Great Expectations
Mr. Mohamed El-Sheikh
Great Expectations
Setting
The story begins in England during the first quarter of the
nineteenth century. The setting in the early part of the story is
the marsh country, where Dickens (the author) roamed as a boy.
The orphan Pip is a blacksmith’s apprentice in a village in the
marsh country. One afternoon Pip has a frightening adventure in
the marshes when an escaped convict forces him to supply food
and a file for his leg irons. The convict is captured the next day.
Shortly after this experience, Pip receives a summons (an order)
from old Miss Havisham to visit her decaying mansion (old
large house), a structure of mystery and gloom surrounded by
high walls. She requests that Pip entertain her and her adopted
daughter. Miss Havisham’s real motive, however, is evil: she
plans for Estella to break the boy’s heart. The old house
symbolizes death, decay, and the inner desolation (destruction)
of its inhabitants, who change Pip’s life forever.
Later, an unknown benefactor supplies Pip with a sum of money
to be used for his education in London as an English gentleman
of “great expectations.” London now becomes the principal
setting, richly described by Dickens in all its multiplicity )‫(تنوع‬:
shop after shop, winding streets, an endless stream of traffic and
movement, Gothic cathedrals, teeming slums (crowded
neighborhoods), the fearsome (frightening) Newgate Prison. In
this mighty metropolis (big city), Pip is transformed into a
snobbish ‫ مغرور‬English gentleman. It is also in London that Pip
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again meets the convict, with fateful ‫ مصيرى‬consequences for
both.
Chapter 1
Vocabulary:
set off
‫ينطلق – يبدأ رحلة‬
mist
‫ضباب‬
with an angry look on his face
‫بنظرة غاضبة على وجهه‬
feel guilty
‫يشعر بالذنب‬
missing
‫مفقود‬
horror
‫رعب – خوف‬
feel nervous
‫يشعر بالتوتر‬
marshes
‫مستنقعات‬
Christmas Eve
‫ليلة عيد الميالد‬
escaped
take off
scare
‫هارب‬
‫يخلع – ينزع‬
‫يخيف‬
feel sorry for ‫يشعر بالحزن على‬
cold meat pie ‫فطيرة لحم باردة‬
appearance
‫ظهور‬
soldiers
‫جنود‬
handcuffs
‫قيود – أصفاد‬
be about to happen ‫على وشك‬
‫الحدوث‬
orphan
‫ يتيم‬leg-irons
‫ قيود األرجل‬- ‫أصفاد‬
blacksmith
‫ حداد‬shake
‫يرتعش – يهتز‬
complain
‫ يشكو‬black smith’s file
‫مبرد الحداد‬
graveyard
‫ مدفن – جبانة‬grab
– ‫ينتزع – يخطف‬
‫يقبض على‬
at the edge of
‫ على حافة‬got my breath back
‫استعدت أنفاسى‬
nearby
‫ قريب‬convict‫مدان – سجين – محكوم عليه‬
jumped out of my skin ‫شعرت‬
get away
‫يهرب‬
‫بالخوف الشديد‬
prison ship
‫ سفينة سجناء‬commit a crime
‫يرتكب جريمة‬
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Chapter 1 characters:
Philip Pirrip (Pip) An orphan child, the main character and narrator
Mrs Joe: Pip’s older sister
Joe Gargery: Pip’s brother-in-law, the husband of Pip’s older sister,
Pip’s friend, a blacksmith
Mr Pumblechook/Uncle PumbleChook: Joe’s Uncle
Two escaped convicts
Soldiers searching for the escaped convicts
Some guests at Mr an Mrs Joe’s house
Lonely at the graveyard
One cold, grey afternoon in the middle of winter, a small boy sat alone near
the marshes. He was crying. That small boy was me, Philip Pirrip. As my name
was difficult to say when I was small, my name became Pip. I was crying
because it was Christmas Eve, and I was an orphan – my parents were dead,
and so were five of my brothers and sisters. This happened when I was very
young, so I did not remember them. I had lived with my sister and her
husband, Joe Gargery, for most of my life. Joe was the village blacksmith, and
Mrs Joe was twenty years older than me. She was tall and thin and liked to
complain about me; she was often angry, but Joe was my friend.
Meeting an escaped convict (Magwitch)
On this grey afternoon, when I was about seven years old, I had walked down
to the graveyard at the edge of the village. I sat by my parents’ grave as the
afternoon light slowly disappeared. The marshes nearby became dark and
frightening. I was going to leave and go home, when a terrible voice shouted
‘Quiet!’ Then a man appeared from behind a grave. I nearly jumped out of my
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skin! ‘What’s your name, boy?’ he shouted, walking slowly towards me.
‘Pip, sir.’
‘Show me where you live!’ said the man.
I pointed to my village, not far away.
‘Who do you live with?’
‘My sister, sir – Mrs Joe Gargery – she’s the wife of Joe Gargery, the blacksmith,
sir.’
‘A blacksmith!’
The convict threatens me to bring him some food and a file
The man looked down and I saw his leg-irons. Then I noticed his old grey
clothes, and his thin dirty face. He was shaking.
‘Do you know what a blacksmith’s file is?’ he asked.
‘Yes, sir.’
He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
‘I want you to bring me that file early tomorrow morning. And some food, too.
Then I will let you live! What do you say?’
I was frightened, so I promised to bring the file and the food to him the next
day.
‘Now go home!’ he shouted.
I ran until I could run no more. When I looked back, I saw the man far out on
the marshes, a black shape against the angry red sky. Once I got my breath
back, I hurried home as fast as I could.
My sister, Mrs Joe, humiliates me ‫بتذلنى‬
When I ran into the kitchen, feeling happy to be home safely, Mrs Joe angrily
asked me where I had been.
‘Only to the graveyard,’ I cried.
‘Graveyard!’ she shouted. ‘You’re lucky not to have been put in the graveyard
long ago! It’s because of me that you’re still here. But I didn’t want to look
after you! It’s bad enough being a blacksmith’s wife. I never asked to be your
mother!’
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A loud noise/a warning of escaped convicts
That evening, I had work to do in the kitchen as usual. It was almost bedtime
and I was helping to prepare lunch for the next day, when I heard a loud noise.
‘Listen! What is that?’ I said.
‘A convict escaped last night,’ Joe explained.
‘That noise was a warning to everyone in our village that another convict has
got away!’
‘From the prison ships,’ Mrs Joe added.
‘What are they?’ I asked.
‘They’re ships where they put people because they have committed a crime,’
replied my sister. ‘Now go to bed!’ she shouted.
I remembered that I had seen a broken old ship, far out on the marshes that
day. Perhaps it was a prison ship.
Feeling sorry for the escaped convict
As I fell asleep, I realised that the man I had met that day was one of the
escaped convicts. He wanted a blacksmith’s file so that he could take off his
leg-irons and get away from the marshes quickly. He scared me, but I also felt
sorry for him.
Stealing food and a file
Early the next morning, I got up and went into the kitchen. It was Christmas
Day, and guests were invited to dinner. There was some delicious cheese in
the kitchen, as well as nuts, apples and oranges, and a cold meat pie. I took
them all. Then I went into Joe’s workroom and found a blacksmith’s file.
Closing the front door quietly behind me and holding all the food carefully, I
set off. I ran to the graveyard and then out into the mist and over the wet
marshes.
Meeting another escaped convict (mistaken identity)
Suddenly, quite by surprise, I saw a man in grey who seemed to be asleep. He
wore leg-irons and stood up when he saw me. At first, I thought he was the
man that I knew, but then I realised that his face was different. He looked at
me for a moment before disappearing into the mist. I wondered who he could
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be and what he was doing out here.
The first convict eats quickly and tries to remove the leg-irons
Soon afterwards, I found the man I was looking for. I gave him the food at
once, and he ate it quickly as I told him about the other man that I had just
seen. He wanted to know who he was and where he had gone, but I could not
tell him. Then, as soon as he had eaten, he took the file from me and started
trying to remove his leg-irons with an angry look on his face. I was afraid
again, so I ran home as fast as I could. As I ran back across the marshes, I could
hear the sound of the file on the leg-irons through the mist.
Should I tell Joe or not?
Mrs Joe was busy preparing the house for guests, so Joe and I were alone
together. I began to feel guilty about the food and the file which I had stolen
that morning, and I wanted to tell Joe what I had done. But then I thought he
might not want to be my friend if I did, so I said nothing.
My crime was about to be discovered
It was not long before the guests arrived and we sat down to Christmas
dinner. At first, nobody noticed that anything was missing. But then, to my
horror, Mrs Joe invited everyone to try the delicious meat pie that Joe’s uncle,
Mr Pumblechook, had given us. The guests happily agreed and she went to
find it. Joe told me I could have some, and I felt very bad. At any moment, Mrs
Joe was going to discover that the meat pie had disappeared from the kitchen.
The appearance of some soldiers saved me
Unable to stay at the table with all the guests any longer, I got up from my
chair and ran to the front door. But when I opened it, a group of soldiers
entered, just as Mrs Joe came back into the room shouting, ‘The pie has gone!’
The appearance of a group of soldiers made the guests forget about the pie
and they all stood up from the table. Everyone wondered why the soldiers had
come, and we all felt nervous.
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‘We need a blacksmith to mend some handcuffs, please,’ the first soldier said.
‘We’re looking for two convicts who broke their handcuffs and escaped. We
think they are hiding out on the marshes, although they probably won’t try to
get away until tonight.’ When he asked if we had seen them, everybody else
said no. I did not speak. Joe mended the handcuffs for the soldiers, and they
waited with us as he worked.
Mending the handcuffs and following the soldiers to the marshes
When they were finished, Joe and I followed the soldiers out of the village and
onto the marshes. ‘I hope we don’t find the convicts, Joe,’ I said quietly.
‘Me too, Pip,’ Joe replied. Day became night as we walked over the marshes. It
was raining and the wind blew the rain into our faces. Suddenly, we heard
angry shouts nearby. I was afraid of what was about to happen.
Characters as they appeared in chapter 1:
1- Pip (the main character in chapter 1 and the whole story/ the protagonist
& the narrator):
- His real name was Phillip Pirrip. As his name was difficult to say when
he was small, his name became Pip.
- He was a small boy (about seven years old) / An orphan, whose parents
and five of his brothers and sister were dead.
- He lived with his older sister and her husband, Joe Gargery.
- Sitting by his parents’ grave on Christmas Eve, he was frightened and
threatened by a terrible man wearing leg-irons (Magwitch).
- The man wanted him to bring food and a file from the house where he
lived (the blacksmith’s).
- Although the man scared Pip, Pip also felt sorry for him.
- His sister always reminded him that he was lucky to be still alive, which
was because of her. She said she didn’t ask to be his mother.
- Pip usually had work to do in the kitchen.
- Pip stole food (delicious cheese, nuts, apples, oranges, and a cold meat
pie) and a file and gave them to the escaped convict.
- Pip saw another escaped convict (Compeyson) with leg-irons, sleeping
at the graveyard. The man disappeared into the mist.
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- Pip felt guilty about the food and the file he stole, and he wanted to tell
Joe, his friend and brother-in-law, but he decided not to tell him because
Joe might not want to be Pip’s friend anymore if he knew what Pip had
done.
- At dinner, Mrs Joe invited her guests to try the meat pie, so Pip began to
feel very bad as Mrs Joe was going to discover that the meat pie had
disappeared.
- The appearance of a group of soldiers asking for the blacksmith to mend
some handcuffs saved Pip as the guests forgot about the meat pie.
- Pip and Joe went with the soldiers to the marshes to find the two
escaped convicts. Both Pip and Joe hoped that the soldiers wouldn’t find
them.
2- Joe Gargery:
- He was Pip’s brother-in-law and friend.
- Pip lived with Joe and his wife, Pip’s older sister, after Pip’s parents
died.
- Joe was the village blacksmith.
- Joe mended the handcuffs for the soldiers.
- Joe and Pip went with the soldiers to the marshes to find the two
escaped convicts. Both Pip and Joe hoped that the soldiers wouldn’t find
them.
3- Mrs Joe Gargery (Pip’s older sister)
- Mrs Joe was Pip’s older sister. She was twenty years older than Pip.
- She was tall and thin.
- She raised Pip after their parents’ death, but she was always angry and
reminded Pip that it was because of her that he was still alive.
- She always complained that she didn’t ask to be Pip’s mother.
- She was ambitious and didn’t like to be a blacksmith’s wife.
- She was about to punish Pip for the disappearance of the meat pie, but
the appearance of a group of soldiers asking for the blacksmith to mend
some handcuffs saved Pip.
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4- Escaped convict 1 (Magwitch)
- Magwitch was an escaped convict. He wore leg-irons, which he wanted
to get rid of to be able to move freely and avoid being found by the
soldiers searching for him.
- He had old grey clothes and a thin dirty face.
- He was shaking and starving.
- Grabbing Pip’s shoulders, Magwitch threatened pip and asked him to
bring food and a file if he wanted to be alive.
- Although Pip was scared of this man, he felt sorry for him.
- The next morning, Christmas Day, Pip brought the man what he wanted.
- Pip told the man about the other man he had just seen.
- The man wanted to know who the other man was and where he had
gone, but Pip had no answer.
- The man ate the food quickly.
- He took the file from Pip and started trying to remove his leg-irons with
an angry look on his face.
- Pip was afraid of the man again and ran home as quickly as possible.
5- Escaped convict 2 (Compeyson)
- Pip saw this person on Christmas morning, the next day he had met the
first convict (Magwitch).
- On his way to give the first escaped convict the food and file he asked
Pip for, Pip saw this man sleeping at the graveyard. He had leg-irons and
grey clothes, like Magwitch (1st escaped convict/the man that Pip had
met a day before), so at first, Pip thought he was the man he had met the
day before (Magwitch).
- Then, Pip realized that this man’s face was different.
- The man looked at Pip for a moment before disappearing into the mist.
6- Mr Pumblechook (Joe’s uncle)
- Mr Pumblechook had given the Joes a delicious meat pie, which Pip stole
and gave to the escaped convict he had met at the graveyard.
7- The guests (Mr and Mrs Joe’s guests)
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- Those guests were invited to dinner at Mr and Mr Joe’s house on
Christmas day.
- The house was well prepared for the guests by Mrs Joe.
- At dinner, the guests were invited by Mr Joe to try the delicious meat pie
that Joe’s uncle, Mr Pumblechook, had given them.
- The guests happily agreed, but there was no delicious meat pie anymore
as it had been stolen by Pip.
- However, the guests all forgot about the pie because of the appearance
of some soldiers.
- Everyone wondered why the soldiers had come, and they all felt
nervous.
8- A group of soldiers :
- A group of soldiers came to the blacksmith’s (Mr Joe’s) house to have
the blacksmith (Mr Joe) repair some handcuffs.
- The soldiers told them that they were looking for two convicts who had
broken their handcuffs and escaped.
- The soldiers thought that the two convicts were hiding out on the
marshes, and they probably wouldn’t try to get away until that night.
- Having had Joe mend the handcuffs, the soldiers went out of the village
and onto the marshes to find the two escaped convicts.
- Pip and Joe followed the soldiers to the marshes.
A comparison between Mr and Mrs Joe:
- Despite being a husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Joe had completely
different characters.
- Joe was kind and loved Pip; he was Pip’s friend.
- Pip didn’t want to lose his friendship with Joe, so he decided not to tell
him about what he had done (stealing the food and file).
- However, Mrs Joe was unkind and always complained about Pip. She
didn’t want to be responsible for Pip after their parents’ death, but she
had to as she was the only remaining member of Pip’s family. She was
going to punish Pip for the disappearance of the meat pie, but the
appearance of the soldiers saved him.
- It seems that Mr Joe was satisfied with his job and social status/class as
he did his job without complaining.
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- However, Mrs Joe was ambitious and unsatisfied with her social status/
class; she wanted to be more than a blacksmith’s wife.
- Despite having different characters, Mr and Mrs Joe were both
generous; they invited some guests to Christmas dinner; the guests
were happy at the dinner.
- Mr and Mr Joe are from the lower class as they were a blacksmith and
his wife.
A comparison between Pip and the escaped convict (Magwitch):
- Although they were completely different as Magwitch was an escaped
convict and Pip was an innocent child, both of them some had things in
common.
- Both Magwitch and Pip committed crimes: Magwitch was already a
convict, and Pip had to steal for Magwitch.
- Both of them felt lonely: Magwitch was a lonely escaped convict and Pip
was a lonely orphan who sat crying by his parent’s grave.
- Both characters were longing for something they lost: Magwitch for his
freedom and Pip for a real loving family (later in the story, for being a
gentleman).
A comparison between the two escaped convicts (Magwitch and
Compeyson):
-
Both were escaped convicts.
Both wore leg-irons and grey clothes.
Both were hiding at the graveyard by the marshes.
There was direct communication between Pip and Magwitch; Pip helped
Magwitch and stole for him. We will see how this will affect the plot of
this story.
- There was no communication between Pip and Compeyson. Compeyson
looked at Pip for a while and disappeared.
Setting (Places in chapter 1)
- The marshes
- The graveyard by the marshes
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- Mr and Mrs Joe’s house
Setting (Time in chapter 1)
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
- The middle of winter
Symbols in Chapter 1:
1- The marshes: The marshes symbolize the social class that all the
characters in chapter 1 come from: the lower class.
2- The graveyard: Although the graveyard is a frightening place, three of the
characters resort to it ‫ لجأوا إليها‬: The two escaped convicts and Pip. The
graveyard symbolizes the resort of the miserable. Miserable people resort to
adventurous and dangerous places and areas. Later in the novel the three
characters will discover that the life of the upper class they are after is really
like a graveyard, compared to the life they already have or had in the past.
3- The mist: The mist symbolizes the ambiguity of the destiny of the
characters in chapter 1, especially those who are not satisfied with their own
lives.
4- The leg-irons: the leg-irons symbolize the power of law and justice.
Conflict in Chapter 1
1- External conflict
- Between Pip and Magwitch (Escaped convict 1):
Magwitch scared Pip and threatened him if he didn’t bring him the food
and the file he wanted, he wouldn’t be alive anymore.
A small, innocent boy, Pip was frightened of the man and brought him
what he wanted to save his life.
- Between Pip and his older sister:
She always complained of him and reminded him that without her, he
would have been dead like his parents and five of his brothers and
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sisters. She also was about to punish him for the disappearance of the
meat pie, but the appearance of the soldiers saved him.
- Between Magwitch and the soldiers, nature, leg-irons, and starvation:
Magwitch tried hard to avoid being caught by the soldiers. He
threatened a small boy (Pip) to help him get rid of hunger and his legirons. He was also shaking because of the bad weather.
2- Internal conflict:
- There was a conflict inside Pip when the escaped convict (Magwitch)
threatened him if he didn’t bring what he wanted he might lose his life.
Pip knew that to help the man, he had to steal from his sister and
brother-in-law’s house, which is a crime he hadn’t thought of before.
Despite this, Pip decided to steal to save his own life.
- Pip had a desire to tell his friend, Joe, about what he did, but thinking
that if he told him, Joe wouldn’t want to be his friend any longer, he had
an opposite desire not to tell Joe.
Themes in chapter 1:
1- Expectations (Expectations in the story means hopes)
- Magwitch expects/hopes to get rid of hunger, leg-ions, and the soldiers
following him. He hopes to regain his freedom.
- Magwitch expects/hopes to find out who the other convict is and where
he has gone.
- Pip expects/hopes to get a true friend whom he can tell everything, even
his guilts and crime without losing him.
- Pip expects/hopes to save his own life, even by committing a crime,
stealing food and a file from Mr and Mrs Joe’s house.
- Pip expects/hopes to escape punishment for the disappearance of the
meat pie.
- Mrs Joe expects/hopes to have a better social status; she wants to be
more than s blacksmith’s life.
- The guests expect/hope to enjoy the delicious meat pie.
- Mr Pumblechook expects/hopes to be thanked for his generosity and
good deeds.
- The soldiers expect/hope to have the handcuffs mended and to find the
two escaped convicts.
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2- Family:
- The escaped convicts have no families, or at least they are away of their
families. They feel lonely.
- Pip has lost most of his family members except his older sister, Joe’s
wife, who always complains of being responsible for Pip. Pip realises
this and feels lonely.
- Although Mr Joe has a family, a husband and a brother, she is not
satisfied with this family; she feels overloaded with raising Pip and
being a blacksmith’s wife.
- The only person who seems satisfied with and loves his family despite
his circumstances is Mr Joe.
3- Class:
- All characters that appear in chapter 1 seem to come from a lower class:
Two escaped convicts in addition to a blacksmith and his wife and his
brother- in-law. All of them seem to be unsatisfied with this and want to
change or better their positions except Mr Joe, the blacksmith.
4- Ambition:
- It seems that ambition has led the two escaped convicts to this bad
situation. Despite this, they are still ambitious and try to commit
additional crimes to gain their freedom and achieve their previous
ambitions that had led them to prison.
- Mrs Joe is an ambitious woman who is not satisfied with being a
blacksmith’s wife.
- Pip’s ambitions and great expectations will appear later in the story;
they will be provoked by Estella and Miss Havisham.
5- Crime and guilt:
- The two escaped convicts had committed crimes, and despite feeling
guilty, they continued committing crimes to gain their freedom.
- Not only did Magwitch commit crimes, but he also caused Pip to commit
a crime and feel guilty.
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6- Punishment:
- The two convicts were put in prison as a punishment for the crimes they
had committed. They would also be punished for trying to escape.
- Pip was about to be punished for the disappearance of the meat pie, but
the appearance of the soldiers saved him.
- It seems that Mrs Joe was always punishing Pip for his circumstances.
She was always treating him unkindly and reminding him that she was
the cause of his being still alive. That’s why Pip was sad and lonely.
7- Friendship:
- Joe is Pip’s friend as well as his brother-in-law. Pip loves Joe as Joe is
kind to him. In chapter 1 Joe is the only person that Pip seems to love
and whose friendship Pip doesn’t want to lose. In the rest of the novel
we will see how this will change.
- Although Pip and Magwitch are totally strangers, Pip decides to help
Magwitch because he wants to save his own life and because he feels
sorry for Magwitch, which will lead to a friendship between both
characters later in the novel.
Vocabulary MCQ questions:
1- I was late, so I __________ my bag and ran away.
a) shared
b) shocked
c) spoiled
d) grabbed
2- I went to the airport to ________ my father off.
a) talk
b) see
c) look
d) speak
3- His need to money led him to __________ a crime.
a) convict
b) commit
c) cure
d) care
4- People say that he was arrested because he is one of the __________ of the
explosion.
a) convicts
b) audience
c) protestors
d) ignorants
5- I ran quickly for half an hour, then I got my ________ back.
a) breathe
b) breeze
c) breath
d) birth
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6- When she cried suddenly, I jumped __________ my skin.
a) away from
b) onto
c) out of
d) into
7- The naughty boy managed to __________ away from punishment.
a) give
b) get
c) play
d) come
8- After her father burial, she sat crying next to his _________.
a) meal
b) present
c) grave
d) award
9- She was brought to the police station in ___________.
a) handbags
b) handbrake
c) handcraft
d) handcuffs
10- It was dark, so the fell into the ___________.
a) marsh
b) mixture
c) mark
d) match
11- __________ means a light cloud low over the ground that make it difficult for
you to see very far.
a) Fist
b) Mist
c) List
d) Gist
12- To begin a journey is to __________.
a) set out
b) see off
c) set off
d) a & c
13- A/An _________ is a low ground which is usually wet.
a) ocean
b) island
c) pool
d) marsh
14- Two metal rings with a chain, which are attached to a prisoner’s ankles
are called ____________.
a) leg-irons
b) handcuffs
c) leg-breaker
d) handcycle
15- To _________ means to escape from someone who is chasing you or trying to
catch you.
a) give away
b) give up
c) get away
d) get up
16- To take hold of someone or something with a sudden or violent movement
is to ______________.
a) snap
b) nap
c) clap
d) grab
17- To ___________ means to prove or to officially announce that someone is
guilty of a crime after a trial in a law court.
a) convict
b) compete
c) complete
d) commit
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18- A person who makes things from iron, especially horseshoes, is a/an
____________.
a) officer
b) blacksmith
c) owner
d) baker
19- A/An _________ metal tool with rough surfaces for shaping or smoothing
metal.
a) opponent
b) inn
c) mile
d) file
20- Two metal things liked together which are locked around a prisoner’s
wrists mean ____________.
a) handcuffs
b) opportunities
c) snacks
d) earrings
21- A __________ is someone whose job is to make things by hand out of metal
that has been heated to a high temperature.
a) shepherd
b) blacksmith
c) blacktop
d) blackmailer
22- The ground near the river is very soft and wet because there is a ________
there.
a) mass
b) marsh
c) maze
d) march
23- The police clamped ___________ around the wrists of the criminals and took
them away.
a) handcuffs
b) handicaps
c) handballs
d) handbrakes
24- The little girl nearly jumped out of her ____________ when she saw the snake.
a) complexion
b) legs
c) feet
d) skin
25- They used a ___________ to make the sharp rough metal smooth.
a) file
b) tire
c) pile
d) tile
26- I reached out a hand to steady myself against the house while I got my
_________ back.
a) arm
b) hearth
c) breath
d) breathe
27- He jumped up from the table, __________ his hat, and ran to the bus stop.
a) stabbed
b) grabbed
c) rubbed
d) robbed
28- The police reported that two thieves managed to get __________.
a) by
b) around
c) ahead
d) away
29- On the way to the jail, the ____________ overpowered his guard and escaped.
a) convict
b) conviction
c) verdict
d) convert
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30- People who ___________ serious crimes should be sent to prison.
a) commit
b) make
c) play
d) take
31- The police put _________ around the prisoner’s ankles to stop him from
escaping.
a) iron-brakes
b) iron-rations c) iron-legs
d) iron-lungs
32- We’d like to set __________ for Cairo by 10 o’clock tomorrow morning.
a) up
b) off
c) aside
d) back
33- A __________ is an area of land, often near a church, where people are
buried.
a) memorandum
b) hall
c) graveyard
d) pitch
34- I _________ really guilty about forgetting my brother’s birthday again.
a) get
b) turn
c) fall
d) feel
35- Please, drive carefully; it is hard to make out the path in the __________.
a) mist
b) avenue
c) air
d) breeze
Comprehension questions:
1- Where did Pip sit crying?
2- What was Pip’s Christian (first) name?
3- Why did his name become Pip?
4- Why was Pip crying?
5- Where did Pip live after his parents and five of his brothers and sisters
died?
6- Who was Joe Gargery?
7- How old was Pip at the beginning of the story?
8- How old was Mrs. Joe at the beginning of the story?
9- What happened just before Pip left the graveyard?
10- What did the convict ask Pip about?
11- What did the convict ask Pip for?
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12- Why did Pip promise the convict to bring him what he asked for?
13- What happened after Pip left the graveyard?
14- Who did Pip find when he ran into the kitchen?
15- What did Mrs. Joe ask Pip?
16- Why did Mrs. Joe think that Pip was lucky?
17- Because of whom did Mrs. Joe think Pip was still alive?
18- Did Mrs. Joe like being a blacksmith’s wife?
19- Did Mrs. Joe ask to be Pip’s mother?
20- Why was there a loud noise outside in the evening?
21- What are prison ships?
22- How did Pip realise that the man he had met at the graveyard was one of
the convicts the soldiers were searching for?
23- Complete:
Although the escaped convict scared Pip, Pip felt __________________.
24- What happened early the next morning?
25- What did Pip take from the kitchen?
OR What did Pip bring the escaped convict at the graveyard?
26- Whom did Pip see at the graveyard the next morning before he found the
man he was looking for?
27- What did the escaped convict do as soon as he had eaten?
28- What did Pip want to tell Joe? Why didn’t he tell him?
29- What happened when Mrs. Joe invited her guests to try the delicious meat
pie?
30- Who had brought Mrs. Joe the delicious meat pie?
31- Why did Pip get up from his chair and run to the front door?
32- What made the guests forget about the pie?
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33- Why did the soldiers come to Joe’s house?
34- Where did the soldiers think the escaped convicts hid?
35- What happened when the soldiers asked if they had seen the escaped
convicts?
36- What did the soldiers ask Joe to do?
37- Where did Joe and Pip follow the soldiers? Why?
38- On their way to the marshes, what did Pip and Joe hope?
39- How was the weather when they walked over the marshes?
40- What did they suddenly hear at the marshes?
Critical thinking questions:
1- At the beginning of Great Expectations, how does Dickens build a
connection between Pip and Magwitch?
Answer:
Both Pip and Magwitch are frightened, desperate people who engage in illegal
activities. Magwitch is a frightened escaped convict, desperate for food and
freedom. Because he is a convict, Magwitch has been found guilty of breaking
the law. Also, when he fights with the other convict, Magwitch seems intent on
killing him. Pip is scared about being hurt by Magwitch and, as a result,
becomes desperate enough to steal food and a file, which binds him to
Magwitch through the illegality of the actions. In addition, after Magwitch is
captured, he and Pip share a silent communication, suggesting an intuitive
bond between them.
2- In Great Expectations how does Pip's uncertainty connect to his
feelings of guilt?
Answer:
Pip's uncertainty and his guilt are closely linked. First, he feels uncertain
because he fears the convict might hurt him. To prevent the possibility of
being hurt, Pip decides to steal the items for the convict. However, he feels
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Mr. Mohamed El-Sheikh
guilty about doing this act because he knows he is breaking the law. Also Pip
steals from his friend Joe, who trusts him. Feeling guilty about that, he wants
to tell Joe, but he can’t as he thinks Joe might not want to be his friend if he
knows what Pip has done.
3- Compare and contrast between Mr. and Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations.
Answer:
Great Expectations is a novel written by Charles Dickens, a famous English
author. In the novel, an orphan boy nicknamed Pip is raised by his older sister
and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gargery. The following is a comparison
between the two contrasting characters: Mr. and Mrs. Joe.
Mrs. Joe Gargery is Pip’s hot-tempered adult sister, who raises him after their
parents’ death but constantly complains of the burden of raising Pip. She
always says that because of her, Pip is still alive. She also complains of being a
black smith’s wife, and says she didn’t ask to be Pip’s mother.
Mr. Joe Gargery is Pip’s brother-in-law. However, he is more of a father figure
in the story. He is Pip’s friend, who is always kind to him.
4- How does Dickens introduce Pip at the beginning of the story?
Answer:
Actually, there are two Pips in the story: Pip the narrator and Pip the
protagonist. The Pip who narrates the story is much older and wiser. At the
beginning of the story, Pip seems very innocent as a young boy. He is an
orphan who is raised by his older sister and his brother-in-law. He has only
one friend, Mr. Joe, who he doesn’t want to lose, so he doesn’t tell him about
the food and the file he has stolen from Joe’s house.
5- Why do you think Pip decides to steal food for the escaped convict,
Magwitch?
Answer:
I think he agrees to steal the food and the file for the convict for two reasons.
The first reason is that the convict has threatened to hurt him if he doesn’t
steal the food and the file. The second reason is that Pip feels sorry for the
man, perhaps because he thinks the man suffers the same way Pip himself
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suffers or perhaps because Pip is an innocent boy, he is ready to help anyone,
even an escaped convict.
6- Describe the conflict in chapter 1 of Great Expectations.
Answer:
There two kinds of conflict: external conflict and internal conflict. External
conflict exists between Pip, the main character, and the escaped convict as the
escaped convict asked Pip to bring him food and a file and threatened to hurt
him if he didn’t. To keep his life, Pip did what the man wanted although he
knew it was theft. There is also external conflict between Pip and his sister as
she always treats him badly and reminds him that she is the real cause that
Pip is still alive. Also, there is conflict between the escaped convict (Magwitch)
and his leg-irons and the soldiers; he wants to get rid of the leg-irons to get
free, and he also wants not to be caught by the soldiers.
Internal conflict exists in Pip’s mind; although the escaped convict frightens
him and threatens to kill him if he doesn’t bring him what he wants. Also,
although Pip knows well that taking food and a file without permission is
theft, he decides to bring the man what he wants; Pip wants to save his life,
and he feels sorry for him. Another example of internal conflict is when Pip
wants to tell Joe about the things he has taken from Joe’s house, but he can’t
tell him as he thinks that if Joe knows this, he won’t be his friend any longer.
7- If you were Pip, would you help (steal for) an escaped convict whom
you didn’t know?
Answer:
If I were Pip, I would help the man for some reasons; first the man threatens
Pip to kill him if he doesn’t bring him what he wants; the man seems serious in
his threat as he shakes Pip and frightens him. Second, the man knows where
Pip lives and with whom he lives, so he can achieve his threat. Third, Pip is
still very young, and he is scared of the man and his threats.
Best wishes,
Mr. Mohamed El-Sheikh
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