In
Great Expectations by Charles
Dickens, it is evident that Pip, the main character, has a comparable family
life to Liesel from The Book Thief by
Markus Zusak. Pip, like Liesel, has both parents stripped from him at a young
age, and he is forced to live with his sister and her husband, Joe. After
arriving at their respective new homes, Pip and Liesel both comment on how
strict and grumpy their new mother figures are. Pip frequently calls himself
and Joe “fellow-sufferers” for having to deal with Mrs. Joe Gargery (8). He even
goes as far to think of stealing from her and running away and similarly,
Liesel wants to run away to find her mother.
One
person in particular makes them both stay, the father figure. Joe and Hans have
resembling personalities; they are both kind, gentle, and responsible. These
qualities help them gain their brother-in-law’s/foster child’s trust so that
they are able to convince the children that Mrs. Joe Gargery and Rosa are not
horrible. Joe tells Pip how his sister is a “fine
figure” and that he must appreciate and comprehend all that she has done for
him. He points out how naughty he has been in return (46). Likewise, Hans sits
Liesel down and explains to her that Rosa is only trying to stay tough in the
hard times and that she loves Liesel, but has a funny way of showing it.
Liesel and Pip have homogenous home lives; they are both
stripped from their blood parents, they have difficult times getting along with
their new mother figures, and they are close to their father figures.
Elyse, this is a great point you make about the lives of Liesel and Pip and you did a great job referencing our past novel to help in your blog post. I think the comparison of their lives does a great job of tying in not only our previous curriculum but also completely different times in history. It’s evident that the two both have strong father figures and lack of a mother in their lives. The connection also makes me wonder because in The Book Theif, Rosa ended up changing and strongly caring for Liesel. Now that you bring up this connection, is it possible that Pip’s sister will be the same dynamic character that Rosa turned out to be? This could be a potential change to look out for in the character of Mrs. Joe. But what if Pip’s sister continues to be a rude woman that she is presented as in the first chapters? I think that if Mrs. Joe fails to change her ways and improve as a person, Pip will be introduced to a new mother figure in his life, possible Miss Havisham.
ReplyDeleteElyse, I would give you an A- because you had a good annalys and wove in quotes nicely, but did not format the title correctlly.
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