Help! Great Expectations is quite confusing with some of its skewed terms that I have never heard before. these terms confuse me almost to no end. One part is when Joe notices that Pip's bread is no longer there, “You know, Pip,” said Joe, solemnly, with his last bite in his cheek, and speaking in a confidential voice, as if we two were quite alone, “you and me is always friends, and I'd be the last to tell upon you, any time. But such a—” he moved his chair, and looked about the floor between us, and then again at me—“such a most oncommon bolt as that!”
“Been bolting his food, has he?” cried my sister.
“You know, old chap,” said Joe, looking at me, and not at Mrs. Joe, with his bite still in his cheek, “I Bolted, myself, when I was your age—frequent—and as a boy I've been among a many Bolters; but I never see your bolting equal yet, Pip, and it's a mercy you ain't Bolted dead.” (Dickens 10)
I really don't understand all this talk about 'bolting' anyone know? I understand the general meanings of most things but I feel that by not know what specifically the words mean that i am missing the full experience of Dickens and his writing.
Heaps of thanks!
Love Amaya
Bolting means eating your food really fast...but Pip really just put it down his pants :) and then Joe is saying that he used to "bolt" down his food when he was younger and he is making fun of pip by eating faster than him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ella. One of the definitions of "bolting" is to go fast and Joe and Mrs. Joe are saying that he has been eating his food too quickly.
ReplyDeleteyeah... bolting is just eating fast, which is considerd unhealthy by Mrs. Joe... But it's nothing that can't be cured with some tar water. ;]
ReplyDeleteYep yep, they are all right. Bolting is simply just eating fast. Like if you bolting from class to clas your running really fast; so if you're bolting your food, you're just eating really fast. In this passage,Joe is pretending to be on Mrs. Joe's side and warning Pip of how ungealthy bolting his food is but really he is just saving Pip from Mrs. Joe's rath.
ReplyDeleteDoes that help? :)