Great Expectations Study guide – Flashcards

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How does Dickens begin his story?
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He begins the story with Pip in the graveyard, observing his dead family's grave. We also get the history behind Pip's name.
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How does Dickens create some sympathy for the convict?
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He creates sympathy for the convict by using the man's gaunt appearance, specifically his leg made mostly of iron. He focuses on his suffering.
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How does Dickens achieve ambiguity by describing Pip as having been "brought up by hand?"
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Hints that he was brought up lovingly, but Pip thinks it means to be abused. So the phrase is suggesting a gentle action in contrast to a hateful one.
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Contrast Pip's description of Mrs. Joe with his description of Joe.
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Mrs. Joe is an un compassionate, short-tempered person who has dark eyes and hair. Joe has fair with blue eyes and a smooth face. He is also sweet tempered, compassionate, strong, and gentle.
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In chapter 2, what do we learn from adult Pip's interlude in the narrative? (page 18)
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Establishes how terrified Pip was and will be throughout the book.
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What weather condition seems to mirror Pip's state of mind? What is the significance and symbolism of this weather condition.
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The weather condition that mirror's his state of mind is the heavy mist. The heavy mist is symbolic because it represents confusion, guilt, fear, and doubt. Is significant because it adds to the mood and shows how the weather is in tune with the book.
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In what way does Pip show himself to be a compassionate young boy?
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He sympathizes with the convict and pities him as well. Pip makes it clear that he doesn't want the man to be harmed and risks his safety for him.
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How does Chapter 4 begin and end?
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Begins with Pip expecting to run into the police and ends with him actually running into them.
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What observation does Pip make about Joe's dress and appearance?
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Pip observes that Joe is the picture of misery in a full suit, and also a scarecrow because the clothes don't fit who he is.
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Why does Pip say to Joe that he hopes the soldiers do not catch the escaped convects?
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He says it because he pities them, fears they could reveal his part in robbing Mrs. Joe, and doesn't want his convict to think he betrayed him.
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How is the capture of the two convicts ironic?
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It's ironic because the convicts are glad to be found by the police. One convict thinks he is saved from murder while the other is saved from being used.
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What facts do we learn about the convicts in chapter 5?
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We learn that the two convicts had a rough relationship with each other, been together since they were tried, and were involved in a crime together.
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What does the treatment of the stolen pie suggest about the character of the convict and Joe?
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It suggests that the convict is a decent and honorable man. We learn that Joe is selfless and did not want the convict to starve anyway so he was fine with the pie being taken.
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Why does the convict go out of his way to clear Pip of any blame for missing food?
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He goes out of his way because he wants to repay Pip because he provided food for the him and also didn't want to get Pip in trouble.
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What indications are there that the plot line of the convict is not over.
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His plot line is not over because the words, "as if it were all over" are used. "As if" is a big indicator.
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Why does Pip love Joe? What reason does he give for keeping the truth of his crimes from Joe?
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Pip loves Joe because Joe let Pip love him, and he doesn't tell Joe the truth because he is worried that Joe would think he was worse than he was and lose confidence in him.
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How are Biddy and Pip alike?
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Both Biddy and Pip were brought up by hand and orphans.
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Why did Joe not learn to read as a child? What made him marry Pip's sister?
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Joe never went to school because his father was an alcoholic so he worked at an early age. He wanted to marry Mrs. Joe because he loved Pip and she was a fine figure of a woman.
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How does Dickens ridicule the city businessmen in chapter 8? What does the reader learn about Mr. Pumblechook from a glimpse into his home life.
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Dickens makes fun of their appearance and are more interested in other peoples' work that their own. We learn that Pumblechook is luxurious, fancy, and content.
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How is the name of the Satis house ironic?
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Satis refers to enough but the house is not enough.
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What can the reader infer about Miss Havisham from this first introduction?
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The reader can refer that she is strange, creepy, bitter, demanding, and lonely.
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Why does Miss Havisham make Estella play cards with Pip? Why is she interested in Pip's opinion of Estella?
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She wants them to play cards because the game Pip wants to play is related to making someone poor by taking their cards so Miss H. wants Pip to beg for Estella's love and be the object of his desire. She's interested in his opinion because she is hoping Pip will fall for Estella so she can break his heart like how Miss. H was.
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Explain the new ambivalence developing in Pip's character.
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His new ambivalence (doubt) developing is because he is being criticized on his appearance and commoness because of how he was brought up.
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What does Pip mean when he says he did not think his sister and Uncle Pumblechook would understand Miss H. even though he did not understand her himself?
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He meant that he did not want them to think that she was coarse and treacherous because of what he thought and decided they wouldn't understand him and never really seen that type of lifestyle. It represents Pip's maturing and thinking that he has become greater than others in his family.
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How does Dickens reinforce Pip and Joe's closeness?
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He reinforces it by having Pip confess to lying because he feels guilty for not telling Joe. Also, he tells Joe about his oncommoness while letting Joe give him advice.
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"Pause you who read this, and think of the long chain of iron or golf... never had bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." What links in Pip's chain are begun on the day he visits Satis House?
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Pip is thinking of becoming a gentleman because of his day at the Satis House. He focuses on the upper-class style of living.
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What effect does Dickens, allowing his adult narrator to pause in the narrative and address the reader, directly, create?
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Creates a significant effect because the reader feels a connection, makes someone apply the book to their own life, and creates a deeper meaning.
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What steps does Pip take to improve himself?
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Pip decides to continue his education and takes classes with Biddy as his teacher.
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How does Dickens suggest the character of the stranger in the pub?
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He suggests he is secretive and judgmental.
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What two things does the stranger do to suggest a connection with the convict from the beginning of the book?
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The stranger rubs his leg in an odd way and stirs his rum with a file.
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What is most likely the reason the stranger is at the pub?
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He might be there to find out more about Pip and pay him back.
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Who are the Pockets and why are they visiting Miss H.? What is revealed about Matthew Pocket, a relative who is not present at the gathering?
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The pockets are Miss. H.'s relatives, are visiting her because it's Miss. H's birthday and they want to suck up to her, and Matthew Pocket doesn't want to be a part of Miss. H's fortune. Therefore, a strange man to the Pockets. Ironic: They want to align pockets with Mrs. H's pocket.
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What suspicions are confirmed for the reader in chapter 11?
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The suspicions confirmed are that they had something to do with Miss. H's wedding/ devastation.
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What potential role had Estella played in the fight between Pip and the pale young man?
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Estella had the potential role of being an influence for the fight.
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What is significant about the light from Joe's forge?
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Pip is uncertain and the forge/joe is the only one who loves him. It is not a welcoming fire though and Joe is holding him back from a extravagant life. .
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What is adult Pip insinuating when he narrates: "What could I become with these surroundings? How could my character fail to be influenced by them? Is it to wondered as if my thoughts were dazed, as my eyes were, when I came out into the natural light, from the misty yellow rooms?"
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The experience he gets from Miss. H will influence him greatly.
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Why is Pip ashamed of Joe when he goes to meet Miss. H?
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Joe is common and responds to Pip in a lower class dialect when Miss. H asks him a question.
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Define indentures. What restriction does the law place on a boy who is bound?
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They're legal agreements saying one must become of the same social class that their teacher is in.
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On what note does the chapter end? (After he is bound)
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Ends on a bitter note because Pip disagrees with everything that is being placed upon him, which is unfair.
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How does Dickens help the reader maintain sympathy for the altered Pip?
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Dickens reveals Pip's absolute distaste towards his new life and being common. He is also ashamed of being ashamed.
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What is the apparent source of Pip's dissatisfaction?
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He is apprenticed to Joe, bound, and can't be at the Satis house, and worries how Estella would look at him.
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What new character and conflict is introduced in this chapter? (15)
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Orlick. The new conflict is that Mrs. Joe was struck in the house.
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What purpose does Dickens have for reintroducing the convict's leg in this chapter?
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The purpose is to show that the convict has something to do with Mrs. Joe being hurt and hints that he is around, watching Pip.
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How does Biddy come to live with Pip and Joe?
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She takes Miss Joe's place in the household.
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Describe Pip's internal conflict. (17)
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He didn't pursue Biddy and hasn't been thankful enough.
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What does Pip mean when he says he wants to be a gentleman?
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He wants a luxurious life, move up the social ladder.
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Explain Pip and Biddy's relationship.
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They like each other more than friends but Pip likes Estella more than Biddy. He gets jealous/ protective when he finds out that Orlick likes her.
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This chapter included the first mention of the novel's title. To was expectations is Jagger's referring?
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He's referring to the money that Pip should expect to get once he becomes a gentleman and to be a gentleman.
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List the conditions imposed on Pip is he accepts the promised inheritance.
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He will always have the name of Pip and he can't show his suspicion of who the benefactor is.
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What is Joe's reaction to Pip's impending great expectations?
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He is excited for and proud of pip but he is also a little confused about how and why all of this is happening. However, he's upset about losing Pip as a worker and best friend.
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How is Pip feeling in the last paragraph of this chapter? (when he mentions sleeping/ after receives G.E)
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He's uneasy because he realizes he will have to leave Joe and Biddy and has trouble sleeping.
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What is significant about Biddy's response to Pip's request for her to prepare Joe to be an elevated "higher sphere"?
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Biddy acknowledges that it is not right to change Joe because Joe is proud of who he is and is content with his life. It shows she is bold and is basically telling Pip he is arrogant.
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Compare M. Pumblechook with the Pockets.
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They both want more money and suck up to the rich.
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How does Miss H contribute to Pip's suspicions that she is his benefactor?
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She tells Pip to love Estella and doesn't discourage Pip's judgement of why he was at the Satis house.
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Structurally, Dickens ends the first and second parts of Pip's expectations with peripeteia. What peripeteia occurs at the end of the first stage?
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He misses Joe and Biddy and regrets how he treated them but the whole world is ahead of him now and he is looking forward to his new life.
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Briefly describe Mr. Jaggers.
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He is straightforward, driven by money, temperamental, powerful, and cold.
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What coincidence is revealed in this chapter?
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Pip's new teacher/ companion is the pale young gentleman aka boy he fought at Miss H. aka Herbert
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How does Herbert feel about Pip's great expectations?
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He is not jealous by Pip's fortune.
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What is ironic about Herbert's decision to change Pip's name to Handel?
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Based on a piece of music called the Harmonious Blacksmith and Pip would've become a blacksmith.
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What is the source of satire in Mrs. Pocket's pretentious nature?
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Mrs. Pocket is obsessed with the idea that she could be related to royalty and cannot take care of her kids. Everyone knows she can't.
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What do people and the events of this chapter contribute to Pip's endeavor to become a gentleman?
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He realizes what a real gentleman's home and family look like.
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What is significant about the fact that Pip is "not designed for any profession?"
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His education is to make him a gentleman and helps him become rich. He is not designed for a specific job so he can be a gentleman.
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Contrast Mr. Pocket with Mr. Pumblechook.
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Punblechook brags, is greedy, and sucks up to the rich while Mr. Pocket is intellectual and looks out for Pip.
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Why does Wemmick want Pip to pay attention to Mr. Jaggers' housekeeper when he is asked to dine at Mr. Jaggers' home?
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She is a tame wild beast who follows commands of Mr. Jaggers and he wants Pip to get an idea of who she really is.
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Briefly describe Wemmick's home. How does Wemmick feel about his home?
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Little wooden cottage with gardens, smallest home Pip had ever seen, gothic windows, like a castle with a moat, drawbridge, and a flagpole. He loves and adored his home and is very proud of it.
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What thematic structural purpose does Wemmick's dual life serve?
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Wemmick is Jagger's clerk but also looks after Pip while he is in london. His duel life represent that there is more than meets the eye for people.
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Explain the metaphor of Mr. Jagger's scented soap.
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He washes off the lower levels of society.
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What does Dickens accomplish by having Jaggers point out Molly's wrists to the guests?
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Her wrist represent her strength and power but also how Jaggers has complete power over her.
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What does Pip mean when he twice says he recognizes a type of dignity in Joe's behavior?
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Pip's embarrassed by Joe, doesn't want his new friend to see him with someone of a lower class, Joe is still proud to be a blacksmith and pip doesn't want to see that pride and dignity because he himself does not possess it.
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Why is Pip terrified of the convicts on the coach?
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One of the convicts is the man who gave pip money/ from swamp many years before.
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What important exposition is revealed in this chapter?
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Pip overhears the convict from the swamp explain that he gave Pip the two pounds and discusses it with the other convict.
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How does the adult Pip describe his love for Estella?
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He described that he loves Estella because she is irresistible and loves her against reason, promise, peace, hope, happiness, and all discouragement that could be.
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How is Miss Havisham's command for Pip to love Estella ambiguous? How does Pip interpret it?
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Miss H either wants Pip to love Estella so that she may know what love feels like in a good way or she wants Estella to break Pip's heart like how her's broke. Pip interprets it as the good kind of love
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*How is Pip's character advanced during this chapter? (30)
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He has enough courage to tell Herbert he loves Estella.
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Compare the way the audience heckles Wopsle with the way the Trabb boy mimics Pip. In what ways are the two incidences similar?
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Similar because both Wopsle and Pip were made fun of since they were different from others such as speaking differently and other habits. Both are amusing to the people around them.
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What does Pip hope Estella means when she tells him, "We are not free to follow our own devices you and I"?
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Pip hopes that she is hinting at their marriage.
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Why would Miss H's relatives write to Miss H with unflattering reports of Pip?
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They want to impair his ground with her.
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How does Dickens maintain reader sympathy for Pip while also showing his moral descent?
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He is guilty about how he treated Joe ad Biddy and also the death of Mrs. Joe.
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How is Pip ambivalent about his sister's death?
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He is ambivalent because he remembers how horribly she treated him but he also regrets how their relationship went and feels and unknown sympathy for her.
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What does Pip mean when he says that the mists were "quite right too?"
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The mist represents all the guilt Pip is feeling at the time, he is not actually going to come back and visit like he says he will.
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Why is Pip looking forward to his twenty-first birthday?
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Because he thinks his guardian will contact him in some way.
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Why does Dickens have Pip recall, on his coming of age, the day he met the convict in the churchyard?
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To show he still has the same emotions he had while he was a child and also to show how disadvantages he felt towards Jaggers.
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What does Pip's desire to assist a friend say about his character?
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He is considerate of other people and feels sympathy towards those who are in trouble. He is a loyal friend.
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What is Dickens purpose in having Wemmick's character divided into two personae: the Walworth Wemmick and the Little Britain Wemmick?
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To show how there is usually more to people than initially appears on the surface.
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On what note does this chapter end? (37)
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Positively because Pip and Herbert are both happy but there is also an element of mystery as Pip foreshadows the turning point in his life.
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What is ironic about Pip's relationship with Estella as described in this chapter?
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Pip loves Estella but he feels miserable in her company.
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What is ironic about the scene between Miss H and Estella?
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Estella hurts and detaches herself from Miss H while Miss H taught her to do that to others, not to her. It backfires.
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What peripeteia occurs at the end of the second stage of Pip's expectations?
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He finds out the convict is his benefactor, not Miss H so Pip was not designed for Estella.
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How does Dickens establish from the very beginning of the chapter that something unexpected is about to happen?
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The weather was stormy and wet.
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How does the convict respond to Pip's reaction and initial treatment of him?
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He takes it that Pip is too shocked but the convict is not hurt by it.
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Why do you think the convict wants to "make a gentleman"? In what ways are the convict and Miss H alike?
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He wants to make a gentleman because he wants to know that he was able to make someone's life better and be a gentleman since he couldn't be one. Both use Pip for their own personal desires.
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What is Pip's sharpest/ deepest pain of all after he realizes his good fortune has not been the result of Miss H's money?
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He was not designed/ meant to be with Estella.
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How does the tone of the story change in this chapter? (40)
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Pip worries about the convict's safety. Darker, suspenseful, and mystery.
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What is significant about Pip's convict's name, Abel Magwitch?
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He was betrayed by Compeyson while Abel in the Bible was betrayed.
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Compare Pip's difficulty disguising Magwitch with his observation about Joe in his Sunday clothes. How does this tie to what it means to be a gentleman?
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The convict did not look like he belonged in his fancier clothes, which compares to joe. It means that it takes more than clothes and money to make a gentleman.
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Explain Pip's ambivalence toward Magwitch. What does this say about Pip's character?
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He worries about his safety and feels obligates towards him because he is Pip's benefactor while despising him as well.
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How does Dickens begin the chapter on a note of humor and why?
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He uses repetition to convey a humorous tone in order to lighten up the convict's story and the past three chapters have been darker, now it is more lighthearted.
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How does this chapter fit the Social Critique genre? What specifically is Dickens' critiquing? (42)
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The convict is poor but better person while Compeyson is luxurious and worse person. Critiques the judicial system because people are judged on their appearance.
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What growth does Pip show in this chapter (44)?
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He confesses his love towards Estella and confronts Miss H. Shows he has more courage and also forgiving.
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In what ways does Pip mirror Miss H's softening towards him in the rest of this section? What is the significance in regards to theme/ human condition?
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At first, Pip was disgusted by the convict then his disposition changed to be more understanding. He regrets how he treated him. Shows we are quick to judge someone's appearance.
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What is significant about the fact that Pip refuses to take any more money from Magwitch?
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Magwitch is his benefactor and has been supporting Pip for years. It is also a part of Pip's redemption and softening towards him; more mature.
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What is foreshadowed about Estella's future with her husband?
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They will not live in peace with each other and there will be a struggle.
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How does Dickens create reader sympathy for Miss H?
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She is remorseful and wishes to help Pip in any way she can since she realizes the consequence of what she had done. Also see more to her than a mean old lady.
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What is the significance of the fire that destroys Miss H's wedding dress?
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Fire symbolizes forgiveness/ cleansing, allowing her to die a peaceful death.
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What is significant about the fact that Pip is also burned in the fire?
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He is also purified and it marks his redemption.
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What is Dickens' purpose in revealing Estella's parentage?
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Is ironic because she is born of the same class she is disdainful towards. Shows just because you are born poor does not mean you are a criminal.
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What purpose does Dickens achieve in Jagger's hypothetical description of the children with whom he typically came into contact.
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Shows that others must take care of people in poverty and gives insight to Estella's parentage.
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For what purpose does Dickens have the the innkeeper tell Pip the story of Pumblechook and the ungrateful boy?
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To show how ungrateful Pip was to Biddy and Joe because they have been so good to him and helped raise him. Reminds Pip of how true and faithful they were.
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