Great Expectations Introduction

Great Expectations Reading Schedule

Week One: 11/2 to 11/6	Monday: Chapters 1 - 3	Tuesday: Chapters 4 - 6	Wednesday: Chapters 7 - 9	Thurs/Fri: Chapters 10-13
Week Two: 11/9 to 11/13	Monday: Chapters 14-16	Tuesday: Chapters 17-19	Wednesday: Chapters 20-22	Thurs/Fri: Chapters 23-26
Week Three: 11/16 to 11/20	Monday: Chapters 27-29	Tuesday: Chapters 30-32	Wednesday: Chapters 33-35	Thurs/Fri: Chapters 36-39
Week Four: 11/30 to 12/4	Monday: Chapters 40-42	Tuesday: Chapters 43-45	Wednesday: Chapters 46-48	Thurs/Fri: Chapters 49-52
Week Five: 12/7 to 12/11	Monday: Chapters 53-55	Tuesday: Chapters 56-59

Click here for a free audio recording online.

Hook

1.       Journal--Chapters 1-2: Choose an important person (or people) in your life who has (have) expectations for teachers, friends, coaches, boyfriend or girlfriend, etc. What are others’ expectations of you? Are their expectations consistent with what you expect of yourself, or do you expect something different?

2.      Discuss--How does class structure impact these expectations, individual choices, ambition, or self-confidence? Think about relatives, friends, or acquaintances who would be considered impoverished, lower-class, middle-class, or upper-class.

3.      Look around us--what class divides exist in Watsonville, CA? What about in your hometown? At Monte Vista? What keeps certain communities closed off from each other?

Just for fun--

Video on the Industrial Revolution

Video on 10 Facts about Dickens

Take Notes/Prepare for Reading (Place document in “Reading Notes” or “Great Expectations”)

1.      Serial Novel--a novel produced in series, or in small increments, much like episodes of modern TV shows.

a.     The beginning of each new series includes a hook, and each ends with a cliffhanger that would make the reader want more.

b.     The characters also tend to be flat caricatures with obvious traits so they are easily recognizable.

c.     The more installments Dickens wrote, the more money he made. If you are irritated with the length of the novel, you can blame Dickens’ pocketbook.

2.     Bildungsroman Novel--a narrative that is a “coming of age,” or “novel of formation” following closely the maturation of a young person.

a.     “Novel” means new, but refers to stories told in prose, usually with chapters and parts. The novel came into being around the 16th century, when stories were increasingly told in print and in prose, and storytelling through poetry began to decline.

3.     Key Phrases in the novel that reflect 19th century British idioms

a.      “Great Expectations”--anything an author repeats is important--especially if it is the title. Look out for this phrase, and how it plays off of Pip’s expectations on himself, and other’s expectations of him.

b.      “By hand”--Pip’s sister is referred to as having raised Pip “by hand;” this phrase expresses working-class pride in having done something for oneself, and not through the patronage or institutional assistance of outside entities.

c.       “Portable property”--before the Industrial Revolution, one was wealthy if he was a landowner, and was a peasant if he worked that land without owning it. After the industrial revolution, the rich began to love currency just for the sake of having money. Portable property refers to money, or currency, which really isn’t technically property, but is a symbolic means of obtaining property. It is interesting that the rich characters in the novel see money itself as a form of property.

d.      Review the “allusions” sheet for more idiomatic vocabulary.

4.     Literary Devices--Character Development

a.      Protagonist - the primary or main character in some central conflict.

b.      Antagonist - a character who opposes or contrasts the main character in some central conflict.

c.       Direct characterization - character development through a narrator’s explicit description

d.      Indirect characterization--character development that is implied by character actions, dialogue, thoughts, or appearance.

e.      First-Person Narration--a point of view where the narrator, often a character in the story, recounts his or her experiences or observations using “I.”

f.        Foil--a contrast between two characters or two groups of characters that usually serves to highlight something about the main character.

g.      Round/dynamic character--a complex character who undergoes change and is not easily understood.

h.     Flat/static character--a character with perceived character traits that are static and do not change.

Read Chapter 1

‘Criminal Language’--Dialect in Chapter 1

Translate the convict’s dialect into formal, standard English.

1.       “Show us where you live,” said the man. “Pint out the place.”

2.      “Darn me if I couldn’t eat ‘em,” said the man, with a threatening shake of his head, “and if I han’t half a mind to’it!”

3.      “An you know what wittles is?”

4.      “You fail, or go from my words in any partickler, no matter how small it is”

5.      “That young man has a secret way pecooliar to himself of getting at a boy and at his heart and at his liver”

6.      “It is in wain for a boy to attempt to hide himself from that young man”

Daily Reading Quizzes

Your first quiz questions are below--get used to this style and come prepared. Online literature websites will not help you. Here are the questions for the first quiz, so you can get a feel for it:

Chapters 1-3

1.       If Pip does not bring the criminal a file and food, he is threatened to have his _________ cut out.

2.      The criminal says that in comparison to Pip he is a ________________.

3.      Where does Pip tell his sister and Joe he has been?

4.      Place nine plot events in the correct order.