{"id":252,"date":"2019-05-02T06:43:05","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T06:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/engp03.epgpbooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/?post_type=chapter&p=252"},"modified":"2019-05-02T08:22:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T08:22:43","slug":"charles-dickens-great-expectations","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/engp03\/chapter\/charles-dickens-great-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles Dickens: Great Expectations"},"content":{"raw":"
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21.0\u00a0\u00a0 The Upshot<\/p>\r\n

21.1:\u00a0\u00a0 Introduction<\/p>\r\n

21.2His Fictional oeuvre<\/p>\r\n

21.3:\u00a0\u00a0 Charles Dickens as a Novelist<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

21.4: Times when Great Expectations was written<\/p>\r\n

21.5 : Great Expectations: Introduction<\/p>\r\n

21.6:Great Expectations: Story<\/p>\r\n

21.7 : Setting of the novel<\/p>\r\n

21.8:Genre and Form of the Novel<\/p>\r\n

21.9 Plot and Structure of the Novel<\/p>\r\n

21.10: Literary Devices in Great Expectations<\/p>\r\n

21.11: Beginning and the Ending of the Novel<\/p>\r\n

21.12- Major Characters of the novel<\/p>\r\n

21.13 Minor characters of the novel<\/p>\r\n

21.14:\u00a0 Some interesting facts about Novel and the Novelist<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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21.0 The Upshot: The present module discusses Charles Dickens and his famous novel Great<\/em> Expectations<\/em>. Introduction tells readers about Dickens\u201fs biography and his famous works. The content further elaborates Dickens as a novelist. Reader will come to know its story line, Chapter wise summary, Characters, Plot construction, his narrative style and main points about the novel and the novelist. Some interesting facts about Dickens and his times make the study interesting. Multiple choice questions and long questions are there to help the learner in knowing the novelist and the novel. Some important quotes from the novels are inscribed to help the scholars in understanding the ethos of the prescribed work. It is further supported by Bibliography and Webliography.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

21.1:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Introduction: <\/strong>Charles Dickens:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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It was during the Victorian Era that Dickens \u201ecrested the heights of fame and fortune, so much so that, by the time of his death, he had become, and in many ways still remains, the second most famous Victorian, after the Queen herself.\u201f<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Known widely as a versatile English author, a novelist with a social cause and a journalist with a reformative zeal, Charles John Huffam Dickens<\/strong> became a synonym for English literature of the Victorian era. He was born on February 7, 1812, at Portsea on the southern coast of England, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. Dickens was christened on 4th March 1812 at St Mary's church and was named Charles, after his maternal grandfather, Charles Barrow; John, after his father, John Dickens; and Huffham, after Christopher Huffam (the parish clerk misspelt the surname),who was a London friend of his father.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Charles\u201f father was a pay clerk in the navy office. Finances were a constant concern for the family. In fact, when Charles was just four months old, family shifted to a very dingy and small place in order to manage finances. When Charles was just twelve years old, his father was sent to debtor\u201fs prison and due to this Charles started working as a child labour in a factory that handled \"blacking,\" or shoe polish. During this period the rest of the family moved to live near the prison, leaving Charles to live alone. Three months later, his father was released from prison, and the family returned to their previous home in Camden Town. Dickens\u201fs time at the blacking warehouse influenced his later works of fiction, with the themes of child mistreatment, child abuse and child labour repeated throughout his novels.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Charles returned to school when his father received an inheritance and was able to repay his debts. But in 1827, at age fifteen, he was again forced to leave school and work as an office boy. Soon he became a reporter and stenographer at the law courts of London. By 1832 he had\u00a0become a reporter for two London newspapers followed by another work to contribute a series of impressions and sketches to other newspapers and magazines, signing some of them \"Boz\" and his first book was published in 1836 as <\/span>Sketches by Boz.<\/em> On the strength of this success Charles married Catherine Hogarth. They were happy and had ten children. But it was short lived and Charles realized ,\u201f\u201fPoor Catherine and I are not made for each other, and there is no help for it. It is not only that she makes me uneasy and unhappy, but that I make her so too\u2014and much more so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Dickens became very attached to Catherine\u201fs sister Mary, and she died in his arms after a brief illness in 1837. He portrayed her as a character in many of his books, and her death is fictionalized as the death of Little Nell.[\"Thank God she died in my arms,\" he said, after her death, \"and the very last words she whispered were of me.\" Dickens took a ring from Mary's lifeless finger, placed it on his own finger where it remained until the day he died. Such was the effect of Mary's death on him that, for the first and only time in his life, he found himself unable to write and the next installments of Pickwick Papers<\/em> and Oliver Twist<\/em> failed to appear. In fact Dickens and his wife, Catherine, had stayed at white weatherboard cottage which still exists today and which was known as Collins's Farm. They remained there till Dickens felt strong enough to come back to his writing schedule. In 1857 Charles and Catherine felt that living together as husband and wife was not possible for them and they took separate bedrooms. In June of 1858 Catherine and Charles were legally separated. In 1857 a middle-aged Charles Dickens began an adulterous affair with a teenager, Ellen \u201cNelly\u201d Ternan, that would end only with his death.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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21.2 His Fictional oeuvre <\/strong>Dickens completed 14 novels and numerous shorter works of fiction, including five Christmas books, among which A Christmas Carol<\/em> stands out as a masterpiece, regularly read and interpreted to this day.<\/p>\r\n

The Pickwick Papers (1836-1837)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

This novel by Dickens was a digressive story about the adventures of the gullible good-natured Mr. Pickwick and his travelling cohorts. The streetwise Sam Weller, recruited along the way by Pickwick, helps them to survive. Full of fun, capturing the high-spirited spirit of the young Dickens, this work built on his earlier Sketches by Boz<\/em> to throw him to fame and is still one of the best-loved books in English Literature.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Oliver Twist (1837-1839)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

With a serious theme, to expose the abuse and corruption suffered by children, this second major work is nevertheless full of satirical humor. The orphan Oliver Twist manages to survive the worst that the authorities and criminal fraternity put him through.<\/p>\r\n

Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

A tale of how the young Nicholas Nickleby and his sister make good after they and their mother are left penniless. Following a bad start Nicholas comes eventually to thrive is a story to appeal the masses.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-1841)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

This story, written for the magazine Master Humphrey's Clock, has a young girl, Little Nell and a spiteful moneylender. Their flight exposes them to a variety of experiences and characters. The death of Little Nell is among the best known scenes in the works of Dickens.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\nBarnaby Rudge (1841)<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

The first of Dickens's two historical novels, set in the period that led up to the Gordon Riots of 1780 against Roman Catholicism.<\/p>\r\n

Martin Chuzzlewit (1843-1844)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Selfishness, as typified by the young Martin Chuzzlewit, and hypocrisy, as typified by Mr Seth Pecksniff, who purports to be an architect, are among the themes of this work. This work contains one of Dickens's great creations: the often intoxicated Mrs Sairey Gamp, a midwife, sick nurse.<\/p>\r\n

A Christmas Carol (1843)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

The first of five Christmas books written by Dickens in the 1840s, this is one of the best known and best loved of all his works. It tells of the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge from a tight-fisted curmudgeon to a generous and genial man. This is brought about by a haunting and visions at Christmas that remind him of happier days, demonstrate the generous spirit of others in adversity, and terrify him with dire prospects should he not change his ways.<\/p>\r\n

Dombey and Son (1846-1848)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Pervading this work are the pride and cold-hearted obduracy of Mr Paul Dombey Senior, a businessman. Following the death of his first wife, he invests all of his hopes in Paul, their only son, neglecting their daughter, Florence. But the fragile boy dies. Dombey marries again, but tenacious endurance and treachery obstruct his will, and he loses his fortune. Ultimately he was supported by his daughter who helped him throughout.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\nDavid Copperfield (1848-1850)<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

This partially autobiographical story, narrated in the first person, is generally considered to be his masterpiece.. Among a number of memorable characters is that of Mr Wilkins Micawber, who look like Dickens's father in some respects.<\/p>\r\n

Bleak House (1851-1853)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

An elongated law case concerning the distribution of an estate, which brings wretchedness and debris to the parties but great profit to the lawyers, is the foundation for this story. Esther Summerson, a professional detective, Inspector Bucket are memorable characters. Story involves a good many secrets, a murder and a number of investigators.<\/p>\r\n

Hard Times (1854)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Hard Times is known as the shortest of Dickens's novels. As exemplified in the thoughts of Thomas Gradgrind ,it is a tale of his rigid attitudes on the lives of his son and daughter.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Little Dorrit (1855-1857)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Dickens is partly autobiographical reminding of his visits to his father in a debtors' prison in this novel. The theme of imprisonment is very effectively portrayed. William Dorrit is locked up for years in that prison, attended daily by his daughter, Little Dorrit. Her unacknowledged self-sacrifice comes to the attention of Arthur Clennam, who helps bring about her father's release but is himself imprisoned for a time when his business assumption fails. Little Dorrit, ultimately finds gratification caring for Clennam and, following the loss of her father and the family fortune, they marry.<\/p>\r\n

A Tale of Two Cities (1859)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Another historical novel by Dickens, this novel recounts to the French Revolution, the two cities being London and Paris. French-born Charles Darnay, settled in London, returns to Paris to help save the life of his agent, but is finally himself sentenced to death. Sydney Carton took his place and saved his life. Carton's words at the very end of the novel are widely familiar: \u201eIt is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.<\/p>\r\n

Great Expectations (1860-1861)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Story narrated in the first person by the narrator, Philip Pirrip, known as Pip, ts an interesting account of his childhood under the care of a vicious sister and her clement husband, a blacksmith, to living the life of a gentleman in London, funded by a mysterious benefactor. Miss Havisham plays an important part in his life.<\/p>\r\n

Our Mutual Friend (1864-1865)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Our Mutual Friend ,<\/strong>a model of his outstanding craftsmanship, tells about John Harmon who disguised his identity till he has formed an opinion of Bella Wilfer, the woman he is supposed to marry under the terms of his father's will. After a plethora of complications all turns out well in the end.<\/p>\r\n

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is the final novel by Charles Dickens. The novel was unfinished at the time of Dickens's death. During October of 1869, at Gad\u201fs Hill Place, Dickens begins work on The Mystery of Edwin Drood<\/em>. On March 15, 1870 Dickens gives his final public reading. On\u00a0June 8, 1870 Dickens spends the day working on <\/span>The Mystery of Edwin Drood<\/em>. During dinner he collapses and on June 9, 1870 he dies at Gad\u201fs Hill Place.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

21.3: Charles Dickens as a Novelist <\/strong>Charles Dickens was the representative novelist of the Victorian age. He is the writer of some great novels such as Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist,\u00a0<\/em>Great Expectations, David Copperfield, and Bleak House <\/em>in which his art of storytelling, comic view of life, his enthusiasm for social reformation, social criticism, and use of humor have been intensely\u00a0 epitomized.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

His first novel was Pickwick Papers,<\/em> the supreme comic novel in English language. Cambell, the famous Lord Chief Justice, remarked that he would have been prouder of having written Pickwick Papers than of all the honours he had earned at the Bar. His comedy is never overlaid because it is an effortless expression of a comic view of life. Dickens seems to see things differently in an entertaining manner, without any serious thought of plot or design.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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As a novelist, Dickens is a social Chronicler. He is found to have introduced social novels in a much broader sense. Dickens believed in the ethical and political potential of literature, and he treated his fiction as a facilitator for debates about moral and social reform. In his novels of social analysis Dickens became a candid critic of unreasonable economic and social conditions. His social observations helped raise the collective cognizance of his readers. Dickens contributed significantly to the emergence of public opinion, which was gaining an amassed impact on the decisions of the experts. A number of legal reforms like a better administration of criminal\u00a0prisons, the abolition of the merciless imprisonment for debts, distillation of the Magistrates\u201f courts, and the check on the capital punishment were influenced by his thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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According to David Cecil, Dickens is \"the most representative of Victorian novelists. Some will contend that he is also the greatest. No doubt he lacks the profundity of George Eliot, the consuming passion of the Bronte sisters, and the peculiar \u00e9clat of Thackeray, yet he surpasses them all in his basic humanity, a childlike na\u00efvet\u00e9, and an amazingly fecund imagination.\u201f Indeed, Dickens was not of his country alone but of the entire world.<\/p>\r\n

Dickens and Social Reform:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Dickens stands for Art for society\u201fs sake. His art is art with a purpose. Dickens was not limited to \"aesthetic culture\" or \"Gothicism.\" His novels give clear note of humanitarianism. He can be called one of the greatest social reformers of his time. Most of his novels have been built around a particular social theme. For instance, \u201e\u201fBleak House<\/em> attacks \"the law's delays\"; Nicholas<\/em> Nickleby, <\/em>the abuses of charity schools and the sadism of school-masters; Hard Times, <\/em>the pet concepts of the then current \"political economy\"; Little Dornit,<\/em> the inhumanities to which poor debtors are often subjected; and so forth.\u201f\u201f Nowhere does Dickens say that \"all is right with the world,\" but nowhere does he say either that \"all is wrong with the world.\" He was a pragmatist as well as a visionary.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n21.5 : Great Expectations: Introduction<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Great Expectations<\/em><\/strong>, Charles Dickens thirteenth novel, is a bildungsroman depicting the story of an orphan Pip. It is Dickens's second novel to be fully narrated in the first person. The novel was first published as a serial in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round<\/em>, from 1 December\u00a01860 to August 1861followed by its publication in Chapman and Hall (October 1861) in three volumes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Great Expectations <\/em>is regarded as Dickens \u201cgrotesque tragicomic\u201d conception. There are moments of touching tragedy and sadness, such as young Pip in a cemetery surrounded by his dead family, and Pip being mistreated by his only surviving relative, Mrs. Joe. At the same time, there is relaxed comedy, such as when Mr. Pumblechook and Mr. Wopsle reconstruct their tales of how the thief must have stolen the pork pie, when all the time, it was no thief but Pip. In spite of some light mood, the darker moods dominate the text, with mystery and danger always skulking. Miss Havisham presents a grotesque mystery, as does Jaggers\u201f housekeeper Molly. Towards the end of the novel, grave events and serious complications completely surround the plot.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

21.6: Great Expectations: Story- T<\/strong>he novel starts out with one of the most significant events of Philip Pirrip (Pip)\u201fs life when he is a young child. As he was sitting one evening, gazing at his parents\u201f tombstones, an absconded convict grabs Pip to bring food and a file. Even though Pip follows his orders properly, the convict gets caught anyways. Pip returns to living the normal life with his sister and her husband, Mrs and Mr. Joe Gargery in Kent, England. Soon, however, his Uncle Pumblechook takes him to the Satis House where he meets the strange but wealthy Miss Havisham and her beautiful adopted daughter Estella. Pip falls madly in everlasting love with her. On the other hand Estella treats him with only disdain and intimidation. Soon Pip is trained by his brother-in-law Joe to be a Blacksmith. Estella taunts him for being an ordinary person. Then, Bitty a young girl, is appointed to take care of his bedridden sister. Pip learns many things from her so that he can enhance his image in front of Estella. Jagger, a lawyer by profession, forewarns Pip of a large sum of money that had transpired him\u00a0from a secret benefactor and suggests him to travel to London to complete his education and be a \u201cgentleman\u201d. Pip, keeping Estella in his mind, is delighted at his affluence and believes that Miss Havisham is his secret benefactor. Pip reaches London and comes in contact with two gentlemen named Herbert Pocket and Wemmick while receiving a good education. Pip continues to long after Estella but expresses disparagement for Joe. Pip becomes a real gentleman, successful, wealthy and well respected over the years, gaining everything he had ever wished to be as a child except at gaining the love of Estella. After a long period of time his former acquaintance, the convict Magwitch, returns to Pip, dramatically announcing his identity as Pip\u201fs secret benefactor all these years. Pip shows his utter disgust at this turn of events but agrees to help Magwitch escape, as he is still wanted by the police. As time goes on, Pip begins to sincerely care for Magwitch.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Another twist is discovered by Pip when he realizes Magwitch is the birth father of Estella and that Miss Havisham had never wanted to encourage Estella\u201fs love for Pip but rather persuade her to \u201cbreak men\u201fs hearts\u201d. Pip is utterly heart-broken when he hears of news that Estella had married Bentley Drummle, a cruel upper-class gentleman. Pip visits Miss Havisham one last time before her death where she asks for his forgiveness and he agrees despite all the pain that he has suffered. Magwitch must escape before time runs out and so Pip and his friends sneak him down the river to catch a ship but is ultimately caught by the police and Magwitch suffers severe injuries .Pip returns to his regular lifestyle focusing on his career before returning many years later to the Satis House where he had first met Estella. Once again, Estella and Pip meet in the garden when Estella informs him of the death of her husband and the cruelty that Drummle had treated her with over the years of their marriage. Pip recognizes that Estella\u201fs once stony and\u00a0vehement eyes have turned warm with benevolence as she asks for his forgiveness. He accepts and they walk out of the garden hand in hand, while Pip believes that they will never be apart ever again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n21.7 : Setting of the novel<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Great Expectations <\/em>can be divided into three stages in the life of Pip. The first stage presents Pip as an orphan being raised by an unkind sister who resents him, and her husband, who offers him kindness and love. Pip encounters a convict and helps him. His meeting with Estella and Miss Havisham gives a new direction to his life. He receives a fortune and moves to London.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

The second stage of Pip\u201fs life takes place in London where he becomes friends with Herbert Pocket and Mr. Jaggers\u201f clerk, Mr. Wemmick. He again meets Magwitch, his real benefactor. This knowledge begins the change in Pip from ungrateful snobbery to the humility associated with Joe and home.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

The third stage in Pip\u201fs life solves all the remaining mysteries of the novel. Pip finds out that Magwitch is the biological father of Estella. Magwitch dies in prison, and Pip becomes a clerk in Cairo with Herbert. He returns 11 years later and finds Estella at the site of Satis House. The more popular ending indicated that they stayed together.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

21.8:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Genre and Form of the Novel: <\/strong>Great Expectation contains the elements of a variety of different literary genres like:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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