Great Expectations Introduction By: Charles Dickens

Is it childish to dream about a future completely different from what you expect to happen? Let’s give examples…

Pip is at first content with his future as a blacksmith’s apprentice. The blacksmith, his brother-in-law Joe, is much nicer than Pip’s own sister— who has brought him up “by hand.”

One day Pip wanders across the marshes to visit his parents’ graves…

But instead, he finds a runaway convict who demands that Pip help him escape from his chains.

Although the man is later caught, Pip feels horribly guilty. He is sure Joe will be disappointed if he finds out what Pip has done.

But this frightening episode fades from Pip’s memory when he encounters even more remarkable people. He is invited to rich Miss Havisham’s house to be a playmate for Estella, the proud girl in her care.

Years ago, Miss Havisham’s fiancé stood her up at the altar. Ever since, she has remained in her wedding dress, let no sunlight into her house, and let the clocks stop. Everything is left just as it was the day of her heartbreak.

Pip’s friends all hope that Miss Havisham will “do something” for him—give him money. However, for Pip, the appeal of Miss Havisham’s house isn’t just the thought of money or the elegant lifestyle: It’s Estella.

And then, the unexpected happens! An anonymous benefactor sends money to pay for Pip’s education in London!

Is Miss Havisham giving Pip the money? Does she hope to make Pip into a gentleman for his own sake? Or is it for the sake of someone else?

Let’s get a visual! F-g

Great Expectations: Background Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was deeply concerned about the struggles of the poor and mistreated people. During this period, people who simply could not pay their bills often went to debtors’ prison. A criminal who was considered dangerous might be sent to what is now Australia to serve time. Debtor’s Prison

Great Expectations: Background Labor in a factory or work pulling a cart earned only pennies a day. In Dickens’s time, London was a rich city, but poor people lived in terrible squalor. Children of those in debtors’ prison often had to support themselves. A child might work up to sixteen hours a day.

He worked long hours in a cramped room infested with rats. Shortly before his own father was sent to debtors’ prison, twelve-year-old Charles was sent to work at a shoe polish/blackening factory. Dickens’s unfinished autobiography describes the suffering he endured as a child laborer. Great Expectations: Background

In Dickens’ time, British convicts were often punished in a way that might seem “cruel and unusual” by today’s standards. The unique history of Australia is tied to a thread in Great Expectations. Convicts thought to pose some threat to society might be shipped off to a distant British territory—what is now Australia. Great Expectations: Background

During the time when Australia served as a penal colony for England, prisoners were deposited near what is now Sydney. Only the strongest and hardest-working people could prosper in the harsh conditions. Once sent to Australia, a convict was frequently forbidden to ever return to England. Great Expectations: Background

Discuss (1) Orphaned and then cared for by a harsh older sister, Pip stumbles upon great opportunity. Is it best to jump at whatever opportunity comes along? Or should a person consider staying in familiar territory? What problems might come from dreaming of a better future? What rewards? Great Expectations: Neighbor Discussion

Discuss (2) Loyalty and gratitude are themes running through Great Expectations. What are the qualities of a loyal friend? Should a friend’s loyalty have limits? Should a successful person show gratitude to those who have helped along the way? Great Expectations: Neighbor Discussion

Understand… Reading Dickens is a challenge, an opportunity, and a delight… The challenge arises from persuading you all to overcome your fears about reading a thick, nineteenth-century novel with some unfamiliar references The opportunity is to help you develop your vocabulary through context Delight will come when those barriers are crossed and you are swept away by the twisting plot and memorable characters

Think about responding to the terror and comedy of the convict on the moors, to the implacable Mrs. Joe, to Pip’s longing, self- absorption and short-sightedness, to the ghastly sight of Miss Havisham’s wedding table at Satis House, and to the final revelations about all the characters! Think about this novel as a kind of soap opera in which the audience gets to know the characters intimately and the plot develops slowly and often bizarrely. Dickens has lasted. His inventiveness of plot and character, his generous spirit, and his observant eye and ear continue to entertain and reward readers. Reading Dickens links you to the past and demonstrates that the past has much to say to the present. It is unusual because Great Expectations is considered by leading scholars to be a work of genius, but it is also very widely-read by ordinary people.

A few of MANY Themes Guilt and Shame Class Distinction Personal Ambition

What is Dialect? A variation in pronunciation, meaning or usage from standard language whose origin may be attributed to geography, social class, or culture. Regional language differences: Depending on the part of the country you live, usage or pronunciation of certain words may be different.

Common words Do you pronounce envelope: "ehn-ve-LOPE" OR "AWN-ve-lope"? Do you pronounce the: "thee" or "thuh"? And what about "aunt"? Bostonians eat “tomahtos” while Midwesterners eat “tomaytos.” “You” “You all” “ya’ll” “yawl” Other examples?

Dickens Dialect What characters say and how they speak is one of the ways in which we get to know about them GE is rich in dialogue and in the dialect of the working class and the poor. Dickens uses dialect principally in two ways: to indicate social class and/or to make a humorous or ironic point about a character’s simplicity, ignorance, or self-importance

Dialect often presents a challenge. Omitted vowels and consonants, letter substitutions, drawn-out words and mispronounced words are hurdles that are hard to leap over.