book review

During all my reading experience about this book, there is always a word spinning in my mind, that is—expectation. Not only round characters but also flat characters, all of them have their own expectation. However, fairly few of them can(could) achieve their original expectation. Throughout this book, maybe just Pip’s brothers-in-law—Joe achieved. As he said, “I’m awful dull, but I hope I’ve beat out something nigh the rights of this at last.” He freely admitted that he was a blacksmith and that his expectation was simply to do the right thing, to be responsible for himself and others. What he wanted was neither fame nor the fortune, but a down-to-earth life. But by contrast, Miss Haguitch and Magwitch , while(even though) one was the victims of the love and the other was the victim of hierarchy society, these were not the explanations for(could not justify) their ugly expectations. To a certain extent, Estella and Pip were the unfortunate product of their expectations. Miss Havisham’s expectation of love is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliations, utter submission, a trust and belief against yourself(herself) and against the whole world, giving up your (her) whole heart and soul to the smiler(?)! What a misshapen expectation! Her adopted daughter Estella deeply knew that she could not choose but to obey Miss Havisham. Seducing men, then getting rid of men,letting them feel the pain of love, that was(we’re) what education givenshe was taught by Miss Havisham. All(What) little Estella expected was just the justice from her nominal mother. It was not only the justice for life but the justice for love. Again, about Magwitch. As an escaped prisoner his expectation was making a gentleman. And Pip was that “lucky dog”. However, that Pip living in London , made up by the fortune, finally did not turn out(him) to be a gentleman. He was even in debt. His expectation was broken absolutely. The last and most important character—Pip. Before Pip got that fortune, his expectation was that he could be a blacksmith like Joe, and that his sister would not beat and scold him. When he got that fortune, his expectation was that he could marry to Estella, and that he could be the upper class. With the transformation of Pip’s expectation, his personality also changed. A little kind and sensitive boy was substituted by(turned to be) an arrogant,snobbish man. Although(But) at the end of the story, he let go of his past and helped Magwitch escape. Undoubtedly, he had lost himself in the(his) previous life, which was full of money and fame. It seems that these characters are telling us that the social environment has a great influence on a person. But is it the social environment that determines people or is it human nature that determines people? From my perspective, the social environment is only an important factor, and it is really up to the individual. Joe, a man who has always stood by himself; Estella, a woman who still has a modicum of honesty while educated in a warped sense of values; Pip, a man who can find the noble character after a traumatic experience while once lost in the high society. All of them told(tells) us that the negative effects of society cannot be a reason for your fall. Actually, the society is really cruel and you may be oppressed by the social mountain in all your lifetime. But try to learn to sober up, try to fight with this rule society, and never let him(it) crash any chances to erase your pure good nature!