1. Passion versus Responsibility
Great Expectations
Passion versus Responsibility

2. Great Expectations Essential Question for Unit:
A Novel by Charles Dickens
Essential Question for Unit:
How are external conflicts the catalysts for internal conflicts?

3. Unit Focus
Character
Setting
Theme

4. Biographical Information
Charles Dickens

5. Biographical Information
Charles Dickens was the son of John and Elizabeth Barrow Dickens.
John was a navy paymaster and couldn’t manage money.

6. Biographical Information
In 1824, John Dickens was thrown into a debtor’s prison.
His whole family had to work off his debt.

7. Biographical Information
In 1824 at age 12, Dickens was pulled from school so that he could work to help pay his father’s debt.

8. Biographical Information
The experience in the factory was very traumatic, and Dickens resented his parents greatly.
This is reflected in almost all of his works.
With Dickens, there are few happy, complete families.

9. Biographical Information
Warren’s Blacking Factory
In the factory, he makes shoe polish and vows to NEVER be poor again.
His kids never knew that he worked in a factory.

10. Biographical Information
In 1830, he meets Maria Beadnell, whom he loves.
She is very wealthy and thinks that he will amount to nothing.
They date briefly, but she breaks up with him in 1833.

11. Biographical Information
In 1850, Dickens is the most famous person in the world.
Maria writes to him– but he is married with kids.
They meet, and she is fat, ugly, and immature.

12. Historical Information
19th Century England
The Victorian Period
Struggle Between Classes

13. Information About the Genre
Charles Dickens

14. About the Genre Great Expectations was published in 1860-1861
Autobiographical
Dickens’ darkest work

15. About the Genre
Bildungsroman— coming of age novel that follows the hero's process from childhood innocence to experience.

16. About the Genre Well-received by public
Written in 1st person (this was a new technique—Jane Eyre).
Had two endings (more on that later).
Serialized

17. About the Genre
Victorian novels were serialized- published a few chapters at a time in newspapers or magazines.
Mudies- like Blockbuster for books.