Everyday life is full of ups and downs, but in order to get to the ups you must get through the downs. The James Hilton novel, Goodbye Mr. Chips, shows the story of a good-hearted teacher Mr. Chippings, otherwise known as Chips. Throughout the book, Chips is faced with many difficulties, some he overcomes very easy, such as being asked to retire by a cocky, young head master. Yet there are other tragedies in his life that Mr. Chips cannot overcome quite as easy. The biggest hardship comes when Katherine, Mr. Chip's wife, dies while giving birth to their only child, but to make it even more devastating their child dies shortly after, along side it's mother. This is very hard on Chips, but he pulls through and lives a fulfilling and exuberant life. James Hilton illustrates that life goes on by showing how Mr. Chips copes with the death of his family.
It all starts as Mr. Chips is walking alone trying to wake up from the horrible nightmare he is living. As he was walking, Faulkner, one of his students, stops him and asks if he could have the rest of the afternoon off to go to the station to meet some family members who are coming to visit. Chips calmly replies yes, and then Faulkner asks if he could be excused from chapel as well, to spend some time with them, Chips wants to shout, "You can go to blazes for all I care, my wife is dead, my child is dead, and I wish I were dead myself!"(Chapter 8), but holds his tongue and merely nods instead. .
Later that day in his fourth forum, Mr. Chips was the plot of an April Fool's day joke, when his students put a pile of blank letters on his desk and laugh as he opens each one, not knowing what he is going through. Chips is near a break down and does not know what to do next. .
Chips is now at his lowest. He does not know how to cope with his lose. He is ready to quit, ready to give up his house mastership, and ready to crawl into a dark corner and cry his life away, but Meldrum, the Headmaster, talks to him and persuades him otherwise.
In "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," by James Hilton, the theme is that a virtuous person, no matter what his position, can have a lasting influence on the people who come in contact with him. Mr. Chips, the main character, begins his career as a humble schoolteacher, but through his kindness, humor, and genero...
A very enjoyable and worthwhile read is Goodbye, Mr. Chips, by James Hilton. The protagonist, Mr. Chipping, is a teacher at Brookfield, who is affectionately known to all of the students and faculty as Mr. Chips. Through all of his years of teaching at Brookfield, and eventually, as the Acting Headm...
Why was Gone with the Wind so successful? The enduring popularity and success of Gone with the wind can be put down to various different factors, the superb performances, captivating story, and groundbreaking production to name a few, yet it is the amalgamation of all these factors and more which...
