1. Background of Great Expectations 1. Industrial Revolution – England was industrializing rapidly, and the Industrial Revolution was eliminating the need for some trades and plunging many workers into poverty.

2. 2. Social Issues – Throughout his life Dickens showed great concern for social issues. He devoted time and money to the abolition of public hangings and better education for the poor. His fiction proved to be his most effective means of influencing public opinion. In Great Expectations he exposes the harshness of penal laws, the inadequacy of education for the poor, and the snobbery and insensitivity toward the lower classes. He severely criticized those who took advantage of the poor, particularly poor children.

3. The pen is mightier than the sword.

4. Dickens’ Own Life: His father was sent to debtors’ prison, so Charles worked in a blacking factory at age 12 and had to live on his own. This had a lasting impact on him – introducing him to the harsh world of the underclass and how it feels to be an abandoned child. He worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and was permitted to visit his family only on Sundays.

5. Victorian England : Queen Victoria was the British monarch who ruled Great Britain from 1837-1901. This period is often characterized by its moral seriousness, discipline, prudence, and self-improvement. The economy flourished between 1843 and 1873 due to technological advances. This prosperity, however, created social inequality. Living conditions were deplorable for middle- class Britons.