Use this posting to talk about the novel as you work through it.
I personally love Charles Dickens because he is not worried about the reader. He composes his stories as they need to unfold, making the endings of his novels some of the most rewarding you can read.
I know the language is a bit older than you may be used to, but you will be expected to read passages like these with facility on the AP test. Keep on working.
Happy Thinking,
Mr. B
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Although I am not that far in the book, I am enjoying the style of writing. I heard some horrible things about Dickens, his books, and his writing stlye from a few people. But as I started to read, I felt I understood it better than I understand a lot of "old- fashioned talk" type of books. I'm not that far in the book, but so far it is fantastic. Keep in mind that I do not enjoy assigned books. I feel like I am forced to find a secret message or decipher a code. So this is a victory. No pressure....for now.
ReplyDeleteI had to fight a bit to get through the middle, but the beginning and both endings I felt were fantastic. I'm not too partial to Dickens' style of writing, but I have to admit that he creates characters beautifully. There were times when I would feel utmost sympathy for Pip, and others when I would be very irritated at him. He's certainly not the most likeable character in the world, but I like characters that make me think. Especially Miss Havisham; she is so fascinating.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is my first time blogging but I must say that I'm not a big fan of the book itself but I am a big a fan of the character Pip. Dickens beautifully imagines a young boy who growing and maturing to adult hood, not only in his personality but also with the settings and plots that surround him. So, although the book is not the greatest in my opinion, I'm a fan of how Dickens created the character Pip.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I can not STAND Miss Havisham.
Good discussions going on here.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't you stand Miss Havisham? What fascinates you about her,Danielle?
What about Pip? He is a fairly warm/cold character. What does Dickens do really well with him and where does Pip lose his personality?
I personally think the most underrated character is Magwitch. What do you all think?
Happy Thinking,
Mr. B
I love how her surroundings truly reflect what sort of character she is. She stopped all of her clocks when she felt as if her life was over, and she continues to wear the dress that marks the worst day of her life. She has literally put her life on hold; she's chosen to wallow in her misery, because she finds it easier than wondering what could possibly happen if she tried to move on. As a person, I really can't say that I favor her or her lifestyle, but as a character, I love reading about her.
ReplyDeleteI think Pip begins to change when he gets these expectations. As soon as he feels that he can be someone, his present life becomes ridiculous in comparison. I don't like when Pip becomes an adult, because his elitist attitude makes him so much less relatable.
I feel bad for Magwitch. He's not what everyone expects, which makes him interesting.
I don't like the book too much either. Dicken's overly does his imagery which takes away from the story and it's meaning for me. the beginning was really hard to get through, but it got a little easier as I went through the story. And I also agree with the whole not liking Miss Havisham. She is cruel. And Pip got on my nerves throughout the story...I guess I'm just not a fan of Dicken's.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I could rewrite this book in 200 pages.
ReplyDeleteI think this book explains two major things: It's about growing up and being ambitious and it's about the problems and clashing of the social classes. It's like The Garden Party, except a lot more elaborate. And wordy. And long. And wordy.
About Miss Havisham: She needs to get over herself. I think she's very interesting, but she really needs to get over her problems and continue on with life.
About If I Like The Book or Not: Dickens talks too much. But it could be worse. Mr. Bruno could have assigned A Tale of Two Cities.
The key to surviving Dickens is enjoying his language. How many other people can make death sound funny (re: Mr. Wopsle's Aunt and that stubborn habit of living which she kicked)?
ReplyDeleteDigging the novel for linguistic tricks will yield you a lot of material for writing that long paper you guys have due very soon, so mine away.
Remember: use this blog for sorting questions about the novel and figuring out ideas about your writing. This will be one of the only forums you will have during the year for specific writing questions.
Mr. B
Is this paper to be five paragraphs? Or can we use more? How did you guys set up your paper? I've tried two different ways, and neither seem to be portraying my ideas clearly enough.
ReplyDeleteDickens was a genious, and I would have hated to run into him at a party; but his books and themes are magnificant. Reading the books are terrible, but I think that is not Dickens' fault. If I had to wait for portions of the book to come out, the read would not have been terrible at all. I do enjoy the plot, motifs, themes, and all the hidden meanings in the book. Reading how Pip grows up is similar to Stephen in 'The Portrait of an Artist.' Both boys grew up in a poor household and had an ambition and tried to abandon their social status.
ReplyDeleteThe language was interesting, I loved the humor he incorperated, and as expected it is very word-y; but considering the depth of his intentions and devices the length seems to balance what is being said, or what isn't being said.
Carla, I wouldn't advise trying to fit a 5-10 page paper in 5 paragraphs. I would organize the paper to best portray your thoughts clearly. Remember, just do it in MLA and it should be okay.
I agree that occasionally Dickens was very funny, (the whole "nasty habit of living" thing made me laugh) but overall I found him to be much too long winded. The themes of Great Expectations were great and the story itself was pretty good, but dickens took way too long in telling it. if the book was half or even a third the length that it is I think that Dickens could have gotten the very same point accross, but in a much more enjoyable way for the reader.
ReplyDeleteThis is a little late. I haven't checked fusion in a while.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started to read Great Expectations I was instantly amused. Everything seemed very funny to me and it all made sense. The metaphors and analogies were greatly entertaining. They made me laugh the most. Each character was different as well as developed nicely. Everything ran together and fit like pieces of the puzzle. If one character was taken it the story wouldn't ahve had as big of impact as it did.
Magwitch was an imprtant character but I do not think he needed anymore appraisal in the book. He needed to be in the background as it added mystery to the novel. It kept the readers intranced. And by being in the background it left Pip to further develop. And in my opinion Magwitch is only underrated if you desire him to be so, no offense to anyone becuase I immediatly saw his importance in Pip's life in the first couple of chapters where you met him.
The old language did not bother me that much. It was not hard to understand anything that was written or what Dickens was trying to illustrate through the different characters.
About Dickens not writing to please his audience he actually changed the ending to do so. I do not currently have the book with me as I sent it back home with my mother, but one of the editors or something of that sort told Dickens he should change the original ending to a happier one becuase that was what the readers wanted to see. As a result the ending was changed which just made it blah compared to the original ending. My book had both endings. And personally the original ending just fit so much better and completed the book that I felt Dickens should not have changed it all.
This story, while dry and a bit monotonous at some points, was a story of karma to me. I actually found it to be pretty relateable to today's time because you could see these type of situations happening everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this is cheating, but I actually listened to a recording of Great Expectations while following along in the book. I was continually distracted when I didn't listen to it, but the recording added emotion, tone, and feeling. Otherwise, I found the novel long, drawn out, and rather predictable. Ultimately, I found sympathy for the characters, but felt no connection to them for much of the LENGTHY novel.
ReplyDelete