Great Expectations

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.10: Pip's Wild Ride

Pip has got exactly zero chill when it comes to Estella.
(Source)

If you thought Chapters 36 – 40 contained some gasp-out-loud moments, wait until you read this next set. Here are a few of the highlights (without giving too much away):

• We hear Magwitch's backstory. Boy, is it a doozy.
• Pip starts to wise up. Finally.
• In a declaration of love that would put Hallmark out of business, Pip makes his adoration for Estella known—not only to the love of his life, but to Miss Havisham as well. You know, in case it wasn't already clear from the fact that he basically talks about nothing else, and also shows up to their "dates" five hours early.

In addition to major plot pieces falling into place, Dickens also treats us to some awesome—albeit sometimes creepy—imagery. Besides references to fire (which have pretty much pervaded the whole novel), plenty of creepy crawlies abound, including Pip's enemy Bentley "the Spider" Drummle. Meanwhile, references to the weather and light/dark imagery come up so regularly that you could set your clock by them.

Then, of course, there are Dickens' favorite themes dealing with kinship, one's responsibility to self and to others, and the nature of true gentility.

Bottom line? There's a lot to ponder in these chapters.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.10: Waking Up

So Pip needed a serious dose of reality to snap him out of his dream world (which we like to call the "Estella Havisham variety hour"). Now that he knows that Miss Havisham had no plans for him and Estella to end up together with a mortgage and three dogs, he's no longer under any delusions. Which means he can finally start living, instead of waiting for his life to begin.

Pip has never been a bad guy—just a woefully misguided one (and let's face it, he's had a lot to deal with—errant convicts and abusive sisters don't often make for a happy life. And as much as we've been giving him a hard time, unrequited love is hard—hard enough without deranged old ladies orchestrating the details of our heartbreak). So he begins this next phase of his life by trying to set a few things straight.

We get some fascinating moments in these chapters, such as

• the deets on how Magwitch and Miss Havisham's stories connect. Yep, everything's comin' full circle.
• a wrenching example of the extent to which society truly does discriminate against people who don't appear "gentlemanly."
• a breakthrough moment between Miss Havisham and Pip—do these two finally understand each other?
• Pip confessing his love to Estella. And as much as we've shaken our head at him in the past (and as much as Estella shakes her head at him now—as he's confessing her love to him), his impromptu speech to her is the bomb.

And then, things get really, really tense. Because it turns our Compeyson's back in town, and someone's watching Pip's apartment…

Read Chapters 41 – 45 of Great Expectations for the whole enchilada.

Then check out our chapter summaries to make sure you don't miss a single juicy detail.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.10a: Dialectical Journal #7

Oof, these chapters got our pulse racing and our hearts swelling. But let's not let the drama get in the way of our good ol' fashioned analytical skillz.

Once again, we want you to open up a Word doc (or take actual, physical sheets of paper, if that's what floats your boat), and create a table with two columns.

• On the left, you'll record quotes or ideas that caught your attention as you read Chapters 41 – 45.
• On the right, you'll write your profound thoughts about said quote or idea.
• Your comments may take many forms: argument, reflection, synthesis, analysis, comparison, development, etc.
• Please note: we did not say summarize. The point is to interact with the ideas and quotations of the original text and have something new to say.

Step One

Once again, you're going to be focusing on one of several themes:

• Gentility—What does it mean to be a gentleman? Is Dickens' definition of a gentleman different from society's definition? How do we know? What role does class play in how "gentility" is defined?
• Prisons and Imprisonment—What role does the theme of prisons and imprisonment play in Great Expectations? Consider the various jailers/captors and captives throughout the novel. Do the captors always have good intentions? Are the captives (and criminals) always bad or in the wrong? What is the difference between good imprisonment and bad imprisonment?
• Dreams, Aspirations, and Expectations—What is the difference between dreams, aspirations, and expectations? Is it good to have dreams, or, aspirations, or expectations? In what ways might any (or all) of those things be negative?
• Pip's education—How is education defined in the novel? What kind of education does Pip receive? What kind of education does Pip need? What do we learn of Pip's education by hearing the older and wiser Pip weigh in on his younger self's progress through life?

Step Two

If you haven't already, open Word or grab paper/a notebook and create a table with two columns and multiple rows. Create a heading that says "Activity 10a: Chapters 41 – 45," natch.

Step Three

Then make three to four solid entries about the lessons you read, plz:

• Two to three entries should focus on the topic you've chosen from Step One. Ideally, you want to stick with the same theme you chose for the last Dialectical Journal activity, but if you're itching to try a new theme, go ahead.
• The remaining entry (or entries) can be about anything from the lesson's reading. Maybe you found something funny or difficult. Maybe something you read reminded you of something in your own life or world. Maybe you just really liked a specific passage or description. Pretty much anything goes.
• In the left column, jot down quotes or moments in the novel that are related to your topic or that interest you.
• Then, in the right column, write what's on your mind. Aim for three to five sentences per entry.

Since this is the second time we're doing this activity, feel free to draw connections back to the points you made in your last dialectical journal activity (Activity 2a, btdubs).

Need a model? Here's the model we gave you in Activity 2a, on the theme of gentility:

Step Four

When your entries for this lesson are finished, take a moment to reflect on what you've read and written. This is a good time to bulk up your responses by

• noting any trends or patterns that are beginning to emerge.
• discussing the developments that are occurring in your selected topic.

Write another two to three sentences about this at the bottom of your page (paper or Word).

Here's our model for this from Activity 2a:

Estella and Joe seem to set up two different notions of what gentility entails—Estella's is about external wealth, manners, and a sense of superiority, whereas Joe's is about internal value (like, not lying). In a way, we do the same thing in our lives—some people we call classy because they have good taste in clothes, or are literally of a higher class; others we call classy because they show virtue.

When you're done, upload your work below (you'll need to scan copies of your journal entry if you were working on paper, natch).

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.10b: Graphic Expectations: Interpreting Dickensian Imagery Through Art

Great Expectations is one of only two major Dickens works that were initially published without illustrations. If you visit Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, or A Tale of Two Cities in print version, you'll see what we mean—these things were practically picture books.

Okay, not really. But the illustrations can tell us a lot about Dickens's vision. Why? Because Charlie usually worked closely with his illustrators to make sure that their work accurately represented his vision for the characters and scenes.

For this activity, we're going to put you in the illustrator chair so that you can take charge of your own mini-production—graphic-novel style.

Step One

First, you'll want to think about the imagery and symbolism you've encountered so far in Great Expectations, and even some of Pip's crazy hallucinations and dreams. Take a look at Shmoop's discussion of symbolism and imagery for a bit of inspiration. Just be forewarned: there are a few spoilers in there, so tread carefully.

As you read, think about the following questions:

• What patterns of images recur throughout the novel? E.g. spiders; dark weather
• What is the meaning or significance of the novel's imagery?
• What does Pip see that may or may not exist?
• What are Pip's dreams like?
• What does Satis House look like? Can you imagine Miss Havisham's wedding dress, cake, etc.? Is everything covered in spiders? Oof, spiders.
• How does Dickens describe the various settings of the novel? The marshes? London? Newgate Prison?
• What about Wemmick's "castle" Walworth?

Step Two

Check out this sample from a graphic novel version of Great Expectations. As you look through it, think about how the graphic genre stacks up with the traditional novel. Here are a few questions to consider as you skim:

• How can illustrations help us understand a novel?
• What might be the virtues of not having illustrations?
• What parts of Great Expectations would be improved with some visual aids?
• What is better left to readers' imaginations?

Step Three

Now that you've had a chance to examine what Great Expectations looks like when it goes graphic, choose a scene to adapt for your own graphic novel version. (Make sure that you have clear starting and stopping points—it makes it a whole lot easier to plan.)

You'll need to consider what style you'll adopt, what text and dialogue you'll include, and how the setting and characters will look.

Step Four

Channel your inner author/illustrator, and turn your plans into a reality. Then go ahead and translate your scene from Great Expectations into graphic novel form. You can work using actual paper, or on a graphics program on your computer—the choice is up to you (although if you're not working on your computer, you'll have to scan/take photos of your work to upload them at the end).

The length of your graphic novel excerpt will vary depending on the scene you've chosen, but aim for a five to ten panel spread. Make sure to incorporate quotes from the text as dialog and captions in your panels.

For instance, we might choose to focus on the scene when Pip visits Satis House and confesses his love to Estella, stunning Miss Havisham, Estella, and himself.

Step Five

In a 200 to 300 word artist's statement, tell us what you did, and why. Make sure to answer some of the following questions:

• What dialogue from the novel did you incorporate into your graphic novel excerpt? Why did you choose those pieces of dialog—what is there significance? Did you edit the dialog at all, and if so, why (e.g. to make them shorter, while still retaining their power)?
• What captions did you include for your panels? How did you decide which quotes to go with? What is there significance?
• What imagery or motifs did you incorporate into your panels? What is their significance? Was this imagery from the scene itself, or imagery borrowed from the novel at large (e.g. the recurrence of spiders and dark weather).
• What symbols did you incorporate into your panels? What is their significance?
• How did you express what the characters were feeling in this scene? How did you suggest a particular mood for the scene? How do you know this is what the characters were feeling in the book during this scene? What contextual clues suggest this?

For instance, we might note some of the following in out artist's statement, about how we depicted the conversation between Pip, Estella, and Miss Havisham in Chapter 44:

• First, we wanted to portray the mood and symbolism of Satis House visually. It is a place of wealth, but also atrophy and decay. We showed this by drawing symbols of wealth—vases, ornamental furniture, tapestries on the wall and rugs on the ground—all dusty, torn up, and frayed.
• We wanted to contrast Estella against this backdrop, so we drew her to look very well-groomed, and wearing clean, new, expensive clothing, with lots of jewels in her hair. But even though she's weighed down by so much abundance, her expression is impassive. We know this is true to character, because when Pip confesses his love, she is unmoved. We also wanted to emphasize how out of character it is for her when she is, finally, stunned by his second confession. We drew a close-up of her face to show how she reacts to his "Out of my thoughts! You are part of my existence, part of myself…" speech.
• We wanted to show that Pip's dream of her—his ideal of her—is separate from the reality of Satis House. So we depicted the "Out of my thoughts…" speech by illustrating the images Pip describes, instead of depicting him delivering the speech. We have images of "the river…the sails of the ships, on the marshes, in the clouds, in the light, in the darkness, in the wind, in the woods…" We depicted all of this together in one panel, to show that although Satis House is never "enough," Pip's love for Estella is practically too much for him to contain—it flows out and becomes enmeshed into everything he sees, the whole world around him.

And so on, and so forth. Your turn.

Step Six

Upload your masterpiece, and corresponding artist's statement, below.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Sample Lesson - Activity