take the quiz

Take the Quiz

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1860No. 84. Price 2d

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens and Characters This tutorial will help you understand the background of Charles Dickens and some of the complex characters of Great Expectations.

Check your knowledge at the end!

Tutorial By Cynthia Savage

Member of the Asscoiated Press . Aenean commodo ligula eget

dolor. Aenean. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenhswse. Cejhciebce

fcdcdcd.A WEEKLY JOURNAL

Use the following to navigate through this tutorial:

Move to the next slide

Return to previous slide

Return to the beginning

Discussion

Questions

Great Expectations: Introduction

Take notes on the introduction and background to Great Expectations.

There is a quiz following the tutorial.

The blacksmith, his brother-in-law Joe, is much nicer than Pip’s own sister. Joe Gargery is kind and generous.

We learn from the beginning pages that Pip’s parents are dead and Mrs. Joe, his sister, is forced to provide for him. Mrs. Joe makes it very clear that Pip is a burden.

Pip is the narrator of Great Expectations.As you read, you have the advantage of seeing this classictale through the eyes of the main character.Pip mispronounces his name as a child and the nicknameof “Pip” stays with him.As a young boy, Pip is content with his future as a blacksmith’s apprentice.


Charles Dicken’s world in Great Expectations is very dark. So, what better place to start the novel than in a graveyard? One day Pip wanders across the marshes to visit his parents’ graves. Throughout the novel, the marshes represent Pip’s lowly background.

While in the graveyard, he finds a runaway convict who demands that Pip help him escape from his chains.

Although the convict is later caught, Pip feels horribly guilty for helping him. He is sure Joe will be

disappointed if he finds out what Pip has done.

However, this frightening episode fades from Pip’s memory when he encounters even more remarkable people.

He is invited to rich Miss Havisham’s house to be a playmate for Estella, the proud girl in her care.


Years ago, Miss Havisham’s fiancé stood her up at the altar.

Ever since, she has remained in her wedding dress, let no sunlight into her house, and let the clocks stop. Everything is left just as it was the day of her heartbreak.

Pip’s family and friends all hope that Miss Havisham will “do something” for him—give him money.

However, for Pip, the appeal of Miss Havisham’s house isn’t just the thought of money or the elegant lifestyle: It’s Estella.


And then, the unexpected happens!

An anonymous benefactor sends money to pay for Pip’s education in London!

Is Miss Havisham giving Pip the money?

Does she hope to make Pip into a gentleman for his own sake?

Or is it for the sake of someone else?

PipJoe

Gargery Mrs. Joe Orlick

Miss Havisham Estella Jaggers Wemmick

Characters of Great Expectations

HerbertPocket

Magwitch

Write down the name of each main character of Great Expectations. As you read the novel, you will take notes about character traits and definingmoments for each one. These notes will help you during class discussion.

Pip

Philip Pirrup, known as Pip, is an orphan living with his kind brother-in-law,

Joe Gargery, and his cruel older sister, Mrs. Joe. Joe is a blacksmith, and

11-year-old Pip's dream is to follow in Joe's footsteps and learn his trade.

Joe Gargery

The blacksmith Joe Gargery is husband to the abusive Mrs. Joe and a father

figure to young Pip. He extends loyalty and generosity to deserving and undeserving alike.

Mrs. Joe

Pip's hot-tempered older sister bitterly resents the burden of caring for her

orphaned brother. But when Pip is summoned to Satis House, Mrs. Joe focuses

her petty ambitions on the boy who, she imagines, will "raise up" them all.

Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham was jilted on her wedding day by a con man. Since then, the disturbed wealthy spinster has reveled in the decaying grandeur of Satis House, haunting the ruins of her wedding celebration in a rotting wedding gown. She adopted her daughter Estella with a single goal in mind: to avenge her heartbreak.

Estella

With Miss Havisham, the young Estella appears to have a life of wealth and culture — an aspiration and attraction for Pip

Orlick

Joe's assistant at the forge is a cruel and churlish young man who feels threatened by Pip and never misses an opportunity to bully him.

Magwitch

Escaped from a prison ship, Magwitch meets Pip in the marshes, demands a file to remove his shackles, and receives a gesture of kindness he won't soon forget.

Herbert Pocket

Herbert, a relation of Miss Havisham, was cut off from his wealthy family because of his intention to marry Clara Barley. Hired to be Pip's roommate and companion, he quickly becomes his loyal friend.

Jaggers

The powerful and daunting London lawyer Jaggers was hired by Pip's mysterious benefactor to oversee Pip's transformation into a gentleman. Feared even at Newgate prison, Jaggers is a criminal lawyer to the worst-of-the-worst, whose moral taint he obsessively tries to wash from his hands.

Wemmick

Wemmick is Jaggers's clerk. A cynical realist obsessed with "portable property," he keeps a warm and nurturing private life completely separate from his professional one, inaccessible to anyone who might taint it.

Great Expectations: Background

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was deeply concerned about the struggles of the poor and mistreated people.

During this period, people who simply could not pay their bills often went to debtors’ prison. Children of those in debtors’ prison often had to support themselves. A child might work up to sixteen hours a day

In Dickens’s time, London was a rich city, but poor people lived in terrible squalor. Labor in a factory or work pulling a cart earned only pennies a day.

Great Expectations: Background

Shortly before his own father was sent to debtors’ prison, twelve-year-old Charles was sent to work at a shoe polish factory.

Dickens’s unfinished autobiography describes the suffering he endured as a child laborer. He worked long hours in a cramped room infested with rats.

In Dickens’ time, British convicts were often punished in a way that might seem “cruel and unusual” by today’s standards.

The unique history of Australia is tied to a thread in Great Expectations.

Convicts thought to pose some threat to society might be shipped off to a distant British territory—what is now Australia.

Once sent to Australia, a convict was frequently forbidden to ever return to England.

Great Expectations: Discussion Starters

Discuss (1)

Orphaned and then cared for by a harsh older sister, Pip stumbles upon great opportunity.

• Is it best to jump at whatever opportunity comes along? Or should a person consider staying in familiar territory?

• What problems might come from dreaming of a better future? What rewards?

Discuss (2)Loyalty and gratitude are themes running through Great Expectations.• What are the qualities of a loyal friend?• Should a friend’s loyalty have limits?• Should a successful person show gratitude to those who have helped along the way?


REVIEW! The Great Expectations Quiz




A. An unknown omnipotent narrator who uses the third person

B. Joe Gargery

C. An old sailor who heard the story.

D. Pip

Who is the narrator of Great Expectations?

Question #1 Great Expectations

WRONG! TRY AGAIN

• Bullet point

• Bullet point– Sub Bullet

Click to try again.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa.,

Dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis

Commodo et ligula egetdolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamcorper ultricies nisi. aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamcorper ultricies nisi. Nam eget dui. Etiam rhoncus. Donec vitae sapien ut libero venenatis faucibus. Nullam quis ante. Sed fringilla mauris sit amet nibh. Donec sodales sagittis magna. Sed consequat, leo eget bibendum sodales, augue velit cursus nunc. Donec vitae sapien ut libero venenatis faucibus. Nullam quis ante.

aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamcorper ultricies nisi. Nam eget dui. Etiam rhoncus. Donec vitae sapien ut libero venenatis faucibus.

CORRECT! BRILLIANT!


Click for the next question.

A. Kind and generous

B. Strange but a hard worker

C. Quiet and shy

D. Nagging and temperamental

Joe can best be described as:


WRONG!

• Bullet point


Click to try again.





CORRECT! AMAZING!


Click for the Next Question

A. love for Biddy.

B. lowly background.

C. love for Estella.

D. great expectations.

Throughout the novel, the marshes, for Pip, have represented his:


WRONG!

• Bullet point


Click to try again.





CORRECT, SMARTY PANTS!



A. It was the county where he was from.B. From his sister and caregiver Mrs. Joe Gargery

who thought he was an irritating pip-squeak.C. It was how he pronounced his last name when

he was a child.D. From Joe Gargery.

Where did Pip get his name?


WRONG!

• Bullet point


Click to try again.





CORRECT! ONE MORE QUESTION!



A. DarkB. SunnyC. ColorfulD. Carefree

Dickens's world in Great Expectations is mostly


WRONG!

• Bullet point


Click to try again.





CORRECT! YOU GENIUS!


You did it!


Now, you are ready to dive deeper into a novel that has impacted generations. Enjoy Great Expectations!




Resources:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/greatexpectations/characters.htmlhttp://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/novelwise_hs/find/ppt/nn09_great_expectations_ce.ppt

take the quiz

Documents