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estella joe pip Like most weekends this one went by incredibly fast for me. However, unlike the previous two weekends this one wasn't spent studying for the exam and I could actually relax for most if not all of it. Finally I let personal time take precedence over work related issues. The exam could wait another week and there was also a serious amount of reading to be done for my literature class. Speaking of that same class, I have to say that it went really well this morning and I hope that that trend continues through the rest of the semester. Maybe the fact that we've finally moved on to another book has helped. Even better is the fact that Miss Zealot and I seem to be coming around in terms of our opinions. We even agreed on quite a few things this morning. I still have no idea why this is so important to me. I had led the class discussion with my thoughts on moral codes in the novel Great Expectations. To me the young Pip clearly operates under a different set of laws than the adult figures that surround him with the only exception being Magwitch. Pip doesn't realize it, but the two of them are very much alike in the way that they operate in the world. Naturally this strange bond between them comes back to haunt Pip later in life. Obviously this is a very quick summary of what I said, but it at least got most of the class talking and the instructor seemed to like the idea. As to what kind of moral code drives me is another story. ... Hours later. Suddenly I started thinking that maybe my argument would make more sense if I posted the notes that I used in class to lead the discussion. Here they are: "Conscience is a dreadful thing when it accuses man or boy, but when, in the case of a boy, that secret burden co-operates with another secret burden down the leg of his trousers, it is (as I can testify) a great punishment." Pip dwells within an uncertain if not hostile world where moral questions constantly bother him. He never knows whom he should or shouldn't trust or what his correct course of action should be. His confusion is further enhanced by the fact that he is a child and is forced to obey adults even though they might be wrong. As a result his moral code becomes even more muddled by their actions. Almost all of the adjectives and verbs in the quote used above are violent to some degree. Conscience is described as dreadful and it accuses. It isn't some benign force that he can easily ignore. Secrets are called burdens and can result in great punishment. Once again this is not a passive image that can easily be dismissed. There is a definite sense of fear for what he is about to do. Actions have very real consequences to him. Pip steals the food and the file out of fear for his life and a sense of loyalty to the convict. His promise to an adult takes precedence over what would normally be considered wrong. Suddenly one action overrides another one. Pip knows that he has betrayed his family and it sincerely bother him. Over and over he wonders what will happen as a result of actions. He truly believes that there will be a price to pay, because of what he has done. Then when the convict absolves him of his crime he becomes even more confused. Here someone that his sister and other members of the community clearly see as evil has done something nice for him. It goes against all of the rules of society that he has been taught. Suddenly his punishment has been taken away from him and he does not know why.
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