Thoughts on Reading

Sorry this is a bit late! I thought we didn't have a blog this week because of the extra credit projects posted above it and when I recently checked again to make sure I wasn't missing anything I found that we did in fact have one, so here's my thoughts on reading the novel:
        The story itself was pretty depressing. I think I pitied the characters more than anything else though, and the author too! What is it that brings the creepy and emotionally overwhelming stories into your head? What did Charles Dickens have to endure to suffer the thought process of creating Great Expectations? Most of the mysteries I was able to figure out on my own with the exception of a few surprises. Orlick; yes he's a crazy stalker but I never thought he would actually kill Mrs. Joe or even try to kill Pip. Not only the literal mysteries but the bits of symbolism and meaningful sentences were frequently skimmed over too. It was incredibly helpful to talk it all over in class discussions and to have our awesome teacher (Mrs. Gilman) explain Dickens' motives and use of language. Most of the characters in Great Expectations had problems I've never had to go through, so you couldn't exactly say I sympathized with them, but I could respect them as I imagined what they were each going through and how draining it would be (even just emotionally).
     I might of skipped a page or two as I forced myself through the boring passages but I definately read enough to understand the novel. Reading outside of class felt really time consuming and was hard with all of  my other class work and outside of school dedications. I normally read at night and used it as a wind down because reading  can make me extremely tired. Unfortunately though, this didn't work too well with a book I was only reading for a grade (that I was reading after exhausting myself with other school activities -homework mainly). It's surprising I know but I do take five classes besides English :) . Each night I ended up snuggling in my bed with eyelids weighing my body down into the mattress, with another night's worth of English homework still to be completed. This definately affected the way I read the book because instead of taking the time to place myself in the narrator's shoes, I found myself searching for symbolism and themes that are otherwise irrevolent yet mysterious things that would keep me reading -if I didn't have to find them first. Having no extra time in the morning I made an effort to get to bed early and read late each night, though every once in a while a chapter would flood into the next day. I'm just glad I could keep up with every Friday.