I know that
Great Expectations is in many ways, and on many levels, a difficult text. Dickens's language (wonderful as it is) causes all sorts of problems for non-native and native speakers of English alike. So, to help you, and to help you help each other, I'd suggest that you post any problems you have in the 'Comments' section below. You can do this anonymously if you prefer. Other students and I can then offer help by adding a comment. We'll see if this works!
I think there's not enough time to read and understand it word by word, we can understand and enjoy it by reading a little bit more about the book itself. So I know all of my class mates have visited this link: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/greatex/ What I will do is to read most of these and try to relate them with the discussions that we made in the class. That will both make us ready for the exam and help us to understand the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks - although as I said in class, you should (you must) find time to read the whole novel. It is demanding and difficult (like me) but that is what you are at university for - to be streeeetched! I'd also recommend that you don't rely on Sparknotes. It is not a good, respectable, reliable resource: it is sometimes simply wrong, and often simplistic. I've just posted some links to the CUNY website - this offers a similar easy-to-read introduction, exploring the major themes, but does so more intelligently and reliably than SparkNotes - I'd strongly recommend it!
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