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Great Expectations
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Classics Challenge 1: Great Expectations
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Allan, I'm clapping my hands. Part of my motivation for learning english came from my early reading of Davd Copperfield, with the susequent longing for the original experience :D.So, I think I'll start my challenge with Dickens...
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I had read first few chapters some months ago, so I think I'll start reading from there. I remember the scenery and architecture conveying an intense feeling of decay...
Allan wrote: "This article from the Irish Times is relevant to this thread.http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/boo..."
Thanks for posting that article, Allan. I love the columnist's sense of humor :) I remember hearing years ago that all "serious" readers would follow Eliot...and that Dickens was just too over the top. No matter. I've always loved Dickens--and no one names characters the way he does. Bounderby, Fezziwig, Tulkinghorne. I think whether the critics stand in praise of him or not, he's still one of the major architects of 19th c. British lit. Can't wait to re-read Great Expectations.
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That's it. In Joe's case he never expected a premium for Pip. I decided to do a reread of this as I was 15 when I first studied it. I just love how Dickens describes people from their name to their clothes and their mannerisms. I can see them all so clearly. Pip is such a great character, not always likeable but one you want to keep reading about.
True. They're are plenty of flawed people who, for one reason or another, you can sympatise with or at least understand. I always feel sorry for Miss Havisham, even while she is mean to Pip. When I read GE first didn't take to Estella at all. I wonder if i'll feel differently this time?
Yeah that's true. I'm enjoying the reread though. It'll be interesting to see what people who have never read it before think of it.
I picked up the Oxford Classics version of this from work yesterday. By the sounds of it ye are enjoying it so I imagine it isn't too tough a read?
Oh it's not a tough read at all Kevin
It sounds by ye're comments like a light read which is not at all what I was expecting??
It's basically the classic coming of age tale. Pip is a boy from a small town with few prospects who through a chance encounter has his limitations shown to him. He gets the chance to broaden his horizons and that is what the story focuses on. That is the bare bones of it but the characters and instances along the way are amazing as is Pip's journey.
I agree, Dickens is just wordy but not in a bad way. Gaskell is very readable and Forster is very witty. Eliot is the only unknown for me really.
Oh yay :-) let me know how you get on with it. It's possibly my favourite Dickens
Emma wrote: "I'm planning on tackling Eliot in February. This month I'm planning on Bleak House as my classic"Emma, I think Bleak House is my all-time favorite of Dickens. When you're finished, there's a really good adaptation of it with Gillian Anderson playing Lady Dedlock. I think it was produced by the BBC.
It was Cathleen. It is a fabulous adaptation, the cast is incredible.
I'm really enjoying this reread. My only disappointment is knowing some of the big twists in advance. But it is as great as i remembered.
I'm about half way finished and I like it.My daughter had to read this for her English class and she mentioned that Dickens wrote three endings because people didn't like the first one.The edition that she had only the original one and she had to read the teachers copy for the other two. Am I the only one that didn't this ?
I only knew of two endings but it wasn't that unusual for Dickens. He wrote his books in serial form which meant he could see how the public was reacting to the plot and character development an make changes if he needed to. People got very invested in his characters and there was a massive outpouring of grief when one of their favourite characters died.
A short article on one of Dickens' trip to Ireland. By the looks of it he did a reading in Carrickfergus and correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Allan from Carrick?http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/e...
I finished it a few days ago.I liked it but didn't love it.Couldn't stand Pip for a majority of the novel...
Pip can be hard to like as he comes across as obnoxious and ungrateful. He got an opportunity to better himself and he let it go to his head. But for me, that didn't take away from the book.
I liked him in the beginning and the end but in between he was very unlikeable. Of course I suppose that is a mark of an excellent writer , making a reader have such reactions good or bad .
That's true, I think the point is that money doesn't always make the man. Pip became embarrassed by people who truly loved him while fawning over those who callously toyed with him. I thought Dickens pointed this out really well.
That's so true ...the way he treated Joe was terrible.I want to read more Dickens soon,not sure which one tho.
Well David Copperfield is great although Bleak House is probably my favourite. A lot of people recommend The Old Curiosity Shop, it's on my TBR pile for this year.
I have Bleak House .I'll ad it to my ever growing TBR list .I don't think I'll get to it for a while.I need to get to the other classics first.Thanks :)
I finished Great Expectations today. I enjoyed it. I liked Pip but he was a bit ungrateful. I think his judgement was clouded by his feelings for Estella and how he thought she would see Joe. I like the way he was faithful to Estella even though she didn't deserve it. But again she was a product of her upbringing.
She really was, but, unlike you I was frustrated by his loyalty to her. He was pathetically trying to please her and win her over and she was never interested.
At times his loyalty was irritating and she really didn't deserve his loyalty i agree.
Stella is one fictional character i dislike. I know she is what Miss Havisham made her, but she is also self aware and therefore could change if she wanted to but she seems happy to be a harpy.
Nicking a copy of GE from my dad's north library...Miss Haversham would not approve! Anticipating the very formal and florid language of the times.Joining the talk in a couple chapters! Till then....
Started this today, need to play catch up on our classics challenge with only 2/5 completed
Seraphina wrote: "Started this today, need to play catch up on our classics challenge with only 2/5 completed"It's funny you mention that, Seraphina. I just realized that I'm way behind on this challenge, so I decided to listen to it during my commute.
Just under half ways with this one and have to say I thing it's some of the best writing I've read with regards to his ability to make beautiful quotes.Again this morning I highlighted another beautiful piece from it
"heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are the rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts".
There's a reason why Dickens is still so widely read. He really had a way with words and he really understood humanity. He saw the good and the bad and recorded it all. I actually musg try to read another Dickens before the end of the year.
I held back from giving this 5 stars because this book hit me in waves of brilliantness from the scenes with estella and miss havishham to waves of struggling to get through it, scenes where Pip is getting set up in his new life and with Hamish. My favourite parts always included miss havisham and so left me disappointed that it didn't feel like she was in a whole lot of the book.There were some amazing pieces of writing in this however which I highlighted throughout and you can see why this would be part of a school curriculum in English.
So glad you enjoyed it. Miss Havisham is amazing character, creepy and cruel but yet you sort of have to feel sorry for her. Estella on the other hand drives me to distraction, nothing redeemable there at all.
Like the scene with the fire! Omg, def one of best moments in a book ever I think
Estella I felt was just a product of miss havishams revenge so she didn't annoy me as much. She always warned pip not to get attached to her so she had that to redeem her in a small way
Yeah she said that while doing everything in her powee to lure him. ick. @ Emma have you come across Miss Havisham in the Jasper Fforde books yet?
Yeah I loved her. She was so much fun.
Ah it dips a little after book 5 but when you've got that far you feel you need to finish the series
http://m.sparknotes.com/lit/greatex/c...A synopsis of the characters in great expectations. I think this summarises the way I felt about estella well. Strangely enough, Pip was the character I had the most issues with, although he was kind to his friend, the way he treated Joe throughout the book up until the end annoyed me. I felt like calling him an ungrateful brat at times.
I think that's the point, Dickens shows that money doesn't make a gentleman. Joe knew how to treat people better than Pip did. Money made Pip look down on those who loved him while he fawned over those who used him as a pawn. His reaction to Magwitch highlights this. He isn't surprised, curious or grateful; he is bitterly disappointed because it means he isn't meant for Estella who treats him with little more than contempt.
Money can't buy you happiness
http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/boo...