Assignment 3 - Claire

Nicholas Button

Distressed and flabbergasted from witnessing the great rift between Estella and Ms. Havisham, I excused myself from the Satis House and went for a stroll about the town. Reminiscing would be the thing most would do at this time, but I could only think about the two women a mere couple of kilometres behind me. Lost in mind, but not in body, I walked with steady determination to the Three Men’s Barge. A pain impacted upon my chest, and surprised, I looked down to see a brown wool cap below me. The cap turned upwards, revealing a small boy, not particularly well-groomed and no more than perhaps 5 years of age, who looked at me with eyes the size of pounds.

“Sir! I’m so sorry sir!” he stammered as he laid his grubby hands upon my good coat to clean off any dirt he may have imposed upon my stature. I said nothing. Something about the boy haunted me; his curious eyes, his rough way of speech, the way he looked with fear upon anything larger than he (and that was a good plenty of things), they all seemed so familiar to me.

“What’s your name, son?”

“It’s Nicholas, sir! I’m terribly sorry ‘bout that. My mistake!”

“It’s fine, Nicholas. What are you doing out so late? Where is your father?”

“Erm… Mr. Button has departed –that is to say, no longer with us, sir. Me mum’s ill, you see, so I’s selling papers.”

I snapped my eyes away from that glance for mere moments to see the bundle of papers scattered on the ground.

“I see. Carry on then,” I said, coldly, as I quickly walked away from the small boy. Where had I seen him before? I asked myself. As a peered back, I saw the masses of the streets walk all over the boy’s papers as he scampered to salvage what he could from the rubble. Those eyes never got any smaller or any less familiar. It struck me on my way back to the Satis House that Nicholas reminded me of myself from but a few years ago. How strange it is that I should now be the one to strike fear upon him.

caricature - lucy

Caricature

Priscilla Berringfield (she is a prostitute)
Definition by negation: The woman was not a woman of feminine ideals, in fact if she were ever to be referred to as a lady, it would only be by one who was very inebriated.

Reputation: In the Victorian era, prostitutes were either painted as impure and/or soiled, and being in need of cleansing. They began to be referred to as the ‘Greater Social Evil’ because there was an increase in the number of prostitutes, especially in London. This is possibly due to the fact that there were 4% more women than men during an 1861 census. Alternatively, they were seen as ‘fallen women’, who did not choose they’re circumstances and were in need of help/saving.

Physical Description: Priscilla wears a low-cut Victorian style dress and a corset that enhances her ‘assets’. She wears excessive make up and one of those fake beauty marks on her left cheek.

Mannerism: She is prone to laughing at everything a man would say during a conversation, while trailing her hands down her bodice, clearly trying to draw their attention there.

Circumstance of Meeting: One evening when he was out with his friends drinking and Herbert isn’t there because he could not come that evening, Pip attempts to return home but is even more drunk that usual. He gets robbed and knocked out, and when he wakes up he finds himself in a seedier part of the city and it is fairly late out. He literally almost runs into Priscilla, who is fairly amused by him being there.

Dialogue:
Priscilla: Why hello there young man.
Pip: (is disturbed and trying to avoid her)
Pr: What are you doing in this area?
Pip: (continues to say nothing)
Pr: It isn’t very gentlemanly of you to ignore the queries of a lady.
Pip: You are not a lady.
Pr: And why not? Do I not dress well enough? Is my speech not eloquent enough? Am I not feminine enough to be a lady?
Pip: It is because you are a prostitute.
Pr: And a prostitute is not a lady?
Pip: No
Pr: And why is that?
Pip: Because a lady is supposed to be pure and unsoiled, and you are not. You are what is called the ‘Greater Social Evil.’
Pr: And where did you here that?
Pip: From people.
Pr: But you’ve never spoken to those that are of the ‘Greater Social Evil’?
Pip: No.
Pr: So you have never spoken to someone with firsthand experience?
Pip: No
Pr: Don’t you think you should? For all you know, most of us did not choose this profession, but had it forced upon them.
Pip: I doubt that. *leaves*
Pr: *laughs*

A DICKENSIAN CHARACTER:

Try to use all or most of the following in creating your character. your post should be on your blog before the end of today's class.

• A Dickensian name, with a dramatic/an unusual entrance into the story.

Alfred Collins. Pip arrives in his home town to attend the funeral of Mrs. Joe. On his way back from London, he meets the carriage driver, Alfred. He then invites this fellow to the funeral. During the funeral, he finds Alfred taking food from a table. He questions him and finds out about Alfred’s past. Alfred then joins him on his journey and Alfred’s cheery attitudes keep Pip’s spirits high.

• Definition of the character by negation (e.g. she was not a beautiful woman)

Alfred is not rich, nor does he have a spouse. Alfred does not have any siblings. Alfred’s parents are not alive. Alfred does not have blond, brown, or red hair. Alfred does not wear glasses. Alfred is neither tall nor short. Alfred is not very clean.

• Reputation of character and a possible disparity between reputation and reality.

He is known for being extremely poor. However, he used to be a lawyer, however, Jaggers destroyed his business and he was left with nothing. People assume that he is dumb but he is actually very intelligent, however, he does not have the charisma that Jaggers has and lawyers need. Yet anybody that knows him will describe him as clever and kind-hearted.

• Physical description of character, features of dress

Alfred is average height. He always wears the same clothes because he has nothing else to wear. Alfred is quite scruffy, his beard is longer than it should be and his hair is quite messy. He seems unkempt but that is one of his quirks. He always jumps from one thing to another and he claims that he has no time to care about his own appearance.

• A characteristic mannerism that would make this character more interesting.

He get easily distracted, he also likes to go on long rants that often digress from its original topic. This is because he becomes fascinated with new things very quickly but he also loses interest at the same rate. Therefore, he is very spontaneous and never predictable.

• The circumstances under which Pip comes across this character.

Pip comes across him when he first goes back into town. Then enjoys his presence and invites him to Mrs. Joe’s funeral. Pip does not find him there and seems disappointed. However, later, he finds him taking food from the funeral and confronts him.

• A dialogue between Pip and your character.

I approached the familiar cemetery before joining them for the funeral ceremony.
“Hello there.” I heard a scruffy voice behind me.
“How do you do?” I replied, a little startled at another presence.
“Seems like you need a ride into town,” the man’s voice was eager, he spoke quickly.
“Oh, well indeed I do”
“I might be of assistance,” he said, motioning toward his carriage. His features were earnest and seemed trustworthy.
“Well, thank you very much, I’m actually on my way to my sister’s funeral. Would you like to join me?" I inquired.

Elise Tethers (by John)

.aa This was the first time I had ever met, even ever heard of one of Estella’s acquaintances. It seemed to be that Estella surrounded herself with nobody. As I walked in, I noticed that she was quite pretty – even prettier in person – and had features that rivaled even Estella’s. Her face was sharp, defined, poignant, the epitome of beauty in the King’s class. Her dress was of an even deeper blood red whose luster was greater than even Estella’s. I noticed her peculiar way of sitting, with her pale white wrists facing the roof. Her skin was not as pale as Estella’s, but its tone still gave her beauty. She did not appear to be as cold as Estella was, although she displayed an equal amount of apathy when she looked at me. I then drew my eyes to Estella, who met my gaze with a stare.
.aa “You are late. I would like you to meet Elise Tethers. She is an actress, younger than you are, without a husband. You are to keep her company until I return. I will return in two hours, no earlier. You are to accompany her wherever she goes and you shall not displease her.”
.aa Before I could say a word of astonishment, Estella walked – such a dignified walk – out the doors, leaving me alone with the young Ms. Tethers.
.aa “How do you do?”
.aa I suppose I was quite flustered. Such fame sat there before my eyes. I answered saying that I was quite fine, and I sat across from her.
.aa “You do you know who I am?”
.aa Of course I knew who she was. Who, in all of London, didn’t know?
.aa “Yet you still do not fear?”
.aa Why should I fear? The character one acts does not reflect the character of oneself. Only the quality of such acting speaks to the heart, and her quality was the best in London.
.aa She smiled, so warmly even Estella’s heart would melt.

Daniel Redelmeier - Assignment 3

Eugene Bardridge

On a dreary Thursday night, Pip was walking through London after having visited Wemmick about some financial matters. His mind was filled with stress and indecision about the course of his life and his feelings for Estella. It was quite cold and windy, and the streets were devoid of people. However, there was one man: not too short, with horned glasses and a cane. His hair seemed to have been brown at an earlier point in his life, but had now faded to greyish white. He seemed to be a gentleman, and outwardly appeared to be quite similar to Pip himself, although Pip thought the man must have been at least 15 years his elder.

“Halloa!” said the man, when Pip approached. “You seem like a man in need of a hot mug of tea and a nice seat by the fire. Would you care to warm up in that establishment over there for a moment or two?” asked the man, indicating a pub across the street.

Presently, Pip wanted nothing more than something to warm himself up, so he accepted the man’s offer, and entered the warm establishment. Now, the pub was noisy and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. A couple folks recognized the man, and made an unnoficial toast to him (although to Pip it seemed more of an excuse to have another swig of ale). The gentleman escorted Pip to a table next to a hearty fire, and signalled the bartender for two mugs of the finest ale they had.

"Now," said Pip, "did you have any business with me? Did you wish to speak with me regarding any financial transactions?"

"No, nothing of the sort," said the man with a twinkle in his eye. "Would you like to see a trick of magic?"

Pip was intrigued, and leaned closer. The man then pulled up his sleeves (indicating that nothing was contained within) and seemed to pull a single guinea out of thin air. He then dropped the coin into an empty bear mug and then pulled another coin out of the air, and another, and another. Pip was utterly stupified now, and eagerly continued to look at the man, trying to find the trick by which the man was retrieving all of these coins. Pip knew that if he could pull off this feat, he would no longer have any financial troubles, ever. No longer having the ability to contain himself, Pip peared into the mug but was disappointed to find that there was only one coin there.

Lucy - Great Expectations Films

The first adaptation sticks closer to the book, in that everything that occurs also occurs in the book in that order, whereas the second adaptation is more liberal. The second adaptation has Pip running home and then a flashback of the convict asking him for food, and then shows him going into the pantry to steal food. The second adaptation leaves out the section where Pip puts the bread in his pants entirely. Both adaptations depicted the convict as very violent, having him shake Pip and yell at him. They also both had Mrs. Joe be very angry and violent. However in the second adaptation, because they skip over the bread part, Joe does not say as much and seems less significant. Furthermore, in the second adaptation, Pip never encounters the second convict. Both of the adaptations make the convict sound grateful for Pip giving him food.

The adaptations have caused me to find Mrs. Joe and the first convict to be scarier than I previously believed them to be. Dickens’ writing style is very wordy, which to me causes the events to seem almost comical, and I have difficulty imagining how scary the convict and Mrs. Joe would be, especially to a young child.

Film Influence

Upon watching the two film versions of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, I would have to say that my visual understanding of the book has gotten better (particularly thanks to the CBC version). I do not think that the English project version was adequate for helping me understand the text any further. It was simply a reading of lines in old English accents. There were not many visuals that influenced me, since the actors were inappropriate for their roles and the props were not very good. It was well put together for an English project, no doubt, but it does not further my insight into the text. However, the CBC version seems to understand the book much further and has actors who fit their roles, settings which set the mood more effectively and camera angles which catch the audience's attention. The costumes are well done, which allow me to better visualize the characters. Their acting is quite good, which allows me to better understand the tone of the text. Overall, the movie version helped me grasp a more physical sense of Great Expectations.

- John

Assignment 2

I thought both versions were fairly well done, but it was clear that the second version was much more dramatized and more realistic. The first was just the product of somebody's English assignment, but the second had substantial effort put into it and better reflected Dickens' novel. For example, the first version had kids acting as all the characters, and some of them played more than one role. However, the second had both adults and a kid (who played Pip), who were probably chosen specially because of their similarity to the actual characters. In addition, the first version only used props and resources readily available (e.g. a modern house as Pip's house and a river bank as the marshes). The second version used more realistic sets, and also portrayed Mrs. Joe as being much more vicious. The first version was less formal (bloopers at the end, etc.) while the second was more "serious", and added additional dramatic effects that were not in Dickens' original work (such as a flock of birds migrating and the use of slow-motion filming). The costumes in the second version were also much more similar to the time period, whereas the first version did not appear to use any specific costumes at all. However, both films did a fine job of giving an audio-visual representation of Dickens' novel, but overall, I believe the second one was much better done than the first.

-Daniel R.