What's the Story?
Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations to entertain his readers. The novel was featured in a magazine in the 1860s and 2 chapters were released every week, telling the story of Pip in his journey of becoming a gentlemen and his attempt to win over the beautiful Estella. Great Expectations was treated as a drama back then like Gossip Girl or House. Dickens uses characterization in a way that makes all the characters in the book significant in Pip's life and affects him in numerous ways. The genre of the book is constantly shifting throughout the novel from fantasy to realism. The tone of the novel is reflective and bittersweet when the reader compares Pip's journey to become a gentlemen and the struggles in your own life.

Dickens Map
1. I will read in my 2 TA periods during school and I will make time in my day to read for at least 30 minutes per day.
2. In the original ending of Great Expectations, Pip sees Estella in London in the company of her husband and her children. Dickens was advised by a close friend that this was not how readers would want the story to end, so the ending was changed to the now published ending. Evaluate the purpose behind Charles Dickens' original ending. Which ending completes the story more fully? Which ending makes the most sense to you as the reader, and which ending most efficiently portrays the key themes of the novel? Use the text to support your response.

 Miss Havisham is heart broken and left in a disarray on her wedding day when her fiance leaves her at the alter.  Confidently this "fiance" is none other than Compeyson.  In her rage at this situation Miss Havisham adopts Estella to use her to get back at men.  Do you think that this justifies how Estella acts or is her manner just naturally how she is? Do you believe that Miss Havisham has the right to corrupt someone else's life and use them for her own selfish purposes?

 Dickens likes social commentary. He likes to comment on society. He comments socially. What impression do you get of London society after reading Great Expectations

 Dickens wrote a lot of travel books and travel guides. Are there any points in the novel where you hear our author slipping into tour guide? What portrait of London does Charles Dickens paint?

 Why do you think this novel divided into three parts?


Sources:
https://sites.google.com/site/mrpipsgreatexpectations/essay-time
 http://www.shmoop.com/great-expectations/questions.html

3. I think the only way to test my knowledge and expertise is to write an analysis of the book.

                     January  Literary Analysis: Of Mice and Men

General

1.      Two migrant workers, George and Lennie, have the dream to own their own acre of land and a shack they can call their own. George is “small and quick and dark of face;” Lennie, a man of tremendous size has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a “family,” clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. However, Lennie becomes a danger to everyone on the ranch. He kills his own puppy and breaks one of the worker’s hands. He also kills a man’s wife which really riles up the ranch to gather a lynch party to go find Lennie. But, George finds Lennie first and shoots him in the head to show him mercy.

2.      I think the theme of the novel is the impossibility of the American dream because almost everyone on the ranch admits to having a dream. Curley’s wife admits her dream of being a movie star. While, Lennie, George, and Candy want an acre of their own land.

3.      The author’s tone throughout the novel is sympathy for the real world which is engulfed in poverty and human intolerance.

-          George and Lennie are not wealthy enough to afford an acre of their own land.

-          Lennie is always being bullied by others on the ranch because of his size.

-          Eventually, everyone on the ranch gets fed up with Lennie so they decide to gather a lynch party and run after him.

4.      Characterization- George is described as a small man that is considered the brains of the George and Lennie duo.

Symbolism- Rabbits represent Lennie’s dreams and impossibility of them coming true.

Tone- The tone of the novel is sympathy for the real world which is engulfed in poverty and human intolerance.

Mood- The mood of the novel is honesty and sympathy because the reader feels sympathy for George and Lennie. The reader also experiences honesty from the author who interprets the world through realism.

Diction- The author’s diction is very informal because when Lennie talks in the novel it is very difficult to interpret what he is saying, the diction is very similar to “The Adventures of Huckleberry and Finn.”

Syntax- The author’s sentence structure is very simple because it consists of multiple short sentences and paragraphs with the occasional forever long sentences.

Imagery- “Although there was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunk house, inside it was dusk. Through the open door came the thuds and occasional clangs of a horseshoe game, and now and then the sound of voices raised in approval or derision (p.38).”

Setting- The setting is at a ranch in California.

Genre- The genre of the novel is most likely a tragedy as well as a story that erupts realism.

Allusion- The novel has an allusion to pop culture through the reference of Pulp magazines.

Characterization

1.      Direct Characterization is used when the author describes George and Lennie. Another example of direct characterization is when the author introduces Candy. An example of indirect characterization is when the author describes Slim.  The author also indirectly characterizes Curley’s wife.

2.      The author’s syntax and diction doesn’t change when the author is describing a character because his sentence structure is still multiple short sentences describing the character. The diction stays informal as well when he describes a character.

3.      The protagonist is George and he stays static and flat throughout the novel. George is always looking out for Lennie and he follows that role until the very end of the novel including when he shoots him in the head.

4.      By the time I finished reading this book I felt like I just met George and Lennie in real life because I could sympathize for Lennie because I compared him to a special needs adult and he should have gone for treatment, however, I do acknowledge the fact that George probably couldn’t afford it. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.

Lit Terms 31-56

31. Dialect: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others.
 

32. Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth.
 

33. Dichotomy: split or break between two opposing things.
 

34. Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words.

35. Didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education.
 

36.Dogmatic: rigid in beliefs and principles.
 

37. Elegy: a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting.
 

38. Epic: a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, mores, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time (definition bordering on circumlocution).
 

39. Epigram: witty aphorism.
 

40. Epitaph: any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone.
 

41. Epithet: a short, descriptive name or phrase that  may insult someone’s character, characteristics
 

42. Euphemism: the use of an indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt.
 

43. Evocative (evocation): a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality.
 

44. Exposition: beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation.
 

45. Expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic   representation of an inner idea or feeling(s).
 

46. Fable: a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.
 

47. Fallacy: from Latin word “to deceive”, a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound.
 

48. Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax.
 

49. Farce: a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue.
 

50. Figurative Language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile).
 

51. Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events.
 

52. Foil: a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent.
 

53. Folk Tale: story passed on by word of mouth.
 

54. Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; “planning” to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away.
 

55. Free Verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme.
 

56. Genre: a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content.
 

SMART Goal
My SMART goal is to pass the AP exam in May and to attend a 4 year university where I will major in neuroscience, and eventually attend medical school to become a neurosurgeon.

Lit Terms 6-30

6. Analogy: a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them

 

7. Analysis: a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny

8. Anaphora: a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences

 

9. Anecdote: a very short story used to illustrate a point

 

10. Antagonist: a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative

 

11. Antithesis: a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness

 

12. Aphorism: a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life

 

13. Apologia: a defense or justification for some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action; also apology

 

14. Apostrophe: a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly

 

15. Argument(ation): the process of convincing a reader by proving either the truth or the falsity of an idea or proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself

 

16. Assumption: the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true

 

17. Audience: the intended listener or listeners

 

18. Characterization: the means by which a writer reveals a character’s personality

 

19. Chiasmus: a reversal in the order off words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order

 

20. Circumlocution: a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served

 

21. Classicism: art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of ancient Greece and Rome: tradition, reason, clarity, order, and balance

 

22. Cliché: a phrase or situation overused within society

 

23. Climax: the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the pint of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered or resolved

 

24. Colloquialism: folksy speech, slang words or phrases usually used in informal conversation

 

25. Comedy: originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending; now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter

 

26. Conflict: struggle or problem in a story causing tension

 

27. Connotation: implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition

 

28.Contrast: a rhetorical device by which one element (idea or object) is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity

29. Denotation: plain dictionary definition(same image shown under #27)

30. Denouement (pronounced day-new-mahn): loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion