Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Essay

isn't as close to Pip as he used to be, as he now calls him Mr Pip,

that he, the convict Pip met at the marshes, is the man who gave Pip

Both Miss Havisham and Magwitch are two key characters who shape Pip’s life and dreams. Pip himself is a young boy whose story reflects that of Charles Dickens, the author. When Dickens was twelve his father was imprisoned for debt, much like Magwitch- the father-figure in Pip’s life who was also a convict. Dickens was then sent to work at a boot-blacking factory where his mother forced him to work even after his father was released. Similarly, neither Mrs Joe nor Miss Havisham (the mother-figures) treated Pip well. Later, Dickens fell in love with Maria Beadnell but she rejected him- she is reflected in Estella who cruelly rejected Pip for much time. In 1875, the forty-five year old Dickens fell in love with eighteen year old Ellen Ternan

Biddy and Pip are alike because they were both “brought up by hand”. Also, they are both from the same social class and have dreams of a better life.

Also when Pip returns home a few times he feels upset and guilty because he knows leaving was the wrong thing to do. At these times Pip tries to reconnect with the loved ones he deserted, such as Biddy and Joe, but over all his attempts still do not amount to the missing sense of home Pip has. All of these reminders; the marshes, repeating thoughts, and guilty feelings all represent to Pip of symbols that remind him of home.

All of this Pip did for his best friend; he took money out of his own pocket and used it to make his friend's life better. The friends cared deeply for each other and loved each other sincerely. Every incident they found themselves in served to deepen their friendship.

explained through stories imparted to the reader in the rest of the book. Throughout the

After arriving at this realization, Miss Havisham pleads to Pip, "If you can ever write under my name, `I forgive her,' though ever so long after my broken heart is dust, pray do it!" (370). She is released from her imprisonment by this statement because she realizes that she has caused Pip's heart to be broken in the same manner as her own. Rather than achieving any kind of personal revenge, she has only caused more pain. Miss Havisham comes to this awareness because of Pip's love and forgiveness towards her, reinforcing the novel's theme that people are liberated by their internal confinement by love.

it’s Pip and how he thinks the wind is a beast trying to get him,

Suspicion and nervousness drive Pip insane after he acts morally wrong. When Pip is running away

Additionally, this belief that characters of a higher social stature are better leads Pip to wish to wish “Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I [Pip] should have been so to”

She plays a great part in the rearing of Pip as she was a very close

An impression I also recieve from Pip is that he is very polite. He repeatedly uses the word 'sir' when speaking to Magwitch even when Magwitch is threatening to cut Pips throat. I also believe that the setting has a link to Pips feelings and the whole atmosphere. The setting is used to make Pips visit to the graveyard more 'memorable'. The setting's 'dark, flat wilderness' also builds up the tension and emotion for Magwitch's arrival.

Great Expectations’ main character, Phillip Pirrip- generally known as Pip- had a rough upbringing as a child. His sister, Mrs. Joe had “brought him up by hand”, after their parents and five brothers had all been laid to rest many years ago. Another character, Herbert Pocket experienced a bizarre childhood, though in a different manner. Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations develops through the novel following Pip, a young “common boy” who grew up in the countryside. As he matured so did his love for a girl of higher class, Estella. However, being a common boy, Pip was not good enough for his Estella, thus once he was given an opportunity to become a gentleman in London he seized it without much hesitation. Charles Dickens’ had his own

Charles Dickens uses the imagery of a bleak, unforgiving Nature in his exposition of "Great Expectations" to convey the mood of fear in Chapter 1.  The weather is described as "raw" and the graveyard a "bleak" place.  The "small bundle of shivers" is Pip himself, who is terrified by a "fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg."  He is a desperate man, with broken shoes,as he grabs the orphan Pip. .