“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be.
I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.”
~Great Expectations by Charles Dickens~
If you’ve spotted Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations on reading lists and in curriculum plans, you may have wondered what the book is about and if it’s right for your child. This classic novel is actually one I love to study with young people.
Great Expectations tells the life story of a boy names Pip, who grows up on the bleak marshes of Kent, England. Pip is raised by his cruel sister and her blacksmith husband Joe Gargery. Joe married Pip’s sister because she was left alone to raise Pip after her parents died. Joe has a soft spot for Pip and does all he can to make Pip’s life better.
Pip considers Joe his best friend. As a boy, his only expectation is to become an apprentice at the forge and spend his days with Joe.
Then one day Pip is invited to visit Miss Havisham, a wealthy recluse and one of the most unforgettable characters in literature, and his life is never the same. At Miss Havisham’s crumbling mansion, Satis House, Pip sees Estella for the first time. Thus begins his deep, unrequited love for and lifelong pursuit of her.
As Pip visits Satis House, he becomes discontent with his life. He no longer looks forward to working with Joe. In fact, he grows ashamed of Joe’s uneducated speech and rough clothes.
He wants more than to be like Joe. He wants what the world of Satis House represents to him—fine clothes, new friends, a new way of speaking, a new life—whatever it will take to make Estella love him.
Fortunately, a lawyer shows up out of the blue to let him know that an unnamed benefactor has provided Pip with a monthly allowance, a future inheritance, and a chance to move to London and train to be a gentleman. Pip now has great expectations. He buys new clothes and heads for London with barely a good-bye for Joe.
“There was a long hard time when I kept far from me the remembrance of what I had thrown away when I was quite ignorant of its worth.” ~Pip, Great Expectations~
In London, Pip makes two genuine friends but spends much of his time with the idle rich. He is undisciplined and goes into debt to support the outward trappings of his lifestyle. During this time, he has no desire to make Joe—the man who sacrificed to raise him—part of his new life.
“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before–more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.”
Eventually, Pip realizes that in striving to prove he’s worthy of the society around him and to make the cold-hearted Estella love him, he has made a mess of his life. It is Joe who saves Pip when he is ill and languishing in debtor’s prison. In spite of how Pip treated him, Joe forgives all before he is even asked and pays part of his life savings to restore Pip.
Joe does not have upper class clothing, speech patterns, and manners, but he is a noble man and the hero of the story.
This summary reduces a complicated plot to its core relationships. The story contains plenty of other elements to keep kids turning pages—unforgettable characters, an intriguing mystery, and almost as much humor as heartache.
Discussion and Essay Topics from Great Expectations:
- Impact of social class
- What is truly valuable in life?
- What makes a person a gentleman?
- Appearance vs. reality
- Appreciating those whose love an loyalty enrich our lives
Renee Ann Smith teaches literature in a Christian high school by day and writes stories by night. She reviews books and shares inspirational posts on her blog Doorkeeper at http://reneeannsmith.com/. You can also find her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ReneeAnnSmith.
