Great Expectations

by Charles Dickens

published

June 25th 1998 (first published 1860) by Oxford University Press, USA

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binding

Paperback, 544 pages

isbn

0192833596 (isbn13: 9780192833594)

description

Dickens considered Great Expectations one of his "little pieces," and indeed, it is slim compared to such weighty novels as ...more

[close] Dickens considered Great Expectations one of his "little pieces," and indeed, it is slim compared to such weighty novels as David Copperfield or Nicholas Nickleby. But what this cautionary tale of a young man raised high above his station by a mysterious benefactor lacks in length, it more than makes up for in its remarkable characters and compelling story. The novel begins with young orphaned Philip Pirrip--Pip--running afoul of an escaped convict in a cemetery. This terrifying personage bullies Pip into stealing food and a file for him, threatening that if he tells a soul "your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate." The boy does as he's asked, but the convict is captured anyway, and transported to the penal colonies in Australia. Having started his novel in a cemetery, Dickens then ups the stakes and introduces his hero into the decaying household of Miss Havisham, a wealthy, half-mad woman who was jilted on her wedding day many years before and has never recovered. Pip is brought there to play with Miss Havisham's ward, Estella, a little girl who delights in tormenting Pip about his rough hands and future as a blacksmith's apprentice. <blockquote> I had never thought of being ashamed of my hands before; but I began to consider them a very indifferent pair. Her contempt for me was so strong, that it became infectious, and I caught it. </blockquote> It is an infection that Pip never quite recovers from; as he spends more time with Miss Havisham and the tantalizing Estella, he becomes more and more discontented with his guardian, the kindhearted blacksmith, Joe, and his childhood friend Biddy. When, after several years, Pip becomes the heir of an unknown benefactor, he leaps at the chance to leave his home and friends behind to go to London and become a gentleman. But having expectations, as Pip soon learns, is a two-edged sword, and nothing is as he thought it would be. Like that other "little piece," A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations is different from the usual Dickensian fare: the story is dark, almost surreal at times, and you'll find few of the author's patented comic characters and no comic set pieces. And yet this is arguably the most compelling of Dickens's novels for, unlike David Copperfield or Martin Chuzzlewit, the reader can never be sure that things will work out for Pip. Even Dickens apparently had his doubts--he wrote two endings for this novel. --Alix Wilber [close]

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Amanda rated it:

03/06/08

bookshelves: eng-12

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Summary:
Pip, an orphan brought up by his sister and her husband Joe, the blacksmith, meets a convict in a graveyard one day and helps him. Despite Pip’s help, the convict is re-captured. Later, Pip is introduced to Miss Havisham, an eccentric old lady who was disappointed in love. She is bringing up her niece, Estella, to live out her revenge by disappointing the men who love her. Pip falls in love with Estella and feels ashamed of his common life. He is apprenticed to Joe and works a...more

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An rated it:

09/07/08

Read in September, 2008

recommended to An by: myself
recommends it for: Teenagers

Book title: Great Expectations
Author: Charles Diclens.
Numbers of page: 108.
Question numbers: 12
Great expectation was written by Charles Dickens. He was one of the most popular writers of all time.
This story tells us about a young boy's life named Pip.
Pip is not his real name.Because he can not pronounce either his first name or last name. So, Pip is a combination product between two of them. Pip is an orphan who lives with his sister and his uncle-in-law, Joe.

Even in ...more

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Kanchan rated it:

08/22/07

There is very little agreement amongst readers as to which of Dickens's novels is the best, but today Great Expectations is often placed near the top of polls. This contrasts with the end of the 19th century, when the author George Gissing, in his study of Dickens' works, had to remind the readers of the plot of Great Expectations as it was largely ignored compared to his other works. The book's lack of popularity shortly after it was written and its greater status today is perhaps due to the fa...more There is very little agreement amongst readers as to which of Dickens's novels is the best, but today Great Expectations is often placed near the top of polls. This contrasts with the end of the 19th century, when the author George Gissing, in his study of Dickens' works, had to remind the readers of the plot of Great Expectations as it was largely ignored compared to his other works. The book's lack of popularity shortly after it was written and its greater status today is perhaps due to the fact that it is the least "Dickensian" of any of his books. The usual grotesque characters common to many of his books are more muted and believable in this book. The book is very carefully plotted and less episodic than many of Dickens's other stories with the central character's changing viewpoint and perception of the world around him an important element of the story. There was an academic revival of interest, particularly by American critics starting in the 1940s, which has since placed it in the canon of often-read school texts.

The character of Pip contrasts sharply with the title characters in such books as Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist. In these novels, the main character is more simply portrayed and the characters around them are of far greater interest. Pip, on the other hand, begins as a likable, but simple child, but develops into quite an unsympathetic character later in the book. Dickens draws the reader into following the fortunes of the changing Pip from childhood—a subject in which Dickens is an acknowledged master—on to a rather snobbish and objectionable adolescence and then to his final reformation. Although he would probably not have liked to admit it, Dickens himself was a very clear model for Pip's personality. Despite having great fondness for the poor and oppressed and wishing to improve their conditions, Dickens felt himself to be superior to them. What he saw as a shameful personal connection to the poor earlier in his life made his desire to separate from them more pronounced, and this is mirrored in Pip's story.

As is common with Dickens, the novel is an instrument to reveal the flaws of Victorian society. Dickens, being a moralist, portrays the wealthy negatively but rewards the humble characters, notably Joe and Biddy. This message is tied in to one of the central themes of the novel—placement in society and its influence on personal identity.

The ending of the book is another measure of the difference to other Dickens novels and also greatly affects the reader's interpretation of the whole story. Dickens originally wrote an unhappy ending to the book that was, however, consistent with the book's theme. Dickens rarely did this and indeed it was very unusual for Victorian novels in general. After talking to his friends and fellow novelists Wilkie Collins and Edward Bulwer-Lytton he re-wrote a more hopeful ending which is the one used in all subsequent editions. Many critics regard the first ending as far more in keeping with the morality of the proceeding story but the second ending is acknowledged to be better written from a stylistic point of view. Both endings though are atypical compared to his other books and show an uncertainty or ambivalence in the author's mind as to how the work should be ended.

Like many of Dickens's works, Great Expectations has been criticized for its excessive length. This may be related to the fact he was paid by installment for his serialised work (although it is often mistakenly claimed that he was paid by the word). It is possible that the installment approach did lead to a more verbose style than would otherwise have been used.
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Michael rated it:

07/14/08

Read in December, 1996

My students (and some of my friends) can't ever figure out why I love this novel so much. I explain how the characters are thoroughly original and yet timeless, how the symbolism is rich and tasty, and how the narrative itself is juicy and chock-full of complexity, but they just shake their heads at me in utter amazement and say, "What's wrong with you, dude?"

What's wrong, indeed.

I give them ten or fifteen years. Perhaps they'll have to read it again in college, or maybe they'l...more My students (and some of my friends) can't ever figure out why I love this novel so much. I explain how the characters are thoroughly original and yet timeless, how the symbolism is rich and tasty, and how the narrative itself is juicy and chock-full of complexity, but they just shake their heads at me in utter amazement and say, "What's wrong with you, dude?"

What's wrong, indeed.

I give them ten or fifteen years. Perhaps they'll have to read it again in college, or maybe they'll just try reading it again as an adult to see if they can try to figure out why it's such a "classic," but after some time has passed from their initial encounter with the novel, they will find that I am not so crazy after all and that the book is in fact one of the best examples--if not the best example--of the novel. This happens to me all the time: I will re-read something I was forced to read in middle school and high school, remembering how much I hated it then, and will find that I actually love it now, as an adult. Sure, those "classics" may have taught me something about literary analysis, symbolic patterns, and the like, but I couldn't appreciate it for its complexity until I was older. I guess the rule of wine appreciation applies here, too: good taste only comes after much patience and experience.

***

Perhaps the thing I love best about this novel is the cast of characters--their names as well as their personalities. Ms. Havisham is one of my favorite characters to ever appear in all of the literature I have read. There is so much density and complexion to her character that I could literally make an entire career out of writing discourses on her characterization. She has even invaded the way I think about the world and the people I have met: I have, for instance, started referring to those instances where parents try to achieve success through their children "the Havisham effect" (unfortunately, you see this all too often in the world of teaching). Havisham's name is another exasperatingly fantastic aspect of her character: like the majority of Dickens' characters, you pretty much know what you're in for when you first read her name--she is full of lies, tricks, and deceits (or "sham"s). You don't get this sort of characterization much of anywhere else in the literary scene.

Another reason I love this novel so much is its plotting. Remember, Dickens was writing in a serialized format so he needed to keep his readers hooked so that they'd want to buy the next issue of his periodical, All the Year Round, in order to see what happens next. Thus, the plot of Great Expectations is winding, unpredictable, and quite shocking at points. Certainly, in terms of heavy action--well, what our youngsters these days would call action, fighting and big explosions and what-not--there is none, or very little at most, but that's not the thing to be looking for. Figure out the characters first, and then, once you've gotten to know and even care for them (or hate them), you will be hooked on the plot because you will want to know what happens to these people who you've invested so much feeling into. This is, of course, true of all novels, but it's what I tell my students when they read Great Expectations for the first time, and by gum, it's helped more than a few of them get through the novel successfully.

So, if you read Great Expectations in middle school, high school, or college, but haven't picked it up since, I urge you to do so. With a more patient and experienced set of eyes, you just might surprise yourself....less

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Madame Charlotte rated it:

(review of isbn 2253016721)

05/25/08

bookshelves: _romans

Read in May, 2008

C’est à chaque fois une véritable délectation que la lecture d’un Dickens, mais là, ce roman dépasse mes espérances. Pip nous raconte sa vie depuis environ l’âge de sept ans, alors qu’il tombe sur un forçat évadé qui le pousse par intimidation à l’aider à trouver des vivres. Terrifié, Pip s’exécute, non sans passer par différents états psychologiques, le peur, la culpabilité, la soumission. On le découvre dans un environnement peu propice au bonheur. Sa sœur, qui s...more C’est à chaque fois une véritable délectation que la lecture d’un Dickens, mais là, ce roman dépasse mes espérances. Pip nous raconte sa vie depuis environ l’âge de sept ans, alors qu’il tombe sur un forçat évadé qui le pousse par intimidation à l’aider à trouver des vivres. Terrifié, Pip s’exécute, non sans passer par différents états psychologiques, le peur, la culpabilité, la soumission. On le découvre dans un environnement peu propice au bonheur. Sa sœur, qui se vante de l’élever “à la main” ne lui manifeste aucune tendresse. Le mari de sa sœur, Joe, forgeron de son état, lui apporte soutien, amitié et affection, mais n’est pas plus apte à se défendre que lui. Amené à rencontrer la curieuse miss Havisham et sa troublante fille adoptive, Pip sera vite fasciné par cette dernière, d’une beauté et d’une froideur égales. Ouvertement méprisé par Estella, il nourrira néanmoins pour elle un amour solide, sincère et durable. Le roman se scinde en deux principales parties. La seconde débute alors que Pip apprend d’un homme de loi qu’un mystérieux bienfaiteur souhaite le voir installé à Londres afin de parfaire son éducation et devenir un gentleman. Pip commence alors à nourrir de grandes espérances. Le jeune homme, une fois sorti de l’environnement de son enfance et de la pauvreté, verra son bien-aimé Joe d’un autre œil, toujours aimant, mais un peu honteux de son ignorance et de son manque d’éducation. Pip, déjà plus instruit que le forgeron, aura conscience de cet écart, et cette prise de conscience éveillera en lui un fort sentiment de culpabilité. Désormais libre, il se lie d’amitié avec le fils de son répétiteur, devient dépensier, s’offre un valet à qui il a du mal à trouver des occupations. Ignorant toujours l’identité de son bienfaiteur, ce qu’il sait et croit savoir alimente doublement ses espérances. Son amour pour Estella est toujours aussi fort, et bien qu’il ait conscience de l’absence de la jeune fille à son égard, il espère encore.

Dickens excelle dans la peinture de l’Angleterre du XIXème siècle. La misère, l’hypocrisie, la petitesse d’esprit des pauvres comme des nantis ne lui échappent pas. Lui-même issu d’une famille plus que modeste et ayant connu la misère avant d’accéder à la notoriété et l’aisance, tous les rangs sociaux lui sont familiers. Qu’ils soient principaux ou secondaires, tous les personnages sont fouillés, hauts en couleurs, nuancés. Il n’y a ni bon ni méchants, chaque protagoniste réserve des surprises, soit par son destin, sa psychologie, son comportement. Même le jeune Pip, que nous suivons sur plusieurs années, n’est pas dépourvu de “mauvais” sentiments. Comme lui, au fil de la lecture, nous avons quelques espérances le concernant, et son destin réserve bien des surprises et des rebondissements.

L’humour est aussi omniprésent chez Dickens. Certains personnages brillent par leur grotesque, d’autres par leur dignité sincère, d’autres encore par leur excentricité, ou même leur dualité. Le tout arrosé d’un humour à toute épreuve. La relation entre Pip et Joe est bouleversante, leur attachement réciproque est exemplaire. Les personnages de Dickens sont tous fascinants, les relations entre eux superbement dépeintes. L’aventure est aussi au rendez-vous. Forçats évadés, trahison, jeune orphelin au destin chaotique, une vieille riche proche de la sorcière, une beauté au cœur de glace, tout contribue à faire de ce roman un pur bonheur, un livre DÉVORABLE d’un bout à l’autre, grâce au style jubilatoire de Dickens, de sa parfaite connaissance de l’époque, des milieux sociaux, de la nature humaine. Un régal !!!...less

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Tiza rated it:

04/18/08

Read in April, 2008

Whew, it took me an incredibly long time to finish this book. Actually, this book kind of fell somewhere between 3 and 4 stars but I rounded it up because I liked it better than David Copperfield. While it's true that this book can be somewhat tiresome and contrived at parts, Dickens' dry humour, beautifully haunting descriptions and unforgettable characters made it a really fun read for me. One approach that best be adopted in reading Great Expectations (and Dickens' novels in gen...more Whew, it took me an incredibly long time to finish this book. Actually, this book kind of fell somewhere between 3 and 4 stars but I rounded it up because I liked it better than David Copperfield. While it's true that this book can be somewhat tiresome and contrived at parts, Dickens' dry humour, beautifully haunting descriptions and unforgettable characters made it a really fun read for me. One approach that best be adopted in reading Great Expectations (and Dickens' novels in general) is not to plunge and go looking for the plot. The plot will find you somewhere between the pages, but it sure takes its own sweet time doing it. Meanwhile, just sit back and enjoy the carefully unfolding narrative that is Pip's life.

Like David Copperfield, Great Expectations is a tale of self-discovery, a record of one's life from childhood to adulthood told in first person. However, this book has a more brooding tone and I think it also has a more penetrating insight to its main character's motives and psychological state than its predecessor. As prompted by the title, the main story of this book is about Pip, an orphaned boy, who suddenly comes to a great fortune and is being made a gentleman. He later finds, though, that his fortune and social status bring him more misery than joy. They don't improve his relationship with Estella and damage his friendship with his uncle Joe. Moreover, what he learns behind the mystery about his benefactor turns out to be not at all what he had expected.

It's fascinating to see how Pip's elevated status and his love for Estella influence the decisions he makes and his personality, and not necessarily for the better. Somehow, at a certain stage of his narration, he becomes someone who is conceited and self-centered. Though this might put Pip in a less sympathetic light, I think it also makes him more relatable and complex as a human being who has human's weaknesses and commits mistakes. I also loved how this book describes some of life's many ironies--of how we are sometimes not being honest with ourselves, how we sometimes try hard to impress people who don't care about us rather than treasure those who really do.

Since there are two versions of ending in this book, people tend to compare one version to the other. Either is fine for me, but if I really have to choose, I think I'll prefer the original ending to the revised one because it's more relevant to the message that this book is trying to impart, in my opinion.

Anyway, I heartily recommend this book, especially to three Goodreads friends who had so kindly coer--*coughcough* encouraged me to write this review. This one would still be floating in the vacuum if it weren't for you guys and your brilliant, cracktastic advices and banter ;). ...less

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Lucy rated it:

(review of isbn 1593080069)

06/02/08

Read in May, 2008

As my husband got into bed last night and looked over to see what I was reading, he said, "You're still reading Great Expectations?" I admit that I have not been able to plow through this book. Instead, I have taken many, many detours and interspersed three different, easier-to-read books along the way. I finally finished last night, after about three weeks of off and on reading. Still, I have to say that it's a wonderful book. Like many wonderful books, it should be included on some l...more As my husband got into bed last night and looked over to see what I was reading, he said, "You're still reading Great Expectations?" I admit that I have not been able to plow through this book. Instead, I have taken many, many detours and interspersed three different, easier-to-read books along the way. I finally finished last night, after about three weeks of off and on reading. Still, I have to say that it's a wonderful book. Like many wonderful books, it should be included on some list called"Great Books That Are Boring". As this was my first attempt reading Dickens's fiction ( also to be considered semi auto-biographical) and I was surprised by how much I loved it but even more surprised by how much I hated it.

Charles Dickens is my kind of guy. He's funny (tons of humorous parenthetical details that add so much to the story) and he's wordy. In the earlier parts of the book, I found myself thinking, "Finally! A truly funny author! Why have I been assuming I have to read Jennifer Weiner or Sophie Kinsella or even David Sadaris to get a laugh? Dickens is funny!" He also really knows how to paint a scene. From the food to the positions of the characters in a room to someone's smell to how they are feeling, Dickens leaves no detail out. This worked great for me...until I got bored. Then, I felt irritated and impatient and simply wanted to know what was going to happen. Enough with the side comments! Enough.

The story begins with young Pip (thus nicked-named due to his Christian name being Philip Pirrip), a young orphan of seven, being brought up by his cruel older sister and her husband, Joe Gargary. One evening, Pip finds himself in the marshes and is cornered by an escaped convict, Magwitch. With the threat of losing his life, Pip helps the convict escape by bringing him a file he found among blacksmith Joe's tools along with some food. Pip continues in his simple, lower-class lifestyle until he is asked to entertain an old,wealthy spinster, Miss Havisham, and her haughty adopted daughter, Estella. It is through this encounter that Pip learns about the finer things in life and begins to aspire to be a gentleman.

His life is suddenly completely changed when he is informed by Miss Havisham's lawyer that he is to become a gentleman, on behalf of an anonymous benefactor. Assuming this benefactor to be Miss Havisham, and that she did this to allow for a future marriage between himself and Estella, whom he has fallen in love with, he adopts this lifestyle in both thought and deed. This transformation perversely changes many good qualities about Pip and in addition to the refinement and education gained, he also gained an attitude of pride and snobbery.

In the end, when his "great expectations" are destroyed, Pip is left with a decision about what kind of man he is to become without the fortune he anticipated having. The themes, attitudes and moral lessons in this story are timeless and what makes Great Expectations a classic.

While Dickens's wordiness gets in the way of the story at times, his gift of weaving life lessons into a narrative ultimately makes it worth the effort. Yes...even a three-week effort....less

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Martine rated it:

08/01/08

bookshelves: british, family-drama, film, nineteenth-century

Read in March, 1996

Great Expectations is one of my favourite Dickens novels. It's big but not overly drawn out; it's dark but full of brilliantly funny touches; and the characters are tremendously memorable without ever slipping into the grotesque. In short, it's one of the best things Dickens ever wrote. His contemporaries might not have agreed, but hey, what did they know?

The central question in Great Expectations is what it means to be a gentleman -- whether the word refers to a man of money a...more Great Expectations is one of my favourite Dickens novels. It's big but not overly drawn out; it's dark but full of brilliantly funny touches; and the characters are tremendously memorable without ever slipping into the grotesque. In short, it's one of the best things Dickens ever wrote. His contemporaries might not have agreed, but hey, what did they know?

The central question in Great Expectations is what it means to be a gentleman -- whether the word refers to a man of money and manners or rather, more literally, to a man who is gentle and caring (I think we can all guess the answer to that). The protagonist, the poor orphan Pip (son of 'Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana, wife of the above'), initially believes the former, so when an unknown benefactor gives him a fortune with which to turn himself into a gentleman, he focuses on the outer trappings of the lifestyle and begins to despise the life he used to lead -- including his relatives, who are still leading it. For a while, he turns into an unbearable snob, but ultimately his better self prevails, and he ends up being a moral hero after Dickens' own heart. And the reader's, presumably.

As a story about status anxiety, Great Expectations is nearly unsurpassed. Dickens draws with great skill and psychological depth Pip's embarrassment at his lowly background, his shame of home and the lack of confidence it inspires in him. His snobbery, while unpleasant, is made understandable, and his sense of guilt at it makes up for much of it. Yet there's more to Great Expectations than a (still very relevant) wish for a cultural make-over. It's also a detective story, in that Pip has to find out where his unexpected fortune actually came from, and who the girl he loves, the stunningly beautiful but haughty Estella, actually is. Dickens ably weaves the psychological drama and the detective story together into an intense and compelling tale. For most of the book, the tone is rather dark, but there are brilliant flashes of humour in unnecessary (but highly entertaining) details and, of course, the characterisation. Melodramatic but impressive Miss Havisham is justifiably the most famous character of the book, but there are other inspired creations, such as the tough-as-nails attorney, Mr Jaggers, and his clerk, Mr Wemmick, who is two entirely different persons when he is at work and when he is at home with his Aged Parent. Furthermore, the novel boasts Joe Gargery, Pip's first father figure, whose speech patterns are just brilliant; the menacing convict whom Pip helps; and Estella, who is a living argument for why mentally unstable persons who have been greatly disappointed in life should not be allowed to raise children. They are all exquisitely drawn, and every bit as memorable as Pip's journey through Victorian society. Together they make Great Expectations an absolute classic -- one of the best novels to have come out of the Victorian era, I think. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could, but since I can't, four will have to do. ...less

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Nicole rated it:

08/10/08

Read in August, 2008

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to be so charmed by this book or the characters in it, but here I am, charmed right down to the core of my soft and nougaty little heart. Now I just have to try to articulate why.

The completeness, complexity, and range of characters populating this novel is pretty amazing. There are virtually no one-dimensional or stock characters (with the possible exceptions of the purely diabolical Orlick and the angelic figure of Joe). By the end of the story, I find m...more I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to be so charmed by this book or the characters in it, but here I am, charmed right down to the core of my soft and nougaty little heart. Now I just have to try to articulate why.

The completeness, complexity, and range of characters populating this novel is pretty amazing. There are virtually no one-dimensional or stock characters (with the possible exceptions of the purely diabolical Orlick and the angelic figure of Joe). By the end of the story, I find myself unable to view any of its primary players with unmitigated pity, admiration, or dislike. Estella and Miss Havisham are both victims and monsters in equal measure, and Pip shows himself to be as much a monster as either of them through his treatment of Joe and Biddy after being informed of his great expectations.

Plot also tends toward complexity here, with so many twists and turns that are surprising at first until I realize they've been there in front of me all along and I was just as willing to go down the trail of wrong assumptions as the characters themselves. There are also layers within the plot of varying importance that get brought in, dropped for a while, picked up again enough pages later that the reader could certainly be forgiven for having forgotten all about them, and then eventually written through to their conclusion. This is hardly an anomaly in the canon of written work, but it does leave me feeling that Dickens trusts me, and all his readers, to be intelligent and careful readers. Whether I can live up to it every time or not, I appreciate that trust and that he is willing to expect something of me as a reader. I think this helps me feel more invested in the book by the end than I might otherwise.

This is perhaps less tangible, but there is also a feeling of hope that pervades this book. The hope that Pip will be able to live up to his great expectations, that somehow his love for Estella will reveal some deeply hidden capacity for love in her, that Provis will make his way unhindered to safer shores, keep me moving from one to the next to the next even after the doors start closing on them. I think I said something like this about The Great Gatsby as well, hope carrying the reader through the novel in anticipation of the possibility of a final redemptive moment, but it rings even truer for me in Great Expectations... while in The Great Gatsby I felt that the ruin of their opulent world was a just end, although hardly redemptive, for the unrepentant and self-absorbed main characters, here I feel that the ruin is its own form of redemption because it allows the characters to truly move forward into the rest of their lives even though those lives are not likely to be what we once hoped for them. It's not a pretty little package of an ending, but that makes it more true and human than a tidier ending would have let it be....less

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Melissa rated it:

07/15/08

bookshelves: master-s-exam

Read in July, 2008

I enjoyed this (my third or fourth?) reading of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations the most. In all likelihood, my enjoyment stemmed from the immense relief I felt at escaping from Modernist novels; I did read this directly after my misguided venture into James Joyce's Ulysses. It could be that I've grown or matured since last time. But, in all seriousness, it's probably because this the first time reading Great Expectations that I was able to truly appreciate Pip as a protagon...more I enjoyed this (my third or fourth?) reading of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations the most. In all likelihood, my enjoyment stemmed from the immense relief I felt at escaping from Modernist novels; I did read this directly after my misguided venture into James Joyce's Ulysses. It could be that I've grown or matured since last time. But, in all seriousness, it's probably because this the first time reading Great Expectations that I was able to truly appreciate Pip as a protagonist.

I realized that as I read Dickens various bildungsroman novels, his heroes tend to travel through the narrative as silhouettes of young men, with generically handsome, but naive faces. Of course, they all have their distinguishing characteristics: Nicholas Nickleby is emotional and impulsive, David Copperfield is "blind," and Oliver Twist... has that strange ethereal glow. But they are pretty much silhouettes that the reader can inhabit (as the author often did) and grow with throughout the tale. Pip is different. He is a fully developed character whose arrogance, snobbery, and pretensions made me want to distance myself from him. What I realized this time around was that, as repulsive as he often was, Pip is so easy to relate to. In his most shameful moments, he is so human. I begrudged him his faults because, in some indirect way, I have shared them. My replusion was also tempered by the fact that the older Pip narrating the story was exceedingly ashamed and guilty of his younger self. It's a situation that is more uncomfortable but also more realistic than the common "if I knew then what I know now" retrospective narration.

Place Pip among a cast of heartwarming and humorous characters (the uneducated but heroic Joe and Wemmick, who separates his business life and his private life to the extreme, especially stand out) in an entangled plot that begs questions about the moral supremacy of the upper class, the formation of identity, the dangers of love and dreams, and the proper role of parenthood, and you have a quality novel. As anyone might expect of <3 Charles Dickens <3.

(I have to admit that, as I read, I sometimes couldn't help but picture scenes from the South Park parody of Great Expectations.)

Quotes!

"So, throughout life, our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of people whom me most despise."

"It is a principle of his that no man who was not a true gentleman at heart, ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner."

"For, there was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationary."
(Why don't I have post-its with this quote on them?)...less

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Mercedes rated it:

10/08/07

Interview with Pip

Q: Pip, what's you're real name?
A: Philip Pirrip

Q: Who did you live with at the begining of the story?
A: My sister and her husband, Mrs. and Mr. Joe Gragery

Q: Where were your parents?
A: Both my mother and father were dead, alone with my seven younger brothers.

Q: What do you think of your sister and brother-in-law?
A: My sister usually smacked me whenever I got out of line. She usually cleaned or stomped around the house. Mr. Joe is nice and very friendly....more

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Kristina rated it:

04/14/08

bookshelves: victorian

Read in April, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who likes a nice, leisurely read

Like many people, I read this book in high school. (Thus it has a rather bad reputation. Some people complain it's too long and wordy. What are they reading for, then? Just to get to the end as quickly as possible?) But when I was considering books to teach for a Victorian class I got hired for (which was subsequently canceled), I realized I couldn't really remember anything about it except for Miss Haversham, so I thought I'd refresh the ole memory.

What to say? It's Dickens. He writes beaut...more Like many people, I read this book in high school. (Thus it has a rather bad reputation. Some people complain it's too long and wordy. What are they reading for, then? Just to get to the end as quickly as possible?) But when I was considering books to teach for a Victorian class I got hired for (which was subsequently canceled), I realized I couldn't really remember anything about it except for Miss Haversham, so I thought I'd refresh the ole memory.

What to say? It's Dickens. He writes beautifully. The beginning of this novel -- not the famous bit about Pip's name, but the part about his fascination with his parents' graves -- is amazing. I didn't love this novel as much as BLEAK HOUSE, but that is one of my favorite novels, so it's hard to match. I was surprised to find that Pip was a little bit of a jerk. But truly, I don't know that I've ever read a novel -- Victorian or contemporary -- that more thoroughly captures the depth of ungratefulness and subsequent guilt that a child often exhibits toward a parent. Pip is often contemptable, but his actions seem painfully real.

SPOILERS FOR BOTH THIS NOVEL AND BLEAK HOUSE FOLLOW.

Something I'm interested in about Dickens that I'm still trying to wrap my head around is the idea of "fascination," or morbid obsession, which expresses itself sometimes in stalker behavior (say, Guppy toward Esther) and sometimes in a kind of matter-antimatter attraction, or a headlong dive into the grave (such as with Magwitch and Compeyson). What is this all about? And a related idea: the way that certain things *must* happen, and you know it's going to happen, and the protagonist tries to stop it and would be able to with a different author, but this is Dickens so the thing has to happen. Examples: Magwitch's capture, fight with C., and death; Lady Dedlock's flight and death, even after being forgiven. Part of me feels like the thing *has* to happen because it's more convenient for the protagonists; Esther longs for her mother, for example, but what kind of complications would arise if she had found Lady D. in time? (Especially since poor Dickens really can't seem to imagine the possibility of a woman actually surviving premarital sex.) But another part of me loves the hopelessness of the situation -- you can see it's coming, you can see the protagonist is powerless, and yet it must happen, you must see it happen. There's something brilliant about this, and something in it that's akin to death.

Last word: Miss Haversham is awesome, better than I remembered....less

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Jennifer rated it:

02/28/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This is a summary of my thoughts and feelings after my first read of the book.

I am moved by the idea that Pip had so many opportunities to do well and turn towards the light and at every instance instead chose the foolish, selfish, cowardly path until it was finally too late. Yes, he finally came to his senses and recognized his folly but only after it was too late to make a great difference in his life. His great expectations were wasted. I believe the monetary expectations were simply...more This is a summary of my thoughts and feelings after my first read of the book.

I am moved by the idea that Pip had so many opportunities to do well and turn towards the light and at every instance instead chose the foolish, selfish, cowardly path until it was finally too late. Yes, he finally came to his senses and recognized his folly but only after it was too late to make a great difference in his life. His great expectations were wasted. I believe the monetary expectations were simply a metaphor for his expectations of becoming a decent and even great human being. He wasted all his opportunities to build his character. After one poor choice he had the opportunity to admit it, face the consequences and make a fresh start but instead he wasted his time trying to cover it up and forged several more links in the chain of bad choices that ultimately made up the greater part of his life. What might have been is a sad and fitting summation of his life. He even thinks in the end that he might finally be worthy enough to ask Biddy to marry him – he still has not fully faced the consequences of his actions and is saved the embarrassment of having everyone else aware of this fact by finding Biddy and Joe after they have already been married. It is fitting that Pip and Estella walk away from the ruin and wreckage of an old building together with only half or even less of their lives left to try and build something new and honest out of the wreckage of their own bent and broken lives. I often thought while reading this, what poor choices am I hiding from or not facing up to that might be crumbling at the corners of my life? I am reminded of Emily Dickenson’s poem, Crumbling’s not an instants act.

Another theme I found compelling was the idea that both Pip and Estella were greatly hindered by the circumstances of their respective upbringing but Magwitch clearly came from much worse circumstances and look what he ultimately accomplished? He created a gentleman! He never blamed anyone for his problems, accepted his faults and rose above meanness, cultivating a heart full of love and gratitude despite never being treated with any love or kindness by anyone. What he interpreted as kindness on Pip’s part was really only fear and he tried to repay it a thousand times over. Estella and Pip recieved kindness and affection from many, many people despite their difficult childhood’s and did not recognize or appreciate it till it was too late to benefit from it.
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Thiminhnguyen rated it:

10/03/08

Read in October, 2008

Although I have been reading Great Expectation for just 34 pages, I feel very emotional with the characters and the context Charles Dickens set in this book. Pip is a small labor boy raised by his sister and a brother-in-law. He is quite delicated but good-hearted. He planned to be a blacksmith like his brother-in-law. But when he entered Miss Havisham's house, he began to be changed. He paid attention to himself and the others more, but not in criticized eyes. In my mind, he is naive and gentle...more