Great Expectations: Chapters 10–12

Before you start

How much do you remember? Do the quick quiz.

1. Who is Pip’s tutor in London? Matthew Pocket.

2. Who was the pale young gentleman Pip meets at Miss Havisham’s house? Joe.

3. Who was responsible for the attack on Mrs Joe? Orlick.

4. Where does Pip first meet Magwitch? In the graveyard, on the marshes.

5. What happens to Drummle after he marries Estella? He has an accident on his horse and dies.

6. Which country did Magwitch go and live in? Australia.

7. Who was Molly? Jagger’s maid and Estella’s mother.

8. What happens to Compeyson at the end of the book? They get married and have two children.

Vocabulary

1. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words from the box.

1. Before Molly worked for Mr Jaggers, she had been a homeless criminal.
2. It was a coincidence that Mr Jaggers was the lawyer of both Miss Havisham and Provis.
3. It turned out that Provis was related to Estella. He was her father.
4. People thought that Molly had murdered her daughter.
5. Orlick nearly killed Pip when he tricked him into going to a house on the marshes, and tied him up.
6. Pip tried to help Provis escape on a steamer which was going to Hamburg.
7. Miss Havisham found guilty that Molly was Estella’s mother.

Reading

2. Read the sentences and choose the best answers A, B or C.

1. Five of Pip’s brothers and sisters ............ .

A. had died when Pip was very young

B. lived with Pip

C. lived in the same village

2. On Christmas morning Pip went back to the graveyard ............ .

A. to visit his parents’ graves

B. to take the escaped convict some food

C. to help the escaped convict take off the leg-irons

3. When Joe visited Pip in London he felt ............ .

A. embarrassed

B. very happy

C. angry

4. On the marshes a fight took place between ............ .

A. two escaped convicts

B. Joe and the soldiers

C. the soldiers and the escaped convicts

5. Joe wasn’t happy that ............ .

A. Pip didn’t have any friends

B. Pip didn’t like Mrs Joe

C. Mrs Joe was unkind to Pip

6. Estella made Pip sad because ............ .

A. she wouldn’t play with him

B. she wouldn’t put the food and drink in his hands

C. Estella was crying

7. Pip thought the large dark-haired man visiting Miss Havisham was ............ .

A. a relative

B. a doctor

C. a neighbour

8. When Pip grew up he wanted ............ .

A. to be an apprentice

B. to improve his position in life

C. to earn a lot of money

9. Joe ............ .

A. was angry about Pip taking an afternoon’s holiday

B. didn’t mind Pip taking an afternoon off work

C. let Orlick have an afternoon off work as well

3. Match the characters with the best pair of adjectives. Then give reasons for your choices with examples and quotes from Chapters 1-12.

1. Estella c. cruel but honest. She is cruel as shown in the irst chapter where she makes fun of Pip for his common background. She is honest, as we see in chapter 7 when she tells Pip she has no heart “I have no heart. I am neither kind nor good.”

2. Joe b. loyal and forgiving. He shows loyalty to his wife – even though she treats him and Pip badly, he never criticises her. In chapter 2 he says “She’s a ine woman.” At the same time he says to Pip “but I wish she wouldn’t hit you, though”. As soon as Pip asks for forgiveness in Chapter 12, Joe (and Biddy) forgive him immediately, and say there is nothing to forgive.

3. Herbert Pocket a. friendly and optimistic. Herbert is a true friend and looks after Pip when he comes to London. In Chapter 6 he “tries to help Joe to feel comfortable” when Joe visits them in London. He is always cheerful and positive; Joe describes him in chapter one as having a “cheerful face”.

4. Pip d. caring but unrealistic. Pip helps Magwitch at the start of the book by taking him food and the ile; later in the book he helps Herbert to set up a business by asking Miss Havisham to give him money. He has romantic ideas about his future which are not realistic. He believes that just by being better educated Estella will accept him.

Speaking

5. Read the quotes from Chapters 1-12, work in pairs to answer the questions for each quote.

1. Who says this? ‘… I realise that until now, I have misunderstood everything!’
Pip said this in Chapter 10 to Miss Havisham. He thought that Miss Havisham was his benefactor, but he found out that he was wrong and that he misunderstood everything. We learn that Pip believes anything and does not look for evidence to be sure.

2. Which chapter does the quote come from? ‘It is my fault that Estella is so cruel. Forgive me, Pip!’
Miss Havisham said this in Chapter 11 to Pip. She was telling him what happened to her and how her iancé left her. She made Estella cruel to take her revenge on all men. We learn that Miss Havisham is hurt and broken hearted.

3. Who are they speaking to? ‘I am going to stop you. You have always spoiled things for me.’
Orlick said this in Chapter 11 to Pip. Orlick believed that Pip was the reason behind all his troubles, so he wanted to get rid of him. We learn that Orlick is cruel and blames others for his own mistakes.

4. Explain what the speaker means. ‘You can become a gentleman without me, my boy.’
Provis said this in Chapter 12 to Pip. Provis was dying, so he told Pip that he can be a gentleman without him being there to support him. We learn that Provis is kind and he loves Pip as a son.

5. What do we learn about the speaker from this? ‘I have been hurt, just as much as I hurt you … and now I understand how you felt.’
Estella said this in Chapter 12 to Pip. Pip met Estella after she sold Miss Havisham’s old house. She explained that she had thought about Pip often and that she understood how much she hurt him before. We learn that Estella is no longer cold or cruel.