Introduction --
Chronology of Charles Dickens' --
Historical Context of 'Great Expectations' --
Great Expectations --
The Original Ending of 'Great Expectations' --
Notes --
Interpretive Notes --
Critical Excerpts --
Questions for Discussion --
Suggestions for the Interested Reader.

Standing as one of the most revered works in all of English literature, 'Great expectations' traces the development of Philip Pirrip, called Pip, from a boy of shallow aspirations to a man of depth and character. Pip is reared by his sister and her husband Joe Gargery, a blacksmith. In his youth he is influenced by the eccentric Miss Havisham, who was jilted on her wedding night and who has brought up her adopted niece Estella to hate men.

"The first-person narrative relates the coming-of-age of Pip (Philip Pirrip). Reared in the marshes of Kent by his disagreeable sister and her sweet-natured husband, the blacksmith Joe Gargery, the young Pip one day helps a convict to escape. Later he is sent to live with Miss Havisham, a woman driven half-mad years earlier by her lover's departure on their wedding day ... When an anonymous benefactor makes it possible for Pip to go to London for an education, he credits Miss Havisham ... Pip's benefactor turns out to have been Abel Magwitch, the convict he once aided, who dies awaiting trial after Pip is unable to help him a second time. Joe rescues Pip from despair and nurses him back to health." Merriam-Webster's Ency of Lit.

Junior High School

Text in English