In-class essay prompt for Great Expectations

Here is the prompt, from the 2000 AP Lit exam:

Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery of detective story genre nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery may be less important than the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or more of the characters confront a mystery. Then write an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.

I was going to give you some notes on writing beforehand, but I don't think that's a good idea. There's no reason to complicate the task by making you self-conscious about what you're doing. Just write naturally and to the point. Provide a little context for each character and incident you name or allude to. Examples:

"…Pip goes to play at the house of the wealthy but eccentric Miss Havisham…"

"…Estella, a haughty and beautiful girl who appears to Miss Havisham's adopted daughter."

"Among the Finches is one Bentley Drummle, a lout who also happens to be a highborn 'gentleman'."

The escaped convict that Pip helped years before turns out now, to his astonishment, to be a wealthy sheep farmer from Australia named Magwitch—and Pip's true benefactor."

The old AP line that in this version runs "explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole" is a standard feature. Don't let it bother you. The intent is to keep you mindful that the writer's purpose in employing (in this case) the features of a mystery novel have a greater and more profound purpose than "whodunnit."

That's all, folks. See you tomorrow!