Great Expectations by Dickens. Analyses

Сл айд 1

Great Expectations is Charles Dickens's thirteenth novel. It is his second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person.[N 1] Great Expectations is a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age novel, and it is a classic work of Victorian literature. It depicts the growth and personal development of an orphan named Pip. The novel was first published in serial form in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861.[1] In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes.

Слайд 3

The theme

SOCIETY AND CLASS THEME

BACK NEXT

Pip desperately wants to be part of the cool crowd, but he doesn't have the right shoes, the right slang, or the right parents. In Great Expectations, being a "gentleman" is basically equivalent to being part of the popular crowd. Just like a Mean Girls social climber, Pip learns that being well-liked is more about how you act than how you look. And no matter what you do, you won't be good enough for the head cheerleader—unless you get your author to rewrite your ending.

DREAMS, HOPES, AND PLANS THEME

BACK NEXT

Dreams, hopes, plans … and Great Expectations. Fun fact about "expectations": having "expectations" in the nineteenth century specifically meant that you expected to inherit some money after the death of a family member—just like all of Miss Havisham's annoying relatives have. But they're not the only ones with plans. Pip wants to become a gentleman and marry Estella; Miss Havisham wants to use Estella to revenge herself on men; Herbert Pocket wants to become rich; and even Joe wants Pip to grow up and work at the forge with him. One by one, every single one of these expectations fails. But does that mean we shouldn't hope or plan? Maybe not. The only person who doesn't seem to have a dream is Estella—and we wouldn't wish her life on anyone.

WEALTH THEME

BACK NEXT

All you need is love, but in Great...