Daily Archives: September 14, 2017

Today we are starting to discuss the opening chapters of Great Expectations. Below are some thinking questions to guide us.

1. What is the setting of Great Expectations in the opening chapter? How does Dickens describe the setting? What mood or feeling is created from Dicken’s descriptions?

2. How is Pip characterized (in general)?

3. Why do you think Pip agrees to bring the convict food and a file? Why do you think he doesn’t confide in Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gargery?

4. In chapter 2, how do Pip’s actions characterize him? How do Pip’s feelings characterize him? Have evidence ready.

5. Where in the text does Pip behave out of guilt?

6. Explain what happened in chapter 3 with the convict(s).

ps- The 1998 movie version of this is NOT true to the text. It’s generally awful.

College Essay Workshop, Part Deux

The next step focuses on the rhetorical triangle, theory of argument that goes way back to Aristotle. Here is a brief video explaining it.