September 21

“Well,” said Wemmick, “he’ll give you wine, and good wine. I’ll give you punch, and not bad punch….”

Read chapters 23-26 (or chaps 4-7 of Volume II) of Great Expectations.  Then, compare and contrast Pip’s experiences at Mr. and Mrs. Pocket’s, Mr. Wemmick’s and Mr. Jaggers’ homes.  How do these experiences contribute to Pip’s education in the ways of the world?

Be sure to use specific details from the text to support your opinions.

Be sure also that you respond to at least one other comment in this thread.

Don’t forget that you need to follow the rules of standard written English in all your writing for English class, even your short comments on the Great Expectations blog!

GE blog #8
Category: Great Expectations | 13 Comments on “Well,” said Wemmick, “he’ll give you wine, and good wine. I’ll give you punch, and not bad punch….”
September 20

We Britons had at that time particularly settled that it was treasonable to doubt our having and our being the best of everything: otherwise, while I was scared by the immensity of London, I think I might have had some faint doubts whether it was not rather ugly, crooked, narrow, and dirty.

Read chapters 20-22 (ch. 1, 2, and 3 of Volume II) of Great Expectations and then compare Pip’s experience so far in London with his expectations of it.  What message might Dickens be trying to convey to the reader thereby?  Be sure to use specific details from the text to support your opinions.  Don’t forget that you need to follow the rules of standard written English in all your writing for English class, even your short comments on the Great Expectations blog!

Be sure also that you respond to at least one other comment in this thread.

Also, as you read, look for and mark with a sticky note any passages you think are discussion-worthy!

GE blog #7
Category: Great Expectations | 43 Comments on We Britons had at that time particularly settled that it was treasonable to doubt our having and our being the best of everything: otherwise, while I was scared by the immensity of London, I think I might have had some faint doubts whether it was not rather ugly, crooked, narrow, and dirty.
September 18

“I am instructed to communicate to him,” said Mr. Jaggers, throwing his finger at me sideways, “that he will come into a handsome property. Further it is the desire of the present possessor of that property that he be immediately removed from his present sphere of life and from this place, and be brought up as a gentleman–in a word, as a young fellow of great expectations.”

Please read chapters 18 and 19 and annotate!

After you finish your reading, please discuss the above revelation.  You may want to consider how the great expectations affect Pip, even before he starts for London, and how they affect other characters.  What do these reactions to the news teach us about these characters?

Please be as specific as possible and be sure to use evidence directly from the text to support your ideas.  Think about Jaggers!  He would never assert anything without evidence.

Be sure to follow the rules of standard written English and to include many specific text-based details in your response.  Also, don’t forget to respond to at least one other comment in this thread.

GE blog #6
Category: Great Expectations | 42 Comments on “I am instructed to communicate to him,” said Mr. Jaggers, throwing his finger at me sideways, “that he will come into a handsome property. Further it is the desire of the present possessor of that property that he be immediately removed from his present sphere of life and from this place, and be brought up as a gentleman–in a word, as a young fellow of great expectations.”
September 17

“Do you want to be a gentleman, to spite her or to gain her over?”

Our classroom discussion was so interesting and productive today, let’s continue it online!  After you  read chapters 15-17, respond to any plot developments, characterizations, themes, literary elements or other ideas here.  One idea might be to look for other images that seem to recur in the text, but there are many other ideas as well.  I look forward to seeing how your thoughts develop over the course of the evening.

As always, please proofread your writing carefully for grammar, spelling, and punctuation and remember to reply to at least one other comment in this thread.

GE Blog #5
Category: Great Expectations | 46 Comments on “Do you want to be a gentleman, to spite her or to gain her over?”
September 14

It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home.

Discuss the above statement which begins chapter 14.  Please consider its relevance not only to chapters 12-14, but also to the chapters that preceded it, and the plot developments that may follow.

Please, as always, be careful of spelling, punctuation, etc.  Remember, this is still an academic exchange, and while we want to express ourselves freely, we always do so in standard English!  Also, as always, be sure to respond to other comments in this thread as the discussion evolves.

GE blog #4
Category: Uncategorized | 45 Comments on It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home.
September 13

He stirred his rum and water pointedly at me, and he tasted his rum and water pointedly at me. And he stirred it and he tasted it; not with a spoon that was brought to him, but with a file.

Tonight please read chapters 10-11 and then respond to any plot developments, characterizations, themes, literary elements or other ideas here.

As always, please proofread your writing carefully for grammar, spelling, and punctuation and remember to reply to at least one other comment in this thread.

GE blog #3
Category: Great Expectations | 46 Comments on He stirred his rum and water pointedly at me, and he tasted his rum and water pointedly at me. And he stirred it and he tasted it; not with a spoon that was brought to him, but with a file.
September 12

That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me.

Please read chapters 7, 8 and 9 of Great Expectations tonight, then respond to the prompt below:

Discuss Pip’s day at Miss Havisham’s residence, Satis House.  Some questions you may want to consider:

  • What questions does this event raise for you?
  • Whom does Pip meet?  What does he do there?  What can we make of these characters and this house?
  • Consider the quotation above.  What great changes does Pip’s day at Miss Havisham’s house make in him?  Predict how this event is likely to change him and the course of the novel.

As always, please reply to at least one other comment in this thread.

GE blog #2
Category: Great Expectations | 46 Comments on That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me.
September 7

So I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.

Dickens is perhaps best known for his varied and vibrant characters.  This weekend, please choose one character and describe your impressions of that character so far.  Please use many specific text-based details to support your response.

In addition, please read your classmates’ responses and comment on at least one of their responses in this thread as well.  You may agree or disagree, but remember, we must always treat each other with great respect.

Please be sure you proofread anything you write here for spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  An important tip:  Never, ever use a lowercase “i” for the first person nominative case pronoun!

GE blog #1
Category: Great Expectations | 52 Comments on So I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.
September 5

“I don’t know where people got the idea that characters in books are supposed to be likable. Books are not in the business of creating merely likeable characters with whom you can have some simple identification. Books are in the business of creating great stories that make you’re brain go ahhbdgbdmerhbergurhbudgerbudbaaarr.” —— —–John Green

Describe your favorite character in the best book you read over the summer.  Give as complete a description, both physical and psychological of your character.  Why is he or she your favorite?  Of whom does this character remind you?  Don’t give too much away; you don’t want to ruin the book for someone else!

Now, I know you’ll all be wondering how long your response should be, and really there is no simple answer.  Most blog responses tend to be about 300 words, some less, some more.  Also, please be careful to proofread your writing. Blogs are somewhat less formal than an essay, but this is still a school assignment.

In addition, please be sure to respond to at least one other comment in this thread.  If someone has discussed a character you also know, respond!  Just be careful to avoid any spoilers!

Category: Uncategorized | 47 Comments on “I don’t know where people got the idea that characters in books are supposed to be likable. Books are not in the business of creating merely likeable characters with whom you can have some simple identification. Books are in the business of creating great stories that make you’re brain go ahhbdgbdmerhbergurhbudgerbudbaaarr.” —— —–John Green
September 5

How-to Basics

Today you are going to learn how to access our class blog, log in, and comment on a post.

Hey!  Guess what?  If you are reading this, you have already accessed our blog!

First, you need to log in.  Look over on the right.  You will see a section called Meta in with various links below it.  Please choose Log in.

Now, you will of course need a username and a password.  This should be your usual school log in, however, if you don’t know what that is, try this:

Your username is your first name, the first initial of your last name and usually a number.  Please start without a number, then with the number 1, if that doesn’t work, try number 2, and so forth until you figure out which it is. So!  My name is Elizabeth Quinson.  My username would be elizabethq, elizabethq1 or elizabethq2.

Your password is your student id number.  If you already know it, try to log on.

If none of this works, I’ll be around with this information for you.

After you are logged on, try commenting on this post. What you are reading here, by the way, is a post!  Most of your work on the blog will be as a comment, and not as a post.  Generally, I post the topic or question (or even just leave it open) and then you comment on my post.  In addition, you may comment on each other’s comments!

Category: Uncategorized | 27 Comments on How-to Basics