Chapter 32

Great Expectations

By: Charles Dickens

Chapter 32

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

By: Blake Burkett and Sarah Tanner

New Characters

Plot Development

A new character that is introduced is a prisoner in Newgate prison. They call him The Colonel. He is on death row and sells pigeons as a living.

Mention Worthy Literary Devices

Pip receives a letter from Estella, saying he is to meet her at the carriage house to pick her up. Pip arrives 4-5 hours early from fear she'll arrive early. After encountering a surprise meeting with Wemmick he agrees to go visit the Newgate prison with him to past time. While in the prison Pip notices Wemmick is very popular among the inmates, they all see him as a ticket to freedom. Wemmick introduces Pip to a very drunk inmate called The Colonel, The Colonel is on death row but very glad he got to say goodbye to Wemmick. After Pip's visit he regrets going because he says he smells as the prison did and not as a gentlemen should. Pretty soon, Estella is waving at him from the carriage window.

Throughout the whole chapter Dickens keeps using an elaborate metaphor called a conceit when talking about Wemmick and the prisoners. "It struck me that Wemmick walked among the prisoners much as a gardener might walk among his plants." narrates Pip. Then again comes back to the conceit saying "Thus, we walked through Wemmick's green-house," and then again says, "He looked back, and nodded at his dead plant, and then cast his eyes about him in a walking out of the yard, as if he were considering what other pot would go best in its place."

Discussion Questions

Favorite Quote

1. Why is Estella so brief in her note to Pip?

"What was the nameless shadow which again in that one instant had passed?"(246)

2. How does Estella appear to Pip in contrast to his visit to the prison?