Laws, Crime and Punishment in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

‘Great Expectations’ is a highly acclaimed novel written by Charles Dickens first published in 1861, which follows the journey of a young boy commonly known as Pip (his Christian name being Phillip Pirrip) who is born into a middle-class family but goes on to receive riches from a mysterious benefactor in order to pursue his childhood dream in becoming a gentleman. The story is written in first person with Charles Dickens writing back about the experiences of Pip. Although it isn’t his autobiography the events in the book do, in many ways, mirror the events of his childhood. This allows him to reflect on Pip’s actions, which helps in the readers understanding of the Novel.

Charles Dickens visited the United States in 1842, were he witnessed solitary confinement in Eastern State Penitentiary just outside Philadelphia. Dickens viewpoints on the prison system in America is that he “persuaded that those who devised this system of Prison Discipline, and those who benevolent gentlemen who carry execution, do no know what it is that they are doing”. The lets the audience know what Dickens believes to be the negative part of the Prison Discipline. Dickens states that not many men are capable of enduring long period of agony and torture. The prison system to Dickens led him to be convinced that “There is a depth of terrible endurance in it which none but the sufferers themselves can fathom, and which no man has the right to inflict upon his fellow creatures”. This lets us conclude that Dickens’s assessment toward the Prisons has a more negative aspect. To support his claims of why the prisons have a negative aspect is seen through the numerous prisoners, he visited during his tour of the American prisons. He included an individual who was about to be released after two years in solitary confinement. Dickens reaction toward the man was that he felt his “Heart bled for him; and when the tears rolled down his checks…to ask, with his trembling hands nervously clutching…whether there was hope of his dismal sentence being commuted, the spectacle was really too painful to witness”. Dickens states that “I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries

Throughout time society as a whole has greatly changed and developed to what it is now. One major part of the society is the social class structure. In Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, Dickens expresses his beliefs on that structure in many ways. Since Dickens wrote the novel during the Victorian Era it reflects and evaluates the beliefs and values of the time. For the most part ones place in the social order was based on wealth and the reputation of ones relations. In general, the member of the higher class were unhappy and those in the lower class were joyful. He does this to show that wealth isn’t everything. He continues to display that idea throughout the book and he displays its

Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations explore the harshness of the male character particularly the male character when exposed to money and prestige. Pip begins as a young and impressionable boy with amiable qualities, he does not allow the convict maverick to starve and does whatever his sister instructs of him, although he dotes on Estella but never mistreats or openly shows this

Charles Dickens uses his own opinions to develop the larger-than-life characters in Great Expectations. The novel is written from the point of view of the protagonist, Pip. Pip guides the reader through his life, describing the different stages from childhood to manhood. Many judgments are made regarding the other characters, and Pip's views of them are constantly changing according to his place in the social hierarchy. For instance, Pip feels total admiration that, later, turns to total shame for the man who raised him, Joe Gargery. The primary theme in this novel questions whether being in a higher social and economic class helps a person to achieve true happiness. This idea is shown through Pip's innocence at the forge, visits

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens that thoroughly captures the adventures of growing up. The book details the life of a boy through his many stages of life, until he is finally a grown man, wizened by his previous encounters. Dickens’ emotions in this book are very sincere, because he had a similar experience when his family went to debtor’s prison. Pip starts as a young boy, unaware of social class, who then becomes a snob, overcome by the power of money, and finally grows into a mature, hardworking man, knowing that there is much more to life than money.

    The renowned poet, Richard Lovelace, once wrote that "Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage." Although many think of a prison as a physical building or a jailhouse, it can also be a state of mind. A great number of people are imprisoned mentally and emotionally. Charles Dickens expresses this message in his eminent novel, Great Expectations. This book is about a simple laboring boy who grew into a gentleman, and slowly realized that no matter what happened in his life it couldn't change who he was on the inside. On the road to this revelation, Pip meets many incarcerated people. Through these people, Dickens delivers the message that people can be

Charles Dickens' description in Great Expectations is a telling example of why people consider him one of the greatest and most successful novelists ever. Dickens uses his talent for descriptive writing throughout Great Expectations to develop his characters and themes. Many of these themes emerge from Dickens' personal experiences, specifically his emphasis on the importance of education and his ideas that wealth and position are

Dickens’ view of society having evil morals and ethics is conveyed with the use of hunger and an unjust law system. The bad morals of the wealthy aristocrats and the unfair treatment in prisons help portray why society would be angry. The people use these problems in society to fuel their revenge against the aristocracy so they can be treated equally. The people, starting an uprising against the aristocracy, will finally have the revenge they

depict the ups and downs of a young child on a quest to become not

Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is widely regarded to be his most autobiographical work. The coming of age story follows a young boy, Pip, and his desire to become part of high society in London, along with winning over the heart of a girl he can never be with, Estella. Dickens’ charming style of writing brings the reader right into Pip’s mind, and at points the novel can be highly amusing. However, it is clear through Dickens’ settings and descriptions, as well as Pip’s thoughts and actions, that he had a cynical, generally pessimistic view of life.

before, each prisoner had to wear an iron on his leg. As well as the

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

Since it was first published over 150 years ago, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations has come to be known as a timeless and remarkably moving work of literature. It is considered to be one of Dickens’ most recognizable works, and is celebrated for its meaningful, universally-believed themes. In order for this novel to be properly understood, a thoughtful analysis of its major themes must be given.

Charles Dickens wrote this story in the Victorian times. Hence we seem to think what ‘does he mean’ by “Great Expectations”. By us the readers, knowing and understanding what it means, we can get a rough idea of what the story is like. By Great Expectations we mean having high expectations for life, class and dreams for a better life.