Great Expectations: The First Stage

The last sentence on Chapter 9 of Great Expectations summarizes Pip's thoughts on the day's events, and show's his insight. The deeper message I've extracted was that: Every circumstance follows-up with the happening of one major event, and that major event shapes who you are, and who you will become. From earlier readings, you can tell that Pip is referring to his day at Mrs. Havisham's, and how he was so impacted and changed as a result of it. Mrs. Havisham introduced a new aspect into his life of woe and grief that was shown on her face, and affects his sensitive childhood innocence. When Estella enters his life, he is astonished by her beauty, and at the same time, hurt by her harshness. She criticizes him, never fails to take note that he is a commoner, and plays with his heart. All of this is new to him, and creates a memorable imprint into his childhood. His innocence, sensitivity, and self-consciousness are all affected through this one moment in his life. This is what he means by "the formation of the first link on one memorable day".

However, sitting here, trying to think of one memorable day that forever changed my life, I realize that I don't have one that particularly stands out. Though there are many events that have formed my character as who I am, I know that probably only one event has effectively shaken my childhood off of me, and sent me off into adolescence, and that would be coming into the store named "Spencer's". 5th grade year, I have just learned the "C" word, from my friends, and they decide to take me to this bad, bad store. Knowing not even, what Playboy meant, I was in my own safe little haven.. but not for long. Upon entrance of this alien environment, I was greeted by skeletons, and plastic butt-shaped masks. Shocked, I react with a desire to leave, instantly ushered by my friends to wander in further. Further in, there were rude stickers, inappropriate slogans, and sexual joke books. But that was not the worst. Deep into the back of the store, I fear to even recall the memories that have forever imprinted itself onto my childhood memories. And I will stop there, for as you can already see, from the inner cringing that I can feel creeping inside of me, that I will forever remember this event, and it has indeed, shaped my future, and character.

Group Essay Collaboration

I'm pretty sure my group handed me the hardest couple to write about but no big deal, haha. Uhmm, so.. Obviously we are writing the essay on the three main relationships in The Importance of Being Earnest. Specifically, I'm writing about the couple, Jack and Gwendolen, and my paragraph will be inbetween Alex and Lilly's. This is kind of hard because I have to transition according to Alex's concluding sentence, and Lilly's topic sentence. However.. We will make this work!~

My first CD is about how Jack and Gwendolen flirt too much, and the CM I wrote about it was that: Well, one, they flirt too much - excessively so - and two, it was not standard to be seen in the Victorian Era, so pretty much, it was unnacceptable. My second CD is when Jack proposes to Gwendolen, but Gwendolen is disappointed in the way he proposed. The CM's were that you could tell they were experienced in proposals, or even just relationships themselves, and that the way their dialogue, even during a proposal, is casual, shows that their relationship is also casual - comfortable. My last CD isn't very good, because I didnt know what CM to write about it, so I kind of just made the CM's up. So my CM's dont really match up with the CD... But, my CD was when Gwendolen says to Jack, (about the name Jack/John vs. the name Ernest), "I pity any woman who is married to a man called John. She would probably never be allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment's solitude." My CM goes along with my earlier CM, saying that their maturity in the relationship is developed by the high expectations that influence them. And also that, the highest influencing expectation is from Lady Bracknell who teaches/mothers/governs her daughter, so that Gwendolen's expectations are high as well.

Thank God we have it all finished today! Nice work guys. And thanks for the help. Have fun enjoying your vacation. :)