Merchant of Venice Blog #1

At the start of Shakespeare's famous play, The Merchant of Venice, it appears that the two characters Antonio and Bassanio. But after close inspection, it is evident that Bassanio is the dominant member of the relationship and is able to manipulate Antonio. Antonio earns an excellent living from his work as a merchant and from time to time, Bassanio borrows money from him. But even though Bassanio spends the money very irresponsibly and does not repay the loan, he is still able to borrow more from Antonio. "'But if you please/To shoot another arrow that self way/ Which you did shoot the first, I do not doubt,/ As I will watch the aim, or to find both/Orbring your latter hazard back again,/And thankfully rest the debtor for the first.'...'And out of doubt you do me now more wrong/In making question of my uttermost/ Than if you had made waste of all I have.'" [17) Most lenders in this situation would refuse to lend any more money to someone who has yet to repay their previous debt. But Antonio is more than willing to trust someone who foolishly squandered his first loan and may not repay it any time soon. At first glance, Antonio would seem to be the emotionally stronger of the two considering that he has a better paying job than Bassanio, but for some reason Antonio sees Bassanio as a very deserving friend when he actually isn't. Bassanio can walk all over Antonio and he wouldn't do anything about it.

Great Expectations #3

After many years of a sort of blind ignorance for pip and Estella, they both stumble upon some very upsetting truths. During the beginning of the novel, Pip has held a crush for Estella but after seeing her again recently after several years, he falls into a deep emotional attachment that borders on obsession. He begins to show the signs of a garden variety romantic and believes that Miss Havisham is the only possible benefactor for Pip, as part of a preexisting plan to pair Estella and him for marriage. But in chapter 38, Pip comes to the shocking conclusion that Estella is also leading on a one Bentley Drummle, a young man that Pip finds less than flattering. Estella had been warning Pip for a long time that she would never love him, and he never took heed until he believed she betrayed him. While Pip is obviously devastated by this sudden upset, it is not quite clear of what Pip will go about doing. There are many possibilities for Pip: he could stay with the convict, his actual benefactor, go with Herbert Pocket, among the other possibilities for a young wealthy gentleman. But it is evident that as with most romantics, such as Romeo in the end of the famous Romeo and Juliet, after making the pursuit of Estella the center of his existence, he will have an immensely hard time coping with the "loss" of his love. On of the most prominent reasons for Pip wanting to distinguish himself as a gentlemen and develop his potential was to be able to woo Estella, but since that possibility is extinct, he most likely will not commit suicide as Romeo did, but Pip may find himself without a purpose in his life. Estella has spent her entire life being groomed by her adoptive mother, Miss Havisham, for her personal revenge plot against the male gender. But after all those years in chapter 38, Estella begins to find her mother's constant attention to her very annoying and finally realizes that her mother is demanding too much from her. After a long and violent debate between the two, they soon seem to have re-sewn the holes but an unsettling sense has fallen between them. "Nor, did Miss Havisham's manner towards estella in anywise change, except that I believed it to have something like fear infused among it's former characteristics" (308). I believe that after this sudden spurt of individuality by Estella, Miss Havisham will try to make her squeeze even tighter. How Estella will respond is up in the air; however, she has already proved that she can speak and defend for herself.

Great Expectations Post #2, Option 1

In the first book of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the dramatic change in Pip's aspirations is caused by his several visits to Ms. Havisham's house. At the beginning of the novel, Pip was excited to be apprenticed by Joe as a blacksmith, but after going to the rich patron's house and meeting these new people, he is moved by the poise, level of education, and sheer sense of confidence displayed by Estella and Ms. Havisham that he suddenly wants nothing but to achieve that same gentile-like stature. "'Though [Estella] called me "boy" so often, and with a carelessness that was far from complementary, she was of about my own age. She seemed much older than I, of course, being a girl, and beautiful and self-possessed; and she was as scornful of me as if she had been one-and-twenty, and a queen'" (56). Even though the two are about the same way, Pip could not help but notice how so different they are by the way they act. Estella constantly bilittles Pip and calls him names, but the way in which she speaks shows great pride, confidence, and eloquence. And when Ms. Havisham has her guests to visit for her birthday, she gives of a very similar aura. "'Matthew will come and see at last,' said Miss Havisham, sternly, 'when I am laid on that table. That wil be his place - there,' striking the table with her stick, 'at my head! And yours will be there! And your husband's there! And Sarah Pocket's there! And Georgiana's there! Now you all know where to take your stations when you come to feast upon me. And now go!'" (88). Miss Havisham has such a strong sense of confidence and conviction that she demands those who are her friends how they should behave at her own funeral. The sense of power that radiates off of her is simply captivating to almost all around her. The way in which he describes Estella and Ms. Havisham suggests that he does not appreciate the company of Estella but after his first day at Ms. Havisham's residence, he can't help but be persuaded that he must be of a higher standard. "I took the oppurtunity...to look at my coarse hands and my common boots. My opinion of these was not favourable. They had never troubled me before, but they troubled me now, as vulgar appendages...I wished Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I should have been so too" (62). It only took a few hours for Pip to be extremely influenced by the only presence of those who are "uncommon", when all his life he saw absolutely nothing wrong with his lifestyle. All because of the strong feeling of power and self confidence displayed by two members of the aristocracy, Pip unwillingly lost content with his life and his forseeable future.

Great Expectations response 1

Early on in the novel, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, we can see that the protagonist, Pip, can be very impressionable. Pip has lived all of his life being told that he asks too many questions and isn't grateful for his sister raising him "by hand" and is told that he is a very bad child for doing so. Here, we find Pip running home to steal various items for the convict he just met and he can't stop worrying about getting caught. “…I felt fearfully sensible of the great convenience that the Hulks were handy for me. I was clearly on my way there. I had begun by asking questions, and I was going to rob Mrs. Joe.” At a young age, many children can be easily convinced to believe something simply by being in a certain environment and adjusting to it as the "norm". Because Pip has been told all his life that he is a terrible child, he believes that he asks too many questions in life there is almost no other option for him in life than to end up in jail. He even sees as having to go to the Hulks as a convenience that he already knows what will become of him. Had Pip not been verbally abused by his family all his life, he would more than likely have a brighter outlook on his future. He wouldn't be viewing his life as negatively as he is now. We also see how impressionable Pip is by his first encounter with Estella. Estella looks down upon Pip, saying that he is very common, has coarse hands, boots that are too thick, and he uses incorrect terms in card games. Pip never before thought poorly of his class status, but after leaving Estella's company, he can not stop thinking about how he needs to change himself and be something greater than what he is.

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