《远大前程》读书群记录5

阿俊老师

Great Expectations Themes

The main themes in Great Expectations are character versus class, the consequences of ambition, and the possibility of redemption.

Character versus class: Pip is a poor orphan who dreams of being a gentleman, only to realize that wealth and status aren’t as important in determining happiness as one’s character.

The consequences of ambition: Pip’s ambition to become a gentleman worthy of Estella’s love leads him to abandon his former friends and fall into debt.

The possibility of redemption: Several of the novel’s characters, including Pip and Magwitch, come to repent of their past actions, be forgiven, and change their lives.

Character Versus Class

A major theme of Great Expectations is the ultimate insignificance of social class when compared to one's character—a truth Pip comes to understand through his experiences as a young man with rising expectations. For much of the novel, Pip naively assumes the upper classes are inherently superior to everyone else, a belief that may partly stem from his own modest beginnings as a blacksmith’s apprentice in the marshes of Kent. His sincere youthful desire to improve himself is corrupted, leading the adult Pip to reject people who truly love him—like Joe and Biddy—in favor of snobby, coldhearted individuals like Estella and Miss Havisham, only because the latter are of a much higher social class and appear altogether more glamorous in his eyes. However, Pip’s expectations are eventually turned on their head by the realization that the mysterious and wealthy benefactor who has financed his social rise is not Miss Havisham, as he had presumed, but the lowly and unrefined convict Magwitch.

By the end of the novel, Pip comes to learn that class has little relationship to one’s true worth and that character is what matters most. Joe may be a coarse blacksmith, but he is kind, humble, and patient, and Pip recognizes him as a worthier husband for Biddy than himself. Similarly, Pip’s friend Herbert Pocket, a poor relation of Miss Havisham’s, proves to be a humble, hardworking young man who finds happiness with Clara, the modest, kindhearted daughter of a sailor. By contrast, Miss Havisham is a member of the upper class, but she is also vengeful, bitter, and alone in her dark and decaying house. Ultimately, Miss Havisham and Estella’s hollow and unfulfilling lives illustrate that wealth and status alone don’t lead to personal happiness. Furthermore, wealth and status themselves are not always what they seem to be, as Pip is forced to realize when he learns that his own wealth originates not with the upper-class Miss Havisham, but with Magwitch, and that Estella is in fact Magwitch’s daughter.

The Consequences of Ambition

The very title Great Expectations evokes Pip's desire to become a great man in the world. Inspired by his interactions with the upper classes at Satis house, the impressionable young Pip comes to yearn for more than just a simple existence as a blacksmith like his father figure, Joe. Instead, Pip wants to be a gentleman worthy of the beautiful, sophisticated Estella, who denigrates him as a “common labouring-boy” and mocks his “coarse hands” and “thick boots.” Ambition is presented throughout the story as double-edged: On one hand, Pip's ambition pushes him to become more experienced and intelligent, prompting him to move to London, where his relationships with the Pockets, Mr. Jaggers, Wemmick, and others broaden his understanding of the world. Unfortunately, his ambition also makes him a spendthrift, as he seeks to purchase goods that will give him the appearance of a traditional gentleman; by the time Magwitch reveals himself as his benefactor, Pip is deep in debt.

否：

13-16章讲Pip跟Joe签订了学徒合同，可是Pip却越来越看不起自己的家，觉得这个家丢尽了他的脸。诚实朴实的Pip开始觉得虚荣自卑，他的人格开始堕落了。不仅如此，他还开始看不起乔，努力提升自己还要努力提升乔，好让他配得上Estella。大家有没有感到他已经开始不感恩了？Pip的姐姐和Pumblechook舅舅从前总要说Pip不懂感恩，其实是一种双重讽喻的手法。他们俩显然是没资格要求什么感恩，但Pip后来开始嫌弃乔却也一样显然是不懂感恩。同样的手法用十五章，Wopsle先生拉着Pip看他演学徒被引诱走入歧途的戏，Pip讨厌他把剧情栽在自己身上，其实这也是在foreshadow他后面的命运。狄更斯写故事很喜欢埋线索，这跟当时故事连载情节需要很吸引人有关系。我们现在每天读一点，很有还原当年阅读情形的意思[呲牙]

裴：

1.第13章有一个地方不理解，Joe肯定不想要Miss Havisham的钱，当Miss havisham把他留下来告诉他，就这么多了，不会再给了。Joe 为什么出了房间后上楼而不是下楼，而且再三叫他别乱走也没有用，直到把他拖下来，最后还说了句“古怪”。

2.第14章中，Pip虽然看不起自己的家，但干活时还说得过去，都是因为Joe勤劳，干一行爱一行，说明师傅言传身教的重要性。

3.第15章中写到Dolge Orlick, 我想到了《大卫•科波菲尔》里的希普，都是很猥琐的角色，都没做啥好事。这章里Joe说了句富有哲理的话"On the Rampage and off the Rampage ---such is Life!"

4.第15章中的雾、炮声；第16章中脚拷、姐姐想要和Orlick和解，充满悬疑。第14章和15章里都出现了mist，故事的开头也有mist

在英国的pub, 我只会点Coco 或 orange juice之类的饮品，或许下次去可以试一试这一讲里学到的一些drinks。哈哈哈。

另外，在英国餐馆点餐，可能就跟老外在中国点餐一样，经常看到菜谱不知道是啥。记得有一次在剑桥植物园玩，到中午了，决定就在里面的cafe点餐，我看小黑板上写的菜单，只有一样认得：gardener's lunch。于是点了这个，好难吃！

耿：

'十五章，Wopsle先生拉着Pip看他演学徒被引诱走入歧途的戏，Pip讨厌他把剧情栽在自己身上，其实这也是在foreshadow他后面的命运。' 虽然看了这一部分，但是印象一点也不深，一点也没有感觉出foreshadow的成分。于是又返回去重读，A river is its natural depth,(刚看到这句话，不知道用在这里合适不合适), 总之，姜老师就是姜大师 又从您这学到了许多，谢谢姜老师。[玫瑰][玫瑰][玫瑰]