Great Expectations - The first stage

In the novel, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, the main character Pip lives with his older sister and her husband Joe. Pip, who was raised "by hand" as his sister says, is very sensitive and thoughtful. At the end of chapter 9, Pip says, "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 information of the first link on one memorable day." Pip is referring to how he lied to Joe, his sister and Mr. Pumblechook. Pip had been to Miss Havisham's house to play and this is the first day he met her and the first day that he met Estella. Estella was very cruel to him, and Miss Havisham was definitely strange. Pip was so concerned that nobody would understand what Miss Havisham or her home was like, and he was afraid of making her look bad... He wanted to protect her, so he lied about what happened at Miss Havisham's house, so that he could cover up how terrible Miss Havisham's was that day. This feeling of lying would soon lead to other things, like Pip being ashamed of his home life, and to him feeling so self conscious of what Estella and Miss Havisham would think of him, which makes Pip feel common and ignorant.

One memorable day that has started a "chain" effect, was when some friends and family began to notice that I have an eye for taking photographs. Ever since this day, it led to me thinking more artistically and more creatively with everything I do, especially photography. Since this time, I have bought a Nikon d3000, and I spend a lot of my time taking pictures. It's something that has added to my personality, and helped round my character. I can express myself through it, and it helps me to see things in a different way.

Group Essay

Thesis statement: In Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde uses black humor and a satirical manner to show the shallow, and hypocritical views on marriage in the Victorian Era.

My group essay is topic one. For my individual paragraph, I'm writing on the overall views on marriage during the Victorian Era, and in the play The Importance of Being Earnest. My first CD is about marriage not being about pleasure, or being with someone who you truly like or love. My CM will be supporting this by explaining how people feel about the people they are married to, and why people marry the people they marry. The second CD is about Lady Bracknell not approving of Jack and Gwendolen being engage. My CM will support this by explaining how people didn't always get to choose who they married, and that parents usually wanted their daughters to marry someone of high status for money reasons. My last CD is about how people rushed into marriage. My CM will support this by explaining how people rushed into marriage for my reasons, for status reasons, and for all the other reasons.

If there is anything I should change, tell me!

-Nicole Dandridge