Great Expectations and the Victorian Era  “I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me.”

Victorian Era (1837-1901) great expansion of wealth, power, and culture. conveyed connotations of "prudish," "repressed," and "old fashioned“

Problems? What problems? Many improvements brought about Cameras Transportation Sanitation Lighting and heating Soap However...

Poverty Increase in population Many people living in urbanized places looking for work kept the wages down to the bare minimum Places to live are expensive - slums

Child labour Employment in factories and mines Children work to earn enough money for their families Children as young as four were put to work. In coal mines children began work at the age of 5 and generally died before the age of 25. Many children (and adults) worked 16 hour days Under the Elementary Education Act 1870, basic State Education became free for every child under the age of 10.

Prostitution Many young people worked as prostitutes (the majority of prostitutes in London were between 15 and 22 years of age)  Dickens thought prostitutes were treated as possessions that were consumed and thrown away when they were used up Jack the Ripper

Social Classes Working class - performed physical labour, paid daily or weekly wages Middle class - performed mental or "clean" work, paid monthly or annually Upper class - did not work, income came from inherited land and investments Typical Incomes (annual) Labourers, soldiers £25  Sailors and domestic staff £40-75 Skilled workers (carpenters, typesetters) £75-100 Lower middle-class (head teachers, journalists, shopkeepers) £150-300 Middle-class (doctors, lawyers, clerks) £300-800 Merchants, bankers £10,000 Aristocrats £30,000 

Writing Task (C2 + C3) Read the questions provided. (they are about Great Expectations) Answer the questions. Write a paragraph that tells a story that includes all the answers to the questions. Minimum of 8 lines.

Example Who lives with Miss Havisham? Is this person nice and polite? How does this person make Pip feel? Estella was a little girl that had been adopted by Miss Havisham. They lived together in Satis House. Estella was raised to be a cruel and unfeeling person and treated everyone like dirt. When Pip met her, he thought she was lovely, but Estella made him feel like a poor commoner with rough hands and ugly shoes.

Tips and Tricks Don’t just write down the answers! You must write complete sentences. The text you are writing is a story, so it must be written in the PAST tenses (simple past, past perfect, etc.). Include other details! You can’t just answer the questions – use more information to complete your story.