Summer+Reading+Project

// A letter to Charles Dickens // By: Joseph Nelson
 * 2011 Summer Reading Project**

Dear Mr. Dickens,

I recently read //Great Expectations// and I would like to inform you that it is now one of my favorite books of all time. //Great Expectations// was simply brilliant; it was interesting, suspenseful, excellently written, and I learned a lot from it. You are a wonderful author; one of the best. I am writing to you to present you with a few questions I had throughout my reading of //Great Expectations//.

My first question is in regards to the characters in //Great Expectations// and the situations in which they are placed. Miss Havisham possesses few traits comparable to most people; she is simply crazy, lives stuck, quite literally, in a specific period from the past, raised her adopted daughter, Estella, to be cruel, cold-hearted, and completely numb to emotions, and indulges in very bizarre acts, such as requiring Pip and Estella to play card games in front of her. Estella is equally as abnormal; possessing hardly any emotions and a pleasure for others' pain, she comes close to acquiring the dislike of the reader. Similarly, Magwitch possesses many traits that many would not consider very realistic. For instance, convicts do not normally receive an opportunity to travel to a foreign land, make mountains of money, and secretly send all of this money to a person (of which they do not know his or her whereabouts) who lives in another land. In addition, Wemmick is not exactly your average person either. He is, excluding physical attributes, two completely different people. When he is around Jaggers at work, he is a logical, sarcastic, cold, formal statue. However, when he is at the Castle, he is a compassionate, caring, friendly, casual guy. All of these characters possess rather extreme traits; they would not exactly be considered normal to the average person. While they could exist, most people would find it highly unlikely. However, the situations in which they are placed and the events that occur to them are very close to being realistic. I very much enjoyed this contrast between the characters and events, but I have a question: why did you do this? Did you think it would make the book more balanced, rather than the novel being complete fantasy or complete realism? Was it simply something you enjoy doing? Did you do this in order to cater to your audience? Throughout //Great Expectations//, you incorporate a realistic, yet satirical view of the upper class. Did you incorporate fantastical characters in order to provide a distraction from the underlying realism? I believe the latter reason is the real one and, if it were your true intention, I also believe it to have been a wonderful idea.

My second question deals with the character Wemmick, of whom I briefly discussed above. Throughout //Great Expectations//, Wemmick acts as two different people. Wemmick's personality is dependent on where he is located and who he is around. As I stated earlier, Wemmick is simply a jerk around his boss Jaggers, but a kind friend when he is at the Castle or alone with Pip. My question is: what is the reason behind this dual personality? Did you decide to give Wemmick two distinct personalities simply to make the story more interesting? To emphasize Jaggers' intimidating affect on people? Or did you do this in order to portray a much larger meaning; that the Industrial Revolution in Britain had two personalities: it looked glamorous and hopeful on the outside, but that on the inside, things were not going so well?

Next, I have a question about the true character of Estella. Throughout the entirety of //Great Expectations//, excluding the ending, Estella treats Pip terribly. She teases him about his social status, which is the cause for his constant urge to become a part of the upper class. In addition, she tears out his heart and continues to inflict small doses of pain unto him throughout the novel. You made it obvious that Estella was brainwashed by Miss Havisham to act like this; however, was Estella innately evil and this trait was simply intensified by Miss Havisham's teachings? Or, did Estella actually like Pip, or rather was a kind person, but she felt obligated to act out Miss Havisham's wishes? I wrestled with this question throughout the entirety of the book. The ending made me lean toward the second theory that Estella was actually a nice person deep down and she was just pressured by Miss Havisham to act the way she did toward Pip. However, I wonder if she merely changed during the lapse of time, or if she was just given the opportunity to express herself freely with the absence of Miss Havisham. If she completely transformed from cruel to compassionate over the years, then she was innately evil. But, if she was finally given the opportunity to act however she wished at the end of the novel, then she merely felt obligated to satisfy Miss Havisham throughout the rest of the novel. I would like to know which of these theories is correct.

In addition, I have a question about the choices you made for the characters of //Great Expectations//. This question is fairly simple. Throughout //Great Expectations// there are many characters that are pure villains or who have anti-heroic characteristics. These characters include the abusive sister of Pip, the murderous Orlick, the unscrupulous Pumblechook, the vengeful Miss Havisham, the cold-hearted Estella, the villainous Compeyson, the felonious Magwitch, the cold side of Wemmick, and the haughty Drummle. All of these characters are either simply evil or posses traits that are not very pleasing to most people. My question is: why did you incorporate so many "villains" and negative character traits into //Great Expectations//? Was this to simply make the novel interesting or was it a strategy that went along with the satire of the novel?

Now I would like to ask you a few personal questions before I ask you my final question about the novel itself.

First, I would like to know how much of //Great Expectations// was inspired by your own life experiences? Did any of the events in //Great Expectations// occur to you as well? Did any of your acquaintances, or you yourself, inspire any of the characters? Was Pip modeled after you? Did you grow up wishing for a better social status? I just want to know how much of //Great Expectations// was real.

//Great Expectations// is obviously a work of fiction that includes a large degree of satire. Most of this satire is directed at the upper class, or the "social elites" of the Victorian Era. However, after you became a distinguished author, I am not sure, but I believe you did pretty well financially and you procured quite the reputation. In your opinion, did you become one of these social elites? I am, by no means, intending to say that you did or did not become a social elite. I have no clue as to your social standing; I am only wondering what your view of yourself is.

My final personal question for you is about writing in general, not //Great Expectations//; although this question is connected to my final question, which does deal with //Great Expectations//. In your opinion, which is more important: the author's vision for a plot/the author's desire to shape a story a certain way or the audience's wishes for the plot?

Finally, I would like to ask you about the ending of //Great Expectations//. In the version of the text that I bought, it has your original ending, the ending prior to the change suggested by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, in the back. I read //Great Expectations// as it was published first and then I turned to the original ending and read it. I do not mean any offense, but I enjoyed the original ending much better than the ending that was published. I felt like the original ending was much more realistic to the story and simply more fitting. Why did you change the ending? Did you change it in order to satisfy your audience; did they request the published ending? Did you assume your audience would like the published ending better? Did you think the published ending was better than the original ending? I would just like to know your thoughts on the matter. //Great Expectations// is great like it is, I just liked your original ending better.

Thank you so much for your time! As I said earlier, //Great Expectations//, in addition to your writing, is remarkable.

Sincerely, Joseph Nelson 12th grade student

//This is my, Joseph Nelson's, original work. I wrote this on July 28, 2011 and would greatly appreciate it if it, or any part of it, was not used, copied, or reproduced by anyone other than myself. I have no problem with the letter above being used for educational purposes only. Thanks, Joseph Nelson.//