Friday, March 6, 2009

Blog 4A

Book: Great Expectations
Pages read this week: 115
Pages read this semester: 518
Writing style: Quotation

Summary
Pip is waiting for Wemmick’s signal to ship back Magwitch, but he refuses to use any more of his money and his debts keep piling up. When he goes to theatre, after the show, Mr. Wopsle tells him that one of the convicts from the marsh was sitting behind Pip during the show. Pip is worried that Compeyson might be following him. At Jaggers’ house for a dinner, Pip learns about Estella and Drummle’s marriage. He also notices Jaggers’ servant Molly whose movements resemble those of Estella. Some more details make him certain that Molly is Estella’s daughter. Pip goes to see Miss Havisham where she begs his forgiveness. He acts with kindness and saves her from fire, but she becomes an invalid. He is wounded too. Jaggers confirms that Molly and Estella are related, but he has no knowledge about Magwitch’s role. Pip escapes an attack from an angry Orlick who accuses Pip of coming between him and Biddy. The plan to send Magwitch away fails as the police calls for him to surrender on the boat. He sees Compeyson in the other boat and dives on him. Both of them go under the surface of water, but only Magwitch comes back and is arrested. Pip still remains loyal to Magwitch even though he knows he will be found guilty. Herbert gets married to Clara. Wemmick has a weird and funny wedding with Miss Skiffins. Magwitch is sentenced to death. Pip reveals to him about Estella and he dies in peace. Pip falls sick very badly and is nursed back to health by Joe. Joe tells Pip about Miss Havisham’s death and how she distributed her money among the Pockets. Orlick was arrested for robbing Pumblechook. Before leaving suddenly, Joe pays off Pip’s debts. Pip decided to reconcile and reunite with him and marry Biddy. When Pip goes back there, he is disappointed to find that Biddy and Joe are getting married, but he expresses delight on this. He goes out of England and takes up a job with Herbert. He returns eleven years later. He visits Joe and Biddy and convinces them he is content with his bachelor life. He goes to the ruined Satis House. He had learned about Estella and Drummle’s troubled marriage and Drummle’s death. There, he finds Estella wandering n the ruined garden. They leave the garden holding hands and Pip hopes they will never part again. (This was a revised ending. In the original ending, Pip meets Estella in London while moving around with Joe and Biddy’s son. They do not discuss past, but do shake hands. Pip had known about Drummle’s death and Estella’s remarriage to a country doctor. He said that he could see her suffering and hopefully she understood how he felt before when he was the one to suffer.)

“To me, parting is a painful thing.” (515)
Estella says this to Pip when they meet again at Satis House. Parting, indeed, is a very painful thing to everybody. I have parted from a lot of people and have been away from them, and it is indeed not soothing. Before I write some of my views, I would like to mention a historical incident. When the tenth prophet of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh ji, asked Bhai Gurdas Singh, one of the poets in his court, to explain pain in one word, the latter replied that the most appropriate word is “Parting.” I learned about this from my father, who wrote a speech for me to deliver on the farewell party of my class in 2007.
When I left India, I had to bid goodbye to a lot of people whom I have known for the whole of my life. Some of them have died recently, including my grandmother and my neighbor. And since they are gone forever, it pinches me even more that I would never be able to see them again. I had studied with some of my classmates for the entire student life over there, 12 years in same school. And I was unable to see most of them before I left because the school was off due to summer break. I may see them again in my life, but perhaps not together at one place.
A lot of literary works that have focused on partition of lovers are considered masterpieces. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is one example. It is said that literature dotted with pain and partition is more liked by the readers. Some people even say that the bird Cuckoo owes its sweet voice to the pain it suffers due to loneliness and partition. Overall the conclusion is that sad stories are more emotional and thus closer to the reader’s heart.

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