Great Expectations
A brief background on Dickens’s life, and an
analysis of setting, plot, conflict, symbolism,
characterization, and theme.
Charles Dickens
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Dickens was born into a middle class family. His
irresponsible father, John, landed in debtor’s
prison in 1824, forcing Charles (12) to find
lodgings for himself and work full-time in a
London factory, pasting labels on bottles. Although
he was reunited with his family after several months,
this dreadful experience had a lasting impact,
introducing him to the harsh world of the
Victorian underclass and influencing some
recurring motifs in his work, such as the
abandonment of children.
Charles Dickens
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Dickens left school at the age of 15 to
become a clerk in a law office. Several years
later he started working as a reporter,
sharpening his skill at observing people from
all classes and recording their everyday
speech. He was also drawn to literature and
the theater. His early stories and sketches
were published in 1836 under the name
“Boz.” He then set out to write his first novel.
Charles Dickens
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Like all of his longer novels, The Pickwick Papers
initially appeared in magazine installments and
later was published in bound volumes. It was an
immediate success, and rocketed Dickens to fame at
the age of 24.
Dickens proceeded to write more novels at a fast
pace. His novels from this early period are
characterized by their high-spirited humor and
sprawling plots. His shorter work A Christmas
Carol, was published in 1843, attacked greed and
hardness of heart, and contains one of the immortal
characters in English lit – Ebenezer Scrooge.
Charles Dickens
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Dickens became an international celebrity and a
prominent journalist. However, his public triumphs
coincided with personal unhappiness.
He married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and they had
ten children together. Although Dickens enjoyed
family life, he gradually became estranged from his
wife, and they separated in 1858. In the 1850s, he
developed a close relationship with a young actress
named Ellen Ternan.
Charles Dickens
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Beginning in the late 1840s, Dickens’s novels grew increasingly
critical of Victorian society. These novels display his development
as a writer and reflect a deeper understanding of humanity. Among
Dickens’s best-known works are:
 Oliver Twist (1838)
 David Copperfield (1850)
 Bleak House (1853)
 Hard Times (1854)
 A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
 and Great Expectations (1861)
In the late 1860s, Dickens undertook several reading tours that
ultimately damaged his health. He died on June 9, 1870, and was
buried in Westminster Abbey.
Great Expectations: Setting
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TIME: early 19th century (early 1800s)
PLACE: Dickens set the first section of GE in
marshy country called the Medway, where the
Thames River begins to mix with seawater. He knew
this area well, as he spent the happiest years of his
childhood in the Medway town of Chatham. The
churchyard with children’s graves is in Cooling, and
Pip’s village is probably Cliffe. In 1856, Dickens
purchased Gad’s Hill Place, a large house near
Rochester (the town where Miss Havisham and
Pumblechook live).
Setting
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Mood/Atmosphere: How does Dickens create mood
through his settings?
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It was a rimy morning, and very damp. I had seen the
damp lying on the outside of my little window, as if some
goblin had been crying there all night, and using the
window for a pocket handkerchief. Now, I saw the damp
lying on the bare hedges and spare grass, like a coarser
sort of spiders’ webs; hanging itself from twig to twig and
blade to blade. On every rail and gate, wet lay clammy;
and the marsh-mist was so thick, that the wooden finger
on the post directing people to our village…was invisible
to me until I was quite close under it. [chapter 3]
Plot
Climax
Rising Action
Initial Incident
Exposition
Falling Action
Resolution/
Denouement
Conflicts: Some of which are in GE
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Internal Conflict:
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Man vs. Self
External Conflict:
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Man vs. Man
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Fate
Symbolism
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the file
the bridal gown and wedding cake
the gates and Satis House
the marshes
Etc.
Characterization
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The basic methods include:
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an explicit statement by the author
the character’s appearance
the character’s thoughts, speech, or actions
what others say about the character
Dickens liked to make his characters vivid by
emphasizing one particular trait, such as Miss
Havisham’s vengefulness or Jaggers’s insistence on
sticking to facts. However, with a protagonist like
Pip, his approach was much more subtle and
complex.
Characterization of some major
characters:
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Estella
Magwitch
Joe
Jaggers.
Pip
Miss Havisham
Etc.
Flat and Round Characters
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Authors create two basic types of characters, flat and
round.
Flat characters represent one or two qualities, such
as kindness, greed, faithfulness, cruelty, or
arrogance. Flat characters are also called static
characters because they do not change. Readers
never learn of their inner conflicts.
For example, unable to control her class, Mr.
Wopsle’s great-aunt might be described as
incompetent; however, we never learn of her feelings
towards the students, or why she became a teacher.
Flat and Round Characters
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Round characters are more fully developed. Often
they have conflicting emotions and become involved
in both admirable and deplorable actions.
During the course of the story, such characters
usually make changes in values, ambitions, or
relationships. Thus, they are also called dynamic
characters, ones who change as a result of events.
In the early chapters of the book, Pip, discontent
with his home and school, is already showing signs
of change which will make him eager to move to
London.
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Some Motifs
Ambition and SelfImprovement
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Affection, loyalty, and conscience
are more important than social
advancement, wealth, and class.
Dickens establishes the theme and
shows Pip learning this lesson,
largely by exploring ideas of
ambition and self-improvement—
ideas that quickly become both
the thematic center of the novel
and the psychological mechanism
that encourages much of Pip’s
development.
Social Class
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Throughout Great Expectations, Dickens explores the class
system of Victorian England, ranging from the most wretched
criminals (Magwitch) to the poor peasants of the marsh
country (Joe and Biddy) to the middle class (Pumblechook) to
the very rich (Miss Havisham).
The mPerhaps the most important thing to remember about
the novel’s treatment of social class is that the class system it
portrays is based on the post-Industrial Revolution model of
Victorian England. Dickens generally ignores the nobility and
the hereditary aristocracy in favor of characters whose
fortunes have been earned through commerce.
otif of social class (and the treatment between and among
members) is central to the novel’s plot and to the ultimate
moral theme of the book
Friendship & Loyalty
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Which characters exhibit one or both of
these?
How? Why? Under what circumstances?
What is the impact of the exhibition of
friendship and / or loyalty?
Who (or what) is changed by this?
Etc.
Crime, Guilt, Innocence, and Revenge:
Independently and Interwoven
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The motifs of crime, guilt, and innocence are
explored throughout the novel largely through
the characters of the convicts and the criminal
lawyer Jaggers. There is also a sense of
judgment inherent to these motifs and the
views and actions of various characters.
Revenge and Its Consequences
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Examine the consequence of each action:
Arthur conspired to humiliate and defraud his stepsister, Miss
Havisham.
Miss Havisham became a bitter woman determined to seek
revenge on men.
Miss Havisham adopted a little girl to share her attitude
toward men.
Estella became cold-hearted.
Pip could neither give nor receive love from Estella.
Pip changed and began to feel ashamed of himself and his
family; he learned new behaviors to try to please Estella.
Joe became uncomfortable around the boy he had raised as a
son.
Estella married Bentley Drummle and was abused.
Theme [as it applies to motif]
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What does Dickens seem to be saying about
revenge?
Who is affected?
Whom does it hurt the most?
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Based on the answers to these questions, what
universal truth may be presented [as a complete
statement] that is not already written as a cliché?
Theme
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What are some other motifs / topics?
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What does Dickens seem to be saying about
those topics? (these are themes)
Irony
Mostly situational irony –
Miss Havisham’s insistence on living in the past causes
her own death, both spiritually and physically.
Mrs. Joe’s violent nature is turned back on her.
After all the poking early on about being grateful, Pip
does show gratitude to Magwitch for everything he
did for Pip.
Pip was unsatisfied with his life at the forge, but in the
end, he realizes how much happier he was before he
met Estella, and he appreciates how good Biddy is.
What theme can be taken from Pip’s dissatisfaction?
Humor & Exaggeration
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There are two passages in chapter 4 that offer
excellent examples of how Dickens used
exaggeration to show a small boy’s
exaggerated view of events.