QuestionSelect all the details from the passage that confirm the decline of Miss Havisham's estate.
"I was watching them from a distance, when Miss Havisham laid a hand upon my shoulder. In her other hand she had a crutch-headed stick on which she leaned, and she looked like the Witch of the place."
"This is where I will be laid when I am dead. They shall come and look at me here."
"As I looked along the yellow expanse out of which I remember its seeming to grow, like a black fungus, I saw speckle-legged spiders with blotchy bodies running home to it, and running out from it."
"The black beetles took no notice of the agitation, and groped about the hearth in a ponderous elderly way, as if they were short-sighted and hard of hearing."
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
What is this asking? Which sentences show that Miss Havisham's place is falling apart and neglected? Watch out! Don't pick sentences that just describe Miss Havisham herself; we want descriptions of the *estate*.
STEP 2
1. Crutch and Witch
2. Funeral plans
3. Fungus and spiders
4. Beetles
STEP 3
Alright students, let's dive into this spooky scene!
Miss Havisham leaning on a "crutch-headed stick" paints a picture of **frailty and decay**, not just for her, but also symbolically for her **surroundings**.
It suggests that things are not well-maintained, just like her.
STEP 4
And being compared to the "Witch of the place"?! That's not a compliment to the *house*!
It reinforces the image of a **dark, neglected**, and possibly even **crumbling estate**.
STEP 5
Miss Havisham's morbid declaration, "This is where I will be laid when I am dead," speaks volumes.
Why is she planning her funeral *in her house*?
This detail hints at a **lack of care** for the property, as if it's not even a proper living space anymore.
STEP 6
Now, this is where the imagery gets truly creepy! "A black fungus" growing on a "yellow expanse" is a clear sign of **neglect and deterioration**.
Fungus thrives in **damp, decaying environments**, suggesting the estate is not well-maintained.
STEP 7
And those "speckle-legged spiders with blotchy bodies running home to it, and running out from it"? *Shudders*. Spiders love dark, undisturbed places, further emphasizing the **state of disrepair**.
STEP 8
Finally, we have the "black beetles" groping about "in a ponderous elderly way." This description not only adds to the **creepy atmosphere**, but also suggests a long-standing **lack of cleanliness** and **accumulated decay**.
The beetles are clearly at *home* in this environment.
STEP 9
The details confirming the decline of Miss Havisham's estate are:
"As I looked along the yellow expanse out of which I remember its seeming to grow, like a black fungus, I saw speckle-legged spiders with blotchy bodies running home to it, and running out from it."
"The black beetles took no notice of the agitation, and groped about the hearth in a ponderous elderly way, as if they were short-sighted and hard of hearing."
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