Month: January 2016

Chapter 12 starts with Pip growing uneasy over his fight with the boy at Miss Haversham’s estate. Pip worry’s that he will be arrested, much like he thought when he aided the escaped convict at the beginning of the book. Pip then goes to Miss Havisham’s again and quickly checks the scene of the fight for any blood and then covers some up with some garden mold.  Pip goes to meet Miss Haversham who asks him to push her around in her garden chair. Pip and Miss Haversham discuss a number of topics including what pip plans to do when he grows older to which he replies that he will become apprenticed to Joe as a blacksmith. Miss Haversham also teases pip over his attraction to Estella and then asks them to play cards together. Pip then grows apart from his family very slowly as he notices their flaws and general obnoxious behavior, mostly in Mr Pumblechook and Mrs Joe.

A large period of time passes, which is not specified and the story comes to another visit to Miss Haversham’s where she asks about Joe and his profession, who Pip is planned to be an apprentice to. She then tells Pip to bring Joe on his next visit to the her estate. Pip returns to tell Joe about the invite, which brings about a “rampage” on Mrs Joe’s part which sends Pip to bed and ends the chapter

Chapter 11 starts of with Pip returning to Miss Haversham’s house/mansion and is met by Estella who guides Pip to a different section of the house and one which had never been before. Pip then stumbles upon guests at Miss Haversham’s party due to her birthday. The party guests act as if pip is not there, other then a few interactions with some guests. The guests and pip meet up with Miss Haversham, who is in her normal sour state. The guests seem most interested in Miss Haversham’s inheritance while she plays along with their “act”. After the interaction, Pip and Miss Haversham go on a walk, discussing her birthday and she then asks him and Estella to play cards.

Pip is left to wander around the estate, who is then met by a boy who is willing to fight pip for seemingly no reason. Pip then beats the boy in the fight almost effortlessly but commends him for his bravery. He then finds Estella waiting for him who gives him a kiss and it is implied that she arranged the fight. Pip then leaves and the chapter ends.

Chapter 10 starts of with Pip pondering over Estella labelling him as common. His next course of action is to try and get biddy to school him, as Mr. Wopsles great aunt, Pips current teacher is always sleeping on the job. After that, Pip meets up with Joe who is found in the Three Jolly Bargemen, drinking with Mr.Wopsle and a strange looking man. The strange man acts very suspiciously in front of Pip and it seems like he is doing it almost purposefully in front of Pip. The highlight of the encounter is when the stranger stirs his drink with a file, almost indirectly remarking that he has knowledge of Pips involvement with the escaped convict. After some conversation the stranger gives Joe some shillings, which is then found to be wrapped in two one pound notes with Joe presuming it was a mistake and making sure the money is kept safe and not spent.

The first book I decided to read for my theme study relating to ambition was The Wise Mans Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. This is the second book in the King-killer chronicles which consists of three books, the first being The Name of the Wind and the third being The Doors of Stone which is predicted to come out in late 2016. The overall story of the first two books surrounds the character of Kvothe, who in the present is presented as a simple innkeeper who is just another person among many. However, the story really starts when an unusual character arrives at his inn, armed with the knowledge of his rich past and convincing him to recount his life story, which is what the majority of the book is made up of, with Kvothe telling the story of his life in a traditional story format. Kvothe starts off accompanying a travelling group of Edemah Ruh, a race of traveling bards and entertainers with his familly. In a random turn of events, the group are brutally murdered by a supposedly mythical group of people called the Chandrian, who most people believe to be a myth. This event sets the stage for the rest of the story, with a young Kvothe journeying for from city to city in search of the University, the learning hub of the world and the only place with infomation on the Chandrian. Kvothe shows a masssive amount of ambition when searching for the university, while overcoming all the emotional and psychical hurdles in his life. The story then follows kvothe’s journey when looking for infomation about the Chandrian. Everywhere he goes he is at a disadvantage in some form due to his wealth, racial prejudice and other factors, but his defining characteristic is that he overcomes everything thrown at him. This clearly shows Kvothe ambition and drive to stride towards his goal and links to the focus of theme study which is ambition.