Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Essay

No novel is complete without a good ending. Although the introductory and middle portions are important as well, the conclusion is what the reader tends to remember most. When Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations, he crafted a work that is truly excellent the whole way through. From the moment Pip is introduced until he and Estella walk out of the garden in the final chapter, this book exhibits an uncanny ability to keep the reader wanting more. There is, however, some debate regarding the final portion of the novel. The ending that Dickens originally wrote for Great Expectations is noticeably different than the one that was subsequently published. It seems

1. Why does Pip feel the need to lie about Miss Havisham when he is questioned about her by Mrs. Joe and Mr. Pumblechook? Why is he confident Mr.Pumblechook will not correct his story? Pip feels the need to lie about Miss Havisham because he feels that they won’t believe him and doesn’t want to publicly humiliate her. He is certain Mr. Pumblechook will not correct his story because he does not know her.

Home in today’s society can be described in many ways, but is ultimately expressed as more of a feeling of safety and love. Sonsyrea Tate claims "You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you." In essence, the feeling of home is a part of the character and who he/she will become. In Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, Pip examines the true meaning of home and how the subjective opinion of home can reflect who a person becomes. He illustrates this idea using recurring appearances of home-like symbols, the way Pip’s definition of home changes throughout the novel, and how he shows Pip’s acquired feelings after moving into higher society.

It is said that right before someone dies, they see their life flash before their eyes. They are said to see the things most dear to them. However, no one on their deathbed regrets the amount of money that they have. In the moment of clarity, most realize that a number on a paycheck is not as important as emotional and mental possessions. People always tell each other that money can not buy happiness, yet most end up spending every waking moment thinking about money. Why do people waste their time and energy pursuing something that is not what they truly need? Often, they use social class to fill a void in their lives that can not be filled by materialistic possessions. Many people realize this, but it is often too late. Charles Dickens demonstrates the effects of social climbing in his novel, Great Expectations. This novel explores the connections and effects of human nature and society, which are the two most powerful forces that guide people’s decisions. Some may say that social climbing is good, but as will be proven, pursuing social class for the wrong reason can result in disastrous consequences. The motivation to obtain higher social status leaves those who pursue it dissatisfied with reality and with a wider void in their lives as shown by Pip, Estella, and Magwitch.

2. Briefly describe the convict. What evidence is there that the convict has "human" qualities and is not merely a criminal? The convict is a fearful man all in coarse gray, with a great iron on his leg, no hat, with

Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations, provides a perfect example of the hope of class mobility. The novel portrays very diverse and varied social classes which spread from a diligent, hardworking peasant (Joe) to a good-natured middle class man (Mr. Wemmick) to a rich, beautiful young girl (Estella). Pip, in particular, elevates in the social pyramid from a common boy to a gentleman with great expectations. With his rise in society, he also alters his attitude, from being a caring child to an apathetic gentleman. During this process, Pip learns how he should act and how to become a real gentleman. Social mobility and wealth, furthermore, carves a disposition and how a character is looked upon.

This shows how nasty Mrs Joe is and what Pip has to go through in his

“He was whatever he needed to be, what we asked him to be... a teacher, a magician, a savior, a life” (245). Mr. Watts is one of the central focuses of the story along with Dolores, Matilda’s mother. The two characters are polar opposites in the way they come to their conclusions, make their decisions and view their world. With growth comes decision making in which comes greater changes, the motif of choice is woven through the novel of Mister Pip, whether its Dolores deciding to hide “Great Expectations” from the villagers causing greater occurrences or Mr. Watts becoming a transformer and saving the day.

Why must they keep it a secret from Mrs. Joe?- 7. She may think Joe will want to rise and rebel against her.

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

In Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, the main character named Pip suffers through a conflict of confusing good and bad people. He repeatedly disregards the people that love and care for him and instead chooses to care for people who do not care for him. When making these choices, Pip senses that he is making the wrong decisions and therefore confuses good and bad and also confuses himself.

Charles Dickens is one of the most influential writers in history and was “born in Landport, now part of Portsmouth, on February 7th, 1812”(Priestly 5). Despite being the successful writer that he was in life, Dickens had very humble beginnings and because his Father, John Huffman Dickens, “lacked the money to support his family adequetly” , Dickens lived in poverty through out most of his childhood (Collins). Matters only got worse, however, when Dickens’s Father had to “spen[d] time in prison for debt” causing Dickens to have to “work in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish” (Collins). It was a horrible experience for him, but it also helped him to no doubt feel pity for the poor, which is

One stormy night, Pip is home alone and is visited by a man who seems

From 1822 to 1860 he lived in London, after which he permanently moved to a

The literary criticism “Patterns of Communication in Great Expectations” is an effective literary criticism, it proves there is evidently more communication between characters in the novel than most critics let onto. Ruth M. Vande Kieft, who is the author of this piece, suggests that the majority of the characters in Dickens novels have a substantial amount of communication among themselves. But, the dialogue in the novel depicted is not what we typically observe in the majority Victorian novels. Vande Kieft uses evidence in her writing from Dorothy Van Ghent, who suggests there is little interaction and the majority of the main characters attempts fail when they do try and communicate amongst each other. This article is effective in showing examples of certain patterns between the many characters in the novel. The article was also effective because it showed a different way of looking at communication in the way writers aim for when writing stories. This literary criticism was an interesting because it made me think about other novels that I have read and how Vande Kieft would have depicted them. In Great Expectations, we saw a different pattern in how characters communicate. Most family communication patterns are usually easy to follow. Although this novel was easy to read, I understand where critics state the contrary. I valued this work because of the examples stated throughout, and I will analyze some of the examples stated in my paper.