Question numberrrr 2!!!

In chapter 43 in the first couple pages, (352-354), Pip is saying that since his benefactor is a convict, he can no longer be with Estella (even though he really wasn't from the beginning). I understand the reason for him to feel this way, because he thinks she won't want him because all his money is coming from a convict, but why would he even tell her where all the money came from? Can't he just keep it quiet so that Estella will think it's his money? Maybe it's because he would feel guilty, but I still don't understand it completely. If he told her that it came from a man named Magwitch, how would she know he is a convict? I don't think she will even care where the money came from, so why does he think she will care so much? And why does he need to tell her where it came from in the first place?

There has been a few things that I have not understood in the book, but the one that stands out to me most is how Estella can be so rude and not even think about Pip's feelings. She did not like Pip from the beginning just because he was "common". It's obvious that Miss Havisham doesn't want Estella to like Pip because she did tell her to break his heart, for her own purposes, but that doesn't mean Estella has to listen. When Estella says, "Oh! I have a heart to be stabbed in or shot in,I have no doubt, and, of course, if it ceased to beat, I should cease to be. But you know what I mean. I have no softness there, no-sympathy-sentiment-nonsense." (238), she is saying that she has a heart, but its just filling a place in her chest that's practically empty. But she has to have some softness and sympathy just for telling Pip that, she just chooses to hide it so she doesn't seem weak. She's giving Pip a reason, where if she didn't have any sympathy and softness she would just keep hurting Pip with no reason for it. Why would she not want to seem weak? Nobody would hold anything against her, so what's the point?

Photo

I think that this photo symbolizes when Pip has to leave his life he knows to go become somethings he's been dreaming of; A gentleman. In the photo, the boy jumping off the building to go fly with the birds represents Pip taking the "leap". He doesn't know what to expect, he will either succeed or fail, which has to be hard for him. It is also very hard on Pip to say goodbye, especially to Joe, but he knows that there is a great reward coming his way if he just is brave and takes the leap.

In the quote, "Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.", Pip is referring to the first day he went to Miss Havisham's house. The first day he went there, he was introduced to Estella and Miss Havisham, who are of a higher class than Pip, so it was a different environment for him. Once Estella tells Pip that he is common, he immediately tries to become uncommon, just so he can impress Her. By this, he eventually doesn't even want to become Joe's apprentice anymore, just because he knows Estella would never want to be with a blacksmith. He changes what he wants to do and how he wants to live his life just for a girl who treats him like dirt.

There has been many memorable days in my life, but the one that i feel started my big chain is the day i started playing volleyball. My dad introduced me to the sport when i was just a small baby. He was a coach and he would bring me to his practices, and ever since then I have been in love with it. From the day of my first tryout, it has been 7 years since I started playing. I know that my life would be completely different if I never started playing volleyball. It has helped me become who I am today.

Dishonesty

For my first concrete detail, I am going to discuss how the author uses dishonesty to develop the characters in the play. Wilde uses it to give the personality traits and characteristics of Ernest and Algernon to show how their lies contribute to the play and how it gets them out of bad situations. For my second concrete detail, I will discuss how dishonesty reflects Victorian society. The characters do this by living up to the social expectations, even though that means they try to be something they're not, basically by acting fake. Finally for my third concrete detail, I am going to discuss how dishonesty develops the play as a whole. Wilde portrays the idea of dishonesty through dark humor and reflection on the way they lived way back then. It also shows the satire on social expectations and marriage throughout the entire book. The next paragraph will talk about the different levels of dishonesty.

So far, the book The Importance of Being Earnest has been very interesting to read. There are many parts throughout the it, that without my knowledge of the Victorian Era, I would have been lost most of the way through the it. For instance, social class was a very big thing back then. If you were of a higher class, you were expected to marry someone of your own class or even higher. Its like when Gwendolen gets engaged to Ernest, who is actually Jack, and if he were of a lower class, she would not have paid any attention to him. It seems a little unfair to me, just the fact that if someone was of a lower class, it would be very hard for them or maybe even impossible to move up.

Another big part of the Victorian Era was the role women played. There were certain standards made and women were expected to follow them. In my research, I found out that the men were expected to do all the work while the women were to stay home and do all the house chores and take care of their children if they had any. Gwendolen and Cecily are two very good examples of what the women stereotype was back then. They both were very lady like and they were both beautiful. They were of a higher class so they were very proper. Cecily was very sheltered when she was being raised. She has a fond interest in so called bad boys, who happened to also be "Ernest" who was really Algernon. All in all I am very glad we did the Victorian research. It helped a lot with the understanding of the book and how and why they lived their lives the way they did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3BxfD2JwGQ