Thursday, September 4, 2014
2014 RHS 9th Grade Summer Readings
Great Expectations (A novel by Charles Dickens)
Part 1
Great Expectations begins with the story's protagonist, Philip Pirrip, better known as a nickname of his own youthful creation, "Pip", which he is known by for the majority of the story. Narrated in the first person, Pip begins by recalling his youth in a marsh country in Victorian-era United Kingdom. Quite suddenly, Pip encounters an escaped convict, who threatens the young Pip into bringing him tools to remove an iron weight chained to his leg. It is then revealed, after his returning home, with his parents deceased, Pip lives with his older sister and her husband, Joe Gargery. Pip's sister is rather oppressive to Pip (and what today may be called abusive), while Joe, a blacksmith, loves Pip like his son and tends to side with him, even if he does not stop his wife's wrath. To Pip's great guilt, he steals tools from the forge adjoining their house a takes them to the convict the following morning. Later that night, solders enlisted in His Majesty's army appear at Pip's house to have some iron handcuffs mended. Afterwards Joe, Pip, and Mr. Pumblechook, a rather annoying man who often tells lies to credit himself and supports Pis's sister's views on raising Pip, follow the soldiers into the marshes to see the escaped convicts apprehended. When the escaped convicts (of which there were two) are found and captured, the convict that Pip had encountered was found to be trying to kill the other. However , this soon passes Pip's mind. A few days later, Mr. Pumblechook returns to the Gargery household a announces that a very wealthy woman named Ms. Havisham wished for Pip to come to her home to "play" for her amusement. Pip visits the eccentric woman and her adoptive daughter, Estella, whom Pip finds beautiful, yet she is very condescending towards him. When expected to "play" for Miss Havisham, who is always dressed in faded bridal clothing, he draws a bank, and simply ends up playing cards with Estella after he was told to do so. Pip visits Miss Havisham several times, and once his service is finished, his family receives some money, and Pip is dismissed. However, after this, Pip is no longer content with his lower-class life, and expresses the desire to become a gentleman.
Soon after, Mr. Jaggers, a master lawyer who meet Pip once before when he was working for Miss Havisham, visits Pip's home with the unexpected news that Pip has been endowed with Great Expectations (such as wealth and property), from which the novel takes its name, by an unknown benefactor. Although Pip assumes this benefactor is Miss Havisham, he is forbidden to inquire as to his benefactor's identity. And so, Pip moves to London to be taught how to be a gentleman and to be otherwise educated by Mr. Matthew Pocket, who happens to be a former worker for Miss Havisham. Constantly receiving funds form his benefactor, Pip lives in his own home with his best friend, Herbert Pocket, who is the eldest son of Matthew Pocket, in a tenement in London. Later, Herbert reveals that Miss Havisham's half brother, who nourished a deep hatred for her, had worked with a man with the surname Compeyson, who was to marry Miss Havisham, but wrote a letter cancelling the wedding just as Miss Havisham was getting prepared. Thus, Miss Havisham always wore here bridal clothes from that point onward as a reminder, as well as keeping a deep hatred toward the opposite gender ever since.
Due to lack of space, I will publish the remainder of this piece in my following comment(s).
-Chancellor J. Farmer
Part 1
Great Expectations begins with the story's protagonist, Philip Pirrip, better known as a nickname of his own youthful creation, "Pip", which he is known by for the majority of the story. Narrated in the first person, Pip begins by recalling his youth in a marsh country in Victorian-era United Kingdom. Quite suddenly, Pip encounters an escaped convict, who threatens the young Pip into bringing him tools to remove an iron weight chained to his leg. It is then revealed, after his returning home, with his parents deceased, Pip lives with his older sister and her husband, Joe Gargery. Pip's sister is rather oppressive to Pip (and what today may be called abusive), while Joe, a blacksmith, loves Pip like his son and tends to side with him, even if he does not stop his wife's wrath. To Pip's great guilt, he steals tools from the forge adjoining their house a takes them to the convict the following morning. Later that night, solders enlisted in His Majesty's army appear at Pip's house to have some iron handcuffs mended. Afterwards Joe, Pip, and Mr. Pumblechook, a rather annoying man who often tells lies to credit himself and supports Pis's sister's views on raising Pip, follow the soldiers into the marshes to see the escaped convicts apprehended. When the escaped convicts (of which there were two) are found and captured, the convict that Pip had encountered was found to be trying to kill the other. However , this soon passes Pip's mind. A few days later, Mr. Pumblechook returns to the Gargery household a announces that a very wealthy woman named Ms. Havisham wished for Pip to come to her home to "play" for her amusement. Pip visits the eccentric woman and her adoptive daughter, Estella, whom Pip finds beautiful, yet she is very condescending towards him. When expected to "play" for Miss Havisham, who is always dressed in faded bridal clothing, he draws a bank, and simply ends up playing cards with Estella after he was told to do so. Pip visits Miss Havisham several times, and once his service is finished, his family receives some money, and Pip is dismissed. However, after this, Pip is no longer content with his lower-class life, and expresses the desire to become a gentleman.
Soon after, Mr. Jaggers, a master lawyer who meet Pip once before when he was working for Miss Havisham, visits Pip's home with the unexpected news that Pip has been endowed with Great Expectations (such as wealth and property), from which the novel takes its name, by an unknown benefactor. Although Pip assumes this benefactor is Miss Havisham, he is forbidden to inquire as to his benefactor's identity. And so, Pip moves to London to be taught how to be a gentleman and to be otherwise educated by Mr. Matthew Pocket, who happens to be a former worker for Miss Havisham. Constantly receiving funds form his benefactor, Pip lives in his own home with his best friend, Herbert Pocket, who is the eldest son of Matthew Pocket, in a tenement in London. Later, Herbert reveals that Miss Havisham's half brother, who nourished a deep hatred for her, had worked with a man with the surname Compeyson, who was to marry Miss Havisham, but wrote a letter cancelling the wedding just as Miss Havisham was getting prepared. Thus, Miss Havisham always wore here bridal clothes from that point onward as a reminder, as well as keeping a deep hatred toward the opposite gender ever since.
Due to lack of space, I will publish the remainder of this piece in my following comment(s).
-Chancellor J. Farmer
Great Expectations (A Novel by Charles Dickens)
Part 2
Later in the story, a man that Pip believes to be a stranger to him, appears claiming to be his formerly unknown benefactor. This man, whose name is Magwitch, but used the false name Provis, is then revealled to be the convict Pip has unwillingly assisted in his youth. He had apparently been exiled for life from the United Kingdom, and fled to the British colony in Australia. From there, Magwitch decided that if he cannot be a worthy and respected member of society, he would at lest create one. He chose his early liberator, Pip, to use the majority of the wealth he earned working in the colony to raise Pip into the Gentry. Pip, being originally resentful of his apparent benefactor, for he believed it to be Miss Havisham until that point, grows to be fond of Magwitch and worried for his safety, seeing as Magwitch broke the requirements of his exile to reveal himself. Pip, with the help of Herbert, comes up with a plan of housing not far from their home to hide Magwitch in until he can be smuggled out of the country. Now that Pip realized that his Great Expectations had been revealed and received, he is very disappointed as well as angry towards Miss Havisham for letting him believe all of those years that she was his benefactor, while obviously she knew otherwise. However, Pip and Herbert are formulating their plan to smuggle Magwitch out o the country, for if he is discovered, he will be put to death for his crimes. A few days before their escape plan is to be put into action, Pip discovers that Magwitch and a woman working for Mr. Jaggers as a sort of servant, are the true parents of the originally orphaned Estella. However, seeing no purpose in revealing her true humble parentage to the proud Estella, he does not tell her.
Later that week, Pip, Herbert, and their friend Startop begin their attempt to smuggle Magwitch out of the U.K. However, wile attempting to sail down the river Thames to board a steam boat with a destination out of the country, the police, who had found that Magwitch had returned to the U.K., captured them all. During the capture, Magwitch saw the convict he was captured with in Pip's youth (who is revealed to be Compeyson) and attempts to kill him, as he blames Compeyson for his incarceration. This attack succeeds, yet Magwitch is mortally wounded. Upon being escorted back to London, Magwitch is put on trial and is sentenced to death. On one of Pip's visits to him in his cell, however, Magwitch dies from his wounds. Later, after a period of grieving, Pip is arrested because of debts he accumulated during the time when he sill had funding. However, Joe, who Pip feels very guilty of, because of his rudeness to Joe when he still had Great Expectations, pays Pip's debts and Pip is set free. Later Pip expresses his deep apologies to Joe for his actions, and begs forgiveness. Joe, ever the loving parental figure, despite his lack of education, forgives Pip immediately.
Due to lack of space, I will post the remainder of this piece in my following comment(s)
-Chancellor J. Farmer
Part 2
Later in the story, a man that Pip believes to be a stranger to him, appears claiming to be his formerly unknown benefactor. This man, whose name is Magwitch, but used the false name Provis, is then revealled to be the convict Pip has unwillingly assisted in his youth. He had apparently been exiled for life from the United Kingdom, and fled to the British colony in Australia. From there, Magwitch decided that if he cannot be a worthy and respected member of society, he would at lest create one. He chose his early liberator, Pip, to use the majority of the wealth he earned working in the colony to raise Pip into the Gentry. Pip, being originally resentful of his apparent benefactor, for he believed it to be Miss Havisham until that point, grows to be fond of Magwitch and worried for his safety, seeing as Magwitch broke the requirements of his exile to reveal himself. Pip, with the help of Herbert, comes up with a plan of housing not far from their home to hide Magwitch in until he can be smuggled out of the country. Now that Pip realized that his Great Expectations had been revealed and received, he is very disappointed as well as angry towards Miss Havisham for letting him believe all of those years that she was his benefactor, while obviously she knew otherwise. However, Pip and Herbert are formulating their plan to smuggle Magwitch out o the country, for if he is discovered, he will be put to death for his crimes. A few days before their escape plan is to be put into action, Pip discovers that Magwitch and a woman working for Mr. Jaggers as a sort of servant, are the true parents of the originally orphaned Estella. However, seeing no purpose in revealing her true humble parentage to the proud Estella, he does not tell her.
Later that week, Pip, Herbert, and their friend Startop begin their attempt to smuggle Magwitch out of the U.K. However, wile attempting to sail down the river Thames to board a steam boat with a destination out of the country, the police, who had found that Magwitch had returned to the U.K., captured them all. During the capture, Magwitch saw the convict he was captured with in Pip's youth (who is revealed to be Compeyson) and attempts to kill him, as he blames Compeyson for his incarceration. This attack succeeds, yet Magwitch is mortally wounded. Upon being escorted back to London, Magwitch is put on trial and is sentenced to death. On one of Pip's visits to him in his cell, however, Magwitch dies from his wounds. Later, after a period of grieving, Pip is arrested because of debts he accumulated during the time when he sill had funding. However, Joe, who Pip feels very guilty of, because of his rudeness to Joe when he still had Great Expectations, pays Pip's debts and Pip is set free. Later Pip expresses his deep apologies to Joe for his actions, and begs forgiveness. Joe, ever the loving parental figure, despite his lack of education, forgives Pip immediately.
Due to lack of space, I will post the remainder of this piece in my following comment(s)
-Chancellor J. Farmer
Great Expectations (A Novel by Charles Dickens)
Part 3
Pip, now with no expectations or funds, decides to leave with Herbert and his wife to work as a clerk in a company of which Pip had secretly paid, when he still had sufficient funding, to make Herbert a partner of, as a clerk. Pip makes a living, and is happy, but never reaches the status promised by his former Great Expectations.
I would recommend this novel, but only to certain individuals within my peerage. My reasoning for this is that I found this novel to be rather dull and unexciting for many periods of reading it. Also, being first published in 1860, there are many cultural details that lack of understanding of would diminish interest. Finally, the vocabulary used by Dickens in this novel may be seen as difficult to some, and it is also rooted in British culture. For instance, many of my peers would not have heard or sought to understand the word "baronetcy", which I just happened to know, quite off of coincidence. The constant researching of words such as this one would impact the interest in this novel. For these reasons, I would only recommend Great Expectations to those among my peers who I know to have at least some background knowledge about Victorian-era Britain and to find interest and enjoyment in classic novels.
-Chancellor J. Farmer
Part 3
Pip, now with no expectations or funds, decides to leave with Herbert and his wife to work as a clerk in a company of which Pip had secretly paid, when he still had sufficient funding, to make Herbert a partner of, as a clerk. Pip makes a living, and is happy, but never reaches the status promised by his former Great Expectations.
I would recommend this novel, but only to certain individuals within my peerage. My reasoning for this is that I found this novel to be rather dull and unexciting for many periods of reading it. Also, being first published in 1860, there are many cultural details that lack of understanding of would diminish interest. Finally, the vocabulary used by Dickens in this novel may be seen as difficult to some, and it is also rooted in British culture. For instance, many of my peers would not have heard or sought to understand the word "baronetcy", which I just happened to know, quite off of coincidence. The constant researching of words such as this one would impact the interest in this novel. For these reasons, I would only recommend Great Expectations to those among my peers who I know to have at least some background knowledge about Victorian-era Britain and to find interest and enjoyment in classic novels.
-Chancellor J. Farmer
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Dickens, Austen & Conan Doyle??
Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson
First there is the identification of the dead body, and who the murderer might be. The body may have connections with the mysterious neighboring estate, Thornleigh Manor, and its missing heir, Alexander, or the younger brother, Hugh Thornfield, who has his own mysterious past, while serving in the British Army during the American Revolution. To top off the list of mysteries, even the protaganist, Gabriel Crowther, has his own mysterious past. Crowther may not be his real name.
To start unraveling this first in a series of Westerman and Crowther mysteries, you might want to pick up Instruments of Darkness to determine if this is a crime novel series you want to follow. While I enjoyed the story and the two main characters, I did not find it as riveting as some of the reviews at the Barnes and Noble website indicate. But I will try the second novel in Robertson's series, Anatomy of Murder, to see if the potential of these two characters, pans out.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
A Case of Genocide?
The Famine Plot: England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy
by Tim Pat Coogan
Most people know about the so-called Irish Famine...that time in 1846 when a blight started infecting Ireland's Potato crop, and best estimates indicate 1.1 million people were killed by famine and its associated diseases. Another 1.3 million were forced to emigrate. This is how the history books primarily portray this tragic moment in Irish history. What most people don't know is that the Irish people do not refer to this time period as a Famine. Instead it is called the Great Hunger. The other aspect of the Famine not known is the role the British government played in actually causing it, not the blight itself of course, but the starvation of the Irish people.
Ireland's best-known historian, Tim Pat Coogan, tackles this dark period in Irish history and argues that it constituted one of the first acts of genocide. Through meticulous research and documentation, Coogan presents a vivid and horrifying picture of this catastrophe and holds specific individuals within the British government to account.
As with most tragedies of this magnitude, there is usually a villain. In the case of the Great Hunger, that role falls squarely on the shoulders of British civil servant, Sir Charles Trevelyan. While Trevelyan may have been just a civil servant, it was his responsibility to implement and enforce any policies and programs proposed by the British government. The British response to the tragedy primarily consisted of evictions, emigration and a policy of laissez faire economics. Trevelyan believed the fate of the Irish people should be left in the hands of Providence. In other words, according to Trevelyan, those who died of starvation were meant to because they deserved it. In reading this book, I felt I was listening to the Republican party's response to poverty here in the United States. According to some of the rhetoric one hears in the media, it is a poor person's own fault if they are poor, and the federal government should not do anything to help them. The rhetoric makes it sound as if they borrowed that philosophy directly from the British government's response to the Irish "famine".
Coogan does not totally condemn the British government. There were attempts with some government policies to alleviate the suffering of the Irish people. For example, Prime Minister Robert Peel made some effort to assuage the problem, however misguided, allowing the purchase of Indian maize from America. There also were efforts to set up workhouses and soup kitchens, but Trevelyan made sure there was not adequate funding for these programs to work. In disturbingly graphic images and compelling language based on true stories from the Famine archives and using the actual language from the United Nations Articles on Genocide, Coogan clearly shows intentional culpability for the famine by the British government.
by Tim Pat Coogan
Ireland's best-known historian, Tim Pat Coogan, tackles this dark period in Irish history and argues that it constituted one of the first acts of genocide. Through meticulous research and documentation, Coogan presents a vivid and horrifying picture of this catastrophe and holds specific individuals within the British government to account.
As with most tragedies of this magnitude, there is usually a villain. In the case of the Great Hunger, that role falls squarely on the shoulders of British civil servant, Sir Charles Trevelyan. While Trevelyan may have been just a civil servant, it was his responsibility to implement and enforce any policies and programs proposed by the British government. The British response to the tragedy primarily consisted of evictions, emigration and a policy of laissez faire economics. Trevelyan believed the fate of the Irish people should be left in the hands of Providence. In other words, according to Trevelyan, those who died of starvation were meant to because they deserved it. In reading this book, I felt I was listening to the Republican party's response to poverty here in the United States. According to some of the rhetoric one hears in the media, it is a poor person's own fault if they are poor, and the federal government should not do anything to help them. The rhetoric makes it sound as if they borrowed that philosophy directly from the British government's response to the Irish "famine".
Coogan does not totally condemn the British government. There were attempts with some government policies to alleviate the suffering of the Irish people. For example, Prime Minister Robert Peel made some effort to assuage the problem, however misguided, allowing the purchase of Indian maize from America. There also were efforts to set up workhouses and soup kitchens, but Trevelyan made sure there was not adequate funding for these programs to work. In disturbingly graphic images and compelling language based on true stories from the Famine archives and using the actual language from the United Nations Articles on Genocide, Coogan clearly shows intentional culpability for the famine by the British government.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Another powerful Irish Literary Voice
Red Sky in Morning by Paul Lynch
Another powerful literary voice from Ireland. Red Sky in Morning is a unique tale, but in another way, it epitomizes the tragic history and diaspora of the Irish people. The protagonist, Coll Coyle, has been pushed too far. The landlord is about to evict him and his wife and new child from their hovel. He decides he would try to talk to the landlord, but looses his temper and accidentally kills the landowner's son in the spring of 1832. He is
forced to abandon his wife and daughter and flee County Donegal for
America.
Coyle is on the run, but the landlord’s sadistic henchman, John Faller, is a trained tracker, and manages to stay one step behind Coyle all the way to Philadelphia. Faller is a relentless and sadistic killer.
This is a grim, but poetic story, that in so many ways illustrates the tragic story of the Irish immigrant. First, circumstances force Coyle to leave his homeland and his family. Second, he books passage to America on a "coffin ship". After a long sea voyage, Coll eventually arrives in America and finds work laying railroad track in Pennsylvania. This work is scarcely less exploitative and brutal than what he was having to do in Ireland for a landowner. During this part of the novel, Lynch seamlessly weaves in an actual historical event. Use one of the library's databases and search for "Duffy's Cut", and read more about this tragic event in U.S. immigrant labor history about a choleric work camp along the Pennsylvania railroad.
Lynch's lyrical prose paints a vivid picture and builds suspense with this tale of a man on the run, and being doggedly pursued by a determined hunter/killer. It will be interesting to see what this fresh young Irish writer comes up with next. Stay tuned!
Another powerful literary voice from Ireland. Red Sky in Morning is a unique tale, but in another way, it epitomizes the tragic history and diaspora of the Irish people. The protagonist, Coll Coyle, has been pushed too far. The landlord is about to evict him and his wife and new child from their hovel. He decides he would try to talk to the landlord, but looses his temper and accidentally kills the landowner's son in the spring of 1832. He is
forced to abandon his wife and daughter and flee County Donegal for
America. Coyle is on the run, but the landlord’s sadistic henchman, John Faller, is a trained tracker, and manages to stay one step behind Coyle all the way to Philadelphia. Faller is a relentless and sadistic killer.
This is a grim, but poetic story, that in so many ways illustrates the tragic story of the Irish immigrant. First, circumstances force Coyle to leave his homeland and his family. Second, he books passage to America on a "coffin ship". After a long sea voyage, Coll eventually arrives in America and finds work laying railroad track in Pennsylvania. This work is scarcely less exploitative and brutal than what he was having to do in Ireland for a landowner. During this part of the novel, Lynch seamlessly weaves in an actual historical event. Use one of the library's databases and search for "Duffy's Cut", and read more about this tragic event in U.S. immigrant labor history about a choleric work camp along the Pennsylvania railroad.
Lynch's lyrical prose paints a vivid picture and builds suspense with this tale of a man on the run, and being doggedly pursued by a determined hunter/killer. It will be interesting to see what this fresh young Irish writer comes up with next. Stay tuned!
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Restoring a King's Reputation
The King's Grave: The Discovery of Richard III's Lost Burial Place and the Clues It Holds by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones
I was immediately drawn to this story, when it first appeared in the Star Tribune newspaper. The story talked about how Philippa Langley believed she had pinpointed where the remains of Richard III were buried following his defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 against Henry Tudor for the English throne.The article stated they had located the fairly complete skeletal remains in a Leicester car park, and would be conducting DNA tests to determine if the bones were those of last king of England to die in battle. Langley and her team of archaeologists had a male DNA sample provided by a Canadian citizen who claimed to be a descendant of Richard III.
Several months later there appeared a follow-up article claiming the carbon dating and DNA tests performed verified the bones were the remains of King Richard III. The photograph of the skeletal remains showed a curvature of the spine, at first reinforcing the image of Richard III as portrayed over the years in various productions of Shakespeare's play. A forensics pathologist diagnosed the condition as severe scoliosis, but the disability did not hamper Richard's skills in battle. The skeleton’s wounds showed this last English king to die in battle led a courageous and carefully planned cavalry charge at Bosworth against an inexperienced, fearful Henry Tudor luckily saved by mercenary French pikemen. Langley states upfront in the book her intention was to quash the caricature of a murderous, hunchbacked psychopath vilified by Tudor propagandists and Shakespeare alike.
The work and findings from this three week dig and subsequent publication of The King's Grave successfully restores the dignity and reputation of one of England's most maligned members of royalty. While Richard reigned only two years, the true historical record shows Richard was an idealistic king with a keen sense of justice and humor, as well as a courageous warrior who was devoted to his
father and brother. To paraphrase the old adage, "To the victor may go the spoils, but not necessarily the final historical record."
An interesting and fascinating read!
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