Great Expectations Question

"When my ablutions were completed,I was put into clean linen of the stiffest character, like a young penitent into sackcloth, and was trussed up in my tightest and fearfullest suit."ch.7 p.51

I am unsure of what some of these words mean. What is an ablution and how was Pip "abluting"? What is a young penitent and how does Pip act like one?

Essay Thingy

One example of a character who lives to pursue pleasure is Cecily Cardew. Although she is not as extreme as some of the other characters and may even come across at first as innocent and naive, her selfish actions are later revealed. The first thing you discover about Cecily's selfish nature is that she constantly avoids studying. She avoids it because she dislikes it, and as a result, she is a very ignorant person. But despite this she faces no consequences for her lack of intelligence. Mrs. Prism rarely tries to reinforce her education and nobody judges her based on her stupidity. Another way Cecily pursues pleasure is by fretting over her garden. Cecily is very attentive to how things look so she spends the time she should be studying watering her garden and making it beautiful. She does this to escape the boredom of her everyday life, and nobody tries to stop her, except for maybe Mrs. Prism who doesn't try very hard. On top of this Algernon even compares her beauty to that of her flowers, thus enforcing her behaviour. The final and most extravagant way Cecily pursues pleasure is through writing. When Algernon discovers that Cecily created a fantasy engagement between the two of them Cecily says "... I was forced to write your letters for you, three times a week and sometimes oftener." Cecily had created a fantasy in her mind about being engaged to Algernon which she brought to life by writing about it in her diary and writing letters to herself. She does this to pretend she has the dramatic romantic life she's always wanted but doesn't have. Her actions come across as desperate and somewhat creepy but despite this, Algernon does not find her any less desirable and the two end up actually getting married. Cecily is ultimately a good example of a character who lives for pleasure. Though some may argue that she is like any other teenage girl, selfish and air headed and wishing for what she doesn't have, but unlike other girls who only wish, Cecily actively pursues her desires without any regard for what other people think of her actions. And even when Cecily does behave like a greedy brat, she still often gets what she wants.


I'm sorry sorry sorry this was posted so late! My computer at my mom's isn't working so I had to wait until saturday evening to do it at my dad's. I'm sorry!

1. It was hard coming up with examples for Cecily because there really is only one obvious way she pursues pleasure. If you have any other ideas please tell me. I didn't change much from my first draft except that I took out the first two concrete details because they were no longer required for the assignment. (Thank GOD, they sucked.)

2. Just give me any comments you may have. Are there any other examples of how she pursues pleasure? Should I change the CD? Did I overuse some words?