Kelly, Spencer and Shelby,
Please discuss your literary criticisms and/or the Great Expectations discussion questions. Post at least two comments and try to engage with one another in conversation.
Enjoy! :)
Well I guess I'll start with my literary criticism which was about "female erotic power and feminism in Great Expectations" by Maria Ioannou. It basically discussed Dickens' endorsement of women power by condemning male violence towards women, developing "a form of masculinity which accepts a woman's sensual power and appeal" and female sexuality. It mainly talks about Estella and her relationship with Pip and how she she's unable to respond to his actions. Because she doesn't feel the sexuality Ioannou believes the novel puts a woman's sexuality over a mans. While I think this does make sense, I don't believe that this is enough to make Great Expectations a feminist writing. It mentions Miss Havisham and Biddy too, but very minimally. Nearly everything about Estella's role has to do with her relationship with Pip and how it effects him, not as much her and for that reason I can't agree that it's truly feminist in nature. Ioannou convinced me more toward the female erotic power point as sexuality and purity was backed up with historical evidence to further her argument regarding Great Expectations as a whole.
The literary criticism I chose was **"Sneaking you as writes but one": a note on forgery and identity in great expectations** by Marie McAllistar. Essentially, this criticism focuses on the contrast between Compeyson and Pip in the values they each hold. Throughout the composition McAllistar references Compeyson's skill at forgery, this she elaborates, is a sign of his untrustworthy character. A character that: "Reveals a con man in a gentleman's costume, the betrayer of Magwitch, and the breaker of Miss Havishams' heart". She then compares Compeyson's skill to Pip's inability to write in many hands and attributes this to his eye opening journey he went through to become a gentlemen. She remarks, this inability shows Pip has truly been humbled and recongnized Joe's value, forgiven Miss Havisham's actions, and helped his benefactor Magwitch to escape. McAllistar concludes her piece by reillustrating how Pip has redeemed himself by mentioning his guilt for his ingratitude towards Joe and Biddy as well as his acceptance of Magwitch with a new found love; furthermore, she emphasizes Pip's contrast to criminal and forger Compeyson. I clearly see Marie's point in her piece and certianly agree with her. Pip was, by the end of the novel, not even comparable to the con artist Compeyson, he was much more aware of his actions and very careful not to live superciliously. ~Spencer Russo
Semi on the lines of your criticism on the contrast between Compeyson and Pip, I thought question ten on the Great Expectations discussion questions was eye opening. It talked about the commonality of Mrs Joe and Miss Havishman, Biddy and Estella, Magwitch and Pip, and lastly Miss Havisham and Magwitch. I didn't pick up on the theme of duality throughout Dickens novel completely, until this question. The pairing that most stood out to me was between Miss Havisham and Magwitch. Both after being wronged, both by Compeyson interestingly, go about living vicariously through Pip and Estella. Pip is made a gentleman with help of Magwitch, because he is jealous of Compeyson's social status and education which gave him less jail time for his crimes, while Miss Havisham makes Estella a heart breaker because Compeyson broke her heart at the alter. The duality of Miss Havisham and Compeyson, is also countered with the relationship between Estella and Pip where the heartbreak roles are essentially reversed.
Well I guess I'll start with my literary criticism which was about "female erotic power and feminism in Great Expectations" by Maria Ioannou. It basically discussed Dickens' endorsement of women power by condemning male violence towards women, developing "a form of masculinity which accepts a woman's sensual power and appeal" and female sexuality. It mainly talks about Estella and her relationship with Pip and how she she's unable to respond to his actions. Because she doesn't feel the sexuality Ioannou believes the novel puts a woman's sexuality over a mans. While I think this does make sense, I don't believe that this is enough to make Great Expectations a feminist writing. It mentions Miss Havisham and Biddy too, but very minimally. Nearly everything about Estella's role has to do with her relationship with Pip and how it effects him, not as much her and for that reason I can't agree that it's truly feminist in nature. Ioannou convinced me more toward the female erotic power point as sexuality and purity was backed up with historical evidence to further her argument regarding Great Expectations as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThe literary criticism I chose was **"Sneaking you as writes but one": a note on forgery and identity in great expectations** by Marie McAllistar. Essentially, this criticism focuses on the contrast between Compeyson and Pip in the values they each hold. Throughout the composition McAllistar references Compeyson's skill at forgery, this she elaborates, is a sign of his untrustworthy character. A character that: "Reveals a con man in a gentleman's costume, the betrayer of Magwitch, and the breaker of Miss Havishams' heart". She then compares Compeyson's skill to Pip's inability to write in many hands and attributes this to his eye opening journey he went through to become a gentlemen. She remarks, this inability shows Pip has truly been humbled and recongnized Joe's value, forgiven Miss Havisham's actions, and helped his benefactor Magwitch to escape. McAllistar concludes her piece by reillustrating how Pip has redeemed himself by mentioning his guilt for his ingratitude towards Joe and Biddy as well as his acceptance of Magwitch with a new found love; furthermore, she emphasizes Pip's contrast to criminal and forger Compeyson. I clearly see Marie's point in her piece and certianly agree with her. Pip was, by the end of the novel, not even comparable to the con artist Compeyson, he was much more aware of his actions and very careful not to live superciliously.
ReplyDelete~Spencer Russo
Semi on the lines of your criticism on the contrast between Compeyson and Pip, I thought question ten on the Great Expectations discussion questions was eye opening. It talked about the commonality of Mrs Joe and Miss Havishman, Biddy and Estella, Magwitch and Pip, and lastly Miss Havisham and Magwitch. I didn't pick up on the theme of duality throughout Dickens novel completely, until this question. The pairing that most stood out to me was between Miss Havisham and Magwitch. Both after being wronged, both by Compeyson interestingly, go about living vicariously through Pip and Estella. Pip is made a gentleman with help of Magwitch, because he is jealous of Compeyson's social status and education which gave him less jail time for his crimes, while Miss Havisham makes Estella a heart breaker because Compeyson broke her heart at the alter. The duality of Miss Havisham and Compeyson, is also countered with the relationship between Estella and Pip where the heartbreak roles are essentially reversed.
ReplyDelete