English 123: Blog 2

Having being almost finished with Great Expectations and finished with Ex Libris I wonder about a couple points brought up in each novel.
In Ex Libris the story that sticks out to me in my head is "Never do that to A Book" starting on page 37. Reading this story made me think about how I treat my books and how I treat other people and items as well. I treat books in a harsh manner; doggy ear the pages, write in the margins, underline sentences with good quotes for later use, and completely bend the spine. If a book looks like it has been beat up, that usually means I have read it and enjoyed it. However, the books that look brand new means I do not want anything to do with them. With other people in my life it is completely different most of the time. I realized that I treat my friends and family with lots of love and compassion, but occasionally the hurtful scenarios exist (doggy ears and highlighting) that help in making the relationship stronger. These scenarios make the relationship with a friend or family member have a history, a past, a story. Without tough situations I would have trouble trusting anyone and therefore lack one of the most important aspects of life; friendship.
Great Expectations has a lot of different elements that I could analyze and reflect on with my life. The main part of the story that has grabbed my attention is Pip's relationship with Estella. Having gotten out of a 4 year relationship I remember all of the hardships and feelings when you are constantly being put down by someone, only to be broughten up when they say your name or act slightly decent to you. It is an awful thing to allow another person control your emotions. But it is hard to stop when there is something about that person that you are completely head over heels for. Like the saying always goes, " Love is blind". Love is blind until you step out and realize the love you have for a person is based upon infatuation from an earlier time. The hardest thing to do is walk away from the relationship that has consumed your thoughts and feelings for years. Pip is so infatuated with Estella and her beauty that he will let her treat him like crap. But with the mere mention of his name he feels on top of the world. His emotions depend so much on the actions and words that come out of her mouth that she controls him and she knows it. Miss Havisham knows it and encourages her to string him along like a puppet since she got left at the alter by a man she thought was the love of her life. The circle of revenge created by Miss Havisham will destroy Pip I predict because of the time and emotions he has invested in Estella. Investing all of your time into someone else's feelings about you is dangerous and leads to one thing; heartbreak. Pip reminds me of myself in the fact that he cannot recognize that the person for him, in my opinion, is not Estella but Biddy. Estella causes him to be a snobby gentleman, whereas Biddy keeps him grounded and respects his needs and emotions. A person should always be with someone who grounds them without taking away from their dreams, not someone who tears their aspirations down little by little.