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Wemmick seems to be an interesting chap. What stands out to you in his description and his dialogue?
Wemmick says Barnard's Inn reminds him of the country. Why does Pip see it as the most dismal of places?
Why do you think Wemmick is out of the habit of shaking hands?
The pale young boy!!! It should come as no surprise, really, as he is a relative of Miss Havisham. Maybe Pip will punch him again...
13 comments:
Poor Pip, coming to London with such great expectations, only to walk into Bernard's Inn. Wemmick says the inn reminds him of the country, so part of me wonders if Bernard's Inn is really that bad. Perhaps Pip had so high expectations, that coming to a place that may have been similar to where he was from has caught him off guard, leaving upset that it is not what he had hoped for. On Wemmick, I find him a very interesting character. I found the description of Wemmick, the wooden face and especially the post office mouth, to be the most exciting description since that of Miss Havisham and Satis House. It is interesting that he seems so unaccustomed to hand shakes. Maybe Wemmick doesnt really make acquaintances in the job that he holds.
The way Pip gives the description of both Mr. Wemmick and Barnard's Inn makes everything sound so depressing!Everything is dismal from the trees to the sparrows to the cats to the houses! That has to be a huge disappointment to Pip considering he was expecting everything to be much more galmorous I'm sure. I think that Wemmick may be out of the habit of shaking hands because the people of London have gotten so out of touch with each other they have forgotten one of the most basic forms of respect. Or Wemmick could just have a hand fetish, in all fairness I really don't like shaking hands either.
Wemmick certainly caught my attention. He's described as a rough-looking, stone-faced sort of guy, although he is nice enough to Pip. I just wonder what his not-really-smiling expression means about him as a character; I can imagine him being the misleading and deceitful type. Mr. Jagger's whole operation was interesting to me, however. I agree with Olivia that the people in London are out of touch with one another. There's not really a sense of community, only self. Jagger is very distant from his clients, disrespects and berates them, and even goes so far as to threaten to lose the case purposefully if they don't pay/ get out of his way. Wemmick is not fazed by the prospect of being murdered (and sees no difference between murder out of vengeance and murder just for the sake of doing so), which should put anyone on edge, and he is out of the habit of shaking hands, a common courtesy. The people of London appear to fit with Pip's first impression of the city-- wicked and dirty. As for the Inn, I laughed when Wemmick told Pip it reminded him of the country, seeing as how Pip would probably take the country over that dump any day.
I agree with Lauren and Olivia that people in London seem to be selfish and out of touch with each other as shown by Wemmick not being used to shaking hands and also by Pip not giving a tip. I think that this shows that upper class society is made up of mostly selfish people who only care about themselves and what others can do for them. Another example of upper class society members being selfish is way back in the story at Miss Havisham's house where everyone only came to visit her on her birthday to see if she was going to die soon and when they would get their inheritance of her money. They didn't care about her or how she was doing, only her money and how fast they were going to get their hands on it. The only instance of someone being unselfish in the story so far is the mysterious person who gave Pip his fortune. I am curious to find out the reasons for this unusual gift and how the person knows Pip.
I really like the description that Dickens uses in this book. I like that he uses unusual descriptions such as Wemmick being "a dry man, rather short in stature, with a square wooden face, whose expression seemed to have been imperfectly chipped out with a dull edged-chisel." I like the unusual descriptions that really create a strong image of the character instead of a general physical description that just states facts about the appearance of the character. I think that the way he describes the characters is very important and is going to tell alot about the personality and actions of the characters in the novel.
Referring to my last comment on chapter 16, I was wrong about no new characters being introduced. I did not expect the events that followed. I certainly did not expect Pip to leave Joe behind. His character has definitely changed since the beginning. Mr. Wemmick seems to be a respectable man and I hope we see him more throughout the book. I found it ironic that Mr. Pocket was the man that Pip fought at Miss Havisham’s house. Even though they fought, I think they will become good friends. Mr. Pocket comes off as the type of person who is outgoing and doesn’t know when to stop talking. Whereas Pip is shy and is more thoughtful. I hope that Mr. Pocket is like his father. There are many negative characters in the story. Even though Pip has gone to London, I don’t think that everything that has happened concerning the pirate will go away.
If Mr. Wemmick has never been to the country, I can see why the Inn reminds him of it. This remark could be taken as a stereotype. Pip thinks that it is dismal because it seems to be described as “run-down.” It is not well taken care of. Mr. Wemmick may be out of the habit of shaking hands because he lives in a more populated and “up-to-date” area than Pip did. Shaking hands may be an old virtue that Pip is accustomed to but is rarely used in London.
The pale young boy...and he's a relative of Miss Havisham. Not to mention that later we find out that his father is Miss Havisham's cousin and will be Pip's tutor. So now, it seems almost obvious that Miss Havisham is the benefactor, but I don't want to speak too soon and then realize later that I'm wrong.
What stands out to me about Wemmick is his dialogue! After Pip asks him if London is a wicked place, Wemmick replies simply "You may get cheated, robbed, and murdered, in London. But there are plenty of people anywhere, who'll do that for you." His bluntness is what stands out the most to me. ALso, when he says he got out of the custom of shaking hands, it makes me think that Wemmick has an insteresting history. I hope that he turns up later in the book to find out more.
In the beginning of the story the misty marshes near Pip's childhood home symbolize danger and uncertainty. Soon enough we then learn Pip encounters again with the mists when he travels to London. It seems to me that, ironically, Pip may believe he is on the right track to his fortune but may face some dangerous consequences along the way. Dickens use of Wemmicks unpleasant greeting of a simple handshake portrays the selfishness of the upper class. Like Olivia had said, the people of London are so preoccupied with themselves they have forgotten the simplest form of respect.
I was so happy that the pale young boy came back in the novel! After the fight it made me intrigued to know more about him and now he's back! Any kid that just wants to fight a stranger, and then isn't unhappy when he lost, seems like an interesting character to me. I'm thinking maybe he will want a rematch, and I think he will become good friends with Pip. As my other classmates have stated above, people in London are rude. Wemmick can't even shake hands? Come on. Wemmick seems very selfish and cynical, just like Jaggers. Pip sees it as dismal because it is rundown.
Pip may see Barnard's Inn as the most dismal of places because it is run-down. Pip has great expectations for himself, and in his attempts to become a gentleman, he probably assumed that he would be residing in somewhere much different than his original home. Pip even describes the simplest things in his new surroundings as dismal: “I thought it had the most dismal trees in it, and the most dismal sparrows, and the most dismal cats…” Like others have said, I think Wemmick may be out of the habit of shaking hands because most people in London are rude and selfish.
I think that the first paragraph of the chapter shows again that Pip is a bit too worried about appearance as he describes Mr. Wemmick (I thought it was funny how he describes Wemmick’s face as something that had been “chipped out with a dull-edged chisel.”) I think that Pip is getting a little better, he is growing up and I think that his apprenticeship with Joe helped, but now that he is back on track for his goal to become an upper-class citizen, it is back to snobby Pip. Wemmick is described as mechanical when smiling, and really with everything he does. He seems like he is always happy (reminds me of Kenneth from 30 Rock), always smiling and is quite calm when talking about being cheated, robbed, and murdered in London. Wemmick defiantly has an air of arrogance about him, and I think that it shows during his and Pip’s awkward hand-shaking moment. Pip sees Barnard’s Inn as something from home, something from his past life, but not a part of his new, upper-class life.
To me it seems that when Wemmick says Barnard's Inn reminds him of the country he means it as a positive thing. But I think that Barnard's Inn also reminds Pip of the country except Pip sees it as a bad because he thought he would be leaving his old life behind probably expecting to be living in a big fancy house. The pal young gentle man shows up again. The fact that he is sent to live with one of Miss Havisham’s relatives makes it seem even more certain that Miss Havisham is Pip’s secret benefactor.
So I really like the issue that is brought up in this chapter. If someone was to kill, rob and cheat, is it better that he/she do it because of bad blood or because they’ll benefit from it? There probably isn’t a right or wrong answer, but it really got me thinking for a while, I guess. Committing those crimes because of bad blood signifies illogical actions, over-powering emotions, and blinded followers, but also lack of treacherous intentions. While on the other hand, committing those crimes because of personal benefit signifies selfishness and lack of empathy but also logic. Although the bad blood reason shows something humane within us, it’s also extremely hard to break or stop. Also, extreme illogic and over-powering emotions can justify things much more horrid than imagined by those whom do it for self gain; and it’s harder to stop. Sooooo…*shrugs.* I liked reading that part though.
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