Name: _______KEY__________________ Mods: __________ Date: ____________ Honors English I
Great Expectations Stage 2 Study Guide A
Ch. 20
QUOTES:
Quote
“Have you paid Wemmick?”
Speaker
Jaggers
“I think for you; that’s enough for you.”
Jaggers
“Of course you’ll go wrong somehow,
but that’s no fault of mine.”
“Jaggers is for him, ‘Melia, and what
more could you have?”
Jaggers
Woman in
the street
Significance
Jaggers is a businessman who makes sure he is paid
for a job well done.
Jaggers is unkind to and brusque with his clients.
Jaggers presumes that Pip will make mistakes with
his new-found wealth.
Shows Jaggers’ excellent reputation as a lawyer.
1. What adjectives in the second paragraph of the chapter tell of Pip’s first impressions of London?
____ugly__________ ______dirty_________________
______crooked________
__narrow____
2. What is meant by Jaggers’ remark to Pip, “I shall by this means be able to check your bills, and to pull you
up if I find you outrunning the constable”?
Jaggers will know how much Pip is spending and where. He will be able to call Pip into his office to keep him
out of trouble.
Ch. 21
1. What words in the last full paragraph on pg. 188/170 show more of Pip’s disappointment in his new
surroundings? “dingiest collection of shabby buildings ever squeezaed together in a rank corner as a club for
tom-cats.”
2. The very next paragraph after that referred to in #1: What is the effect of the repetition of words and phrase
structure in this paragraph?
The repeated use of the word “dismal” reinforces its meaning. It is boring and dull.
3. Herbert Pocket’s long paragraph at the end of the chapter, beginning, “Pray come in,’ has evidence of the
difference in his and Pip’s finances. What is the difference in their financial situations, and what evidence does
Herbert give of that difference?
Herbert must make his own living, unlike Pip. “I have my own bread to earn, and my father hasn’t anything to
give me.”
Ch. 22
Quote
“It’s all over now, I hope, and it will be
magnanimous in you if you’ll forgive
me for having knocked you about so.”
“I am looking about me.”
“Gracious me, Flopson! Everybody’s
tumbling!”
Speaker
Herbert
Significance
Herbert does not have an accurate memory of the
fight at Miss Havisham’s years ago.
Herbert
Herbert has no job, but is looking for one.
Mrs. Pocket
Mrs. Pocket does not manage her household or her
children very well. They are tumbling because her
own footstool is in the way of her small children.
1. Herbert explains the main purpose of Estella’s upbringing by Miss Havisham as:
To wreak revenge on all the male sex.
2. Describe Herbert’s character as described by Pip in the paragraph beginning “Herbert Pocket”.
Frank, easy, had “a natural incapacity to do anything secret and mean.” Hopeful, would never be very
successful or rich.
3. What advice regarding table manners does Herbert give to Pip?
Hold spoon properly, do not hold glass completely upside-down, do not put knife in mouth, and do not insert
fork so far in the mouth.
4. Allusion: What is the significance of the title, “The Harmonious Blacksmith”?
It is a composition by G.F. Handel. The title reminds Herbert of Pip.
Ch. 23
1. What strange gesture does Mr. Pocket demonstrate when he is frustrated?
Pulls his hair.
2. Mrs. Pocket reprimands Jane for what?
Protecting the baby from hurting himself with a nutcracker.
3. What is Mrs. Pocket doing during Pip’s visit? ______reading______________________________
4. Pip decides to pay for what kind of lessons? ______rowing_____________________________
Ch. 24
Quote
“It’s not personal; it’s only
professional.”
“You’ll see a wild beast tamed.”
Speaker
Wemmick
Wemmick
Significance
His explanation of Jaggers’ cold, businesslike
manner.
Describing Jaggers’ housekeeper
1. The first paragraph sheds some light on Pip’s intended profession: to be a gentleman. How much, according
to Mr. Pocket, does a gentleman need to know?
Enough to get by in conversation with other gentleman of his own standing.
Ch. 25
1. Give a short description of Bentley Drummle.
Sulky, sluggish, idle, awkward, proud, reserved, suspicious
2. Important notes about Pip’s progress:
“I soon contracted expensive habits, … but through good and evil I stuck to my books.”
3. What is the significance of Jaggers’ famous watch?
No one will steal it, despite its great value and the fact that Jaggers does not protect it at all.
4. Re-read the last two thirds of the chapter, which is the section on Wemmick’s home. Note the significance
of:
Walworth – a place apart from Newgate or the office
Drawbridge – cuts off the outside world
Wemmick being his own engineer, carpenter, plumber, gardener, etc. – independence, self-sufficiency
Aged Parent – comedy, shows Wemmick’s good side, concern for parent
The stinger – excitement and eccentricity of Wemmick
“The office is one thing, and private life is another.” – Wemmick’s philosophy
Ch. 26
1. The 5th paragraph of this chapter demonstrates one fundamental difference between Walworth and Jaggers’
home. What is that difference?
Walworth is a place where Wemmick forgets his profession. Jaggers’ home has evidence of his working there,
and is an extension of his office.
2. Who is described as the “blotchy, sprawl, sulky fellow”?______Drummle_____________________
3. About half way through the chapter, in the paragraphs beginning, “Dinner went off gaily,” and “It was not
then,” note Jaggers’ skill in enticing people to reveal things about themselves. How does this help him in his
profession?
He can control what is said on the witness stand.
4. What source of power does Jaggers show to the young men after they show off their muscles?
Molly’s hands and wrists.
5. The foil characters here are ____Startop______________ and ___Drummle_______________.
Ch. 27
1. Editorializing – “So throughout life our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the
sake of the people whom we most despise.”
2. What is Wopsle’s new job? ___actor_____________________________
3. Whom does the narrator blame for Joe’s uneasiness in London? _____himself (Pip)_______________
4. Idiom: Joe says that Mr. Pumblechook “do comb my ‘air the wrong way sometimes, awful.” What does he
mean by this?
Pumblechook bothers Joe.
5. Whom does Joe mean by “Miss A”? ___Miss Havisham_________________________
6. Re-read the last long paragraph that Joe says in this chapter. Note his wisdom. What is the division he
mentions?
The division that must now take place between Joe and Pip.
Ch .28
1. Editorializing: “All other swindlers on earth are nothing to the self-swindlers.”
2. Allusion: In the newspaper paragraph at the end of the chapter, what allusion is used for Pip? How are Pip
and this character alike?
Telemachus
Both go on a journey; both gain fortune in some way: Telemachus in finding his father, Pip in finding wealth.
Ch. 29
Quote
“I have no heart – if that has anything to
do with my memory.”
“If she favors you, love her. If she
Speaker
Estella
Miss
Significance
She does not remember making Pip cry when they
were children. She has no feelings.
She encourages Pip to be madly in love with
wounds you, love her. If she tears your
heart to pieces – and as it gets older and
stronger it will tear deeper – love her,
love her, love her.”
Havisham
Estella.
1. Structure: The chapter begins and ends with Pip’s thoughts of Joe. What is Pip’s intent in the first
paragraph of the chapter?
To stay with Joe when he returns to his hometown to visit Estella.
What is his comment on his emotions in the last paragraph of the chapter?
He thought that his emotions for Estella were high and lofty. He did not realize that his treatment of Joe was
low and mean.
2. The second paragraph of the chapter contains a commentary of Pip’s feelings for Estella. He begins with a
summary of the current situation, continues with a romantic, fairy-tale vision of himself and Satis house, and
concludes with an evaluation of his love for Estella.
The paragraph includes a metaphor of Pip’s pursuit of Estella. He compares his pursuit of her to a
__fairy tale; hero in a labyrinth ____________________.
Parallel Structure: Dickens includes one sentence with several phrases, all beginning with the preposition
“against”. The structure of this sentence, the repetition of these phrases, serves to emphasize the many reasons
why he should not have loved Estella, thus illustrating to the reader the depth and strength of his love.
3. What colors are attributed to Sarah Pocket? ___green and yellow_______________________________
This symbolizes ___jealousy______________________.
4. Editorializing: What does the narrator claim is “the sharpest crying of all”? __crying inside_______
5. Author’s word choice: (Middle of the chapter, paragraph beginning, “At last we went back”) Dickens
contrasts two images, that of light and that of darkness, in the phrase “old wintry branches of chandeliers”.
List other words which Dickens uses in this paragraph that give the impression of darkness and death.
_mouldering________
___grave______
_funereal_________ __________________
Note the sharp contrast of these words to the “bridal feast” and Estella looking “bright and beautiful”, which
also are used in this paragraph.
6. Mr. Jaggers points out that no one has ever seen Miss Havisham do what? ___eat__________________
Ch. 30
Quote
“Don’t know ya!”
“You can’t marry, you know, while
you’re looking about you.”
Speaker
Trabb’s boy
Significance
Making fun of Pip for being so proud
Herbert
Explaining why he can’t marry Clara yet
1. Pip’s influence in society: Pip causes __Orlick________ to lose his post at Miss Havisham’s, and writes a
letter recommending that _Trabb’s boy_____________ be fired from his job.
2.What is meant by the “penitential codfish and barrel of oysters” which Pip sends to Joe?
He wishes to make amends for not visiting Joe.
3. Pip refers to his hired servant (a young boy) as the _Avenger_________________________.
4. How does Herbert know that Pip loves Estella?
Simply by Pip’s manner of speaking when he mentions Estella. Herbert understands Pip well.
5. What 3 contrasts does Herbert note in Pip’s personality? (See the paragraph beginning “Say, a good fellow.”
__impetuosity and hesitation_________________
__boldness and diffidence___________________
__action and dreaming______________________
6. What question does Herbert ask Pip that might make Herbert “seriously disagreeable” to Pip?
He asks if Pip can give up Estella, as Estella will never make him happy.
7. What simile does Pip use to describe the feeling which “smote upon” his heart when Herbert asks the
disagreeable question?
The old marsh winds
8. What secret does Herbert reveal to Pip?
Herbert is engaged to Clara.
9. What is Mrs. Pocket’s objection to Herbert’s future plans?
Mrs. Pocket imagines that her family is in a higher class than they are. She wishes her children to marry people
with titles.