Connections To Great Expectations

     This post is especially difficult for me because most of what I read is non-fiction, and hold no similarity to Great Expectations. The best example I can think of is the book Mixed Emotions, by Greg Child.

     Mixed Emotions is a compilation of short stories from Child's life, starting out when he first started climbing as a teenager in Australia, to his time on El Capitan, and in the Karakorum. Aside from the hard to follow timelines of both stories, the biggest similarity between the two books is the theme that fame (Mixed Emotions), and money/power (Great Expectations) aren't everything they're made out to be. 

     Through his perseverance, Child managed to become a world renowned climber, but instead of spending the whole book telling himself how great he is, he spends a lot of time asking himself "Is it worth it?" After losing most of his toes to frostbite, shattering numerous bones in a fall, and watching powerlessly as his best friend died of HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) he begins to realize that although he is world famous, it isn't worth watching his friends die for.

     Even if he didn't have to work for it, Pip becomes a Gentleman, which in the eyes of those in his hometown is akin to being world famous. Although he tells himself he has everything he ever wanted, in the back of his mind he knows that he isn't truly happy, even though he has everything he thought he wanted. After being in London for some time, he starts to realize how his expectations have changed him, and that his dream life isn't as perfect as he thought it would be. Although not as dramatic as Child's story, Pip is also paying a price for his dream when he alienates all those who had ever loved him.

   Both of these books tell the stories of two characters who managed to achieve their lifelong dreams, but eventually realize that fame, money, and power aren't everything they're made out to be. 

     Additionally, both books deal with mysteries, although of two different kinds. The mysteries in Great Expectations center around characters, and the details about their lives that are intentionally omitted. Mixed Emotions is also filled with mysteries, but they all have to do with the human psyche instead of the characters. For example, Child spends time describing the unexplained phenomenon of ghostly companions experienced by high altitude climbers. When climbing above about 7,000 people sometimes report feeling another presence following them. Some people become so convinced that this presence is real that they report trying to give it food, only to discover that there is no one there. People who have become lost in blizzards have reported being guided back to their companions by an unknown presence. Depending on who you ask, this mysterious presence is god guiding those who have lost their way, a ghost of a dead climber, or most probably, a combination of oxygen deprivation, exhaustion, and dehydration playing tricks on peoples minds.