Great+Expectations+Literary+File

**Author Bio:**
Charles Dickens, Born February 7th 1812 in Kent England, is known as one of the literary geniuses of the 19th century. At the age of nine Dickens and his family moved to London, where his father was jailed for his excessive debts. Arrangements were made for young Charles to live with a local blacksmith until his father, and the rest of his family would be released form the debtors prison. Dickens went on to write some of the worlds greatest literature pieces of all time. He scribed such stories as The Pickwick List, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens created over 13,000 characters in his lifetime, in fact he created one for every day of his working life.

Source: http://www.dickens-literature.com/l_biography.html

Charles Dickens was an author during The Victorian Period who spent the majority of his career living in London, England. The era named after the time period in which Queen Victoria ran supreme combines the writing of the romantics with the writing of the 20th century. The period is noticed as a high point for British literature**,** and during this time period Charles Dickens was one of the most beloved authors in England. The period emphasized a style in which their was a "happy ending." Love and good would tend to triumph over bad doers after a long hard fought struggle.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_literature#The_style_of_the_Victorian_novel

**Setting:**
Great Expectations takes place in two setting, Kent, England, and London, England. You should note that the two setting are the places where Charles Dickens grew up and later lived. Seconday settings include the infamous marshes of Kent, the Satris house (Home of Miss. Havishman) and the home of Joe Gagery, Pips predominant caretaker, Some setting in London include Pip's apartment, the city itself, and the law office of Mr. Jaggers, Pip's guardian in London.

**Characters:**
Pip: The main character of the story, is an orphon who is given a large sum of money to become a gentleman and fufill the high expectations he has set for himself. Pip fights for advancement in his social status, as well as moral, and educational improvement.

Estella: Created to be ironic to the ideas of romantic love, Estella portrays Pip's infatuation. She is the catalysis for Pip's hard work. Pip hopes that he will one day have her hand in marriage, however Estella has been taught by her adopted mother to break the hearts of men, and merely toys with Pip.

Miss. Havisham: The adopted mother of Estella, Miss. Havisham is incredibly bitter after being left on her wedding day. She teaches her daughter to break the hearts of men in spite for her lack of love. She recluses from the light, and is the dark character in the story.

Abel Magwitch: Confronts Pip in the graveyard as an ex-convict. He is Pip's anonymous benefactor and represents the good in all people. Magwitch shows readers that morals are more important than social perception.

Joe Gaggery: The adopted father of Pip, Joe abuses Pip much like his wife does; however this mistreatment does not accurately represent his feelings for Pip. Joe cares for Pip but hides this so that it will not interfere with the social mores and laws of the time in which children were not respected by their adult peers.

Jaggers: A prominent lawyer in London who deals with various convicts throughout the story. His "dirty job" and stern looks do not represent his generally kind personality. Jaggers washes his hands often, in an attempt to rid the grime that he deals with at work from himself.

**Themes:**
Great Expectations features four major themes throughout the story. Each has significant pull inside the plot and story itself.

The first and by far most evident theme in the story is the social class system of 19th (Industrial Revolution time period) century England. During the story we see members of each level of the social class. We see the life of the wealthy by delving into the lives of Mr. Jaggers and Ms. Havisham; but at the same time we see the life of the middle class through Mr. Joe Gaggery. We also see the lowest class through the convicts Abel Magwitch and Orlick an aggressive assistant to Mr. Gaggery in the blacksmith shop. Pip character fluctuates between all three classes throughout the story representing the struggles of changing your position in the eyes of 19th century English society.Through this theme we learn that ones moral development is much more important than his social development.

Self Improvement is another pertinent theme to the story, as our main character Pip strives to find moral, social and educational improvement. Pip's expectations for himself demand that he improve in all forms so that he may become a gentleman, and eventually reach his one true goal; to take Estella's hand in marriage. We see through this theme that through ambition one can achieve incredible things as Pip becomes wealthy, popular, and well educated.

Throughout the story we see a reoccurring theme, or Motif of "doubles." There are two settings, two criminals, two common people, two wealthy people, two anonymous benefactors, two challenges that Pip and Magwitch must overcome, and two instances where Pip swears that Estella loves him, like he loves her. This repetition helps show that Pip's story is not singular to him, but plural and useful to all people. Along with this motif there is a second, minor motif of the battle between Innocence vs. Guilt. Due to Pip's struggle to improve morally we often see him analyze his doings. Often we see him feel guilty for things he has done, even if it is only to help others; for example stealing his families food to give to Magwitch, so that Magwitch may not starve.

**Plot:**
Pip an orphan, lives with a blacksmith and his abusive wife. Pip has a great distaste for the life of a common man and tries in any way possible to lose this status and become an "aristocrat." One day Pip is given a large sum of money from an anonymous benefactor to continue his education, and eventually become a true gentleman. Pip believes that by becoming a gentleman he will be able to take the love of his life Estella's hand in marriage, so he accepts this fate and sets "great expectations" upon himself. Great Expectations is the story of Pip's life. While Pip struggles to fulfill his aspirations he must overcome a serious of trials and tribulations, that we see throughout the novel.

//"Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together, as I must say, and one mans a blacksmith and one's a whitesmith, and one's a goldsmith, and one's a coppersmith. Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come..."// (Page 223) -Mr. Joe Gaggery

This quote embodies the themes of social class and social self improvement. Joe, a common man, is visiting the newly refined gentleman Pip. Mr. Gaggery's visit is incredibly awkward and the two blame the awkwardness on the distance between them socially. Pip now being a higher social class intimidates Joe and makes him feel lowly, and different.This quote also shows that no matter how much you love someone, someday you will have to say goodbye to them.

//"Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself." (Page 21) -Pip//

This quote shows that Mrs. Joe a women very abusive to Pip covers up her poor temper and abusive manner. If one were to delve into Mrs. Joe's home they would see a house sparkling clean and seemingly innocent, however she is guilty of despicable crimes. This quote embodies our theme of Innocence vs. Guilt within the story.

**Personal Review:**
I recommend this novel for those who are interested in the classic "hero overcomes his foes" story. The story takes some time to understand and you will have to re-read plenty of sections of the story so that you may better understand the novel, so If you do not have the time to do this, I do not recommend the story for you. Dickin's writes in a sophisticated manner, and so I cannot in good sense recommend this story for any low level readers. But if you are at the level of reading where you may understand the novel, then I highly recommend it for you.

Dickens classic novel is the perfect choice for any young adult or teenager who is interested in reading a story that is pertinent to their life. As teenagers we are going through a time where we are trying to adapt to societies mores and rules, much like what Pip has to deal with in this story. This novel is recognized as one of Dickens greatest stories, for its spectacular plot and pertinent themes to peoples lives. I recommend this story to anyone who would love to indulge in classic literature, and gain insight in their own lives through a story.