Blog #3: Realizations

Near the end of book 2, Pip and Estella come to great realizations. After loving Estella for so long, Pip finally comes to the realization that she doesn't love him back. Throught the story Pip is convinced that Miss Havisham is his benefactor and that he will eventually be married off to Estella. When Pip learns that his fortune was given to him by the convict, he is crushed, as this means Estella may not love him back. With this realization, I believe that Pip will be crushed for a while before working harder than ever to get Estella, as he now knows he will have to work to get her instead of her just being given to him. Near the same time as Pip's realization occurs, Estella has one of her own. Estella finally realizes that Miss Havisham has been using her her entire life to get back at boys, because of her bad experience with her fiance. Ever since Estella was a young girl, Miss Havisham has been bringing boys to Estella to become attached to her, and then forces Estella to break their hearts. After this realization, Estella finally steps up to Miss Havisham, as she finally has the guts to confront her and yell at her for using her all this time. I predict that this realization will drastically change Estella's personality. Estella has always been very cold and selfish, as that is how she had been taught to be. With this realization, I think she will realize how terribly she has treated these boys and she will stop it immediately. I also believe that her relationship with Miss Havisham will continue to get worse until being severed altogether, because of the strain this has caused on them.

Estella Name Reflection

The name Estella is derived from the Latin word Stella, meaning "star." This describes Estella perfectly, as she is basically the star of her world. Estella is a very beautiful girl, whose beauty shines on the rest of the world. The problem is, she doesn't use her beauty and power for good. Like a star, in her life, everything revolves around her. She is a very beautiful young girl, and she uses her beauty to control the people around her. Whenever young boys such as Pip are around her, they will basically submit to her will and do whatever she wants. She treats everybody else, especially people poorer than her, as if she is this great big star, and they are just little planets. She completely looks down to everybody other than Ms. Havisham. For example, she repeatedly calls Pip boy, as she does not feel he is worthy of being called by his real name. She does not respect Pip in anything he does, yet Pip is still in love with her, showing the power she has over the average boy. The name Estella describes this character pefectly, as she has many of the important qualities of a star, both good and bad.

Mrs. Joe Analysis

"By this time my sister was quite desperate, so she pounced on Joe, and, taking him by the two whiskers, knocked his head for a littlewhile against the wall behind: while I sat in the corner, looking guiltily on" This quote comes after Joe gives Pip extra food at the dinner table. Mrs. Joe instantly notices that there is something wrong with Joe. After he responds, saying nothing is wrong, she jumps on him and threatens to beat him. She then gets him to tell on Pip and forces them to drink the tar water. This situation is an example of Mrs. Joe displaying her dominance over Joe and Pip. She controls every aspect of their lives. She even goes as far as to beat them if they go against her will. Although Joe and Pip seem to hate these actions, she has a great reputation with the townspeople. They admire the fact that she brought her little brother up by hand, oblivious to the fact that she does it by beating him. This perception is made by the slyness and intelligence of Mrs. Joe, who is able to make people think she is a great person because of her clean house and the well-behaved child she has raised. She also uses these traits to gain even more control of Pip and Joe.