by Michael Padbury

Created on: March 03, 2007   Last Updated: September 30, 2009

The famous Charles Dickens writes another classic novel with Great Expectations. Dickens success is world renowned having written such classics as A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, and the short story, A Christmas Carol. Dickens experienced a testing childhood, which gave him a distinct outlook on life. Being on the lower rung of the social and economical ladder gave Dickens an experience that he pulls the reader through in Great Expectations. He gives you a bird's eye view of what it is like to be a low class citizen.

The novel is set in England, in the 1800s. The novel begins and ends with our protagonist Pip. He is an orphan as a result of the death of his immediate family. He lives with his sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gargery. They are members of the plebeian, with Joe working as a blacksmith and the Missus a homemaker. After a visit to a wealthy heiress down the road, Miss Havisham, we meet the object of Pip's affection throughout the novel, a girl Pip's age named Estella. She is extremely cruel to Pip, and mocks his rugged appearance of the lower-class men. It is then that Pip's begins to be embarrassed and dislike his place of social class. He wishes to become a gentleman, and believes this will earn the respect of Estella.

Through an anonymous benefactor Pip receives an opportunity to become one. He is immediately shipped to London to begin schooling and learning to become a gentleman. He begins to like the high class life he lives and actually overspends the generous allowance he is given from his supporter. Pip's extravagant status begins to make him ashamed of his past, and his family. He starts to abandon his family, and doesn't care about them. Even in London, Pip's mind is filled with thoughts of his love Estella.

The latter part of the book is full of surprises, which I dare not ruin for you. Its twists and turns are wildly entertaining, which brings you to his ending, or actually endings. Oddly enough Dickens actually wrote two endings for this novel. The first ending reveals Dickens pessimistic look on love. But after an outcry from readers, he wrote a revise ending, soothing their (and Pip's) aching heart.

The plot in this novel is extraordinary. Fine details of the story are woven intricately to create a perfect canvas of literature. It is full of cliffhangers that occur throughout the book. One of the main reasons for this attribute is the publishing medium the novel was written for. He released weekly passages in his magazine

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