AHL - IRP Paragraph

The major theme throughout Great Expectations is simple. Charles Dickens makes it more complex and interesting by tying into the character development of Pip, the main character in this coming of age story. Pip learns that loyalty, affection, and conscience are simply more important than social improvement, wealth and social class. He learns this by navigation his dreams of becoming a gentleman and improving his class and wealth. When Pip sees the Satis House, he decides that he wants to become a gentleman. Pip's values of class, wealth, and appearance are born in the Satis house and are reinforced even more when he receives a large sum of money from a unknown benefactor. Pip's focus and desire for social class and wealth are shattered when the benefactor reveals himself to be the dirty convict that Pip helped to survive in the beginning of the book. Dicken writes, "Look’ee here, Pip. I’m your second father. You’re my son—more to me nor any son. I’ve put away money, only for you to spend. When I was a hired-out shepherd in a solitary hut, not seeing no faces but faces of sheep till I half-forgot wot men’s and women’s faces wos like, I see yourn. . .. I see you there a many times plain as ever I see you on them misty marshes. ‘Lord strike me dead!’ I says each time—and I goes out in the open air to say it under the open heavens—‘but wot, if I gets liberty and money, I’ll make that boy a gentleman!’ And I done it. Why, look at you, dear boy! Look at these here lodgings of yourn, fit for a lord! A lord? Ah! You shall show money with lords for wagers, and beat ’em!” (Dickens 309). This destroys Pip's values because it reveals to him that his own social status and wealth is owed to the loyalty and generosity of a low-class convict. This is a major event in the story because it also introduces Pip to the values that are more important in life. Magwitch's donation had shown Pip the importance of loyalty. Ultimately, through experiences with Joe, Biddy, and Magwitch (all members of the lower class) Pip learns that societal improvements are irrelevant to one's true worth and that loyalty and affection are to be valued above wealth and class.

Movie Trailer (F2)

In my movie trailer I attract the audience by referencing the major conflict of the story. Pip constantly tries to make himself a better person so that he can eventually be in a higher social class but when he learns Magwitch, a convict, and Estella, someone Pip looks up to, are interconnected, his wish of a high social status is suddenly turned around. At the end Pip will realize that social status is not as binary as he though it was and the true status of a person is in their loyalty and spiritual values.

Microblog (F2)

During my reading in quarantine I realized that a major theme of Great Expectations can be related to our current situation, here are my thoughts:

Our lives have been pretty smooth sailing since 1945, the end of world war two. Except for nine eleven and wars in the middle east, nothing has made a huge impact on how we live our everyday lives until now. The corona virus is going to impact millions of people world wide when it comes to health, but billions of people will feel the impact of the ripple effect of the countrywide shutdowns that are occurring. Society will face tough times in the years to come, but I was wondering, can this sudden reality check become a good thing for the future of our earth? In Great Expectations, Pip chases his dream of becoming a wealthy gentleman, but as the book goes on, he discovers that there are much more valuable aspects to life like family, affection and loyalty. Pip finds himself in situations that constantly bring him back to reality and this reveals to him the true values of life. I was thinking that this same concept might apply to us today. The corona virus pandemic has the ability to bring the entire world back to reality and show us the true values of life. In the United States, we have gotten so focused on money and social status because we do not have to worry about surviving, we do not feel threatened on a daily basis. With the change that is coming for us, it might bring our focus back to the basics of human survival and force us to work on problems that threaten the human race like global warming and the energy crisis. I think that you will start seeing rapid improvement in these categories in the next couple of years because of how the corona virus has narrowed our focus.

Also, I though this was funny:

Redesigning Book Cover (F1)

The main reason I chose to create a different book title for Great Expectations because when I was looking online and in the library for the book, I saw a variety of different covers. There isn't one that is consistent and none of them reveal a lot about the book at all. My cover, on the other hand, incorporates symbols and major themes throughout the first half of the book in an aesthetically pleasing way. Analysis of:

The Arrows: In my cover I use the arrows to depict that there are actions that will get Pip towards becoming a gentleman, which he strives for, and feelings that will sometimes push him further away. A major theme of the book is Pip's desire for self-improvement, we usually see it appear in three different categories which are: moral, social, and educational. The arrows are positioned around the items that symbolize these three categories in a way so that it shows which of his actions have brought him closer to his desire of becoming a gentleman. The arrows have another meaning in that there are always going to be values that are going to limit your ability to achieve those "Great Expectations." Pip's ultimate realization will be that striving to have a high social status and lots of money is less important than things like affection, loyalty and spiritual worth. Although affection and loyalty can sometimes inhibit his ability to get to the "Great Expectations" he has in his mind, he will know that those characteristics have more value throughout life.

The Book: The book represents Pip's motivation for educational improvement. After discussing his social class with Joe, Pip says, "The felicitous idea came to me a morning or two later when I woke, that the best step I could take towards making myself uncommon was to get out of Biddy everything she knew" (Dickens 70). Education is one of the main ways Pip believes he can make himself become a gentleman and move up in the social status. Later he will realize that he shouldn't sacrifice what he loves about Biddy for just her knowledge, and instead value her inner self.

The Iron File: The iron file is a symbol from very early in the book and it symbolizes Pip's moral self improvement. Throughout the story, Pip is anxious and constantly criticizes himself for his moral actions. The incident when he tried to run away from home, stealing from his sister's pantry, and providing the criminal with the iron file are all actions that at one point or another, Pip regrets or is extremely anxious about. Pip realizes that in order to get to those great expectations in the future he must improve his moral compass.

The Suit and Tie: The suit and tie represent how Pip is manipulated by his social class expectations. Through his encounters with Estella and Miss Havisham, Pip realizes that he is part of the lower class and that in order to grow in life he must get out of the lower class. He does not realize, however, that things like affection and inner worth are valued by other people more. Estella acts as an eye opener for Pip because Pip had not realized that he was part of a lower social class before meeting Estella, but when she points out his clothing and behavior he realizes that Joe, the only adult who he looks up to, is becoming less impactful in Pip's eyes.

The Color Scheme and Title: The color scheme that I made goes from a light green at the bottom all the way to a dark green and black at the top by the title. This represents that as Pip makes his journey to try and get to those great expectations, he starts to lose some of the characteristics that are really important in life like affection, loyalty, and inner worth. The color is lighter further away from great expectations because it represents that there are actions that might be better off for the people around you, but inhibit your ability to achieve high social class and "Great Expectations." The title has a layer echo effect that symbolizes how Pip is motivated and manipulated by his desire for self improvement and visions of great expectations in the future.

Thank you for reading if you got this far and I hope you enjoyed.

Microblog (F1)

For my first fiction book I decided to read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It's a little bit on the longer side (500 pages), but it is manageable because of how Dickens keeps you interested in the plot. As I was working my way through the beginning of the book, I noticed that it was extremely easy to keep focus and loose track of time while reading it. I think this is due to the fact that one: Dickens is an amazing writer, and two: he uses first person and a lot of dialogue. Dialogue and first person descriptions allow me to only think about one point of view instead of constantly having to think about the viewpoints of many different characters. After reading my non-fiction book which was written in third person omniscient, I realized how much I enjoy reading a first person story.

That being said, I also did some research on Charles Dickens himself and the choices that he made to write the story from Pip's point of view. I found that in Charles Dickens' childhood his parents were sent to debtor's prison and Dickens was left to work in order to stay alive. Just like how Pip does not want to work as an apprentice to Joe, Dickens doesn't want to work in the factory. I also found that most of the characters in the book are based around life experiences that Dickens has had. For example, Dickens was a law clerk at one point in his life and met an unethical lawyer and that character shows up in Mr. Jaggins. Ultimately, Great Expectations is a reflection of many events in Charles Dickens' life and he writes it from the perspective of a small boy who aspired to the world that was out of his reach, just like Dickens himself.

Microblog (NF2)

Black Flags the Rise of ISIS was not a relaxing read by any means of the imagination. It kept me on the edge of my seat whenever I was reading, but like any other book, it had its ups and downs. When reading the book I noticed that Joby Warrick constructs his story in the shape of a wave. It alternates from high intensity action and then sinks back down to analysis of politics and foreign affairs. This style allows for the reader to grasp a full understanding and appreciation of the work, research, and effort that was put into this book. Something else I noticed while reading was how I became detached to the United States because of Joby Warrick's style of writing. He wrote from many different perspectives around the world and didn't paint the United States as the powerful and "always right" nation. Warrick allowed the reader to realize that our nations government doesn't always have the right mindset. One recommendation I have for anyone reading this book is to RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. Understanding the timeline and current events while reading the books helps your understanding of politic and military decisions going on.

Newspaper Article (NF2)

The news paper article I created has one page dedicated to the bombing of the United Nations headquarter in Baghdad, Iraq, an extremely influential event for both sides of the US - Terrorism fight. The second page is where I analyze the effects of the Bush administration, how many Americans were uninformed about the war in Iraq and my takeaway/author's purpose. Enjoy!

There is a copy submitted on Schoology where you will be able to read the text.