4. Great Expectations: (pg.22)

4. Great Expectations: (pg.22) “... secretly crossed his two forefingers, and exhibited them to me, as our token that Mrs. Joe was in a cross temper. This was so much her normal state, that Joe and I would often, for weeks together, be, as to our fingers, like monumental Crusaders as to their legs.”:
The Crusades were wars between those who believe in the Islam religion and those who believe in Christianity. Christians were trying to win over the Holy Lands or places that Jesus was born and traveled in during his lifetime which were controlled by Muslims. The wars took place over a 200 year period during the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Statues and paintings of this time period often depict Crusaders with their legs crossed. The crossed legs represented the Cross; the cross is a symbol for followers of Jesus as Jesus was killed by being nailed to a cross. Dickens characterizes Joe and Pip to have a secret symbol to represent when Mrs. Joe is mad; Joe and Pip would cross their fingers. Dickens most likely chose this symbol to characterize that living with Mrs. Joe was like constantly being engaged in battle. Mrs. Joe felt called to battle with Pip to make sure that he was brought up to be properly appreciative and aware of the sacrifices she made for him. Also, Dickens is able to show us that Joe and Pip are tied to each other in the misery of facing Mrs. Joe. These words also characterize Mrs. Joe as someone that would be seen as unpleasant. She would be on the side fighting against the Crusaders.

“Art of the Crusades Era.” The Cultural Crusades: War and Cultural Exchange Between The Christian and Islamic Worlds. 8 December 1997. 23 December 2009. http://www.umich.edu/~marcons/Crusades/topics/art/art-article.html

"crusades." The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 23 December 2009. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/crusades.

Trueman, Chris. “The Crusades.” History Learning Site. 2000-2009. historylearningsite.co.uk. 23 December 2009. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cru1.htm.