Great Expectations: Thoughts on Reading

The book was, for lack of a better word, engaging. Had it not been assigned, and had I read it at a leisurely pace and of my own accord, I believe I would have found it a rather delightful read. Dickens' skill as an author goes without question, and his ability to use simple hook-and-lure tactics to engage the reader is expertly demonstrated. In a word, "what larx".

As far as a "routine" goes when it comes to my reading, well there wasn't one. Haphazard and sketchily did I read the book, but I read the whole thing and never cheated. Rather, listened to the whole thing. In lieu of drudging agonizingly through the physical book's papery marshes, I had it read to me by a rather stuffy Brit with a knack for impersonating screeching old ladies. The actual efficiency of audiobooks is questionable, for it's rather easy to become quite distracted and find yourself three or four chapters into strange territory with absolutely no clear recollection of how exactly you came to be there. That being said, it was a fun time, and a much more intellectually engaging romp than The Importance of Being Earnest was.

Um..... the end?     

Great Expectations Photo Post

How does this NOT relate to great expectations? I mean come on, you would have to be a blundering fool, or an "uncouth booby" in Charles Dickian, to not see the connections blatantly displayed on the computer screen right now.
It plays into the whole theme of how Pip is told what he is to do from the very beginning of the book, and never strays from his path, especially upon receiving his expectations. He only starts to wish against his path and attempt to deviate once Magwitch enters the scene. He causes Pip to question his destiny, and to wish he had listened to Biddy and Joe, his real teachers. 

Making Connections and Posting a Picture

In my mind, Great expectations vaguely resembles parts of James and the Giant Peach. Both involve young boys living with abusive siblings who get whisked away to happiness and such. While Pip isn't exactly "happy" in his new environment, he is surely better off than he was under the rule of Mrs. Joe, Mr. Pumblechook and the like. Another recurring idea in both stories is that of the boy's "wealth" trying to be usurped by others. In Great Expectations, it is the Pockets who try to procure Pip's wealth and favor with Mrs. Havisham, and in JGP it his (aunts?) who try to take away his peach and sell it at the end of the movie.

Jaggers presenting Pip with his Great Expectations

Pip's humble and dismal beginnings

left: Herbert                                    Right: Joe

Pip's friends and loves also have a relation to the story of James, his Peach, and the quest for his parents. His friends in the peach (bugs and all that jazz) are comparable to Joe, in Pip's early life, and Herbert in the latter. Estella also has a counterpart, said counterpart being James' parents. Both are nigh unobtainable figures in which the protagonist long/lust after, but always just miss them.  

Great Expectations,the Second Stage *LATE*

Estella coming to London is a turning point in the novel. She causes Pip much grief and worry, which are feelings that pip seems to feel almost daily. She shows interest in him, then turns around and pursues other men, then drops them (to Pip's elation), and then pursues Drummel, and then, again, drops him. This sends Pip on an emotional roller coaster, and is in affect, breaking his heart.

This fits into the discussed  motif of sadness and disappointment, which from the very beginning of the novel, Pip has dealt with constantly. From his dismal town and life in the "Meshes", to his disappointing arrival in London and the receival of his "Great Expectations", Pip has truly known sadness and dissapointment, and Estella's actions only act to compound these feelings inside of him.

Question about a Passage *LATE* and the Unnamed Blog Due Friday the 4th

Question about a Passage: 

"Home had never been a very pleasant place to me, because of my sister's temper. But, Joe had sanctified it, and I had believed in it. I had believed in the best parlor as a most elegant saloon; I had believed in the front door, as a mysterious portal of the Temple of State whose solemn opening was attended as a sacrifice of roast fowls." Chapter XIV - page unknown due to electronically reading the book

My question is essentially about the allusions Pip is making, and what they mean/signify. The passage makes perfect sense up until the third sentence.

Unnamed Blog Due Friday the 4th:
Pip is referring, in this quote, to meeting Esthella and Mrs. Havisham. This day alters him in the sense that he begins to gain favor with Mrs. Havisham, which leads him into a large sum of money and an apprenticeship with Joe. Between chapters 1-9 and 10-16, Pip undergoes serious changes. Most of these are  positive changes in maturity and understanding of what goes on around him. I seem to be relating more and more to Pip's experiences as he grows older and more perceptive
My development as a person, or "character" has been spurred on by multiple events, but if I had to track down one moment in my history that made me who I am today, it would have to be my birth. Birth is the first link in the chain of life, or rather the raw metal being struck into the first link (insert witty Joe the blacksmith allusion). All events of my life have taken place because of this one momentous occasion, and it is therefor the one that began my chain.