R+J - Connecting With Romeo and Juliet

     While doing my day to day reading on Romeo and Juliet, I feel that the general concept of the plot is very similar to what people experience in the modern times. Juliet is under pressure to marry Paris, who her family has built a decent relationship with. Out of pure chance, Romeo comes into the equation and he seems to be the love of Juliet's life. Although Juliet knows she is expected to turn him down, she follows her heart. This could be translated into a present day incident to. For example, if people tend to expect a lot from you but once in a while you decide to be a rebel and go against their wishes to pursue your own hopes and desires.
     When I first opened this play I had no idea how I was going to decipher Shakespeare's writing style. After a few days, things became so much clearer and I was beginning to get the hang of reading this kind of literature. The sidebar next to the original text also was a major tool that I use. Reading aloud in class is also helpful because it allows me to go over what I had read earlier and get a deeper understanding. Overall despite some minor bumps I think that my reading process with this play is going smoothly and heading the right direction.

Great Expectations - Wrapping it Up

     Finding true happiness does not mean you have to be in a certain class, or "common" or "uncommon", but instead it means taking for granted when you have in life right now and cherishing that. By having Pip as the main character bounce from different emotions and social classes, Charles Dickens really has the opportunity to convey this message of life. When I think of the high class, I think of celebrities living in giant mansions and walking on the red carpet wearing clothes that cost a fortune. The lower class is more of Charlie's family from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, eating cabbage soup for dinner and a whole family bundled up telling stories and laughing. Of course, not all people fit into the descriptions above, but just a few examples of what I envision when given the topic. Through the news, many of us hear about stars passing away from drug overdoses and suicide. This gives us as viewers a clue about how they have lived and we often wonder why they decided to limit their lives in this way. People in the middle class, however, do not have to deal with critics from magazines or looking good on weekends because most know that there will still be family to support and comfort them. From reading the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, I understand that the author is trying to say that it does not matter what class you come from, but instead that you are able to love and be loved in the community surrounding you.

Great Expectations - Thoughts on Reading

     Reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens allowed me to discover a new kind of literature. My book of choice would most likely be a realistic fiction by Jodi Picoult, not a classic that you would most likely read in English class. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the reading  and the plot. The character descriptions were my favorite part, they each had their own unique personalities and I missed them after the book came to an end (I think it would be pretty cool to meet Estella in person). The settings were also a work of art. Miss Havisham's house gave me the shivers and Wemmick's castle cottage is something that I wish I could see. Character development was also something that I admired from Dickens as a writer. He really got the reader to feel what he wanted them to feel. For example, at the beginning of the novel Pip was portrayed as a small, innocent child, and I was given the feeling of sorry for him. But as Pip grew older, so did his ego, and I felt a sense of regret for ever feeling the way I did. Although Sparknotes did aid me along with my reading I tried hard to read first, then when things got too confusing, I checked Sparknotes to clear it up. Many of the mysteries were revealed to me as I read the book, and talked to others who had already finished. Even though this was the case, I still had a few pleasant surprises that awaited me at the end of the book.

     Although the reading was fascinating at some points, I have to admit that there were those days where I would come home, sit on the couch sticky notes at hand committed to finished the chapters assigned, then of course midway through the reading my eyes would droop and I would promise myself to only close them for a few seconds. But no, I would then fall asleep, having dreams about Pip and Jaggers. I eventually did get through the entire book without procrastinating. The thought of having to finish 90 pages in one night just sounds appalling. Sparknotes has helped me understand what was going on at some parts, but it did not help me all that much when it comes to decoding the hidden themes and symbols the author was trying to incorporate. Sometimes I simply just didn't agree with it. Overall I did enjoy reading Great Expectations. It brought me out of my comfort zone when it comes to reading and maybe even consider reading some of Dicken's other works.