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Thread: some Puzzles in reading Great Expectations

  1. #1
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    Unhappy some Puzzles in reading Great Expectations

    "Where have you been, you young monkey?" said Mrs. Joe, stamping her foot."Tell me directly what you've been doing to wear me away with fret and frightand worrit, or I'd have you out of that corner if you was fifty Pips, and he was five hundred Gargerys."
    what is the meaning in "I'd have you out of that corner if you was fifty Pips, and he was five hundred Gargerys." (what is "fifty Pips")(what is "five hundred Gargerys")

    hope for the answers

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    Registered User wordeater's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by andrew8899 View Post
    "Where have you been, you young monkey?" said Mrs. Joe, stamping her foot."Tell me directly what you've been doing to wear me away with fret and frightand worrit, or I'd have you out of that corner if you was fifty Pips, and he was five hundred Gargerys."
    what is the meaning in "I'd have you out of that corner if you was fifty Pips, and he was five hundred Gargerys." (what is "fifty Pips")(what is "five hundred Gargerys")

    hope for the answers
    She means "I'm not scared of you, even if there were fifty of you."

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    "your elth's your elth?"

    how about the following sentence:
    "If you can cough any trifle on it up, Pip, I'd recommend you to do it," said Joe,all aghast. "Manners is manners, but still your elth's your elth."
    what is "your elth's your elth?"

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    thanks for ur answer.

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    Registered User wordeater's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by andrew8899 View Post
    how about the following sentence:
    "If you can cough any trifle on it up, Pip, I'd recommend you to do it," said Joe,all aghast. "Manners is manners, but still your elth's your elth."
    what is "your elth's your elth?"
    Your health?

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    Quote Originally Posted by wordeater View Post
    Your health?
    thank you for the answer,very helpful in deed.

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    She was tall and bony, and almost always
    wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a
    square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles. She made
    it a powerful merit in herself, and a strong reproach against Joe, that she wore this
    apron so much. Though I really see no reason why she should have worn it at all;
    or why, if she did wear it at all, she should not have taken it off, every day of her
    life.
    the question is that why in Pip idea,his sister's wearing the apron was unnecessary?
    and that why the wearing the apron relates to a powerful merit in herself, and a strong reproach against Joe?

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    Pip thinks his sister plays the martyr. Alright, she may have cooking, cleaning, and lots of other domestic chores, but either she does more than she needs to, or she exaggerates how much she does. She implies Pip and Joe are a great burden to her, that they could not cope without her, and that she is not thanked enough for her efforts. None of it is true, and she could take the apron off and chill sometimes.

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    Wink Dickens and the use of Eye Dialects

    Quote Originally Posted by andrew8899 View Post
    how about the following sentence:
    "If you can cough any trifle on it up, Pip, I'd recommend you to do it," said Joe,all aghast. "Manners is manners, but still your elth's your elth."
    what is "your elth's your elth?"
    Dickens often used eye dialects as an indication of a character's accent, or prononciation of certain words.
    Here Joe simply means "your health is your health."

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