Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

“Info to know” before you begin reading the novel…

Great Expectations begins one dreary, chilly afternoon in a churchyard in the marshes. A young boy stands shivering with cold and staring at the gravestones that bear the names of his father and mother. From the instant that the boy hears “a terrible voice” boom from among the graves, the author holds your attention to the very end of this dramatic mystery novel.

Even though the events in the book take place well over a hundred years ago, the people you will meet have the same problems, interests, and hopes we have today. All of us must face the problems of growing up, and Pip, the main character in the book, is no exception. Just as we all have friends who influence and help us, so does Pip. In Joe, Biddy, Estella, Herbert, and Mr. Jaggers, you may recognize “people” whom you have known all your life.

Dickens was popular because he had a deep interest in people and their motives. Few writers can match Dickens’ sharp wit when his pen becomes a knife and cuts the mask of pretense from people who pose as being sweet and kind when they are really rascals. When he wrote about convicts, Dickens wrote as one who knew them himself, just as he knew pickpockets, beggars, and murderers from his own early years. His characters are real to us because they were real to him.

Great Expectations will leave many strong impressions with you. Pip faces the problems of growing up in a time and a country much different from our own of the present century. It is for you to decide whether the decisions Pip had to make and the problems he had to solve are different from those that you face right now.

Great Expectations is divided into three main sections, called “stages”. You will meet many characters. Keep a list as you read the novel and encounter each character. Do the same for the various places or locations that you will encounter. These are things that you will be expected to know.

Phillip Pirrip, or Pip, is a boy of seven when the story begins. He is the “I” telling this tale. Remember, this is a mystery novel; many happenings cannot be explained when they occur, and you are expected to be mystified. Match your wits with Pip’s now and again to see whether or not you can understand some of the strange things that puzzle him. Lastly, be true to the code of the mystery fan: guessing is fair; looking ahead to see how it all ends is not! If you do cheat and look ahead, don’t spoil it for your classmates!

Happy reading!