Since Friday was a snow day, we get to pack a lot in this week before Winter break next week. Yay, us! (Friday, by the way, will likely not be any class; it’s a half day which is turning into a field day, so we have only four days of class this week, and losing class days isn’t stressing me out whatsoever.)

Great Expectations–Major Characters and Themes

Last week I assigned you to read parables found in the Book of Luke, preferably from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, since that’s the language Dickens and many other writers before the 20th century would have referenced.

Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son, Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Young Rich Man, Rich Man and Lazarus

• Luke 10:25-38
• Luke 15
• Luke 16:19-31
• Luke 18: 18-27

• Good Samaritan—Man walking from Jerusalem to Jericho, a road which went through rough terrain. Thieves attack and leave him for dead. First comes a priest, goes on other side. Then a Levite, same thing. Both of these “pious” men should have rendered assistance. Then comes a Samaritan—hated by the Jews because they were essentially “half-bloods” and didn’t live among the Jews but in Samaria. Considered “Unclean.” He has compassion, takes care of the man, brings him to safety, pays for his care. Most unlikely helper. Who was the “neighbor”?
• Lost sheep: A shepherd has 100 sheep, loses one, leaves the rest to find the missing sheep. Rejoices when found. (lost through wandering–innocent and naive, but rescued by someone more capable)
• Lost 10 pieces of silver: Woman loses valuable amount of money, searches diligently until she finds it, rejoices to tell everyone about it. (lost through neglect, but earnestly looked for)
• Prodigal son: Two sons, one older and obedient, the younger more reckless and thoughtless. He takes his inheritance early. Runs off, spends it all in riotous living, starts to suffer. Takes the lowliest job a Jew could take—swineherd. (Jews would have nothing to do with pigs, since they were considered “unclean”.) Younger son decides he could be servant just as well at home, and goes back penitent, willing to take a lower place in the household as a servant. His father sees him, goes running to greet him, calls for a celebration, and accepts his son back as a full son. Elder son is resentful his younger brother gets a party. Father says, “You’ve never suffered as he has—you’ve had it easier, it’s ok that we rejoice he’s back.” (lost deliberately, returns deliberately and humbled)
• Rich Man and Lazarus the beggar, who just wants crumbs. He dies and carried to Abraham. Rich man dies, but finds himself in hell. He sees Lazarus with Abraham and calls for help, but Abraham says, in life you did well but Lazarus didn’t; now it’s reversed. There is a great gulf between us, too. Rich man asks Abraham to send a messenger to warn his five brothers about where they will end up if they don’t help the poor, but Abraham says they’ve been warned by Moses and the prophets, nor will they even listen to one who rises from the dead.
• The wealthy and Eternal Life: a wealthy young man asks what more he can do to have Eternal Life (with with God the Father and Jesus Christ after death, and be eventually resurrected), and says that he’s followed the 10 commandments. Jesus then tells him to sell all he has and give it to the poor. The young man leaves, sorrowing, because he is very rich. Jesus says it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven.

Each of these parables is “retold” in a manner in Great Expectations. As we go through the major themes, look for the parallels.

Great Expectations illustrations

Waaay back on Thursday I handed out each of you a slip describing part of the story, which I wanted you to illustrate. Let’s see who still has those, and go through your illustrations as we cover the major characters, plots points, and themes of the book.

We’re going to cover this book only by going over the main themes and characters. To do so, we’ll be watching the 2012 movie and completing a writing assignment as we go along. (If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you’ll notice a few familiar faces in the adaptation.)

HANDOUT to be completed during and after watching the movie. I anticipate finishing the movie on Wednesday (but since there is expected weather coming in, that date may change). Take notes on this handout about how you will want to answer the questions, begin answering as you can (on a Google Doc), and be prepared to discuss these major characters and themes on THURSDAY. This writing assignment will be due THURSDAY before midnight, shared with me on Google docs.

START WATCHING THE MOVIE IN CLASS (provided we don’t have a 2-hour delay because of weather issues again . . .) So we had a 1-hour delay, but we were able to start the movie and got to around minute 24. Continue watching tomorrow.