Zealous

zeal-ous [zel-hus]
adjective
full of, characterized by, or due to zeal; ardently active, devoted, or diligent.

In case you have forgotten, zealous was one of the many vocab words we sadly had to be tested on. And guess what? It was in the book! Granted, you all probably have already read it because I am 95% positive that I am further behind in the book than everyone else (Sorry, Mr. Halley! I'm trying!). Anyway, I stumbled upon this word in the beginning of Chapter 24.
Is it just me, or does anyone else get really excited when a vocab word shows up? Because for some reason it makes reading Great Expectations a little bit worth it. Is that just the nerd in me coming out?

Side note, my favorite word is amiable for a couple reasons...

• My name is Amy. AMY-able. Ya know.
• According to Dictionary.com, it's definition is, "having or showing pleasant, good-natured personal qulaities"
• So by association, I have pleasant and good-natured personal qualities. Obviously.

London

On the first page of chapter 21 Pip is conversing with Mr. Wemmick (who at the moment I cannot remember his significance). They're talking about London and how Pip is new and blah blah blah. All of a sudden, Mr. Wemmick says,

"You may get cheated, robbed, and murdered in London. But there are plenty of people anywhere who'll do that for you."

Okay, well. That quote kind of just stuck in my mind and freaked me out a bit. Why does Mr. Wemmick even need to mention that? I thoroughly doubt Pip is going to be cheated, robbed, or murdered, so...

Tears

"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts."

I just really, really like this quote. Your thoughts?

What is Love?

Pip repeatedly assures the reader that he loves Estella, but he also says this:

"And still I stood looking at the house, thinking how happy I should be if I lived there with her, and knowing that I never was happy with her, but always miserable." (pg. 252) 
*I want to call dibs on this for my passage(s)!

This is such a thought-provoking quote. How can Pip have such conflicting feelings for this wretched girl? He loves her so passionately, but she constantly makes him feel bad about himself. Perhaps it is because he is conscious of how easily she could break his heart but she chooses not to; rather, she feels nothing for him, and it is because of her free will that he is still allowed to express his unrequited affections.

If I were to put their relationship into a modern-day scenario, I would describe Estella as a celebrity and Pip as the president of her fan club. When he has the chance to meet her, he is in awe of her stardom. Basically, he is in love with the image of her, but not necessarily her personality.

Still, this analogy is flawed. All we know of Estella is that she is nasty, because she was raised to be nasty to men, but there has to be more to her nature. She's a Dickens' character after all; they have multiple layers. Also, Pip is more than just her #1 fan. There's more affection than that. It's too complicated to understand, especially for someone like myself, who hasn't experienced the kind of love Pip has for Estella.

What is love, anyway? A dictionary definition would read something like: a deep affection for someone or something. In the case of Pip, there would be a mention about passion, but I still don't feel as if my question has been answered. I've read it described as an intense and intimate connection, where the person in love would do anything for the other.

So then what makes a person love another? The ideal answer would be the loved person's personality. Yet even Pip will agree that Estella isn't the nicest person. Is it physical attractiveness? I would hope people are not that shallow. What is it that is driving Pip to the brink?'

Maybe my musings are singular** in nature, but if you also wonder about this, share your comments!


**This word is also used a lot in GE, proof the Pip is infiltrating my vocab!

To Be Great (is to Be Misunderstood)

What does it mean for something to be great?

You're probably reading this right now and wondering how stupid I truly am, but I've been thinking about this word a lot as I read the book, and I think we really have to understand multiple definitions if we want to apply our knowledge to the first word in the title. So take a look at this picture below:

As you can see, there are multiple definitions given by the Free Online Dictionary. #6 and #14 are our most common uses for the word, yet I don't think Dickens thinks of the word in that sense. For example, Pip describes his guardian (Mr. Jaggers) as being a man of greatness, yet Pip is completely frightened by him, and I don't personally believe Jaggers is a nice guy. 

So what is it about this word that gives it an altogether different meaning in the time period and society Great Expectations takes place in. Why is the word 'Great' there? I think the word might have something to do with loftiness. My translation of "Great Expectations" in our English would read: Pip is expected to become a gentleman, but in doing so, he loses his very nature and emerges as a lofty person. 

What do you think this word "great" has to do with the story as a whole?

On a side note, the title of this post is a reference to a remark of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The quote is also food for thought...

Introducing Characters

I really like how Dickens introduces reoccurring characters beforehand. The convict is a prime example. He is briefly introduced in the beginning and will take a greater role later on in the story. Herbert Pocket and Mr. Jaggers were also presented to the readers before they became major characters. This piques the curiosity of the reader and gives an outline of certain characters before they become colored by Pip's thoughts. It also makes the reader feel closer to Pip, because all the significant instances in his life are related to us (sometimes too many of them!).

It kind of irritates me when the protagonist meets up with someone they knew before their story was written. Even if the detailed background is narrated by the protagonist, it makes me feel like this new character is disconnected with me. Maybe I'm totally crazy but I feel like the protagonist is hiding information from me, and I don't trust them anymore. Am I the only one who gets so attached to characters?

Thoughts on Pumblechook

What a twerp.  Pumblechook is taking all of the credit for Pip's new high class level.  I don't feel bad for Pip, however.  He is just greedy and obnoxious at this point.  I think that the convict actually is a good person and even though he shouldn't get credit, Pumplechook shouldn't be stealing the spotlight. Grrr. Not a fan of this greedy man.