-Blog Post #4-
Topic A
By Anna Hoffman
I chose the quote, "I am what you have made me. Take
all the praise, take all the blame; take all failure, take all the success; in
short, take me" (295). This quote is said by Estella in response to Miss
Havisham wanting Estella to love her. Estella cannot believe what she just
heard which is why she responds with, "I am what you made me." Ever
since Miss Havisham adopted Estella, she has raised her to show no emotion and
to be cold to everyone. Because Miss Havisham's heart was broken she wanted
revenge on men, so she raised Estella to break men's heart. Little did Miss
Havisham know was that it goes both ways, and because she loves Estella,
Estella will end up breaking her heart. But Miss Havisham still is oblivious to
this fact and so she expects too much from Estella, which is why Estella has to
lay it out for her. Estella uses sunlight as a metaphor for love when describing
this to Miss Havisham. This is ironic because Miss Havisham also tries to stay
out of the sun. Estella says that if you raise someone and never let them see
the light of day and then decide one day to show them it, how can you expect them to understand it.
Estella says this is just like love. Miss Havisham made Estella grow up without
ever experiencing love and then suddenly expected her to return it to her. This
quote and conversation is very important because it is the first time Estella
puts Miss Havisham in place.
Anna, the connection you made between the sunlight blocked from Miss Havisham's room and Estella's comment, is an interesting one. However, I think it is a completely correct connection. Along with the reasons that you stated, sunlight is both helpful and harmful. Everyone needs sunlight so that our bodies can have vitamin D, but too much has harmful effects. Similarly, it is good to hide emotion at times so that you are not the center of attention all the time, but hardening your heart and not conveying any true emotion puts a dreadful strain on your life and relationships. Sunlight also allows us to view the world clearly, but looking directly at it, damages our eyes. Miss Havisham attempted to completely diminish Estella’s love, especially for men; yet she does not expect the harmful blinding of her “ray of sunlight” when Estella shows her no love.
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