analysis - Nadyah

the most

Most Memorable Moment - Akshave Arulparan

The most memorable moment for me was the moment where Pip meets the escaped convict. Pip first meets Magwitch in the marshes as a young boy. This was the most memorable because Pip didn't have to do anything in that situation. He could of just ignored the convict and kept going, But he was terrified at the sight of a man with a leg iron. "A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin" (Dickens 2). The convict threatens Pip and demands that he brings him food and etc. "You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles. You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sumever, and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my words in any partickler, no matter how small it is, and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate" (Dickens 3). Pip, who is frightened by the Convict, believing that he will kill him if he does not listen to him, steals food from Mrs. Joe's pantry. It is important to note, that Pip also feels great compassion for the hungry man in the marshes. Pip's suffering begins immediately, because as he tries to save his food portion for Magwitch, his sister thinks that he is gulping his food and therefore administers a dose of tar-water, as well as a stern beating.  It's an important moment as well because this shows that Pip is demanding and there are many qualities and characteristics that are portrayed in this very specific part in the book. We learn more about Pips behaviour and how he acts towards others, but even though he was doing wrong by stealing he had a good heart for thinking for the people who were less fortunate and didn't have as much as him, he wanted to give back to them and help them out In there times of needs even though it was a difficult task for him to help since he didn't even have enough to help, he still did all he could to help the man. No matter if he got in trouble or not he didn't care which made him very bold and courageous.

Character Analysis - Akshave Arulparan

Pip is one of the three characters I've chosen to analyze. He is a seven year old protagonist and also an orphan, who is raised by his sister and her husband. In the first few chapters that i have read, Pip stands out as one of the most important characters in the novel. Pip is a very polite and meek child. Generally kids that our Pip’s age tend be outgoing, playful, and not caring. But Pip himself is very different, as he takes many risks, helps out around the house a lot, and is very mature. At the beginning of this novel, Pip meets a escaped convict who forces him to do things such as stealing food and etc. Although he had the choice to not do it and turn down the offer, in the end he chose to do the wrong. He helps the convict by helping him out. Pip is shown as a loving and caring boy. He just wants to feel loved and happy. Without love he feels useless and that's all he really wants.

Joe is the second character of the three characters I've chosen to analyze. He is Pip’s sister’s husband, who is a blacksmith. He is also an important character in this part of the novel as he is Pip’s only friend. Joe treats Pip with respect and love while no other adult respects him, not many treat him as a person. Pip is most of the time treated less than others and not equally. Joe is a strong and confident individual. Joe is nothing like his wife, he is a very kind man who expresses and shows love and acceptance towards Pip; when many disregard him and ignite his presence. Joe doesn't care what others do or think of the way he treats pip, in the end he always does what he feels is justice towards pip. He reminds pip to ignore those to neglect him and stay strong and positive.

My last character is Pip’s older sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery. She raises Pip with her husband, Joe. she has become an overbearing and strict mother figure towards Pip. Treating him with a lot of rules and doesn't let him get away with things as easily as other people would. Mrs. Joe is portrayed as a harsh and demanding women. Patience isn't in her vocabulary, she is never patient. She is also very ambitious, she strives for succeeding in life and and achieving many remarkable accomplishments. Mrs. Joe Gargery isn't like other people, or regular wives. She wants and tries to be more than just an average wife to Joe, who just cooks and cleans and repeats; she wants to offer more to him so he can see how much potential she has as a person. She also wants to be seen as more than just a housewife. 

Ashley

Most Memorable Moment 

The most memorable moment in the novel up till now was when Pip had met Joe again after he moved to his new property. This was memorable since things between Joe and Pip had changed a lot and they were acting very strange and awkward around each other. It was also interesting to see how they got into an argument and it even seemed like Pip was a bit ashamed of showing Joe to his friend. This was something that I wouldn’t have really expected to happen between the two. It was also memorable since it shows changes in the personalities of the characters. This scene was important to the book because it shows how becoming a rich young man has changed the way Pip acts. It helps to develop the character and how he becoming rich has also made him act more like the other people who have a higher status. The fact that Joe first started calling Pip “sir” when they first met again was an indication of how their relationship has become more distance and that since Pip has become a higher class means that they cannot be as friendly as before. When they were out for dinner, Pip had to show Joe what to use and Joe was often fidgeting while they were talking.

Joe also said to Pip, “If there's been any fault at all to-day, it's mine. You and me is not two figures to be together in London; nor yet anywheres else but what is private, and beknown, and understood among friends. It ain't that I am proud, but that I want to be right, as you shall never see me no more in these clothes.” This shows how Joe feels that they can’t be together in public and that things will never be the same in Pip’s life as his relationship and the things he once knew are changing.This shows how status and class during that time were very important in the book with the way people were treated and in relationship to who they could talk to. I found it kind of sad how Joe is acting like this towards Pip when they used to be so close and how easily money can corrupt the way things were. 

Ashley

Writing in Role

            A visitor, Mr. Jaggers, had come to the shop in which Joe and Pip practice their trade when he told them about how Pip had received a fortune and that he would like Pip to come to England in order to become a gentleman. Whereas Pip was excited and eager to go, Joe had some mixed feelings to see the boy who had become like flesh and blood and who he had known since Pip was a baby go.

            At first I was a bit skeptical on what this man could want coming to the shop looking for Pip, until he said that wanted to take Pip with him to England and make him a gentleman since Pip had come across some fortune which then left me feeling dumbfounded. Pip was so eager to go and I couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of him, but at the same time I felt a bit betrayed. How could he so easily agree to go with this man he just met without a second thought? I wanted what was best for Pip, but at the same time it was heart breaking to see him suddenly go without any warning. It was hard to take in all of a sudden hearing that Pip was going to leave all of a sudden. I was also a bit angry at myself because I never knew this was how he felt all along when I thought we were as close as could be.

            Some part of me didn’t want to see Pip go because it felt like Pip was going to be along for much longer and I felt proud to have been able to teach him how to take up this trade. It was like having a son to follow in your footsteps. The man then offered to pay a generous amount in order to pay for the services I would be losing once Pip leaves. This sparked a feeling of rage inside of me and for once I wanted to hit and yell at someone so badly and the thoughts going through my head were indescribable. I couldn’t help it but to let the words if you think as Money can make compensation to me for the loss of the little child—what come to the forge—and ever the best of friends escape my lips. How could this man think that his charity towards me or him being considerate could ever replace Pip? For having Pip around was never mainly because of the services or that I would have someone to take over my work for me, Pip was and will always be someone who is more than just a dear friend of mine or a son and will always be whether we are blood related or not.  

            Pip had to hold be back because if he had not then I surely would have hit this man out of rage. After the man left, I had calmed down a bit, but it did not help much because I had to face that soon Pip would be leaving and I won’t hold him back. Seeing Pip off left a dull ache in my heart, but if anything at least I would know that even once he leaves, we will still be friends and that I should be proud to see Pip off to pursue what he really wants.

                 After having met with Joe, Pip asked when he can come again, but Ms. Havisham told him that he needs not come back there anymore. Estella saw them off as they left and Pip did not know if or when he would get to see her again.

            I looked back at Estella and the house one last time before leaving. It’s funny how things had changed so fast. When I had first started coming here I could not wait until the moment I left. I had to hold back tears for I did not want to give Estella the pleasure of seeing me cry and have her feel even more superior to me than she already did. I used to have a storm of emotion inside of me for there was anger, sadness and dread. Angry at Estella for acting the way she did and that I could do nothing but put up with it for I had to behave. Sad that she made me feels so inferior and hate the things about me that I never gave a second thought to. Dread that I would have to go back there again, but those feeling had gradually begun to change and were replaced by new ones. As I glanced back I watched as she began to walk away seeing those auburn curls that were so much like the leaves in the fall bounce up and down the way they always did when she walked like they moved to their own rhythm. At once I had thought that she was only beauty on the outside but that feeling had also changed as I know she could be beautiful on the inside also. I felt sadness once more, but it was different this time for there was also a feeling of longing. As I turned to walk away, I hoped that we would also be able to meet once more, and that I would be able to see her in a new way
                                              

               When Herbert and Pip had met back up over all those years and Pip finding out that Herbert was the boy who he had fought with all those years ago they decide to have dinner together and end up becoming good friends. During dinner, Herbert told Pip the story about Ms. Havisham’s love all those years ago. This also ties to the reason why Ms. Havisham is inviting boys over to play with Estella so that she could charm them instead of the other way around and that the same thing won’t happen to Estella like it did to Ms. Havisham.   

            As I was getting ready for my wedding, I couldn’t think of a day that could make me any happier. I was finally going to get married to the man who I fell in love with and so I could call him mine as he would call me his. Everything was ready and I was just waiting for him to arrive. It made me both happy and nervous with excitement and so I thought this day couldn’t me any more perfect. That was until I got the letter which made everything seem like it had changed from bright, vivid, and lively colors to a dull world of black and white. I thought I had found someone who I could love and trust in but it turned out I was only being played for a fool.

I stopped all the clocks in the house for in that moment it felt like time had stopped for me. I was heartbroken and in a rage. With feelings of pure anguish and burning hatred, I let out a scream as I couldn’t hold back the feelings inside. I screamed in between gasping sobs that made my chest ache and it was so hard to breathe. How I was so young and naïve and foolish back then to believe that he ever cared for me, and that he was always one to show off; the whole thing was just another act to him so he could get what he wanted. I have never hated and loved someone so much in that moment and I had been blinded by his false promises. I also hated my brother for being the horrible man that he was and how he had been in on it only made me all the more angry. This pain was not something I would want to suffer ever again.   

Writing in Role - Akshave Arulparan

Pip is only seven years old, why does she understand that? She needs to go a little easy on him. She treats him like an orphaned child that she is being forced to raise. Although she is his sister, she should be taking care if him as if he was her child. Our child. I love her. We have been married for many years, She works hard. She does take care of the house and all. Pip is a very polite and a meek child. Pip himself is much more different then the other kids his age. I know Pip isn't my child, but he's become apart of my life since the day he was born. I See him as not just a little boy but my little boy. I hope he understands I’m always there for him. Today I saw the most unusual thing Pip has done. He was stealing food from his sister pantry. I didn't understand why, he is not the type who steals. I saw him leave the house. I silently followed him. I don't understand why we taking all this. I just don’t understand. As I go behind him silently, he goes into the Marshes. He gives everything he stole this man. Im sure I have never met this man before, he has a iron leg. He seems like a convict; escaped convict. Why would Pip be stealing food to give to a convict? I need to confront Pip about this. 

First Impression Journal- Nadyah Hussein

In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens presents the readers with a seven year old's perspective in London. The boy, an orphan named Pip, short for Pirrip and Philip, casts us into his world, and shows us a day in his life. Even though I have only read a certain amount of pages in the book, I am eager to read more pages because of how interesting the novel is at this point. I find this book fascinating because it is written in Pip's perspective, thus making the beginning of the novel fairly innocent because it is in his point of view. Also, it is amazing how thoroughly he observes his surroundings and others around him. The book primarily introduces us to Pip, who is an average young boy, whose parents had died when he was younger, alongside his siblings. Though many characters have been revealed in the first 20 pages, two particular characters caught my attention. Firstly, I am intrigued by the escaped convict because he jolts Pip’s life and forces him to do things, such as stealing food, which he would’ve never done if not threatened with death. In addition, I am quite interested by his sister who had taken him in, Mrs. Joe Gargery, because she struggles to care for her brother and be a good wife at the same time. Bravery and trustworthiness are displayed in the first couple of chapters through many characters. One character that evidently displayed these qualities was Pip because when the convict tells him to bring him food and a couple of objects; he does not refuse, and brings what he had asked for the next day. He is extremely courageous to return to the churchyard to meet the convict because he promised he would fulfill his commitment to help him in return to sparing his life. In addition, Pip’s sister is extremely trustworthy because she stayed true to her promise and took care of her younger brother, just as her parents had asked her to. She is very brave to take on the responsibility of Pip, especially due to the fact that he is not her child and she treats him as her own and cares for him. The setting is thoroughly described in every scene, making the reader feel as if they are witnessing the event. Pip gives a vivid image of the situations he faces and how he is treated by others. Therefore, the overall tone of the novel so far is quite negative because of how negatively Pip is treated by others. Characters that are not pleasant with him are his sister and the escaped convict. Even though this genre does not generally appeal to me and I’d much rather a romance novel, this book is quite intriguing, thus making me want to read more. I really enjoyed how detailed everything is explained, so it does not leave me confused about the surroundings and characters. Also, I like how pure Pip’s thoughts are, due to the fact of the tenderness of his age. The only thing I am not very interested about is that the book does not have a lot of drama and flair. The story line is quite dull, and there are no big events seen in the near future. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to seeing what becomes of Pip and his life in London.