Great Expectations -- Charles Dickens Chapter 3
Chapter Three
In which Pip has a run in with a DIFFERENT convict.
- It's a very misty morning, and as Pip runs to meet the dreadful man, he is hilariously terrorized by farm animals and his own guilt about stealing the pork pie.
- This is an absolutely perfect description of traveling through thick fog: "The mist was heavier yet when I got out upon the marshes, so that instead of my running at everything, everything seemed to run at me."
- He finds the man, taps him on the shoulder to offer up the food, AND REALIZES THAT HE'S TAPPED THE SHOULDER OF A DIFFERENT MAN IN COARSE GREY CLOTHING WEARING A LEG IRON! WHO THEN RUNS AWAY. ZOUNDS.
- He realizes that it must have been the dreadful young man, and responds to that knowledge thusly: "...feeling my heart shoot as I identified him. I dare say I should have felt a pain in my liver, too, if I had known where it was." That line makes me feel that Pip, in a lot of ways, is a precursor to a lot of our favorite YA male protagonists.
- But then he finds the RIGHT dreadful man and hands over his ill-gotten gains. Love this bit about the man eating: "...handing mincemeat down his throat in the most curious manner,— more like a man who was putting it away somewhere in a violent hurry, than a man who was eating it..."
- All things considered, the dreadful man—or "wretched warmint", as he refers to himself—doesn't seem so dreadful after all. Just cold and hungry and sick and desperate. And possibly a murderer, but we'll see. Maybe he was just a forger or something!
- Heh. When Pip mentions seeing the other man, Our Possibly Semi-Nice Convict is very surprised—which is very odd, considering his threats about the dreadful young man in the first chapter... could he POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN LYING???—but mostly I'm mentioning this part of the conversation because of Pip's awesome attempt at tact: "“Dressed like you, you know, only with a hat,” I explained, trembling; “and — and”— I was very anxious to put this delicately —“and with — the same reason for wanting to borrow a file."
- At chapter's end, OPS-NC is intent on furiously filing the cuff off of his leg, and unless I'm mistaken, is planning on Hulking Out on the other convict. And Pip has slipped away and headed home.
As I said before, if anyone is interested in reading along with me, please do! I'll be reading a chapter a day until I'm done. If you post about it at your blog, just let me know, and I'll link up.
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Book source: Review copy from the publisher.