Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

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I first read this book in school, and although I could remember some of it, I was excited to read it as an adult. Many of you know I have set myself two challenges this year to read the works of Dickens and to read more classics, so this book was an obvious choice.

Great Expectations is unique as it is one of only two books written by Dickens in the first person, the other being David Copperfield.

Synopsis

Great Expectations tells the story of a young boy named Pip and his journey through life, love, and self-discovery.

Pip is an orphan who lives with his sister and her husband, Joe, in rural England. One day, he encounters an escaped convict in a graveyard who demands food and threatens him. This encounter sets off a chain of events that will change Pip's life forever.

Soon after, Pip is invited to the home of the wealthy and eccentric Miss Havisham, where he meets her beautiful but cold-hearted adopted daughter, Estella. He falls in love with Estella and becomes ashamed of his humble background, aspiring to become a gentleman to win her affection.

Unexpectedly, Pip receives news that he has a mysterious benefactor who will fund his education and elevate his social status. Pip moves to London and begins his new life, leaving behind his family and friends, including his loyal and loving friend Joe.

As Pip navigates high society and grapples with his identity, he learns valuable lessons about the true nature of wealth, friendship, and love. Along the way, he discovers the surprising truth about his benefactor and realises that his dreams may not lead to the happiness he once imagined.

Impressions

Dickens is famous for picking an institution and showing what is wrong with it throughout his novel. Great Expectations is definitely an attack on patronage, as we see through Pip's journey that it does not always provide the results anyone hoped for.

In the 1800s, patronage was a practice in politics, the arts, and academia. It involved wealthy individuals providing financial support or favours to those needing assistance. In Great Expectations, Pip is given patronage from a mysterious benefactor to become a gentleman.

Pip is such an interesting character, and we see him grow throughout the novel. There were times when I loved him and times when I wanted to reach inside the book and give him a slap.

Dicken's is unbeaten in classic literature at writing from the child's perspective, and this book shows him at his best. When Pip returned from Miss Havisham's house he takes refuge in a series of outrageous lies, lies that we can imagine our own child spouting.

One of the passages that most affected me in the book is at the beginning when Pip imagines what his parents look like from the slope of their writing on their tombstones. This powerful image of a young boy who never knew his mum and dad.

When you think you want to love Pip better, you see the other side of him when he becomes ashamed of Joe Gargery and his common ways. This view of the working class is something I have questioned whether Dickens felt himself.

Great Expectations is an engaging novel that is hard to put down. Typically it shows the flaws in patronage and the class system of the Victorian ages, but over all it is a study of human nature that transverses the decades. It is undoubtedly one of my top 3 Dicken's books.

Two-Sentence Summary

This riveting first-person narrative takes you through the class system of Victorian England. You will love and hate the protagonist, but overall, you will want him to succeed.

It was a rimy morning, and very damp. lying on the outside of my little window, as if some goblin had been crying there all night, and using the window for a pocket-handkerchief