Tuesday, May 15, 2012
What the title means
Well thanks to lots of brainstorming sparked by each others ideas, we think we figured out the title. Great Expectations refers to the great expectations that Pip's elders have for him. He gets so involved in the expectations of being high in society and being successful that he loses his integrity. He starts out as a great (yet naive) kid, and then, due greed of high class, he becomes shallow and unsatisfied with himself. Any additional ideas.
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I just had a thought! What if by Great Expectations, Dickens meant the reader had hope for Pip in the beginning as such a pure child and then those expectations were shattered by his greed? Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Sam! I like the idea that our expectations are also taken into consideration :)
ReplyDeleteGuys in the Section 3 Reading, there's another layer on top of the title... we can discuss it tomorrow in class or blog about it when everyone reads that part.
ReplyDeleteSo there is the additional factor with Pip "having expectations", meaning he is expected to become a gentleman thanks to the great fortune that has mysteriously appeared in his name. I think Dickens is pretty much making fun of the "having expectations" phrase, since although the phrase means he is to become a gentleman, it isn't a position that is worthy of much expectations, since he loses his good nature.
ReplyDeleteI think that the whole "great expectations" thing is that everyone has their own "great expectectations" of what should happen to Pip. I mean Joe wants him to stay with him, Miss Havisham wants him to be higher class, Pumblechook wants Pip to be higher class so that he can look better... I mean it's all over the place, which is why it all comes crashing down at the end.
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