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.