Great Expectations? love this book!!?

Question

I'm struggling to decipher Pip's letter to Joe:

mi deer jo i ope u r kr wite well i ope i shal son b habell 4 2 teedge u jo an then we shorl b so glodd an wen i m prengtd 2 u jo wot larx an bl eve me inf xn pip

do you think this is a correct translation of it:

My dear Joe,

I hope you are quite well. I hope I shall soon be able to teach you, Joe – and then we shall be so glad. And when I am apprenticed to you, Joe: what larks! Believe me, in affection,

Pip

and if that is correct... what does pip mean when he says "and when i am apprenticed to you Joe, what larks! Believe me, in affection, Pip"

I don't really understand the meaning of the word larks.. does pip mean that he is looking forward to being apprenticed to Joe?

really appreciate it!

thanks!

Answer 1

The translation - yes, you are correct.

The second part - I am not sure. Maybe read out the whole book?

The book is found free of cost and fully online here:

http://webliterature.net/literature/d**k...

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Good. Read the book with attention. You will enjoy manythings. Specially Estella & pip relationship will make you thrilled.

Answer 3

That is essentially what he wrote to Joe. Of course, though incorrect, Pip says: "soon be able for to teach you." You left out an "and" between larks & believe. (Obviously, besides his spelling, Pip's grammar was not great. Both the "for" as well as the "and" are unnecessary.)

When a child was apprenticed to a tradesman, it meant that he had a contract (usually someone had to pay for this) in which he agreed to work for a set time, either without pay or with a very small amount of money, while learning that trade. In this way, the child was basically getting on-the-job training. After he was skilled, the contract would stipulate he was to promise to continue working for that tradesman for a set time. Wikipedia and other places have a lot of information about apprenticeships.

Pip is telling Joe that they will have great fun together - away from Mrs. Joe's critical eye - while Joe is training Pip. (Larks are simply carefree times or being playful.) Joe and Pip were the best of friends and got along very well, but Mrs. Joe kept them from enjoying each other's company as much as they would have liked.

That "believe me and in affection" is simply the closing of the letter, just as "sincerely yours" or "truly yours" or "with love" might be.

Does that help? I hope so.