I like Charles Dickens’s alternative ending to “Great Expectations” better because the alternative ending suggests that both Pip and Estella will soon meet again and that Estella has a real conscience. The reason I like this better is that it gives everyone what they want, a happy ending. It is of course still a good change because all stories and movies tend to end with everyone getting what they want: a very happy ending. Though Charles Dickens’s original ending was revolutionary, so that was nice. Charles Dickens’s writings were very good in that he understood what the audience wanted, and he created suspense by holding the audience hostage using that suspense. It was something that he harnessed very well and knew how to use in every situation in the stories. Even though I do not tend to enjoy stories regarding romance, this was very good and helped me understand the psyche of the average Victorian at the time.

During the Victorian Era there were unpaid constables policing the streets who were hired by each parish. Multiple murders had occurred in London’s East end, forcing England to take Policing much more serious as this could have potentially destroyed trade with other nations, cities and towns. With this new advancement in Policing came the Metropolitan Police. These individuals were actually paid and the new organization was established in 1829. I was very surprised to learn that they had such weak policing in the begining of the Victorian Era, I always thought that before the Victorian Era itself that Policing was a big thing. I am very glad I read this otherwise i’d be very uninformed on the issue. Besides the death penalty being handed out like hotcakes, I can definitely see a correlation between our prison system vs theirs: We have large prisons that we keep those undesirables in. We hide those do crime away from us so we don’t have to see them. They rot in prisons and do not learn their lessons, instead being dragged further into gangs and drugs. Rehabilitation of criminals is a joke, and sometimes miraculously works (for those whom embrace God and Jesus). In “Great Expectations” people were simply thrown on prison ships and locked in cages like animals. This part of the criminal system is much much harsher then what we have today, thankfully.

In “Great Expectations” we can clearly see that there are many people who are not very kind in Pip’s life. We are met with Joe’s wife, who neglects and beats Pip whenever he walks in the house. Joe, who is clearly not very happily married, shields Pip from his wife’s abuse. In turn, Joe is domestically abused. Pip is best friends with Joe, because Joe is essentially his protector. Estella… Well, she’s an interesting one, she messes with Pip’s emotions and continues to make him further in love with him despite her constantly denying him. Miss Havisham encourages her daughter to do this, and continues to help destroy Pip emotionally through the use of her daughter. She is angry because she was supposed to get married but the man to be wed did not show up, instead he ran off with the money so ever since she has not wanted a single thing to change. She keeps it dark in the house so that she can not know what time it is. She never gets out of her dress because she does not want to change the mood. Miss Havisham did not deserve what happened to her, but Pip does not deserve to take her emotional abuse. She has turned her daughter (who I forgot to mention is not biological) away from true love, and encouraged her to not treat men well because she was not given the sane kindness from the man who left her. Miss Havisham seems to blame all men for what one man did. She is not evil, but she is bat-shit crazy.

Chapter 1 of “Great Expectations” had much to do with the author himself, some of the elements of Dickens’s childhood were present in the story he has made of a poor boy named Pip who lives with his aunt and uncle. The uncle tends to be the much more friendly one, his only friend. He is an apprentice of his uncle’s, and doesn’t really seem to want to be a blacksmith. The uncle who is sincerely the kindest person in Pip’s life cares very much for him, and lets Pip teach him letters and words. Both Pip’s and Dickens’s dads were imprisoned do to debt, but Pip’s father died on the prison ship with his mother dying later. Dickens seems to gently sneak in his own life experience in order to really make the story more fascinating. Dickens has definitely attempted to somewhat hide his tracks, trying to make the story seem a bit less personal by adding other parts which were not present in his life. Through the story he wanted to show something of what happened to him. Pip was in love with Estella but could not have her. Dickens got to have the loves of his life. There is a clear difference their. This story has been a very interesting one knowing that this is such a more personal story to Dickens and not purely based on his imagination but on his own experiences.

The years 1837-1901 saw many changes. The invention and development of the telegraph, telephone, car, motor bike, railway and ships boosted Victorian England to the most powerful trading nation in the world. Their engines and inventions were sold on every free trade continent in the world. Many jobs were created to help move these items across the globe. The steam powered ship allowed them to get cotton from one continent, spin it on another and sell it on others. It changed the way they traveled and communicated drastically. If you can imagine the health benefits of the nation when doctors can communicate by telegraph or phone with one another, it was simply an amazing time.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk

It was not as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, it was a bit scary but tested tend not to be the something to be cheerful for. I am very glad that it is over and happy as well that I did not happen to fail it. The test turned out to be far less nerve wrecking then expected. This tested saved my grade as I do not tend to do very well on the surprise quizzes as they are too quick and fast pasted for my taste. Mrs. Vance was very kind with making the test a large portion of the grade as all the test wanted to trully know is if you were reading the stories because all of the questions were single paragraphs for each question (there were 6-7 questions). I hope we do “Goblin Market” and “A Mad Tea-Party” on the next test as well.

My favorite thing we have discussed would have to be “The Body Snatcher” because it talks about how Victorians collected the bodies required for Dr. Knox’s classes. They would grab freshly buried bodies as to ensure that they have only the best to dissect for medical students. Sometimes these bodies would not come from the grave… Sometimes people would simply be killed and sold to these students and Dr. Knox for the purpose of research. These people would have clear indicators of injure to the skull or other places, but Dr. Knox had a policy of no-questions-asked. In today’s society we need more bodies for medical students to get their hands in, doing hands on work. We do not have that even with the population we have so it is no surprise that the Victorians were more likely to have to find unconventional means. If you’ve read the story by now you would know, the students would sometimes be tasked with grabbing these bodies from the graves and paid handsomely for their services. It was a great story and i’m glad we read it.

I found the body snatchers to be extremely creepy. The sale of corpses and the human ability to shed your morals so easily is what I found to be the most disturbing. I think that the Mr Fete was struggling with his decisions and Mr MacFarelane was without a conscience. I hate that Mr Macfarelane prospered and Mr Fete spent the rest of his life in misery. I am sorry for how Mr Fete’s life turned out. Perhaps his conscience with offer him some redemption somewheres down the road. I think that the scene in the carriage when the body transformed was extra creepy because of the rain and dark. If the sun was shining I think it would have felt less scary. I found when they were digging up the ladies body in the graveyard was really suspenseful. they painted a elaborate picture to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I viewed the picture “Hastings on the Beach” (1864), I also followed the link provided and read the information given. The photo did not seem to coincide with what I had read. I think from what I viewed with the heavy winter coats it must have been late November. Around 1864 it would have been more fashionable to sea bathe in September or October. The picture has a young male with a dog, a small boy and several men. In 1864 Woman were still using cabanas to bathe in the sea. There was privacy tents that allowed the woman to change, bathe and redress without anybody seeing her body. Since there is no evidence of cabanas and the men are there I think this was a seaside family vacation. Either way, it must have been a relief to woman when the bathing suit was invented.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a really good story called “Treasure Island” which gives us a different view of pirates vs what we see in movies such as “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Long John Silver is “cunning, sly, peg-legged, with a parrot on his shoulder.” (shmoop.com). He is what we imagine a pirate would look like, he is the embodiment of this look. Though, this is not necessarily what you would always see. There were infarct people whom were contracted by Great Britain to raid cargo boats heading to trade with an enemy, they were called privateers. In “Pirates of the Caribbean” we are given Captain Jack Sparrow, who is a drunk, mostly incompetent, and staged a coup with the help of some of his mates before. In “Treasure Island” we see that Long John Silver betrays his mates, and grabbed the gold for himself and Jim, along with the other guy. Jack Sparrow did not betray his men, but he tried sometimes.

https://www.shmoop.com/treasure-island-book/long-john-silver.html