Author: tammycd

I am actually pleased with the ending that the movie had for Pip and Estella. To me, both of them were very damaged people and, even if through no fault of their own, didn’t need to be given the opportunity to be put together. If they were together, they could have caused more hurt and damage to not only each other, but to many others. The movie ending left it to where they could remain friends, but nothing more. Now both Estella and Pip were left to their own devices to learn how to move on alone. This can be difficult, but it does allow for healing time. Not only that, since both Pip and Estella had a rough start in life, they had the opportunity to die alone in peace. There was a large part of me that wanted Pip and Estella to get together and live happily ever after with a house full of children and living the good life. But real life doesn’t work that way, so why should we always have fairy tales to read?

Believe it or not, there was a time when Britain didn’t have a structured police force. When crime finally became overwhelming, an organized law enforcement was established. The government set it up so it would be enforced. This is very much the same as ours is today. Also, there would speedy trials for those that were accused. We are supposed to have that here, but there is a large back log so the “speedy” isn’t so speedy. Different areas of England had separate law enforcement for their areas. That is the same type of set up we have: local, county, state, federal. At one point it was so safe in London, that the Queen was able to walk around without law enforcement by her side. However, that is not the case today for us, but we do have the same type of structure of law enforcement to help us maintain some sort of safety.

Pip is actually one of my favorite characters. He was able to live a life outside of his box for a while. Coming from nothing and to stepping up into a different lifestyle, even if for a short amount of time, and still manage to keep moving forward is a strong trait. Estella on the other hand, was dealt a rough hand. She lived a good life, but was raised to be an awful monster. She never had the chance to be anything but evil because of Ms. Havisham. Ms. Havisham took her own broken heart (from being left at the altar) and turned herself and an innocent child into monsters. They had one true purpose and that was to torture the hearts of men.

Charles Dickens had a hard childhood. Because of debts of his father, he was forced into hard labor as a child. His mother even wanted him to continue working hard labor when he didn’t have to do it. In the first chapter of Great Expectations, you can see how Pip’s childhood was also hard. I feel certain that because of Dickens’ childhood, he portrayed Pip with some of the harsh aspects of his own childhood. As both Dickens and Pip grew up, they both had a change of fortune for the better. However, Dickens and Pip both ended up with life reverting back to a similar life that they both had started. Dickens father’s debt caused him to pay again, and Pip’s life had him return to his childhood home.

When the Victorians invented advancements in transportation, it also advanced communication. Papers that printed in the morning would make it to other parts of England the same day. This connected people in ways that they had never been connected before. News of something reached people quickly. When there was an accident on the railway with Dickens and the much younger woman he was with, the news traveled quickly. The railway allowed greater movement between a greater number of people to many more places than they could have traveled before. This new movement of people allowed for easier travel to places like New York.

Oh my goodness I was not ready for the test! I was so nervous. I have never had a test like that before. It took longer than I expected to write about a topic the first day. After the first day of testing, I did feel a little more prepared the second day. I was able to pick my topics and write about them in the time allotted. I felt less pressure, perhaps because I was better prepared for the time restraint and more confidence in my own ability. When I finished the last part of the test, I felt a great relief that the test itself was over. If I could see my test before the final, I think it would help me to be better prepared if it is set up the same way.

I think to this point I have enjoyed Sherlock Holmes and his mysteries the most. I mean I always loved Scooby Doo and his mysteries, so it seems logical that I would love the original. Life has many mysteries that seem unsolvable at first. However, with careful deduction and observation, you can see the underlying truth. Sherlock Holmes takes the everyday problems of others and simply makes them problems no more. The stories were written to make the reader seem curious for a solution. Holmes finds the solution every time there is a problem. When someone is able to solve a problem for me, it makes me appreciate their ability. With that said, I enjoy helping others find an answer to what seems like a mystery for them. Holmes notices so many details that most people never even pay any attention. I tend to do the same thing and didn’t realize it until I read some of Holmes’ mysteries. I’m not saying I can solve some crime or mystery, but I do notice small details that many others around me never notice.

Just the title alone seems creepy to me. The thought that someone or something is taking a body is scary. The build up to how the bodies are taken is very interesting. I mean it is odd that you are talking to a person one day and they are fine and healthy, and the next day someone brings their body to you from the back door. That is creepy stuff. I mean you know that they had to have been killed for the money you give them for the dead body. But if you go to a grave of someone freshly buried and dig them up during the night, then you get what you deserve. Knowing that you just dug up a woman in the cold, dark, rainy night with all kind of noises around you and then only to find out that while transporting her, SHE is no longer a SHE but a HE!!!!

When looking at the photo of “Hastings from the Beach” 1864, I notice that the beach area appears rocky. This does not appear to be a place that I would want to go and enjoy the water. Seeing the women in the photo dressed in what appears to be layers of clothing makes me think that it is in the cooler time of the year rather than the warmer months. If they wanted to get into the water, they would have gotten into a bathing machine. This is a covered wagon of sorts where they could take off the outer layer of clothes and enter the water from the back end. The bathing machine would be very close to the water so that as women exited the machine and entered the water, they would not be seen.

No not the restaurant, the pirate! Silver is the pirate in the story Treasure Island. Even though it was written in 1881, we still base our “pirates” of today off of Long John Silver. The “look” of a pirate is seen in today’s pirates of our movies and stories. Silver had a peg leg which leads one to believe that pirates have fought and won many tough battles. A parrot on the shoulder of a pirate comes from the parrot portrayed with Silver that came from his travels to a distant land. For the most part, a pirate seems to only be looking out for himself and is always finding a way to get more. Allegiances may shift, but that is the way of the pirate.