Al is Awesome

Al is awesome.

Interesting Tidbits 31-67

CHAPTER SUMMARIES 31-67

CHAPTER 31

Back in those days, people would die from any old infection, like pink eye or the common cold. They didn’t know how it spread, whether it be through touch, air, or contact with blood. When Charley gets sick, Esther offers to take care of her one-on-one not letting anyone else come in contact with her, which is all the more heroic because she will almost inevitably become sick as well. Basically, this is a strange offer to make, and it supports the theme of Duty as it pertains to Esther and her need to take care of Charley.

CHAPTER 32

Krook spontaneously combusts at the end of this chapter. This is terrible because Krook was supposed to hand over the letters Snagsby is supposed to give to Lady Dedlock over to Weevle, from whom Guppy will steal them. Back when this book came out, Dickens was mocked for his use of combustion because it seemed so improbable, but his only defense was that he thought it could happen.

CHAPTER 33

Krook, the storeowner who combusted was actually Mrs. Smallweed’s brother! This means the Smallweeds will inherit all of Krook’s property, since he has no other living relations. But in addition to the property, they will also inherit all of the documents in Krook’s office (which might include the letters).

CHAPTER 34

The Bagnets are one of the only genuine families in this novel. Mr. George goes to them for advice when Mr. Smallweed tells him his entire debt is due, and he doesn’t have the money to pay for it. They are interesting because the majority of the families we meet in Bleak House are extremely dysfunctional; this is the use of a binary opposition for functional/dysfunctional families, because since the latter is mentioned more frequently, the privileged is more important.

CHAPTER 35

When Esther goes to Boythorn’s, she meets up with Mrs. Flite and she talks about how evil the court is. Apparently, it drove her father to become an alcoholic and her sister to become a prostitute. This hits close to home for Esther because Richard Carstone seems to be going down the same path.

CHAPTER 36

Lady Dedlock reveals to Esther that she is her mother, and asks Esther to keep it a secret because she would be a disgrace if the truth was ever found out. But seriously—WEDLOCK…DEDLOCK...

CHAPTER 37

In this chapter, Richard and Mr. Skimpole show up with Richard’s new lawyer, Mr. Vholes. His name is symbolism for the rodent, which is obviously not a good thing, and it mentions that he is turning Richard against Mr. Jarndyce by feeding him false information. Basically, Mr. Vholes is sucking Richard dry, and Richard has no idea.

CHAPTER 38

The fact that Mr. Turveydrop and Mr. Jellyby get along is so uninteresting, it’s interesting. Their relationship is one of convenience, because I can’t imagine many can stand the grandness of Mr. Turveydrops display of deportment and Mr. Jellyby is too passive to handle a regular conversation, so I thought it was nice they could get along so well.

CHAPTER 39

In this chapter, we get a clear view of how the third person narrator feels about the court system. He basically says that the Court is useless because every time something is purposed to change anything substantial in the Court, they testify that lawyers, whom apparently are very accredited and respectable, will be out of work. So, the legal system is more focused on creating jobs for itself then bringing justice. This is an example of the theme Corruption of Justice.

CHAPTER 40

Another example of Corruption of Justice (wow these are everywhere) is when Mr. Rouncewell inadvertently runs against Sir Dedlock. When Sir Dedlock’s conservative party gets into trouble, they began bribing people to vote for him, since only people who owned land or a business could vote. This is a corruption of justice in the same way bribing a judge to change their decision is corruption of justice—the influence of money on those in the court system.

CHAPTER 41

Why doesn’t Tulkinghorn give away her secret right away? Instead of revealing the truth right off the bat, he says that what’s best for the family is too keep up appearances…but for how long? (The theme of Appearances)

CHAPTER 42

In the last chapter, Tulkinghorn came to tell Lady Dedlock that he knows her secret and could reveal it at any time. She asks how she can keep Rosa from being tainted because of association. At the time, it seemed odd that she should care so much about one of her maids, but I’ve never had one so who am I too judge. Anyway, in this chapter, Hortense is stalking Mr. Snagsby because she needs a job, and goes to see Tulkinghorn at Tulkinghorn’s request. He tells her to go away, but she says that if he finds her a job then she will help him bring Lady Dedlock down. Why would she be so willing to do so if she was just angry over being fired, and more than that, how does she know that Tulkinghorn wants to bring Lady Dedlock down in the first place? I think Hortense knows Lady Dedlock’s secret (or at least has a very good, if unconfirmed, idea of what it is) and that’s why she is so desperate to get back at her for firing her. This also explains why Lady Dedlock would be concerned about the fate of Rosa, because Rosa knows her secret, too.

CHAPTER 43

Jarndyce is very willing to accept the façade that Skimpole has been giving him, the whole “I don’t know anything, I’m just a simple man”, but Esther doesn’t seem to be having it now that he is starting to effect one of her friends. This is an example of the theme of Appearances, which hasn’t been talked about much, but is very present throughout the book in the characters mannerisms, actions, and the setting.

CHAPTER 44

JARNDYCE PROPOSED TO ESTHER AND SHE SAYS YES EVEN THOUGH SHE ISN’T OVER WOODCOURT. But it is strange that when she does accept, Jarndyce call her “the mistress of Bleak House”, like she’s marrying the house instead of him…

CHAPTER 45

The theme of Corruption of Justice rears its’ ugly head again in the very seams of Richards character. Mr. Vholes comes by Bleak House to let Jarndyce know Richard is going to sell his army commission to pay for his pursuit of the Jarndyce & Jarndyce case, and Mr. Jarndyce is at a loss because Richard wouldn’t take his money even if he offered. So, Esther goes to see him, but he has already sold his commission and is, basically, a hot mess. He thinks Esther coming by and Ada offering him all of her money to not sell his commission is just Jarndyce attempting to buy him off. Jeez Richard, get it together. Of course, these are all just messages that Mr. Vholes and the “innocent” Mr. Skimpole have just planted in his brain.

CHAPTER 46

Okay, like Esther I might be in love Woodcourt. He finds Jenny while taking care of poor people and actually treating them like they’re humans (weird, I know), and she tells him to run after a boy that he assumes just mugged her. Well, turns out, it was Jo! Apparently he didn’t run away, someone took him, but he is too ill to tell them who. Now, he is severely disfigured and has returned to Tom-All-Alone’s to die. The theme of Appearances, they matter!

CHAPTER 47

Jo dies, this is very sad. Apparently when the stories were coming out, people would write to Dickens asking him to kill off more small children because he did it so well. Before I read this scene, I would’ve thought that was extremely morbid, but now I get it. I’ll miss you, Jo!

CHAPTER 48

Back to Lady Dedlock and this odd Rosa-fiasco, Lady Dedlock tells Rosa that she is going to send her away, and even though Rosa doesn’t want to go, she agrees because it’s for the best. It seems that Lady Dedlock has “adopted” Rosa as a makeshift daughter since she lost Esther, and is now trying to protect one of the only people who know what really happened.

CHAPTER 49

In this chapter, the theme of Appearances shows its’ face again. In the beginning it’s just Mrs. Bagnet having a small birthday party with her family and Mr. George, when Bucket walks in, pretending to be one of Mr. Georges good friends. When they leave the party, Bucket cuffs him for the murder of Mr. Tulkinghorn. Since Appearances are such a big deal in this book, the fact that Bucket was trying to help Mr. George save face is a big deal. It means that he is a genuinely good character.

CHAPTER 50

Ada turns twenty-one, meaning she is no longer a minor and can now marry Richard, but there is something wrong with her. Esther thinks she is worried about her marrying Jarndyce, but by the end we realize that is not the issue. Maybe she no longer wishes to marry Richard?

CHAPTER 51

Well I was wrong, Ada was already married to Richard. This is a case of Duty because Ada married Richard since she thought it was her duty to help him out of trouble, meaning she gave him all her money to spend on the court case. Now, she is not coming back to Bleak House, and Vholes says that Richard owes many people a lot of money, and now Ada is caught up in that debt as well.

CHAPTER 52

Corruption of Justice is prominent in this chapter because Mr. George refuses a lawyer, since he wants to get out based on the truth, not how a lawyer might work the facts. Mr. George is obviously aware of the evil the court has brought upon so many people, especially since he watched a man die in Mrs. Flite’s arms still condemning it, but it’s still kind of a ridiculous idea. Either way, he is very happy that Mr. Jarndyce and Esther think he is innocent, and seems fairly happy in his cell.

CHAPTER 53

This chapter is the third person narrator, but he is following around detective Bucket, who seems to be close to closing the case of who killed Tulkinghorn. The evidence toward his suspect, Lady Dedlock, is as follows: Mr. George saw someone who looked an alarming amount like Esther going up to his apartment the night Mr. Tulkinghorn was killed, she was seen out walking that same night by the post man, and Bucket received a letter from that postman with the words “LADY DEDLOCK” written on it. But something isn’t right, the pieces aren’t ALL fitting together.

CHAPTER 54

HORTENSE IS THE MURDERER. I figured she would get revenge, but killing Tulkinghorn and trying to blame Lady Dedlock is kind of a round-about way of doing it…So Bucket solved the case, which doesn’t surprise me since he is amazing, and Sir Dedlock, so overcome by the events of the day, collapses in a fit while lovingly calling out Lady Dedlock’s name. Even after he found out about her secrets, he still loved his wife, which is pretty amazing and very humanizing.

CHAPTER 55

This is kind of turning into a Dedlock soap opera. In this chapter, we see the otherside of the previous events when Mr. Georges mother, Mrs. Rouncewell, comes back and asks Lady Dedlock what she knows about the murder. Then, Mr. Guppy comes and tells her that Smallweed and the Chadbands are trying to blackmail her husband to keep quiet. This causes Lady Dedlock to freak out, leave all her possessions, and run. Sadly, Sir. Dedlock finds out about all of this and still loves her, but he may never get the chance to say so!

CHAPTER 56

CHAPTER 57

In this chapter, Esther and Bucket are hunting down Lady Dedlock. While doing this, they uncover that it was actually Skimpole who tipped Bucket off to the location of Jo the night he was sick. Jeepers, I really hate that guy. Again, this is theme of Appearances, mostly because Skimpole was so good at maintaining his naïve visod, even though Esther never bought it. Even Bucket says that those who pretend to know nothing about money are probably after yours.

CHAPTER 58

This chapter was very emotional because Sir Dedlock is fighting the effects of a stroke, and at the same time, trying to discuss how his feeling for Lady Dedlock have not changed and never will. He genuinely loves his wife, but I feel like these speeches might also be used to fight of the rumors going around on the streets, after all, keeping up appearances is important.

CHAPTER 59

LADY DEDLOCK IS DEAD. She asked where the “poor people’s” cemetery was because she believed that’s where she belonged since Sir. Dedlock had apparently disowned her. Even worse, she died without knowing that her husband had actually forgiven her.

CHAPTER 60

Mrs. Flite, the crazy court lady, has added two new birds to her otherwise terrifying collection: The Wards of Jarndyce. This is also her pet name for Ada and Richard. I am predicting that something is about to break at court, and the prophetic bird names will no longer be symbolic because they will turn into reality. Well, all except Spinach, I have a feeling that’s just a coincidence.

CHAPTER 61

THEME OF APPEARANCES x10,000! In this chapter, Woodcourt tells Esther that he loves her (awwww), but Esther is engaged to Jarndyce so they can’t be together. He says the damage to her face doesn’t change how he feels about her and they promise to stay close, even though they can never be married. This supports the theme because this is a very not-superficial relationship, unlike several that have been displayed, and the fact that appearances do matter so much throughout this book means that when a circumstance arises where they don’t, it is extremely important.

CHAPTER 62

Esther, of course, feels extremely guilty over the whole “I love Woodcourt” thing, and is very kind to Jarndyce for the next few days. They set a date for the wedding. Jarndyce keeps avoiding the word wedding though, and insists on referring to it as her becoming “a mistress of Bleak House”. In my opinion, he doesn’t want this marriage to actually take place, and is trying to distance himself from it. After all, he’s just doing it so she is taken care of and doesn’t die alone.

CHAPTER 63

CHAPTER 64

Esther and Woodcourt are getting married! Apparently when Jarndyce was saying she would become the mistress of Bleak House, he was referring to the house he bought and named after Bleak House that Esther and Woodcourt would live in! He set the whole thing up as a surprise once he found out she was in love with the kind doctor, and they got married in the same month.

CHAPTER 65

After all the pain, loss and greed, the Jarndyce case closes without a resolution. All the money that was to be inherited got spent on court costs over the course of eighty years, so now it will all just disappear. This is good for one family –Ada and Richard- for about one second, then Richard dies from an illness and Ada is left to raise a child on her own. All of it is really very sad, especially because the case would never be solved, and so many people lost their lives (in more ways than one) over its’ result.

CHAPTER 66

It seems that, at the end of the chapter, the third person narrator implies that the Dedlock’s line will lose Its’ hold on society when Sir. Dedlock dies. Lady Dedlock was a very important person within that family, and was respected by many people. I am assuming the loss of her life is what is going to bring down this family, and end it’s prominence.

CHAPTER 67

The last chapter basically summarizes what happens to everyone after the book ends: Esther and Woodcourt have two girls and are happily married, Caddy and Prince have a deaf daughter and Caddy takes over the dance studio, Mrs. Jellyby has abandoned Africa and has begun trying to get women into parliament, and Ada gives birth to her son whom she names Richard Jr. and raises him in Bleak House #1. It seems as though once the Jarndyce case ended, everyone’s lives took a turn for the better. Well, everyone except Mr. Skimpole, he just died after writing an autobiography about how selfish Mr. Jarndyce was. 

Three Deconstruction Ideas

1. Men/Women in Relationships Usually in literature, strong male leads are more prominent, and men appear to be the more dominant gender, especially in domestic relationships. In Bleak House, women are the breadwinners/the most prominent figure in the household. Some examples are: Lady Dedlock, Mrs. Jellyby, and Charlie, Esther's servant. 
2. Positive Effects of the Jarndyce Case/Negative Effects of the Jarndyce Case All we hear about in Bleak House are the negative things that come from being involved in the Jarndyce case (people going mad, broke, and dying unfullfilled), so what Charles Dickens is trying to stress is the good that comes from the case. For example, even though one family is suffering and copious relations amidst the Jarndyce family have been cut because of the case, it does provide people who would have otherwise been unemployed with jobs. 
3. Good People/Conniving People People such as Mr. Jarndyce, Bucket, the Bagnets, and Esther are rare characters in Bleak House because they are surrounded by an unfortunate populace. This means that every genuine character has a prominent role and supports a theme in Bleak House, and that Dickens was trying to show that there are in fact good people.  

Questions about Criticism

NEW CRITICISM

-Look at Bird symbolism

-Character names

-How Setting relates plot

-The theme of duty

-The of theme Corruption

READER’S RESPONSE

-Who is the third person narrator?

-Who is Summer talking to?

-Who is the third person narrator talking to?

-How do the horizons of expectations change from then to now?

-Why would Dickens choose Esther as a narrator?

Summary (up to Ch. 30)

• Introduction to Chancery, the biased view of the Court of Chancery stated by the third person narrator, introduction to Lady and Sir Dedlock, and their family lawyer Mr. Tulkinghorn. 
• Mr. Tulkinghorn gives the Dedlock's a summary of his day in court during the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case, and produces a document for them to read. Lady Dedlock sees the handwriting, asks who copied the page for them (as everything was handwritten back then), and faints. 
• Introduction to Esther and her horrible childhood with her godmother. Up until her godmother dies, Esther has been told how much better life would be if she had never been born, and told various Bible quotes that put down having children out of wedlock. Al is awesome. I love al. After her Godmother dies, Mr. Kenge, collects her and sends for her so she can train to be a governess at Mr. Jarndyce's ward. Introduction to Ada, Richard, and a crazy old lady. 
• On the way to Mr. Jarndyce's quarters, they have to make a stop at Mrs. Jellyby's and stay the night. Mrs. Jellyby lives in shambles because she is too busy fixing Africa to look after her children. Introduction to Caddy, Mrs. Jellyby's oldest daughter (and letter scribe) when she breaks down in tears over her living conditions and her mother's treatment of her siblings (Pee Pee and others). Esther takes care of the children the best she can and attempts to console Caddy. 
• The next morning the four of them (Esther, Ada, Richard, and Caddy) take a walk and end up in the neighborhood of the Court of Chancery. There they see the old women who takes them to a scary little "hobby shop" nicknamed the Court of Chancery, declared rightly so because it contains only garbage and nothing is for sale. Introduction to a man named Krook, the owner of the strange shop. The old woman shows the kids a cage full of birds that she is going to release of "Judgement Day". While leaving the shop, the old woman tells them to be quiet while passing in front of the door of a law writer/page copier. 
• Before the introduction of Mr. Jarndyce, Mr. Kenge tells them that his least favorite thing in the world is to be thanked, and Esther, Ada, and Richard despair at this. When they arrive, Jarndyce asks them about Mrs. Jellyby's, and after a few moments of pleasant stuttering, admit to how bad their stay was. 
• Introduction to Skimpole, a mooch off of Mr. Jarndyce. He avoids all responsibilities even though he has a family, and eventually asks Esther for money to get out of going to debtors prison. He shows no shame in asking, and Esther wonders how he gets out of his responsibilities.
• Introduction to Rosa and Mrs. Rouncewell, who has two sons in the army, and one grandson visiting the castle. Watt is busy checking out Rosa when Rosa opens the door to find Mr. Guppy and Mr. Tulkinghorn. Mr. Guppy freaks out when he sees the protrait of Lady Dedlock, swearing he's seen the painting or the woman before, although that's impossible, and then Mrs. Rouncewell describes the logic behind "Ghost Walk". 
• Jarndyce and Esther have a conversation about the J&J case and Richard's future in a mildly-romantic, mildly-paternal way, and Mrs. Pardiggle hits up Jarndyce for funding. She takes Esther and Ada to a house to harass a brickmaker .
• Introduction to Mr. Boythorn and his bird. They have a dinner and talk about the land-dispute between the Liecesters and the Dedlocks, and after dinner, Mr. Guppy purposes to Esther out of no where. She says no. 
• Mr. Tulkinghorn goes over to the Snagsby's house to find out who wrote the documents Lady Dedlock overreacted about. Mr. Snagsby says they were written by a man named Nemo, or "no one". 
• Mr. Tulkinghorn and Krook find Nemo dead in his apartment. Introduction to Joe, a street boy, because he is the only person who can testify at Nemo's trial since he has no family, but he is said to be too unsophisticated to be believed. Nemo is given a paupers burial and Joe cries at the gates the cemetery. 
• Lady Dedlock and Tulkinghorn meet to discuss the letters she overreacted about previously, and they meet at a gathering she is having for elitists. He says that the writer is dead and there is no way to find out who he was, or even his name. 
• Richard confesses his love to Ada. 
• Esther goes to visit the Jellyby's and finds out that Caddy is getting married to Prince Turveydrop. She meets Prince's father and he is in the perfect state of "deportment" (a.k.a. he has good manners). Turns out Prince works at a dance studio and wears cheap clothing so his father can remain decked-out in the goods. They go visit Mrs. Flite who then introduces them to her birds: Hope, Joy, Youth, Peace, Rest, Life, Dust, Ashes, Wast, Want, Ruin, Despair, Madness, Death, Cunning, Folly, Words, Wigs, Rages, Sheepskin, Plunder, Precedent, Jargon Gammon and Spinach.
• Mr. Skimpole comes back into the picture and talks about a family that is suffering from the fathers profession. When they seek them out, Tom, a five year old, is taking care of Emma, an eighteen month old baby, in a tiny, freezing-cold apartment. Charley, the oldest girl at thirteen, works as a laundress for very little money. The man from downstairs comes up during their visit to get the kids to play with them and give them a cookie.
• Joe is found by a mysterious woman who pays him a lot of money to show her where Nemo worked, where he lived, and where he was buried. Joe does it but doesn't understand why. 
• Esther and Jarndyce are worried about Ada since Richard has decided to go into studying law, and may be unable to support her in the future. 
• Jarndyce, Skimpole, and Esther go to visit Mr. Boythorn, who is neighbors with Mr. Leicester. There, she sees Lady Dedlock and begins having flashbacks about her past. 
• Mr. and Mrs. Snagsby are having tea with a man named Chadband who makes super long speeches about nothing when there is knock at the door. It is Joe being held by a police officer. Joe tells them about the woman who came to him and gave him a bunch of money. Then, Mr. Guppy enters the shop. The cop leaves and Mr. Chadband says that Mrs. Chadband took care of someone named Esther Summerson, which surprises Guppy for some reason.  
• Introduction to Mr. George and Mr. "Weevel". Bart Smallweed and  Guppy have lunch with Tony, and Guppy gets him a job with Krook under the guise of Mr. Weevel. Then, once they are finished with lunch, they return to the Smalllweed's house. There we meet Mr. George, an ex-army man who owns a small rifle range. He has debt with Mr. Smallweed. Mr. Smallweed is trying to hunt down a man named Hawdon for some unpaid debt, but he is dead. 
• Snagsby goes to see Tulkinghorn, but they are not alone, Introduction to Mr. Bucket, a detective. He wants to ask Mr. Snagsby a couple questions so they go to Tom All-Alones (on the way there he asks if Snagsby knows a criminal named Gridley). Bucket wants to find Joe so he can find out who the mysterious woman who gave him money is. When they find him, he sees a woman dressed the same but with a different voice, and different hands. Bucket pays him and Joe leaves. Once the woman removes her headdress, we see it is Hortense, the spited maid. 
• Hortense then goes and sees Esther looking for a job, but Esther says no and Hortense storms off.  The next time Esther sees Richard, she confronts him about his seemingly pathless way of life and he tells her he wants to buy stock in the army so he can be an officer. Then, Esther goes to see Caddy who wants her to come with her and Prince to tell their parents about their relationship. Mr. Turveydrop insists he is going to be with them until the day he dies (since he has no independent source of income) and Mrs. Jellyby doesn't seem to care. When Esther returns home, she finds that Jarndyce has given her a maid: Charley! She is now working for Esther, Tom is in school, and Emma is being taken care of. Yay!
• Richard and Ada break off their engagement and Richard goes into the army. Before that, however, Esther and Richard go to London where they meet Mr. George, who is shocked because Esther looks so familiar, and recieve an urgent message from Gridley to find Mrs. Flite and bring her to him. Mr. Bucket is there in disguise as a doctor, but Gridley dies holding Mrs. Flite's hand. 
• Joe is hunted down and brought to Snagsby's house by Chadband (the talking guy) and Mrs. Snagsby has her suspicions that Mr. Snagsby is Joe's father (completely incorrect). 
• Formal introduction to Phil, Mr. George's assistant who is hideously ugly and socially awkward. Mr. Smallweed comes into the shooting gallery with Judy, his granddaughter, because he wants a sample of Hawdon's handwriting. Mr. George doesn't want to give him one. Mr. Smallweed lets it slip that Richard has been borrowing money from him, and MR. George tries to convince him to leave him alone. Mr. George agrees to go with Smallweed, and Smallweed sees him slip something into his pocket before he leaves.  
• The lawyer who wants the paper is Tulkinghorn. George says maybe to the agreement and goes to consult the Bagnet's-- a super awesome family. They hangout all night, Mrs. Bagnet tells Mr. George to not get involved with Tulkinghorn, and he takes her advice. He goes to give Tulkinghorn the final no, but his doors are locked.
• Chapter 28 is basically a bunch of nonsense about Watt Rouncewell and Rosa the maid being in love but not being able to get married because of their social statuses. Mr. Dedlock doesn't think Mr. Rouncewell is high enough up for any kind of social job, and Mr. Rouncewell doesn't think that Rosa is high enough up to marry his son.
• During a gathering held by the Dedlocks, Lady Dedlock is avoiding Mr. Tulkinghorn all night. Mr. Guppy is introduced and is trying to make a case with Lady Dedlock that Esther is somehow related to their family line. He says: Esther looks a lot like Lady Dedlock, Mrs. Chadband (a woman who watched Esther) says Esther's real name was Esther Hawdon, Nemo's real name was Hawdon. Mr. Guppy leaves after promising to bring Lady Dedlock back some letters that Hawdon wrote to him. 
• LADY DEDLOCK IS ESTHER'S MOTHER AND HER "GODMOTHER" HAD STOLEN HER AFTER TELLING LADY DEDLOCK THAT SHE HAD DIED SHORTLY AFTER BEING BORN. 
• Mrs. Woodcourt goes to visit Jarndyce. Then Esther helps Caddy with her wedding which is lovely, but uneventful.

Bleak House Interesting Tidbits (1-8)

Chapter One

The fog in "Bleak House" represents the ineffectiveness and lack of integrity in the Court of Chancery. Though the fog is literal in the way that the weather is bad and how London appears to be very gloom and doom, it is also a metaphor for the "fogginess" of the Justice system; more specifically, the lack of clarity the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has, since the founders of the case have long since passed, and now it sits on the shoulders of their grandchildren.

Chapter Two

This chapter is about the introduction of Lady Dedlock and the going-ons in her life. They also introduce a character named Mr. Tulkinghorn, who is very scary in the way that he knows everyone's secrets. During chapter two,  Lady Dedlock faints when she sees the handwriting on one of the documents Mr. Tulkinghorn brings to her. This could be a foreshadow to something relevant in the J&J case because back then, everything was handwritten so you got to know everyone's individual style- especially that of your loved ones. This foreshadows a connection between this frivolous character and someone mentioned in the telling of Esther's life.

Chapter Three

A bit of irony abounds with the introduction of one of the dueling narrators- Esther Summerson. I think it's interesting that Dicken's chose a self-depricating, humble, kind girl as a main character, considering she doesn't have the personality of someone who would even dream of talking about her experiences. In my opinion, he created a very biased character (thinking the best of everybody and their actions) which may come in handy later in the story.

Chapter Four

This chapter introduces a theme in the book of ignoring your domestic responsibilities. Mrs. Jellyby doesn't keep track of her kids, there is rarely well-cooked food, cleanliness is not a priority, the staff is either drunk or not present, and she is more absorbed with a country hundreds of miles away more than she is with her own home. Basically, she represents the shambles London has fallen into.

Chapter Five

Some symbolism takes place in the Crazy Old Lady's house where the four young adults are beckoned into during their walk. So, Krook, an old man, owns a store full of things that he bought, but will never sell. He is a hoarder with a house filled with meaningless nonsense that has no value, and the majority of it is probably garbage. His house/store is nicknamed The Court of Chancery.

Chapter Six

Mr. Skimpole is a mooch when it comes to Mr. Jarndyce's resources, and apparently doesn't have a knack for responsibility, working, or providing for his family. He is a very controversial character because even though we are inclined to hate him, Esther seems very intrigued by his lifestyle, and wonders how he avoids so much responsibility. He shows Mr. Jarndyce's soft-spot for lost case's, but also makes you wonder why he would put up with this atrocious man for so long.

Chapter Seven 

During this chapter, Mrs. Rouncewell recounts the story of a terrace they call "The Ghost's Walk" because a few centuries ago, the past Lady Dedlock cursed the Dedlock family. Apparently, she cursed this spot in particular so that every time something horrible was about to happen to a future Dedlock, you would be able to hear her footsteps walking about. This is a very obvious foreshadow.

Chapter Eight

In chapter eight, Mrs. Pardiggle, a woman attempting to start some kind of organization, shows up at Mr. Jarndyce's house looking for funds. Her whole character further supports the theme of ignoring your domestic responsibilities and instead caring more about a different cause. She is rude, mean, and thinks very lowly of anyone and everyone. Her home circumstances are very similar to Mrs. Jellyby's because she works from home, her house is in shambles, her kids are merely used to humanize her organization so she brings to all of her events, and she controls her husband, who has no say in anything.

"The Big Two-Hearted River" Questions

1.     The barren landscape, lack of people, and remembrance of fallen partners are all examples of how this story could relate to WWI. The man in the story has PTSD from the war. This is apparent in the negative way he views his surroundings, such as the black and burnt landscape he discovers when he returns home. It reminds him of the bombed landscape he was attempting to get away from. This area, which used to be full of vegetation and life is now charred and full of ruin- just like the soldier is after going to war and coming back. The lack of other characters in this story is reminiscent of the loneliness soldiers feel when returning to war, because no one else understands what he went through. He feels he cannot reconnect this location, or the people there, with home because it is too similar to what he left behind.

2.     In my opinion, reading “The Big Two-Hearted River” before “The Sun Also Rises” would be a good idea because they have similar themes and characters. Much like “the Sun Also Rises”, “the Big Two-Hearted River” has a main character that has returned from war with PTSD. Also, both are written using the “iceberg theory”. This theory is that the author should describe one thing (Nice Adams fishing, Jake being an aficionado of bull fighting) when an entirely different thing occurs beneath (concentrating on fishing so he doesn’t have to think about anything else, Jake being into a masculine sport to make up for his own castration).

3.     Hemingway shows the theme in “Big Two-Hearted River” by paralleling and contrasting Nick Adams experience in World War I with his return to home. When he left the war, he was in a place that was burned and charred, and now, his home is too. This represents Nick because he is emotionally destroyed, just like his hometown, by the PTSD he is struggling with. Seeing the trout in its’ rightful place, the river, makes Nick want to fit in, and the river represents his journey to finding himself again.

4.     The first section focuses on Nick’s homecoming, and more intimately, how veterans returning from war feel that their homes have been metaphorically (or physically in this case) destroyed. They can no longer associate their past abodes with the safe and carefree place they left, and the fact that no one in their community really understands what they’ve been through makes them feel as though they might as well be alone. This creates a sad and desolate tone since Nick feels as though he is still in the war. The second section, however, creates a more positive tone. Nick sees the trout in their natural habitat, and feels envious. The river represents the journey he will need to take to recover the feeling belonging, and the grasshoppers represent the reformed person he will come out as on the other side, because they too have found

5.     The combination of Hemmingway’s simplistic diction, short sentences, and varied syntax made “The Big Two-Hearted River” very simple to read and comprehend. One thing I noticed while reading this story was that it was much easier to focus on the images that writing invoked because the writing was very straightforward. It seemed Hemmingway was going for the illusion that you are bobbing to the rhythm of the river mentioned in the story because it was very melodious and resembled a calm flow.