It was nearly a year ago when I opened Great Expectations for the first time. I had it recommended it to me from my dad but little did I know how much I would fall in love with all the characters, the story line, and countless other Dickens novels.

 

Charles Dickens is a master at writing and crafting the perfect characters. Even the side characters that do not play a significant role in the novel are still crafted with such care and purpose you can’t help but to fall in love with them. These characters include: Joe, Aged. P, exasperating Estella, and of course sometimes infuriating but lovable Pip.

 

Great Expectations tells the story of Pip, an orphaned boy being raised by his sister Georgina Mary Gargery and her husband Joe. Pip’s sister is quick to anger and is impatient. She often punishes Pip using Tickler, a cane she uses to beat Pip. Pip’s sister often blames Pip for her own shortcomings and the fact that she must care for him now that he is an orphan.  Joe on the other hand is the complete opposite. Joe is patient and calm. He looks after Pip like he was his own son and often warns Pip when his wife is “on the rampage.” The connection between Joe and Pip has changed drastically throughout the novel due to Pip becoming a gentleman and becoming ashamed of Joe and his simpleness. Dickens forms his characters so well that it is painful to read when they are hurt or when tragedy strikes their lives.

 

The novel starts off with the main character Pip in a graveyard on Christmas Eve. Pip is currently 7 years old and is an orphan. While Pip is in the graveyard he is confronted by a convict who tells him  to bring him food and a file. Pip steals brandy and a pie and a file and brings them back to the convict. Later that night soldiers come to Pip’s home and the chase for the convict begins. The eventually find him and the excitement ends 

 

Later in the novel Pip is introduced to Miss Havisham through Mr Pumblechook who has been asked by Miss Havisham to find a boy to pay her visits. Miss Havisham  a spinster who was jilted at the altar.  Miss Havisham is a twisted woman who uses Estella to torture Pip because she was once left at the alter. The plot begins to thicken when Pip is sent to become a gentleman and the main question of the novel is introduced. Who is Pip’s benefactor? Dickens crafts this plotline carefully with plenty of twists and turns that will leave you guessing who this mystery man really is. 

 

Once Pip becomes a gentleman his overall character changes. Pip at the beginning of the novel is trusting, honest, and earnest. He is loyal and kindhearted as well, but when he is sent away to become a gentleman he looses these traits which are then replaced by selfishness and dishonesty.  Dickens shows through the portrayal of Pip that wealth, education, intellect, or class does not create character or strengthen ones character. We see this through Joe, who is a simple blacksmith but has a pure heart of gold and remains loyal to Pip throughout all of his changes. 

Great Expectations is possibly one of my favorite novels because of the beloved characters that you feel so deeply for. After having read countless other Dickens novels including, The Pickwick Papers, Bleak House, Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times and Oliver Twist. I can confidently still say that Great Expectations remains not only my favourite Dickens but one of my favourite books as well.