I mentioned today in class the possibility of reading Orlick as (the textual manifestation of) Pip's unconscious - his 'Id', in Freudian terms. Here is a link to a short esssay that sets out this argument quite clearly and concisely ('Investigating Orlick as the Unconscious'). It then goes on to look at the different endings to Great Expectations, and to complicate the Freudian reading. Don't worry too much if you get lost in this part - if you haven't studied psychoanalytic theory, it's difficult to follow. The site also has some good links to other material on Dickens and the Victorian period, and on psychoanalytic literary theory.You might also find this essay on 'Repressions in Great Exectations' interesting.
On the different endings to the novel, have a look at this site: it gives some of the arguments for and against the two versions. From here you can also reach other pages from CUNY (City University New York) on Great Expectations: these will give you a more useful, reliable guide to the novel than SparkNotes! There are pages here on Pip's sense of guilt, his 'great expectations', redemption and love, and Dickens and society (this last also includes an interesting discussion of Dickens's own position as not-quite-a-gentleman in Victorian society). These are not difficult to read, and will be useful for revision.
You said Sparknotes is not so reliable but the essays that you've given their links above are difficult to understand and a little bit long :(
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry! Perhaps one or two of the pages I've suggested are quite difficult. You don't need to read them, they are just there if you want to look at them.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the first section of the the first link ('Investigating Orlick as the Unconscious') is very short, and not too difficult, I think. Similarly, the pages from CUNY, especially those on the different endings, are not hard, or long! The one difficult part is perhaps the quote from the critic Christopher Ricks at the start. Take your time and you can understand it. If you really have problems, move on. Feel free to come and talk to me, too - it's probably best to send me an email and make an appointment, so I won't have to run off to a class or meeting.
After I read the whole book I wonder why Pip does not help Joe and Biddy financially? Is there any significance about this?
ReplyDeleteIt's an intriguing question, isn't it! Does Pip even conider this possibility anywhere? What does this reveal about his attitude to Joe? This lacuna might tell us a lot. Is this a sign that we need to be more suspicious of Pip as a narrator than perhaps we tend to be? Has he passed over his reasons for not doing so out of shame? Did it simply not occur to him? Surely it would have occurred to him afterwards, by the time he is narrating the tale, at least?
ReplyDeletewow now i'm really confused about it but i will search for it. Towards the end of the book when Joe pays Pip's debt then it occured to me and i asked myself why and couldnt find any satisfactory answer. Pip does not even mention this possibility but helps Herbert Pocket although Joe needs it more. But the reason could be that he knows Joe would not accept it because of his pride but i m not sure i m stuck here
ReplyDelete