second stage

In the second stage of Great Expectations Pip arrives at London, which has been part of his dream of becoming a gentleman. But it isn't as great as he expected. "Ugly, crooked, narrow, and dirty..." The disapointment he feels is part of the result of his "long chain that has bound him" starting in chapter nine.

This part of the book helps represent and discontentment. After going to Miss Havisham and Estella's place for a while Estella's beauty and his love for her has created the trait of discontentment in Pip. When he goes to London it was not the answer ot all his problems anymore.

link by link...

"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."

Pip is probably referring to how his first day at Miss Havisham's house is also the first day he met Estella and Miss Havisham. It is also the first day he ever made such a big lie. These lies eventually lead to a chain of events that really changed his life. In the chapters following this quote Pip's character changes mostly negatively. For example, he changes his mind about wanting to be a blacksmith. Also, he worries a lot; for his convict's friend, Estella discovering him, and the pale young gentleman taking revenge on him.
I think a memorable day that started my "chain" was when my mom didn't let me try orchestra in fourth grade, wanting me to join band the year after that instead. I remember not being so happy about that. Everyone else got to join orchestra! And the violin looked sooooooooo pretty! But it was a good thing that I joined band in the end, because I wouldn't have learned so much from Mr. Allison and made the friends I did there. My life would probably be very different without my friends from band (and my arms a lot weaker without having to carry a heavy box to and from school!)

great expectations question

In chapter 4, what does Mr. Wopsle mean by saying the church should be "thrown open meaning to competition"?

group essay collaboration

Here is my paragraph. I added a commentary for the last concrete detail after a group member mentioned to me a commentary was missing.



One symbol Wilde uses is Cecily’s diary. The diary portrays childishness, insincerity, and carelessness. Cecily says she keeps a diary “in order to enter the wonderful secrets of my life.” (p. 38) In Hertfordshire, where she lives, the only company Cecily has is her tutor Miss Prism and her uncle Jack, who is often away from home. Sometimes when children are bored they play house. In this case, Cecily is bored enough to start playing her own version using her diary. And she gets caught up in this game even more as she gets deeper into it, buying things in her pretend fiancé’s name and writing fake love letters. She starts living in her diary in a way. Also, when Miss Prism tells Cecily that memory is better than a diary Cecily says that “Memory…usually chronicles the things that have never happened, and couldn’t possibly have happened.” (p. 38). Cecily isn’t serious and doesn’t care much about life. She would rather stay in her own little fantasy inside her diary. She is so caught up in it that she probably sometimes forgets that it isn’t even real. Similarly, Cecily even refers to her diary while telling Algernon about their fake engagement she made up. As Cecily’s made-up world becomes bigger and more detailed it becomes more realistic to her too. Cecily is so into it that when “Ernest” actually arrives she figures it was all true in the first place, even referring to her diary during her conversation with him, saying “you can see my entry if you like.” (p. 55)

Dishonesty in The Importance of Being Earnest

In the book, The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde uses humor, satire of social institutions, references to earnest/Ernest, and the persuit of pleasure to express his opinions on dishonesty. Wilde often uses satire of marriage. Jack and Algernon are lying about their names and have fake identities so they can have some fun and get away from their boring lives of being serious and chivalrous. But they fall in love and become engaged to women who fall in love with their fake names. Also, since Jack is posing as Ernest, and its very ironic because the word earnest means sincere and serious. The name Ernest means serious. The one going by this name is neither. Jack and Algernon are constantly persuing pleasure and lying to make it easier. Jack's gettaways and Algernom's Buburying result in a huge misunderstanding. Another example of dishonesty is the way Cecily lies to herself through her diary. And though Algernon is only a little surprised and he brushes it aside, it will probably cause some kind of problem later on in the book.

Jack and Algernon are always persuing pleasure. And look what happens. Dishonesty comes with consequences. I think this is part of the theme Oscar Wilde was trying to communicate with this book. Life comes with stuff that bothers you, but you just have to live with it, instead of lying to get out of it. What seems like harmless fun always turns out to be a lot more.

Animal Farm Project Evaluation

1. Porter
2. artwork
3. The irony and hopelessness was conveyed very well and the plot was nicely summarized.


1. Conor
2. artwork
3. The project was well organized and showed a clear understanding of the way the story of Animanl Farm reflected the Russian Revelution.

1. Britta
2. poem
3. I thought Britta's project was very descriptive and showed the irony in the book.

1. Enola
2. video
3. Though the pictures were pretty accurate, the video didn't show any literary elements in Animal Farm.

1. Aaron
2. artwork
3. The project showed good understanding of the plot and things we discussed in class. It also showed the transitions the story went through as it progressed.

1. Kyra
2. video
3. This project was very creative and the scenes showed the evil of the pigs.

1. Kady
2. video
3. The elements were well reflected and the music really helped convey the moods.

1. Adrienne
2. video
3. The project was very creative, and showed how the pigs came to power.

1. Meghann
2. artwork
3. I thought Meghann's project was very good, and showed a clear understandeing of the things we discussed in class.

1. Daryl
2. artwork
3. I liked how the project had symbolism and reflected the Russian Revelution.

My AF Project

Click on this link to get to my Animal Farm project:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/46050413

Have a nice day!