The Coward and the Weaver Girl

   From the dramas that I watched, I that this was the one drama that held the strongest resemblance to Romeo and Juliet. The storyline of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is basically the same, except how they met. Also, the character's background isn't the same. Where Juliet is Si Yin a fairy, a princess of one of the kings up in heaven. Romeo is Niu Lang, a poor and honesty boy from earth that is unloved by his family. They both met when Si Yin was 7 if i remembered correctly and that's when they fell in love. Despite the happiness that both of them experienced when they were young, when they grew up, things became more difficult. Si Yin was to be engaged to the water prince （Paris) and the crisis down on earth became more and more devastating. According to the law, humans and fairies are forbidden to fall in love. If they do fall in love then their punishment would be death. But in Si Yin and Niu Lang's case, they were separated to the two ends of the world where they can never meet. So according to Legend, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, magpies would form a bridge where Si Yin and Niu Lang can meet. This couple could be called the star crossed lovers, which is also how Romeo and Juliet is like. Except Juliet poisoned herself and both of them went into suicide where, Si Yin and Niu Lang was just separated. Not to mention, Si Yin and Niu Lang gave birth to a girl and a boy. I thought that this was a story that was also exactly like Romeo and Juliet, but this is one of the four most famous Chinese folk tales.

   At first I didn't know that such a folk tale existed until I saw the commercial that advertised this drama. I didn't watch the whole thing but I saw the important parts and I asked my mom about the story of the cowherd and the weaver girl. The Chinese name of this drama and folk-tale is called "Niu Lang Zhi Nu" ( 牛郎织女）. Although I got to say, the actors of the drama wasn't really good looking~ I think that's why I didn't watch the whole thing. What I call good looking actors is from “Romantic Princess”( 公主小妹）。

Connecting Romeo and Juliet

1. From what I have read of Romeo and Juliet, I think that there isn't really anything that I can connect with the story. But maybe the part how Montague doesn't really force Romeo to this and that at the beginning of the play. That's because my parents are the same, they let me do what ever I like most of the time. Just not when I'm lazing around and not doing my chores or homework, they would start telling to do my chores or homework. Also, when I think back, I didn't really have my parents by my side when I was younger. I was with my relatives most of the time that my parents were working at a restaurant that they owned. If I was at the city attending school, I would remember how my Dad came to pick me up from school no matter what weather, rain, sun, or storm. From what we read in class, I was thinking that most of the experience that I've had in my younger years and now is quite the opposite of what happened in the play. But, I would like some of the things that happened in the play to happen to me in real life...lie romance.

2. When I'm reading at home, I would understand most of it, maybe just the connotations of the words are a little harder. When I read at home, I wouldn't notice as much puns or humor as when I'm reading at school. I think that reading at class aloud helps me understand more of the play because of the meanings that are conveyed by another person. So, far I haven't used any resources to help my reading but I think I will use some later on when the play gets to more of the complex scenes. But one thing that I don't like about the play is that when the acts or out of nowhere they change the scene without telling. For example, in act 1.4 it started with Romeo and Benvolio talking, I thought they were at Romeo's house. But, I found out later that they were on their way to the mask party.

Wrapping up of Great Expectations

   So,every book that we read always have a lesson that is taught or a message being conveyed. In Great Expectations ,Charles Dickens use characters that are innocent and haven't seen much of the outside world. But, then when they actually come in contact with the outside world, it completely changes their views on things. Like for example, Pip comes in contact with someone who is his age for the first time and from the outside world, Estella. With the influence of Estella's point of view on Pip's outward appearance, she makes fun of pip how he is so much like a commoner and that if he liked Estella, then he would never be able to stand on the same line as she is without becoming a so called " gentleman". Now, this shows that human nature is to want more, what we don't have is what we admire or want. But, when we do get out hands on the thing that we wanted or is forbidden, we lose what is originally ours.Also, the thing that we have achieved isn't what we thought it really was. Meaning that we have to sacrifice something to get something else that we wanted. Take this, Pip becomes a gentleman throughout the years with the help of his mysterious benefactor, sure he doesn't get the girl he loves, Estella. But, he finds that Estella isn't really what he thought she was, he was trying all this time to match up to her status of a lady, but really she is the daughter of two criminals. Also, in the process, Pip loses the comfort of having Joe as a best friend and talk about what ever they want.Adding to what I also, say, I think that we should be happy with what we've got and not be greedy wanting for more than what we already have with us.

Thoughts on Great Expectations

Over all I thought the book was okay...but I feel that it could be more interesting. In a way, the novel wasn't as appealing as I thought it was. Truthfully stating, I DO NOT like Charles Dickens writing. I feel that he has too much of non- exciting writing and that the novel was one like one of his works "A Christmas Carol". The movie was interesting and fun to watch, but the novel was in short boring. But Great Expectations wasn't as boring as A Christmas Carol as a writing. Or it could just be that Dickens doesn't fill the holes that I are exciting and interesting to read. Although, I got to say that his writing style is pretty unique, not your usual writing that you read these days. Also, his usage of words were kind of confusing made the novel more complex than it really was. Then, when there's humor or some kind of important thing, I thought it wasn't important or the humor didn't reach me at all. I sympathized with Pip in the beginning of the novel, but when it reached the 2nd stage, I just started hating him and the story got sooo boring. Most of the mysteries that I was uncertain about got solved as I read more of the novel, so basically at the end all the mysteries are wrapped up and solved.


   I didn't read the entire book, but I read most of it. I like skipped 2 or 3 chapters and looked at spark notes, other than that, I only looked at spark notes when I was confused with the storyline. I started out reading the assigned reading assignments but then as the novel dragged, my reading was dragged. I would suddenly get behind on reading 3/4 of the way on the 2nd stage. Then, the reading would seem too long and I would read need to read about 40-60 pages a night to make up for previous night that I didn't read.

Great Expectations Photo Post

In this picture there is many house similar to London in Great Expectations. In the novel, Pip was visited by his benefactor who he least expected to see, the criminal that he rescued when he was a kid at the marshes. " It was wretched weather; stormy and wet, stormy and wet; mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets" (39, 314). Similarly in this picture as shown is a dark and stormy night which one would think a misfortune. I choose this picture because both the novel and this picture is a symbol that there is a foreshadowing that something bad will happen later on in the story. In the novel, Pip has many misfortunes happening to him. For example, Estella getting engaged to Drummle, him hiding a convict, and the fact that he might watched by the government or someone. Also, when he met Mr. Wopsle, Wopsle saw Compeyson behind Pip, which isn't a good thing, knowing that Compeyson is here to have revenge on Provis( Abel Magwitch).

Great Expectations Connections & picture

Although tight now I can't really think of any novels or movies that I've watched is similar to Great Expectations, I think that Goong is rather similar. There's a lot of dramas that I've watched and loved that carried a little of each of the motifs and themes that  is in Great Expectations. But I'll say probably the feelings of hurt was one of the things that appeared to me in this Korean drama called Goong. That's because Crown Prince Lee Shin, one of the main characters is in love with someone else other than his fiancee that both Chae Kyung and his grandfather decided. Although he loves Hyo Rin, Lee Shin stills feels guilty that he should love Chae Kyung.

   Whereas Chae Kyung has to suffer the pain that is caused by Lee Shin when she slowly falls in love with Lee Shin. In Pip's case, he loves Estella but the coldness that is shown to Pip whenever he meets Estella is similar to the case of Lee Shin and Chae Kyung. But the extreme of those feelings of hurt wasn't as far as in Goong, because during some of the moments when Chae Kyung is hurt, my chest would clench up like something has pricked it. On the other hand, when I think about Pip and Estella's feelings that are involved, they don't seem to hurt each other as much but there is still a feeling of hurt that is expressed through.

   Also, it feels like both the characters in Great Expectations and Goong is going through a roller coster of emotions. The two couples would experience the ups and downs on their realtionships. It's just that Pip and Estella's relationship hasn't reached to the point where they are with each other everyday and tied by something like Lee Shin and Chae Kyung.

Great Expectations, Second Stage

   "If I could buy the furniture now hired for me," said I, "and one or two other little things, I should be quite at home there" (ch24,197)

In this quote it seems as thought Pip is starting to behave like a man who has luxuries unlike when he was living with Mr and Mrs Joe. Asking money from Mr. Jagger is basically proving that now Pip is looking down on the people who didn't have much money. Even when he himself was once in that lower class of people. Connecting this, as he grows up in London, he begins to think that Joe is a shame compared to people that were on a more higher class level than them.

   During Pip's stay in London he sheds the innocence of his naive past, becoming greedy and lazy. In stage one, Pip wouldn't ask for money at all, even if he did he wouldn't get any either way. But, there was one time when Pip was getting a fitting for his new set of clothes, he spent quite a lot of money on the clothes. The amount of money that he use to spend made a big jump when he started to get ready for the trip to London. As Pip's so called " becoming a gentleman" time goes on, I think that he will spend more and more money on things that he usually wouldn't spend on. Also, his personality would get more and more on the side which the reader will hate this character called "Pip".