~Blog Post #1~
Topic A
April 17th, 2015
Rachel Bierman
In the first few pages of Great Expectations, the reader learns much about Pip and his home life. Dickens writes, “Philip Pirrip, late of his parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried” (3). This quote shows not so much what Pip has been through (because he was young at the time of his parents’ passing), but rather what his sister has had to deal with, therefore, giving a possible explanation as to why she is so bitter and rude. The undesirable attitude of Mrs. Joe has a great effect on Pip. The quote can show much significance as to why Mrs. Joe, Pip’s sister, is the way she is, rude and unlikeable. It can be assumed that Mrs. Joe has gone through much hardship in her life by the loss of her parents as well as infant siblings. The responsibility of caring for Pip, while not only a grueling task, also brings back those terrible memories of the times of death within her family. This simple quote shows the great hardship and stress that Mrs. Joe has experienced that is then retaliated on Pip, therefore, building the characters in this novel and foreshadowing future life events for the two. Though Mrs. Joe is hateful towards Pip, the lack of background around her character means that her anger and resentment could have a viable cause, such as the death of her family; except Pip, the little boy she much raise on her own from a young age.
Topic A
April 17th, 2015
Rachel Bierman
In the first few pages of Great Expectations, the reader learns much about Pip and his home life. Dickens writes, “Philip Pirrip, late of his parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried” (3). This quote shows not so much what Pip has been through (because he was young at the time of his parents’ passing), but rather what his sister has had to deal with, therefore, giving a possible explanation as to why she is so bitter and rude. The undesirable attitude of Mrs. Joe has a great effect on Pip. The quote can show much significance as to why Mrs. Joe, Pip’s sister, is the way she is, rude and unlikeable. It can be assumed that Mrs. Joe has gone through much hardship in her life by the loss of her parents as well as infant siblings. The responsibility of caring for Pip, while not only a grueling task, also brings back those terrible memories of the times of death within her family. This simple quote shows the great hardship and stress that Mrs. Joe has experienced that is then retaliated on Pip, therefore, building the characters in this novel and foreshadowing future life events for the two. Though Mrs. Joe is hateful towards Pip, the lack of background around her character means that her anger and resentment could have a viable cause, such as the death of her family; except Pip, the little boy she much raise on her own from a young age.
Rachel, I believe your point of the relationship between Mrs. Joe Gargery and Pip is important in our novel. Pip does not realize of the immense work that his sister has done for him, and treats her poorly in return. Mrs. Joe Gargery is cruel to Pip because of his lack of appreciation. Joe, recognizing he must explain to Pip what his sister has been through, sits him down and states that Pip’s sister is very “kind” to even allow Pip to live with them in the forge because she could have just left him out in the streets (47). Based off of the amount of focus Dickens spends on this sibling relationship, it can be assumed that the relationship will develop as Pip matures.
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ReplyDeleteRachel, I understand your point of view by saying that Mrs. Joe's harsh and rude attitude is shaped by the grief she feels in the death of her family, however, it seems to me that she is proud that she and Pip are saved from the same fate as the rest of their family. The way she often brings up the fact that she “brought him up by the hand,” indicates that she allows her ego to get in the way of treating him and her husband Joe kindly (13). Mrs. Joe puts herself first and seems to think that she is all great and nearly perfect. Instead of going to Christmas Mass with Pip and Joe, she remains home to fix up the house and herself for the coming guests. Since Mrs. Joe survives and manages to save Pip from that awful fate, if she is not perfect, then nobody can be (at least that’s how she sees it).
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ReplyDeleteRachel, I really like your post. You did a really good job of explaining your quote in an understandable form. You did a great job of connecting your evidence to other reasons you gave. The only thing I believe you could improve upon would be some of your analysis. In many parts I feel as though you could have taken it one step farther. But otherwise you did great.