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We are on Chapter 52, and this is the only good thing Pip has done in his opinion...is that true?
After some thought, I've concluded that I wouldn't want to be in Herbert's shoes -- headed off to Arabia from London...sounds like an exile, not a business opportunity...
Startop? Seems like a pretty random reappearance. Is this a reach by Dickens, or masterful planning?
This is turning into a sort of mystery novel, full of intrigue...who do you think sent Pip the letter that brought him back home?
How long will it be before Pip feels remorse about Joe and Biddy and doesn't just do so in passing?
A note: Remember Miss Havisham's accident and the mention of Gravesend here...they will be part of an allusion in another novel we'll read this year...
4 comments:
I can't answer most of those questions because they're "what do you think" questions and I finished the book, but I did want to comment on Pip thinking that what he got Miss Havisham to do for Herbert was the one good thing he did. I think it's true. I seriously can't think of anything else which he did selflessly without an ulterior personal motive that did, in fact, put others feelings and saftely at risk. I was truely happy to see him do that, and I sat there thinking for five minutes about possible ulterior motives, because it just didn't seem believable.
Not true, I think that Pip has done a few good things, but I feel that he is turning a corner helping out Herbert. Saving Miss Havisham from killing herself, his role in Magwitch’s problem; I think since Magwitch’s arrival, Pip has slowly been growing, and this is definitely a milestone, showing that Pip still cares about friends and not just himself. Startop is a bit random, (took me a second to remember who he was) but if I have learning anything, it is that nothing is random in a Dickens’ novel. Startop will have a role, it may be for connecting the strings, but also it may be to show Pip that good friends will always have your back. The story is turning into a bit of mystery, which I think makes it more enjoyable. I think that it must be Compeyson. From the knowledge I gained watching countless hours of cartoons, only bad guys say things so ominous like “come alone”, and who else would know the name Uncle Provis. I must be someone that is familiar with Pip’s old village, maybe Orlick is making a return, still think it’s Compeyson. It is pretty bad when the landlord does not even recognize Pip, shows how little Pip has come back. I think Pip does feel remorse, and it is slowly eating away inside. I think that Pip will change his ways, partly because of the guilt he has for the way he has treated his old friends and family, especially Joe.
At this point, I really don't know who is sending the anonymous letter.. but I wouldn't go for it at all. Yeah, Pip wants to know about Uncle Provis, but the whole idea of going to the marsh alone seems kind of sketchy to me. If I were a criminal in this book, I'd lure a guy to the marshes alone. It seems like the perfect place to hide a body, I think. Also, isn't a bit of a coincidence that two notes show up at the same time? Maybe they're both from Wemmick, but why wouldn't he just sign them both then? Like Jesse said, it probably is someone from his old village.
If this isn’t the only good thing that Pip has done then I must have missed something. Throughout the novel Pip has been pretty selfish and seems to have very little regard for how his actions will effect others. I agree about going to Arabia I think I would have to be getting paid very well in order to consider moving to the desert not that London has great weather either. No idea why Startop is back again. About Gravesend I know that Dickens lived not very far from there near the end of his life.
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