Great Expectations Chapters 1to 6
Reflecting on the text
I.
Answer the following questions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Where and with whom did Pip live as a child?
Mention three innocent aspects from Pip´s childhood.
What do you think the role of the convict will be in this story?
Why do you think the convict wanted Compeyson to suffer?
In the story Pip stole food to give out a person he did not know, would you do the same for
a person you don´t know? Why? Why not?
6. Describe Pip – Joe relationship?
II.
Think as an author.
Chapter 1
1. … And they always begin their life of crime by asking too many questions! Is this a lie? If so
why did Mrs Joe say it to Pip?
2. Why does the convict say this: … you know boy, when you are on the marsh alone at night,
you imagine all kinds of things, voices calling, guns firing, soldiers marching.
Chapter 2
1. Why does the author use these words to describe the situation? … Even the chickens must
have been ashamed of those parts of their bodies when they were alive.
2. Explain what Mr Pumblechook imagined when he says: Just imagine, ´If your sister hadn´t
brought you up --- ´
3. What can you expect to happen based on this. …and I thought that was the last I had seen
of him.
Chapter 3
1. Do you think Pip expresses these words with enthusiasm or with disappointment? ¨I
always knew I would be apprenticed to Joe as soon as I was old enough…¨
2. …Biddy tried to keep us under control and teach us to read, write and count. Why did
teachers used to make emphasis on these abilities?
3. Compare Joe´s way of thinking towards his father and the way people who are abused
generally think of relative abusers.
4. Explain what Joe means with these words ¨Whatever the fault he had from the start,
remember, reader, he had a good heart.¨
5. ¨…Uncle Pumblechook, realizing that this boy fortune may be made by going to Miss
Havisham´s… How can someone´s fate be put on a visit to a stranger?
6.
Why does the author apologize to the readers for saying a lie? ¨I am sorry to say I told a
huge lie by saying, ¨No.¨
Chapter 4
1. How would you judge Pip based on this: ¨I was ashamed of him, especially as I could
see Estella laughing at me …
2. Why was Mrs Joe waiting something from Mss Havisham? ¨And what did she give the
boy?¨
Chapter 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why did Pip never tell Joe how unhappy he was?
Why did Pip feel even more miserable after visiting Miss Havisham?
Why the narrator say ¨She would never scold us again¨?
Explain what Biddy means when she says ¨She may not be worth the trouble, Pip.¨
Chapter 6
1. What does Mr Jaggers mean when he says ¨this boy has great expectations¨
2. How can you describe Pip´s behavior just before leaving town?
3. What does Pip mean when he says ¨I was not pleased with this interview…¨
III.
Describe the following characters:
Pip
Mrs Joe
Joe
Estella
Mss Havisham
Orlick
Biddy