Directions:
- After reading the lecture, answer one of the main questions, which will appear in bold type. This question is due no later than Thursday, March 23. Following that will be other questions, in black, which you should read and think about--they may help you answer the main question. However, you are not required to answer these questions in writing.
- Your responses to other students' answers are due by midnight on Sunday, March 26. Remember: in order to get the full 20 points, you MUST respond thoughtfully to at least 2 other people's postings. This set of discussion questions is worth a possible 20 points.
- Late answers and responses receive 0 points, so post early :)
We will be using the Canvas Discussion Board for this class. Click on the link below to get to the LACCD portal, sign in, and then click on the link for Canvas in the right column. This will take you to the Canvas dashboard. From there, click on the square with the name of our class. Once you've entered the class, you will find the "Discussions" link on the left side of the screen:
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
1. Sylvere Monod says, "...Great Expectations...concerns itself with the weaknesses and pettinesses of mankind and can have no real hero or heroine..." Do you agree? That is, do you see Estella as a "heroine" or Pip as a "hero"? Explain.
2. As I said in the lecture, Dickens added a happy ending to the novel. Below are the two endings; which do you think is more appropriate for the novel?
Ending #1, the original.
"We are friends," said I, rising and bending over her, as she arose from the bench.
"And will continue friends apart," said Estella.
Ending #2, the revision.
"We are friends," said I, rising and bending over her, as she arose from the bench.
"And will continue friends apart," said Estella.
I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her.
- The use of coincidence in the novel bothers some readers. Did it bother you?
- How does Pip's innocence as a child arouse both humor and compassion?
- Pip grows up, but Joe doesn't; do you see Joe as "immature"?
- Some critics see Estella as an unrealistic, improbable character. Do you agree?
- Some critics see Biddy as "too perfect." Do you agree?
- Some critics see the eccentricity of some of the characters--Miss Havisham, Wemmick, the Pockets--as excessive. Do you agree?
- Is Magwitch a tragic figure? Or merely melodramatic?
- There are "two Pips" in the novel: the young Pip, of whom we are told, and the older Pip, who is telling the story. The older Pip is as stern and honest as possible in his criticism of the younger Pip. There is very little self-pity and there are few excuses. What is the effect of this narration on your perception of Pip?
- In this novel, is ambition seen as a good or bad character trait?
- Why is Pip so attracted to Estella? Why is he not attracted to Biddy?
- Do you see any resemblance between Magwitch and Frankenstein's monster?
- Which is better, according to the novel: expectations not met, or expectations realized?
- Pip does not achieve his "great expectations," but is there any victory for him in the novel?
- Why does Pip forgive Miss Havisham? What has he learned that makes this possible?
- Wemmick is surrounded by corruption, but is not destroyed by it. How does he manage this? What is Dickens's point here?
- Is Jaggers evil?
- The similarities between Pip and Pumblechook make Pip uncomfortable, but they exist. What are they? How is Pip different from Pumblechook?
