Great Expectations Notes

Strongly feels unwanted

Pip could mean a seed

Knows he is different

He finds his life isn't fulfilling

"Am I wicked?" "Do I deserve the things I have gotten?"

Adopts adult males as role models

Magwitch does not present himself as a civilized person. Represents the threat of abandonment and what Pip may become. Magwitch identifies with Pip as an orphan. 

Haversham. " have a shame? " 

Symbolizes horrible decay and what may happen when a dream goes unfulfilled. On another hand, she symbolizes a fairy god mother. She left everything the exact way it was since she got left at the alter representing her loss. Haversham has trained Stella to be a heartbreaker. Haversham is rich, and has adopted Stella, giving Pip hope for his being an orphan. Haversham is also an immoral liar. 

Pip wants to rise in the world, and become something more. 

Joe is a simple blacksmith. Lives by feeling and goes with his gut/heart. Does not judge by appearance. Financially unsuccessful, but he is content. 

Jaggers breaks things down into logic. Does not deal with emotion. What Jaggers knows about other people can hurt them. He is not successful spiritually or emotionally, but he has a lot of money. 

Wemmick

Represents old nostalgic world. Has an ability to be both like Jaggers ( at the office) and also like Joe ( at home). Pip views Wemmick as a friend. 

Great Expectations

1. Haversham is not fairy god mother

2. Stella was not meant for Pip, and Pip was only a part of her training

3. Magwitch has actually influenced Pip's expectations. 

AP PREP POST 1: SIDDHARTHA

1. If you were the river, would you be enlightenment or would you know enlightenment? In other words, what’s up with the river? What is it’s relation to enlightenment?
2. Siddhartha features substantial activity and narrative action. At the same time, it is about one man’s largely internal spiritual quest. What is the relationship between the internal and exterior worlds of Siddhartha? How does Siddhartha negotiate these worlds?
3. What does enlightenment look like in Siddhartha? Is it a feeling? An attitude?
4. Most literary scholars agree that Siddhartha was prompted by Herman Hesse’s fixation on Eastern spirituality. Is there a case to be made that Siddhartha is designed to celebrate Eastern religion? Is Hesse’s treatment of spirituality as relevant today as it was when he wrote the novel?
5. What purpose does self-denial serve in Siddhartha? What about self-indulgence?

-All of these questions can be found at the pages linked here

http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/siddhartha/study.html


I'm interested in reading more of Siddhartha, beyond the passage from class. I want to be able to think more clearly about these questions and create my own satisfying answers.