Great Expectations - Oxford University Press€¦ · Activity 4: The ‘Great Expectations’ of...

Great Expectations

OLC Workbook Answers

OxfordLiteratureCompanions

GCSE

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OLC Great Expectations Workbook Answers

© Oxford University Press 2019

Contents:Plot and Structure 3

Context 13

Characters 17

Language 24

Themes 29

Skills and Practice 32

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Plot and Structure Activity 1: Compose your own definition of ‘plot’. Restrict yourself to 50 words.

Answers will vary.

Activity 2: Think about what you have learned from the above quotations and write your own definition again.

Answers will vary.

Activity 3: Based on your answer in the last activity and the previous definitions, consider what you think makes the plot of Great Expectations still relevant for a wider modern audience.

Student responses may include some of the following points:

• It deals with the emotional development of an individual, which is a timeless topic.

• It has a surprising set of unusual characters, who hold the interest of the reader.

• The novel explores life through the universal issues of love and childhood.

• At times the novel crosses genre with aspects of tragedy, romance, horror and adventure.

• It helps the modern reader to understand some aspects of life in Victorian England.

• The events are carefully sequenced to keep the reader intrigued and surprised.

• The skill of the writer allows the reader to develop empathy with characters who are initially unappealing.

Activity 4: The ‘Great Expectations’ of the title could be understood or interpreted in other ways. Look at the following and note how the title can be seen as relevant to other characters and aspects of the plot.

Responses might include the points listed below.

a) Magwitch and how he can be ‘redeemed’• He ultimately achieves his ambition of creating a

‘gentleman’.• He is able to leave behind his disadvantaged

childhood and criminal past to become a successful businessman.

• He finally achieves his revenge against Compeyson (though this costs him his own life).

b) Miss Havisham’s life work• She achieves what she wanted to in designing and

moulding Estella – a beautiful young woman who

would break men’s hearts and avenge her against the damage done by Compeyson.

• She ultimately realises that all her work has been futile because she has no loyalty from Estella and she regrets the pain and hurt caused to Pip and the ‘good’ members of her family.

c) Biddy’s ambition• Biddy fails to gain Pip’s hand in marriage, hinted at

in the earlier part of the novel, and Pip’s personal realisation at the end of the novel.

• She does gain self-respect as a professional teacher, able to pass on her essential goodness and morality to a younger generation.

• Finally, she marries Joe, a man who is equally ‘good’ in character. Both characters helped and supported Pip throughout his life and are ‘rewarded’ with love and their own child, who they name Pip.

d) Estella’s purpose• Trained by Miss Havisham to attract and ‘hurt’

men, she is successful in winning Pip’s heart and the hearts of many other men.

• Tragically, her ‘skill’ is her flaw as she is abused in life both emotionally by Miss Havisham and physically and emotionally by Bentley Drummle.

• She is unable to love anyone and is painfully aware of this as she becomes an adult and realises that she cannot requite Pip’s feelings.

e) Orlick’s revenge• Orlick manages to escape discovery as the

attacker of Mrs Joe until he admits it to Pip, when he believes that he is about to take his life.

• He was never able to achieve the love of Biddy and this only served to increase his hatred for Pip.

Activity 5: Why do you think Dickens considered ‘Great Expectations’ to be a good title for the novel, when it can be argued that it mainly deals with a failure of ambition?

Responses might include:

• The title echoes literally what Pip is told by Mr Jaggers at the inn.

• It reflects all the hopes for the future, some of which are achieved, some not, and therefore reflects the ups and downs of life itself.

• We should all have great ambitions and hopes, otherwise we will never aspire to more.

• It is better to have great expectations than none at all.

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Activity 6: Remind yourself of the opening chapter and analyse how Dickens grips the reader’s interest through Pip’s recollections of that frightening night as a child. Look at the following features of the chapter and comment on how and why you feel that their presentation is so effective. Use short quotations to support your points.

a) The clear sense of danger

Possible points:

• We are taken by surprise and the first-person voice intensifies the danger.

• We do not know whether or not the man is a true danger to Pip’s life.

• Pip feels that he may be killed, ‘Oh! Don’t cut my throat, sir’.

• We are unsure whether the man has changed his mind ‘– whether you’re to be let to live.’

b) The detailed description of the convict

Possible points:

• He is completely incongruous to the situation: ‘A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg’.

• We see him from a child’s perspective as a virtual monster in the graveyard.

• The description starts to alter its perspective, ‘he hugged his shuddering body’ almost gaining our sympathy for his wretchedness.

• He seems more disabled towards the end, ‘like a man whose legs were numb and stiff’.

c) The use of violent threats

Possible points:

• He is introduced by a threatening statement: ‘Hold your noise!’

• This is followed by a threat to cut Pip’s throat if he does not keep still.

• All the man’s questions are quick and aggressive in tone and add to the sense of menace.

• The threats become more violent, ‘Or I’ll have your heart and liver out’.

d) The hostile setting/landscape

Possible points:

• The fact that a young child is in a graveyard at night strikes the reader as unsettling.

• It is described as ‘a bleak place overgrown with nettles’, all ready to sting a child?

• The ‘distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing’ adds to the sense of hostility.

• Even the sky is described as ‘just a row of angry red lines’.

e) Pip’s loss of close family.

Possible points:

• Pip is a lonely figure in the graveyard, standing by the gravestones of his dead family.

• ‘[F]ive little stone lozenges each about a foot and a half long’ represent his siblings.

• Pip’s impressions of his family are based on the shape and aspect of the gravestones, for example, ‘they had all been born on their backs’, and his father being ‘a square, stout, dark man’.

Activity 7: Now write a paragraph of about 100 words explaining why you feel that the opening chapter so successfully grips the reader and establishes an emotional connection with the narrator. Use your notes from the previous activity to support your thinking.

Responses will vary but should draw on the ideas explored in the previous activity.

Activity 8: Consider the different ways Dickens presents the forge in Volume 1.

a) How is the forge depicted as a comfortable home?

The focus here will be on the warmth and security of the forge in comparison with what had been so far depicted as a hostile outside world. The character of Joe will be paramount in a student’s answer as he acts in the role of surrogate father and brother.

b) How is it portrayed as a threatening environment?

The focus here will be primarily about the character of Mrs Joe and the air of hostility that emanates from her. She seems desperately unhappy at having to bring up Pip ‘by hand’ and uses a stick to punish both Pip and her husband for real or imagined transgressions.

c) What is expected of Pip by his link to Joe and the forge?

Pip has been given a ‘home’ by Joe and the general understanding is that he will be apprenticed to Joe in the forge. The expectation is that he will ultimately take the place of Joe. The money paid by Miss Havisham

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for his indentures helps fuel the misunderstanding of her further patronage.

d) How does the mood change after Orlick’s attack?

Pip initially feels guilty for the attack on his sister because the leg-iron was used to injure her. Pip is sure that Orlick was involved but can find no tangible proof. Biddy comes to the forge to look after Mrs Joe and Pip starts to see her in a positive light.

e) Why does Pip change his opinion about the apprenticeship?

As he becomes more and more infatuated with Estella, encouraged by Miss Havisham in her quest to break men’s hearts, Pip feels that he is an unworthy suitor as an apprentice blacksmith and would never be treated as a serious partner in marriage due to his lowly status. He begins to feel less enthusiastic about his future at the forge.

f) What does the forge represent to Pip by Chapter 19?

The forge has metaphorically become a weight on his shoulders. He is in love with Estella but the job as blacksmith means that he will never be taken

seriously by her. He begins to resent the forge as a barrier to his happiness. However, he is also weighed down by his loyalty and gratitude towards Joe and finds the situation increasingly unbearable. The ‘great expectations’ offer him a way out of his dilemma.

g) What is Pip metaphorically leaving behind at the forge?

After learning of his ‘great expectations’, Pip has the means to ‘escape’ and to build a life for himself that will be worthy of Estella. However, he leaves behind more than a job he has begun to hate; he is leaving behind the security of childhood, Joe’s (and Biddy’s) love and everything that has ever known. He is leaving behind the narrow world of the marshes for the chance to become a gentleman and the sophistication and adventure of the city.

Activity 9: Look again at the significant visits Pip makes to Satis House and consider how Dickens presents the development of the plot through the chronology of Pip’s experiences. What does the reader learn from each of the visits described?

An example answer has been given for the first visit.

Activity 10: Find evidence for some of the following main aspects of the plot which are introduced to the reader in Volume 1.

Sample answer:

Plot line Chapter Evidence

Magwitch has a grudge against Compeyson

5 He stops Compeyson from escaping so he can be punished. Magwitch is angry that he himself was more severely treated by the courts: ‘He’s a liar born and he’ll die a liar.’

Magwitch shows his gratitude to Pip

5 He takes the responsibility for stealing the food and drink so that Pip will not get blamed.

Joe is a moral role model for Pip 9 Joe is disappointed that Pip lied about aspects of his visit to Miss Havisham and tells him to never tell another lie.

Pip falls in love with Estella 8 Although it is not openly stated, Pip falls in love with Estella on his first visit to Satis House as a child.

Pip angers and disrespects Orlick

17 Pip does not trust Orlick and takes every chance he has to thwart his intentions towards Biddy. Orlick is well aware of how Pip feels about him.

Pip does not understand Biddy’s true character and worth

17 Pip talks to Biddy about his love for Estella and does not realise that Biddy may have feelings for him even though he states that she is ‘the wisest of girls’.

Pip begins to be corrupted by the power of money

19 He has his first experience of the power of money when visiting Mr Trabb’s shop for new clothes. This is swiftly followed by visits to other shops.

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Activity 11: A simple way to approach the revision of what happens in each chapter is to write one sentence for each covering the main subject matter.

Example summaries have been given for the first three chapters.

Activity 12: In Chapter 20, Pip is left with no illusions about the harsh and cruel nature of London. Before arriving, he had had ‘faint doubts whether it was not rather ugly, crooked, narrow and dirty’. Complete the table to show how Dickens describes London as not a particularly pleasant place to be.

One example has been given.

Activity 13: In Chapter 25, Wemmick invites Pip to Walworth. Dickens presents a place of great contrast to Pip’s first experience of London. Write a paragraph of about 50 words explaining why you think that Dickens presents this description at this point in the plot.

Possible points to be included in the student response:

• It has been adapted by Wemmick with features such as gothic windows and a battery with guns.

• It is a small cottage surrounded by garden, as if it is in a rural rather than an urban setting.

• Wemmick keeps animals and grows his own vegetables.

• Pip is impressed by Wemmick’s skills, ingenuity and the way he cares for his father.

Activity 14: At this point in the plot, why do you think that Dickens presents Pip’s lodgings in this way?


• The environment of the lodgings is not portrayed in any way as appealing or luxurious.

• Words such as ‘melancholy’ and ‘dismal’ emphasise the negative aspect.

• Dickens is showing that Pip is not being given a pleasant residence and that his time in London is not going to be as comfortable as he may have been expecting.

Activity 15: What is the importance to the plot of the way that Dickens presents Pip’s experiences at the following other places in Volume 2?

a) Mr Pocket’s house in Hammersmith (Chapter 22)


• The house is portrayed as filled with seven children and completely disorganised.

• Mrs Pocket is depicted as a hopeless mother who is self-obsessed.

• ‘Mrs Pocket read all the time.’• “everybody’s tumbling!”• ‘– the nurture of the little Pockets consisted of

alternately tumbling up or lying down.’

b) Mr Jaggers’ house in Richmond (Chapter 26)


• We are given an opportunity to see Mr Jaggers in a domestic situation.

• The house is ‘stately’ but in need of decoration, showing that he rarely entertained guests at home.

• There was ‘nothing merely ornamental’, which is in line with expectation based on the character portrayed to this point.

• ‘– he seemed to bring the office home with him’.

c) Mrs Brandley’s house (Chapter 38)


• The house is important as it is where Estella stayed while she was being introduced to polite society away from Miss Havisham.

• Mrs Brandley had been a friend of Miss Havisham in her youth.

• ‘Let my body be where it would, my spirit was always wandering, wandering, wandering, about that house.’

• ‘In Mrs Brandley’s house and out of Mrs Brandley’s house, I suffered every kind and degree of torture.’

Activity 16: Explore your thoughts on how Dickens uses Pip’s feelings in these chapters by considering the following questions.

Chapter 29

a) How and why do you think Dickens presents Pip as powerless at this point? Use evidence from the text to support your responses.

Sample answer:

He is so hopelessly in love with Estella that he can think of no future without her. Although Estella had been the adopted child of Miss Havisham, Pip feels that she ‘had as good as adopted me’. He knows that he loves her ‘against reason’ but cannot help himself.

b) What is the writer’s purpose in presenting Pip as not initially recognising Estella?

Sample answer:

This is to show that Estella has grown into a ‘lady’ and is ‘so much changed’ at first glance.

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However, Pip soon sees that ‘the eyes were Estella’s eyes’ and that she was ‘so much more beautiful’. In effect, he falls in love with her all over again.

c) What is the effect on the plot of Estella saying: ‘You shall not shed tears for my cruelty to-day.’?

Sample answer:

Estella is described as having ‘– treated me as a boy, but lured me on still’, showing that Pip feels that he is still under her control. She explains that she has ‘no softness’ in her heart but does not want him to ‘shed tears’. She does not want him to be hurt.

d) How does Dickens use this meeting to ‘confirm’ Miss Havisham’s patronage of Pip?

Sample answer:

Pip hears that his guardian, Mr Jaggers, had come down to see Miss Havisham on business. At this point the reader would have no reason to believe anything other than that Miss Havisham is indeed Pip’s patron.

Chapter 38

e) How does Dickens show that Pip does not take Estella’s ‘warning’ seriously?

Sample answer:

At first Pip is not fully aware that she warns him against loving her. He then justifies his love to himself by saying that it is ‘blind’ and convinces himself that she has the same feelings of love but just cannot express them.

f) How does Dickens present Pip’s delusion by the line ending with: ‘– made me the subject of a rebellious struggle in her bosom’?

Sample answer:

Pip feels that she is struggling in her heart with what may be true love for him and the dilemma of being told to break his heart by Miss Havisham. He is seeing the struggle through deluded eyes because he wants the opposite of what she says to be true, that is, that she can love and does in fact love him.

g) How are the reader’s expectations for the plot dramatically changed by Estella’s treatment of Miss Havisham?

Sample answer:

The reader sees a rebellion for the first time against the upbringing that has created a woman who cannot love

and has been made into a destructive force. Estella explains that she cannot show gratitude in the way that Miss Havisham desires, that is, through the love of a devoted child, because she does not have the capacity to love. We may feel that she will leave the grip of Miss Havisham until she is described as sitting at her feet again.

h) After we learn that Estella has favoured Drummle, how does Dickens keep the spark of hope alive for Pip and the reader?

Sample answer:

When Pip has confronted Estella about Bentley Drummle, she does not confirm that she has favoured Drummle in order to make Pip feel ‘wretched’ (which he could have accepted). He makes her admit that she has deceived and entrapped Drummle. This gives Pip some hope that she may actually have feelings for him, but cannot act upon them.

Activity 17: Look again at Chapter 27 for evidence of the different ways that Joe is treated by Pip and Herbert. Complete the explanations below about how their opposing attitudes are portrayed.

Opening sentences have been provided for responses.

Activity 18: In Chapter 39 both Pip and Magwitch are presented as deeply affected by their second meeting. Complete the table below with either a quotation to support a description, or a description of what is represented by a quotation.

Pip

Quotation What it shows

‘– he was holding out both his hands to me.’

Pip is shocked at the familiar way in which he is being treated by this ‘stranger’.

‘– I was softened by the softened aspect of the man.’

He realises that Magwitch has not come to do him any harm and relaxes in his presence.

‘I could not have spoken one word, though it had been to save my life.’

He is shocked into speechlessness by the revelation which destroys all his understanding of his benefactor

‘– his hand might be stained with blood.’

He wonders if Magwitch may have killed someone in his criminal past, and is uncomfortable when he touches him on the shoulder.

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Magwitch

Quotation What it shows

‘My sense of my own worthless conduct to them was greater than every consideration.’

He now sees that his dreams are shattered and all his bad behaviours towards others based on his sense of superiority make him feel very guilty.

‘I’m glad you grow’d up a game one!’

He is pleased that Pip can assert himself.

‘He grasped them (Pip’s hands) heartily, raised them to his lips, kissed them and still held them.’

He is showing Pip a great deal of unwanted affection which shows that the meeting has been long anticipated.

‘– I ask you how you have done well –’

He is interested on discovering the story of Pip’s rise in fortune.

‘In every single thing I went for, I went for you.’

He is confirming that he has been devoted to Pip and his development as a gentleman for a long time.

‘– he had a pistol lying on the pillow.’

He feels vulnerable and wary of being discovered by others he does not trust.

Activity 19: In both meetings, Dickens presents a situation in which Pip’s character is put under some pressure and reacts negatively to the visitor for different reasons. Now you have considered them more carefully, explain their significance in the way that Dickens manipulates the reader’s expectations.

Support has been given to start off the responses.

Activity 20: Another way of creating a quick summary of the text for revision is to focus on key quotations. Complete the quotations for each chapter.

Example quotations have been given.

Activity 21: The revelation that Magwitch has always been Pip’s benefactor (and Pip’s decision to take no more money) has a great impact on the plot. Consider how the revelation affects the following characters and aspects of the plot.

Pip’s future with Estella

Possible responses may include:

• He will now feel unworthy to be considered as a ‘gentleman’.

• Were it to become public, Miss Havisham might ‘order’ Estella to ignore him as it will ruin her reputation.

• Were it to become public, Estella would not wish to be associated with him.

• There will be no future with Estella – the relationship would end.

Pip’s public status as a gentleman


• Pip could feel too embarrassed to continue in his present situation.

• He may tell Mr Jaggers what he now knows.• Herbert may counsel him to not do anything too

dramatic.• He will lose his reputation.

Herbert’s job at Clarriker’s


• Were it to become public, Herbert might lose his job because of the association.

• Pip will no longer be able to afford to pay Clarriker’s and Herbert may lose his post.

Pip’s debts


• His debts will rise.• The debt-collectors will start arriving.• He will be unable to pay.• Pip may go to jail.

Magwitch’s safety


• Magwitch may be recognised by someone.• He could be arrested for returning to Britain.• Someone may inform the police.• He would be executed for returning.

Activity 22: Pip, Miss Havisham and Estella have all been emotionally damaged by the actions of others. In Chapter 44 the extent of the damage is admitted to each other for the first time. Although the reader is aware that Miss Havisham is mainly to blame for the situation, she too was cruelly treated as a young woman. Explain how much sympathy Dickens wishes the reader to feel about each character at the end of the chapter. Although damaged, how responsible are they for their own actions?

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a) Pip (“I have loved you ever since I first saw you in this house.”)


• The reader knows that Pip feels both betrayed and angry at what Miss Havisham has done and empathizes with his situation.

• We understand (and are impressed) that Pip has the foresight to think about others (such as Herbert) and that this is why he expects Miss Havisham to send money.

• The reader is led to support Pip with the difficult task of confronting Miss Havisham and is impressed by his level of determination.

• Dickens describes Pip as trembling when he tells Estella that he has always loved her, which shows how vulnerable he is, thereby increasing the reader’s sympathy.

b) Estella (“When you say you love me, I know what you mean, as a form of words; but nothing more.”)


• We start to understand just how damaging the ‘schooling’ by Miss Havisham has been.

• We feel sadness when Estella explains so logically that she is ‘not able to comprehend love’ and realise how little she really understands when she states that Pip’s love for her ‘will pass in no time’.

• We feel sadness at the long-term damage to Estella, exemplified by her lack of empathy for Pip shown by her ‘unmoved countenance’.

• Dickens emphasises again Estella’s lack of empathy (and our need to sympathise with her as fellow victim) by the fact that she is unable to understand the pain and anguish caused by her declaration that she has agreed to marry Drummle.

c) Miss Havisham (‘I saw Miss Havisham put her hand to her heart and hold it there’)


• Her confusion and complete surprise lead the reader to see her as a long-term victim who has experienced psychological damage rather than just someone who has caused pain in others.

• Dickens makes the reader realise that she can be ‘forgiven’ as Pip makes it clear that he knows that she has not been deliberately cruel as she was so consumed with her own ‘trial’.

• We realise just how deep-seated her need to inflict pain is, in retaliation for her tragic past.

• We can start to feel more sympathy for Miss Havisham as she does seem to realise the gravity of what she has done to Pip and starts to regret it.

Activity 23: Match the description of Miss Havisham’s behaviour in Chapter 49 to the chronologically listed evidence from the text.

Correct pairings are displayed adjacent to each other in the table below.

Evidence Description

‘There was an air of utter loneliness about her.’

She is left without any form of companionship or comfort.

‘Thank you. Thank you.’ Intensely grateful that Pip has visited her so promptly.

‘– because you hate me too much to bear to speak to me.’

Speculating on how Pip feels, wary of his probable animosity.

‘Can I only serve you, Pip, by serving your friend?’

Eager that Pip profits personally from her remorse.

‘trembled more as she took off the chain’

Her anxiety and intense regret make her physically frail.

‘dropped on her knees at my feet’

She is desperate for his forgiveness.

‘hung her head over it and wept’

Crying for the first time in his presence.

‘What have I done? What have I done?’

Rhetorically questioning her own behaviour with real regret.

‘I knew not how to answer her, or how to comfort her.’

Her evident grief and remorse make her inconsolable.

‘I saw in you a looking-glass that showed me what I once felt myself.’

She explains that she felt genuine empathy for Pip’s desolation.

Activity 24: You have used different strategies for summarising the plot for Volume 1 and 2. Another technique of developing a shorthand summary is to use a spider-diagram with enough ‘legs’ to represent the chapters in which a character is involved. Complete the spider diagrams below for the characters of Magwitch and Pip in Volume 3.

Examples have been given.

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Possible answers given in the grid below.

Event Order Significance

Herbert tutors Pip in the table manners of a ‘gentleman’

5 The irony here is that Herbert has little money, showing that being a gentleman is not something that can be ‘bought’.

Pip thinks that Estella looks like someone else he has met.

7 This moment is significant because it is part of the jigsaw that leads Pip to ultimately deduce that Molly is Estella’s mother and Magwitch her father. However, the significance is not noted by the reader until later.

Wemmick gives Pip advice about investing in Herbert’s future.

3 Dickens presents Wemmick as a different kind of man to Mr Jaggers. Wemmick offers Pip sound advice on this point as well as many others in the novel. He is an adult of importance to Pip because he models kindness, loyalty and tolerance.

Biddy offers her advice when Pip informs her that he loves Estella.

4 The advice given by Biddy is helpful and clarifies for Pip what he has to decide for himself. This not only demonstrates her emotional intelligence, but also her fondness for Pip and a hope that he will not choose Estella for both their sakes.

Magwitch tells the soldiers that the second convict is a ‘gentleman’.

1 Magwich is adamant that the soldiers understand why he was so angry and full of revenge. He remains appalled that Compeyson should be considered a gentleman when he was the more deviously criminal of the two. This anger at being deceived by a gentleman leads him to want to create his own incarnation of a ‘gentleman’ through Pip.

Compeyson was seen sitting behind Pip by Mr Wopsle at the theatre.

8 Dickens creates a surprising moment in what is almost a break from the main plot. The appearance of Compeyson throws everything into disarray and puts Magwitch’s planned escape at great risk. A simple visit to the theatre takes on great significance.

Pip asks for a half-day holiday from the forge to visit Miss Havisham.

2 This simple request triggers a great feeling of resentment from Orlick, who sees himself as more skilled and able than Pip and also worthy of such favours. The resulting argument with Mrs Joe leads to her being disabled after the attack from Orlick and a lifelong grudge against Pip which nearly leads to his death.

Joe visits Pip in his lodgings to deliver a message from Miss Havisham.

3 Dickens brings Pip’s past to London in the shape of Joe, uncomfortable out of his working clothes. The visit allows Dickens to show the power of social class as well as the change in Pip’s attitude once he has been given the privilege of training to be a gentleman.

Pip is fitted with a suit of new clothes for the first time by Mr Trabb.

10 The new suit from Mr Trabb is the first tangible demonstration of Pip’s great expectations. He learns that his money can change attitudes in others and gain him respect. He also develops a taste for material things and this ultimately leads him into debt later in the novel.

Pip has a confrontation with Bentley Drummle while staying at the Blue Boar.

6 The meeting with Drummle serves to emphasise his physical size and aggressive nature. However, it also shows that Pip is prepared to assert himself against Drummle, forgetting the advice of Mr Jaggers to steer clear of him.

Activity 25: This long novel is full of incidents that may not immediately seem significant. However, through these incidents Dickens often sows the seeds for future plot shifts and/or uses them for exemplification of behaviour. The following table

contains descriptions of some of these events in the novel. Number them in chronological order in the middle column. Comment on their significance to the plot in the final column.

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Activity 26: Read the instalment endings. Analyse how Dickens has hooked the reader’s interest.

An example has been given.

Activity 27: Look at the following table listing the return visits made by Pip in Volumes 2 and 3. Explain why you think Dickens chose to place each one in its particular point in the novel and its impact on the plot.

Sample answers included in the grid below.

Chapter Brief description The impact / effect on the plot

28 Encountering the convicts on the coach journey

The first trip back is a shock for Pip as he is transported right back to his time as a child seeing the man with the file he stole for Magwitch. It is ironic that this should occur as it reminds him of what he left behind in the distant past and had not mentally revisited, focusing on his gentlemanly lifestyle. He is unnerved and it is a blow to his confidence.

29 He visits Miss Havisham after Joe informs of her wish to see him (in Ch 28)

He has reacted to a summons from his apparent patron. He finds his ‘enemy’ Orlick as gatekeeper. He meets Estella for the first time as a young woman and is captivated by her even more. Miss Havisham is desperate that Pip should love Estella, even if it wounds him.

30 Pip walks around the ‘quiet old town’

This episode suggests that Pip enjoys being recognised as a ‘distinguished’ person. However, this enjoyment is spoiled by the reaction of Trabb’s boy, who publicly ridicules Pip. Dickens is highlighting the point that Pip has indeed become a little arrogant and is hurt by the boy’s reaction: ‘Don’t know yah’.

35 Home for his sister’s funeral

Pip recalls his sister’s character when he was a child without fondness but cannot imagine the forge without her. He speaks to Biddy with an air of arrogance which is painfully evident to the reader. She hurts his feelings by questioning whether he really will visit Joe ‘often’.

38 He is expected to accompany Estella back to Satis House

He is still under the assumption that Miss Havisham is his patron and reacts to her ‘orders’ in the same way as Estella. However, he does not have to be persuaded to accompany Estella, as he is so jealous of her ‘admirers without end’.

43 Meeting Drummle while journeying back to confront Miss Havisham

This is almost a physical confrontation away from the social environment of London. Pip sees an ‘insolent triumph’ in Drummle’s face when he tells the waiter (and Pip) that he will ‘dine at the lady’s’ (that is, with Estella). Pip is left ‘choking and boiling’ with anger and jealousy.

44 The confrontation with Miss Havisham

This is the point where Pip explains that he is now aware that she is not his patron. He also declares his love for Estella and she admits that she has agreed to marry Bentley Drummle. This is a very difficult visit for Pip.

49 The reconciliation with Miss Havisham

The mood changes dramatically for this visit as it is Miss Havisham that needs Pip’s forgiveness. She is genuinely concerned for his well-being and is a very changed character from her earlier portrayals. The dramatic fire adds to the tragedy and sadness of the meeting.

58 Planning to ask for Biddy’s hand in marriage

Dickens has set up the situation where Pip sees Biddy as his salvation. The shock and surprise of finding that Biddy has married Joe are mixed with a sense of joy at their obvious happiness.

59 Revisiting Joe and Biddy after eleven years

Pip has built up a career at Clarriker’s and worked abroad before he returns to visit. He is unmarried but ‘happy’ and content with his life. Biddy questions him about whether he still has feelings for Estella just before Dickens engineers the ‘chance’ meeting between Pip and Estella at the ruins of Satis House.

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Activity 28: Select five pieces of evidence from each volume which exemplifies this journey from innocence to salvation from the perspective of Pip’s character.

Possible points are listed below.

Volume 1 ‘Innocence’• Pip is a young orphaned child when we first

meet him.• He has a child’s perspective of Satis House and

Miss Havisham in the way he perceives and describes what he sees.

• He is unaware of the full implications of some of his actions, that is, stealing the food.

• He is frustrated by his feelings about Estella and unaware of how he may hurt Biddy.

Volume 2 ‘Temptation’• He sees London as a place in which he will be

respected as a gentleman.• He begins to feel ‘superior’ on a visit to his

home town but is soon brought back to earth by Trabb’s boy.

• He starts to spend money quite lavishly in order to maintain a particular lifestyle.

• He becomes more obsessed with the idea that he and Estella are destined to be together.

Volume 3 ‘Salvation/Redemption’• On learning of his true patron, Pip refuses to take

any more money.• He confronts Miss Havisham with the truth but

ultimately forgives her as he sees that she is a victim of her past.

• He resolves to help Magwitch escape in order to save his life.

• He tells Magwitch about his daughter Estella before he dies. He cares for him until the moment of his death.

Activity 29: Make separate notes on how other characters might be seen to conform to this pattern, e.g. Magwitch, Miss Havisham, Estella.

Responses should identify evidence linking with each character, as given above for Pip.

Activity 30: Based on what you have learned from the plot of the novel and the way that the writer manipulates the life of his imagined character, consider the advantages of the novel being written in the first person.

Possible point might include:

• The reader hears Pip’s ‘voice’ right at the start of the novel.

• The perspective allows the writer to move backwards and forwards in the plot using thoughts and feelings as well as reminders of prior events from a ‘personal’ level.

• The first-person voice allows the writer to internalise debates and present the way that ‘we’ are not always decisive or rational but act on impulse and emotion.

• Pip’s thoughts and feelings can be both shared with the reader on one level as narrator and then within the plot through dialogue or indirect speech.

Activity 31: One main criticism of any first-person narrative is the potential for a lack of objectivity and alternative perspective. Based on your thinking about the use of the first-person voice for the narrator in the novel, what do you feel the novel would lose or gain by being narrated in the third-person?

One possible point in a response:

A third-person narrative would not enable the reader to engage as quickly with a character’s ‘personal’ thoughts; these would be relayed by a more objective narrator. It can be argued that a third-person narrative is less direct and emotional but clearly this novel benefits from the reader immediately engaging with Pip ‘himself’.

Activity 32: Answer the following questions which are designed to help you develop a critical view of why you think Dickens originally ended the novel in this way.

a) Why do you think he focuses on the behaviour and fate of Drummle in the first and second paragraphs?

Sample response:

This allows Dickens to confirm that Estella had suffered an ‘unhappy’ time with Drummle, as the reader would have expected. We learn of the ‘great cruelty’, which had been signalled earlier in the novel. Most readers would see it as ironic that he should be killed by a horse but perfectly appropriate that it was as the result of brutal behaviour and ill treatment.

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b) What is suggested by the presence of ‘little Pip’?

Sample response:

The presence of the child shows that Pip is in close contact with Joe and Biddy. The hypothetical young Pip has become a reality and Pip himself has taken the responsibility of caring for the boy at times, perhaps educating him in the ways of being a ‘gentleman’, in manners at least.

c) Why do you think that Dickens chose to describe them as looking ‘sadly enough on one another’?

Sample response:

They look ‘sadly enough’ perhaps because they have been unable to rid themselves of a sense of loss and depression at what happened between them, or the sudden meeting makes them feel the loss of what might have been all the more.

d) Why is Pip described as only being ‘glad’ to have met her again?

Sample response:

He is ‘glad’ because what he has seen in her has confirmed that the damage of Miss Havisham’s vindictive nurturing at Satis House was not the lasting impression on her life. He can see that she has learned from life experience and the pain of real emotion. This knowledge gives him the certainty that she now understands what he must have been feeling because she has the heart to feel it herself.

Activity 33: Most readers believe that the revised ending is more emotionally satisfying and is consistent with the way Dickens uses coincidence and fate in the novel. Which do you prefer? Explain your view.

Answers will vary.

Context Activity 1:

a) Write down four points that you think Dickens wanted his readers to remember about Newgate Prison in the extract from Sketches by Boz.

Possible points:

• There were a large number of people imprisoned in London.

• The people were in a desperate, ‘wretched’ condition and deserved pity.

• Some of them were ‘bound’, probably in chains, with no hope of release.

• Many of the prisoners were awaiting the death penalty.

b) Why do you think Dickens included a visit to Newgate Prison in Great Expectations? What did he want the reader to think?

Possible points:

• The living conditions of prisoners were inhumane• To make clear that he disapproved of the way

prisoners were treated• To draw attention to the fact that the prison was in

no better state than he had witnessed in 1836• To make the reading public think about whether

prisons could be organised better so that reform rather than punishment was the aim

• To evoke sympathy in the reader• To perhaps campaign for changes

Activity 2: The appalling case of Thomas Mitchel gives the modern reader a clear sense of the Victorian attitude to crime and the corruption of children. This is referenced in the novel through different characters and events. Answer the questions below linked to children and crime to help develop your understanding of the subject. Use short quotations to support your views.

a) What do we learn from Magwitch (Chapter 42)?

Possible point:

He explains how he was ‘hardened’ as a child due to being brought up in poverty and resorted to crime as work was rarely available to him.

b) What do we learn from Mr Jaggers (Chapter 51)?

Possible point:

He explains to Pip that he ‘hypothetically’ saved the daughter of Molly and Magwitch from a life of poverty, degradation and crime.

c) Why do you think Dickens chose to include this subject in the novel?

Possible point:

He is drawing his reader’s attention to the terrible plight of the poor in society at the time through fictional

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examples. He may have wished for people to respond and agitate for reform.

d) What does the story of Thomas Mitchel help the modern reader to understand about the treatment of children involved in crime compared to the present day?

Possible point:

We learn that blame was almost entirely placed on the child. The action of the child was treated in the same way as an adult committing crime. Although the extract does blame ‘wicked parents’, the child was still executed. This is a cruel reaction which does not

investigate the causes of crime (which in most cases were dire poverty and need).

e) What do you think the writer of the article meant by ‘a lasting warning’?

Possible point:

Students may decide that the article was written as a warning to society of the evils of poverty and that it was the likely reason for the high crime rate among poor children. However, the more likely reason is that it was written as a deterrent, assuming that the death of Thomas Mitchel would prevent others from embarking on a life of crime.

Activity 3: In the novel, Dickens depicts varying portrayals of parenting in a world where children were seen as reflections of their parents’ social position. What do we learn from the way that Dickens portrays the parenting techniques of the following characters?

Character(s) Portrayal as parent(s) What do we learn?

Mrs Joe Strict. Struggling to cope. Never satisfied with Pip. Always critical. Prone to physically punish Pip.

She is not Pip’s mother and has been thrust into a role she does not really want. She is not motivated to guide him beyond criticism.

Joe (with the original Pip)

Caring and thoughtful. Willing to be a companion to Pip – almost a fellow child in the way that he is able to comment on their treatment by his wife. He also teaches Pip right from wrong and is a model for him into adulthood.

Dickens is portraying an adult male ‘parent’ in a very unusual way through Joe’s character. Joe is clearly not following the usual Victorian role of a father. He is not strict through physical punishment but Pip respects him nevertheless.

Joe’s parents Joe tells Pip that the main reason that he is unable to read and write is because his father demanded that he work. Joe also felt great pity for his mother and the way she was treated and this affected his attitude to Mrs Joe.

Through Joe, Dickens is able to portray the typical experience of a poorer child brought up by a mother who struggled to cope with poverty and a husband who liked to drink too much.

Matthew and Belinda Pocket

Matthew is tutor to Pip and a professional ‘parent’ to Pip in that sense. He has a number of children with Belinda but she is more concerned with the rank of her family than her actual children. Two nursemaids have to be employed to compensate for Belinda’s lack of parenting skills.

Dickens uses the Pockets to describe an almost farcical approach to parenting. The nursemaids struggle to look after the children while Belinda sits back and reads books, dreaming of the titled family to which she is sure she belongs.

Joe and Biddy In the penultimate chapter, Pip imagines a ‘new’ young Pip. In the final chapter, set eleven years later, he returns to find an image of his younger self sitting at the fire with Joe while Biddy nurses their young daughter.

In Joe and Biddy, Dickens is presenting an ideal of parenthood that goes beyond the expectations of Victorian society. Both Joe and Biddy see it as a shared role to care for and nurture their children, even still being concerned for the mature Pip.

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Activity 4: Answer the following questions to help develop your understanding of the extract’s expectations of young women.

a) The description, ‘well-trained’, is italicised. What does this suggest about attitudes to women?

Sample answer:

This suggests that women were treated as creatures to be trained, as if they were mindless and had no role in their own development.

b) Why might the modern reader feel that women were set up to fail?

Sample answer:

The list of attributes seems to be exhaustive, that is, for a woman to aspire to be the ‘perfect’ mother, daughter and wife, with all that Victorian society expected of these roles, seems an impossible role to fulfil and is doomed to failure.

c) How are the mothers made to feel guilt?

Sample answer:

The writer makes the woman responsible by stating that she has ‘brought your child into the world’. This divorces the parenting process from the father and places all the burden on the mother. If unsuccessful, she is to blame.

d) Why is so much stress placed on the mind of the child being ‘malleable’?

Sample answer:

The malleability of the child’s mind is crucial so that the ‘training’ and behaviour expected of the young girl as an adult can easily be imprinted on her mind without any protest.

e) Why does the modern reader find ‘– may flirt well and catch husbands’ an unusual goal?

Sample answer:

The modern reader will find this an unusual goal for a young woman compared to the present day where individual choice and independence (including a career) are seen as the norm. Modern women no longer have to rely on searching for a husband to validate their existence and fund their life.

f) What do you think is meant by the need to ‘think well’?

Sample answer:

This gives the impression that the young woman should have a mind of her own with her own opinions. However, this is not the case. This refers to the need for her to adjust her behaviour to best fit the occasion, but within the boundaries of what she has been taught.

Activity 5: Dickens presents Miss Havisham as a woman who deliberately takes on the role of parent to the young girl supplied by Mr Jaggers. Based on the criteria laid down in the extract, explain how far Miss Havisham rates as a ‘good’ mother to Estella.

a) Where has Miss Havisham ‘succeeded’?

Possible points:

• Estella has been ‘well trained’ in the perverse way that Miss Havisham wishes her to behave.

• Miss Havisham has certainly been successful in making the malleable mind of Estella form in a way that she wished.

• She is reponsible for the formation of ‘Estella’ and has given her the necesary skills to be attractive to men.

b) Where has Miss Havisham ‘failed’?

Possible points:

• She has not brought up Estella to understand all the duties of a wife, mother and daughter.

• She has not prepared Estella for ‘real life’.• Estella cannot ‘think well’ because she has only

been prepared to deal with society in a narrow way, that is, to attract men and break their hearts.

• She has not prepared her to engage with normal human emotions.

Activity 6:

a) What do we learn about Victorian polite society from the extracts presented?

Possible points:

• Everything is focused on the impression made on guests.

• Public profile and adherence to expected behaviour are extremely important.

• What is seen as acceptable can change and people have to be aware of what is the latest ‘fashion’.

• The focus is on being unselfish and ‘polite’.

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• Conversations must not be controversial to avoid argument or discomfort.

• Ladies are expected to leave the room after dessert.

b) Why do you think that Dickens presents Mr Jaggers as not following the rules in Chapter 29 while dining at Miss Havisham’s?

Sample answer:

Jaggers is presented as very reluctant to even look at Estella, never mind talk to her. We later learn the reason for this but at this point, his behaviour seems odd from an individual perspective and an etiquette viewpoint.

c) If Bentley Drummle is ‘the next heir but one to a baronetcy’ (Ch 23), why does he need to be tutored by Mr Pocket in the etiquette such as that described in the extracts?

Sample answer:

What we later learn about Drummle and his ignorant attitude towards others and his brutish treatment of Estella, means that high birth or not, he was clearly not someone who was naturally a ‘gentleman’ and therefore needed all the education he could get.

Activity 7:

a) How does Dickens accuse the ‘small gentility’ of snobbery?

Sample answer:

He is describing what people (higher classes) say or remark about lower classes trying to copy the higher

classes in behaviour. There is an explicit reference to ‘detestable cant’ at the end which is voiced by Dickens through the plural first person ‘we’, which slightly distances himself while making it clear that this is what he believes.

b) Summarise his opinion in the conclusion.

Sample answer:

He (or ‘we’, as he uses the plural first person ‘we’ to express his view) believes that nobody should criticise others or feel morally superior just because they behave differently.

c) Give two examples of how Dickens presents this opinion (25 years later) in Great Expectations.

Students may choose from a number of examples, including: Estella laughing at Pip on his first visit to Satis House, Pip himself being embarrassed about Joe and Magwitch, and perhaps the way Pip vindictively removes his custom from Mr Trabb because he is upset at the shop assistant’s jibes.

Activity 8: There are instances throughout the novel where Dickens highlights the way that Victorian society required an education as well as a knowledge of etiquette to be ‘accepted’. Look at the following examples and explain their link to aspects of polite behaviour, education and/or being a gentleman.

A sample response has been given.

Activity 9: Look at the following table and consider where specific aspects of life in the early 19th century are reflected in Great Expectations.

Possible answers below:

Aspects of life Where in the novel?

It was expected that most people would marry in order to be seen as respectable from the perspective of the Church and society.

Joe marries Pip’s sister to support her so that she has the ‘respectability’ of marriage. The failed marriage of Miss Havisham destroys her life, both personally and publicly.

A woman’s reputation could be seriously damaged if her ‘honour’ was called into question by a man.

Pip challenges Drummle when he publicly announces his ‘attachment’ to Estella.

It was seen as acceptable to physically punish children and to beat them with sticks.

Mrs Joe used ‘Tickler’ as her main form of punishment on Pip (and her husband).

There were severe punishments for those committing crime, including being manacled with chains, transportation and the death penalty.

Magwitch being transported as well as the death masks in Jaggers’ office.

‘Gentlemen’ were treated with more respect than the average person.

Pip is treated differently by Mr Trabb when he has ‘expectations’.

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Aspects of life Where in the novel?

Education for most people was a very poorly organised system, with unqualified people responsible for many so-called ‘schools’.

Pip and Biddy attend the school run by Mr Wopsle’s great aunt.

There was a high level of illiteracy in the general population.

Joe cannot read because earning money was seen as far more important than education.

Women were often physically abused by men in relationships and could not report it either for shame or because the law did not see this as a crime.

Estella is hit by Drummle and left with visible bruises but accepts it as part of marriage.

Debt was seen as a ‘crime’ worthy of imprisonment and so people of all classes were very wary of it.

When Pip struggles financially, the threat of prison hangs over him.

Children were treated as ‘adults’ from the perspective of law.

Magwitch has been in and out of prison since he was a child.

Open fires and candles were used for warmth and light, which led to many accidents with fire.

Miss Havisham dies after complications following bad burns.

Many people died from illnesses that we can now medicate. Many children did not live beyond a few years because of poor sanitation and ill health.

Pip has lost all his family – parents and siblings – apart from Mrs Joe before the narrative begins.

There were high numbers of orphans due to the deaths of so many parents or due to abandonment through poverty.

Pip himself is left in such a situation but has his sister to (begrudgingly) look after him. Estella is seen as an orphan until her parents are later revealed.

Social mobility was rare and people tended to remain in the social class into which they were born.

Pip is able to ‘rise’ in social class due to Magwitch’s funding; Estella becomes a lady due to Miss Havisham and finishing school, but Joe feels extremely uncomfortable when dressed in the ‘wrong’ clothes and wishes to only ever see Pip in the forge.

Characters Activity 1: In Volume 1, Dickens moves the presentation of Pip from the young child in the graveyard to the young man setting off for London. Read the extract from Chapter 17.

a) Why do you think the writer describes him as taking the precaution of ‘binding her to secrecy’?

Sample answer:

What he is about to say is such a revelation that he has to ensure that she will not tell others – he clearly understands that the idea of him wishing to have a more privileged life would deeply upset Joe. The writer ensures that Pip is conscious of the feelings of others.

b) How does Dickens present Pip as feeling that he needs to disassociate himself from his present life?

Sample answer:

He is more concerned with not appearing worthy enough to be a credible partner for Estella – the

subject that is closest to his heart at this point in the narrative. He feels that she is more distant than ever now and wishes her never to see him as a blacksmith.

c) What is the meaning of the character being described as ‘bound’?

Sample answer:

Pip is ‘bound’ to Joe as an apprentice blacksmith. However, it can also be understood as encompassing his feelings of being trapped in a restricted life.

d) What do you think is the writer’s purpose of having the character declare that he wishes for a ‘very different sort of life’?

Sample answer:

It is important that the ‘different’ life would have to be associated with the life of a gentleman in the sense of having an appropriate education and independent financial means. It would have to be such a life to make him acceptable for Estella.

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Activity 2: The narrator, Pip, is presented very differently in these extracts. Using evidence from both, explain how Dickens has presented Pip as a more mature and thoughtful character in the second extract – a true gentleman.

Possible points:

In the first extract Pip is:• a character filled with self-pity• feeling used and abused by others such as Miss

Havisham in order to train Estella and upset the relatives

• worried about the social stigmas of being linked to a returned convict

• guilty for the way he has abandoned his true friends, such as Joe

• too embarrassed to return to Joe and Biddy for fear of being rebuked

• aware of the true goodness of those he has ill treated

• ashamed of himself • feeling worthless and low.

In the second extract Pip is:• a wholly changed man• a caring and thoughtful bedside companion to

Magwitch• primarily concerned for someone else and not

himself• fully grateful now for the sacrifice and risk that

Magwitch undertook in his name• willing to spend his time to make his last hours as

happy as possible• intent on ensuring that Magwitch dies knowing

that he has a daughter, that she is a ‘lady’ and that Pip loves her

• the courteous and selfless man that Magwitch can be proud of.

Activity 3:

a) Look at the following quotations from the novel and explain how they are designed to evoke the reader’s sympathy.

One has been completed as an example.

b) Dickens also makes the reader surprised (even disappointed) by Pip, usually at a point when he is portraying his selfishness and/or ignorance of others’ feelings. Look at the following quotations and explain how Dickens

succeeds in making the reader feel critical of the character.

A sample answer for the first quotation is given below:

Quotation How Dickens evokes the reader’s criticism

‘If only I could get myself to fall in love with you –’ (Chapter 17)

Pip’s ignorance of how Biddy may feel is excruciating to read. He has no conception that she may be upset by being compared to Estella or that she may have an opinion about whether she would like Pip to love her or not.

Activity 4: Look at the following quotations and match each with the correct explanation.

Pairs are matched below:

Quotation Explanation

“Let him go free? Let him profit by the means as I found out?”

Magwitch shows that he feels a powerful sense of injustice.

“I got acquainted wi’ a man whose skull I’d crack wi’ this poker.”

Magwitch makes it very clear what fate he intends for Compeyson.

“He was a smooth one to talk, and was a dab at the ways of gentlefolks.”

Compeyson’s ability to behave like a gentleman and fool others angers Magwitch.

“He’d no more heart than an iron file, he was as cold as death”

Magwitch explains that Compeyson was a ruthless and deadly man.

“It was always me that had come for’ard, and could be sworn to, how it was always me that the money had been paid to.”

Compeyson’s lies meant that the blame for the serious crimes fell on Magwitch.

Activity 5:

a) Why was Magwitch so determined that Pip should become a gentleman?

Sample answer:

Magwitch had always been grateful that Pip helped him in his hour of need and ‘acted noble’ by bringing him food and a file. He promised himself that if he ever made his fortune, then he would make Pip rich

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and be ‘above work’. Another motive for Magwitch was to make Pip a better gentleman than all those who had looked down upon him and treated him as unworthy. He was pleased that he could say he had ‘brought-up a London gentleman’ who was educated, of independent means and courteous.

b) Based on what you have read, what do you think it means to be a ‘gentleman’?

Sample answer:

The initial interpretation of being a gentleman in the novel is linked to wealth. It is directly related to Pip’s ‘great expectations’ of leaving the forge, as described by Mr Jaggers. The idea of becoming a gentleman is important to Pip’s dreams of being seen as worthy enough for Estella. There is the assumption that the wealthy Miss Havisham is the benefactor and has matched the couple. However, as the novel progresses the concept of being a ‘gentleman’ is also defined by behaviour, attitude and the way one treats others with respect. From this perspective, Joe Gargery meets the criteria of a gentleman.

c) By the time of his death, do you believe that Magwitch has been a more positive than negative influence on the world of the novel?

Sample answer:

On the one hand, Magwitch was a criminal, judged by the system to deserve transportation. He also threatened and attempted to kill Compeyson. Based on this, he can only be judged as a bad influence. However, it is not clear that he was solely culpable of the crime and he made a determined effort to take advantage of new opportinuities. He worked hard for his riches and only thought to give them to Pip, risking his life to return to see the ‘gentleman’ he had helped to create. On balance, he was probably more of a positive influence on the world because of his later character than his former.

Activity 6: Write a paragraph explaining how the first appearance of Miss Havisham deceives both Pip and the reader.

Possible points:

• She is a rich lady who has shown an interest in Pip – the gossip is that she may make him rich.

• Although rich, the house is full of decay and what feels like physical death.

• It is not clear (though she refers to it) that Miss Havisham is consumed by a need to hurt men.

• The depiction of Estella merely seems like a spoilt rich girl.

• The reader may even feel that this is a woman who has truly lost her mind, but not in the way that we later discover.

• She is clearly manipulative and used to getting her own way in Satis House but we have no idea of her true weakness.

• We are misled into thinking that her character is defined by her current eccentricity.

Activity 7: Use the table to record Miss Havisham’s manipulation of Pip.

Examples have been given.

Activity 8: Read the beginning of Chapter 33 and answer the questions.

a) The first two sections focus on Pip’s feelings – what has changed since he last saw Estella?

Sample answer:

Estella has become more than she was before, from Pip’s perspective, a more intense version of the subject of his dreams. She appears more beautiful and is a focus of all his attention.

b) Why do you think her manner is described as ‘more winning’?

Sample answer:

Her looks and demeanour were more capable of winning his heart than they had ever been before. It is almost as if she is unconsciously attractive, although the reader knows that a great deal of preparation from Miss Havisham has gone into her appearance.

c) Why do you think Pip is described as, ‘having forgotten everything but herself’?

Sample answer:

He is oblivious to everything but the subject of Estella so that he forgets all sense of place and time.

d) How does the reader know that Estella has had little control over this meeting?

Sample answer:

She informs Pip of what she has been told to do and what Pip has to do to enable her to make her destination.

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These are clearly the orders of Miss Havisham. This is confirmed with her acknowledgement that ‘We have no choice, you and I’ and ‘We are not free’.

e) What ‘inner meaning’ does Pip hope for in her words?

Sample answer:

As he is obsessed with his love for Estella and the desperate hope that they may still be destined to be together, he hopes that there may be some hidden

Chapter Evidence Significance

29 ‘The lady whom I had never seen before, lifted up her eyes and looked archly at me… was so much more beautiful, so much more womanly’

He is shocked at the change in Estella, who has grown into a young adult. His attraction is rekindled.

29 ‘The air of completeness and superiority with which she walked at my side’

She is so confident and sure of herself – an air of arrogance.

29 “You must know that I have no heart” She is absolutely honest about her lack of ability to love.

29 “I have no softness there, no sympathy – sentiment – nonsense.”

Miss Havisham’s training to create an impervious heart has been successful.

29 “If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces – and as it gets older and stronger it will tear deeper – love her – love her, love her.”

Pip is being asked to sacrifice himself continually to Estella’s indifference. Miss Havisham is willing Pip to have a broken heart.

30 “Lucky for you then Handel… that you are picked out for her and allotted to her.”

Herbert, unaware of the full picture, thinks that Pip is fortunate.

38 ‘She had admirers without end. No doubt my jealousy made an admirer of everyone who went near her’

Out in society, Estella affects everyone just as Miss Havisham had intended.

message in her words that may betray her ‘true’ feelings.

Activity 9:

a) Explain what you feel to be the significance of each quotation in portraying the way that Pip and Estella are feeling about each other and/or are linked to each other.

Possible responses in the table below.

b) Based on this evidence and other evidence from the text, write a short paragraph explaining how Estella is very aware of both own failings and qualities from the perspective of others, including Pip.

Responses will vary but should incorporate some of the points made in the table.

Activity 10: What do you think Charles Dickens wants the reader to think about the character of Mr Jaggers at the end of the novel? Do your thoughts change at all as the narrative develops?

Possible points:

• Dickens clearly wishes the reader to view him as an unemotional man.

• He is seen as a dispassionate lawyer. • He clearly enjoys controlling his clients but is very

successful at his profession.

• He explains his disapproval of the benefactor’s arrangement but carries out his client’s wishes to the letter.

• He finds it hard not to show his disdain.• There is an air of mystery around the role of Molly

and his relationship with her.• He is careful not to admit that Magwitch is his client

but is interested in what Pip has discovered.• He is genuinely surprised at the ‘other’ Wemmick

described by Pip.• He shows great sensitivity and care in what he did

for Molly and her daughter.• The reader is not led to feel warmth at all to

Mr Jaggers through most of the novel because of his business-like and unemotional approach to life. However, at the end we may feel both impressed by the way he initially ‘saved’ Estella and sympathetic for the way he could never enjoy life in the same way as Wemmick.

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Activity 11: Joe Gargery’s role as companion to Pip during childhood is consistently looked back to with fondness in the novel.

a) Look at the following comments made by and about Joe in the early part of the novel and explain why you think Dickens chose to portray him in this particular way.

An example has been completed.

b) Even though he is portrayed as a virtual ‘man-child’ by Dickens in these early chapters, how

Activity 12: Look at the following evidence from the novel and explain what you feel that it shows about Joe’s essential goodness.

Evidence Chapter What it shows about Joe

“God knows you’re welcome to it – so far as it was ever mine.”

5 Faced with Magwitch’s admission of theft, Joe shows his charitable nature.

“we wouldn’t have you starved to death for it, poor miserable fellow-creatur. - Would us, Pip?”

5 He includes Pip in his unselfish sentiment, acting as a moral guide.

“But I did mind you… bring the poor little child. God bless the poor little child… there’s room for him at the forge.”

7 He explains that he had no doubts about welcoming Pip into his home with his sister. This is almost biblical in its structure (with echoes of ‘room at the inn’ in the nativity) – Joe shows that he was fundamentally caring.

‘Joe laid his hand upon my shoulder with the touch of a woman.’

18 Although he is a physically strong man, his caring nature is reflected in his soft touch.

“O dear good faithful tender Joe, I feel the loving tremble of your hand upon my arm”

18 The older Pip is looking back and regretting that he did not appreciate Joe at the time.

“O God bless him! O God bless this gentle Christ man!”

57 With the benefit of hindsight, Pip realises just how good a man Joe was and is.

‘For the tenderness of Joe was so beautifully proportioned to my need, that I was like a child in his hands.’

57 Pip describes how Joe tended to him while ill with fever, and was like a parent to him again.

Activity 13: Mrs Joe is not depicted as a loving surrogate parent or wife (she uses ‘Tickler’ on both Pip and Joe). Use some of the evidence from Chapter 2 to help you write a short paragraph explaining how she is presented as not a particularly pleasant person to live with.

Possible points:

• She is resentful that she has to bring up Pip as her son and is constantly cruel towards him.

• She uses physical punishment as her main tool of authority.

far do you agree that Joe was the ‘father’ that Pip needed at this time?

Possible points:

• He is calm and tolerant in a crisis.• He is a hard worker and positive role model.• He does not use his physical strength to bully others.• He learns alongside Pip and shares in the joy of

new discoveries.• He is a friend as much as a parent.• He shares the effects of Mrs Joe’s moods.

• She manages the household like a tyrant and both Joe and Pip are scared of her moods.

• She seems dissatisfied with Joe’s achievements.• She may feel frustrated that she has not achieved

much in her own life.• She does not seem to make any attempt to

show affection or understanding during Pip’s childhood.

• She may feel that this is the way to treat children as she is encouraged by Pumblechook.

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Activity 14: Look at the characteristics listed on the left and find evidence from the novel (chapters 7, 16, 17 and 35) to demonstrate how each one is an apt description of Biddy at some point in the narrative.

Sample answers:

Biddy’s traits Chapter Evidence

teacher 7 She helps Pip ‘struggle through the alphabet’ while at school and is more use than the ‘teacher’, Mr Wopsle’s great-aunt.

carer/caring 16 She comes and lives with Pip and Joe in order to care for Mrs Joe after the attack has left her disabled.

interpreter 16 She is the first person to understand that Mrs Joe’s drawing of a hammer signifies that she wishes to see Orlick.

manager 17 Pip realises that she has managed the ‘whole domestic life’ of the house efficiently. She is also able to manage her own education and is a quicker learner than Pip.

advisor 17 She does her best to deter him from his ambition of becoming a gentleman and rejecting the life he leads.

sympathetic 17 She acknowledges that Estella calling Pip ‘coarse and common’ was not ‘very true or a polite thing to say’.

counsellor 17 She listens to Pip’s feelings about the way he has been treated by Estella and helps him decide the best way to react.

loyal 17 She assures Pip that everything he has spoken to her about Estella, in ‘confidence’, will remain between them.

ambitious 35 She tells Pip that she intends to try to become the ‘mistress in the new school’ and that she will learn on the job.

critical 35 She queries whether Pip ‘WILL’ come and see Joe ‘often’ after his wife’s death.

Activity 15:

a) Complete the table below with either a quotation to support a description, or a description of which of Herbert’s qualities is represented by a quotation.

Sample answers:

Description Evidence

He seeks Pip’s forgiveness for the fight they had as children.

‘reaching out his hand goodhumouredly’

He listens politely, without interrupting Pip, like a gentleman.

‘he was attentive until I had finished’

He is a likeable person. ‘a frank and easy way with him that was very taking’

He is easy to talk to and explains things carefully to Pip.

‘he was so communicative’

He is careful to praise and not find fault. ‘I venture to prophesy that you’ll want for very few hints’

He is careful to advise Pip on etiquette of how a gentleman should eat.

“it is not the custom to put the knife in the mouth”

He dreams of making his fortune one day. “you swoop upon it and you make your capital, and then there you are!”

He seems to deal with all his problems with ease. ‘took all the blows and buffets’

He lives frugally as he does not have much money. ‘he had nothing around him but the simplest necessaries’

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b) Why do you think Dickens presents Herbert Pocket as such an almost impossibly polite young gentleman at this point in the novel? Why is this significant when you think about the novel as a whole?

Possible points:

• Herbert is presented as his essential self – a pleasant and polite young man.

• He is the older version of the boy who fought Pip in the gentlemanly boxing match and is just as civil.

• He is the necessary companion for Pip, who will demonstrate the true qualities of being a gentleman without requiring personal gain.

• Herbert remains true to his initial presentation throughout the novel.

• He is loyal to Pip and helps hide Magwitch.• Pip is so affected by Herbert’s good character that

he secures a partnership for him at Clarriker’s in secret.

• Pip ultimately benefits from his unselfish behaviour when he is most in need.

Activity 16: Using evidence from the extract, explain why you think that Dickens depicted Wemmick in this way.

Possible points:

• The house is a retreat from Newgate and removes the ‘cobwebs’ of his working world.

• He is transformed into a livelier figure.• He is happy to introduce Pip into his private world

in contrast to the coolness of Jaggers.• We learn that he is a tolerant and caring man who

takes the time to indulge Aged P.• He is being confirmed as having great empathy.• He is not at all self-conscious at what Pip may

think of his ‘eccentric’ home.

Activity 17: Orlick is presented by Dickens as a negative influence on Pip’s life whenever he appears in the novel. However, Pip is much more of a hindrance to Orlick.

a) Look at the following quotations from Chapter 15 and explain what you feel that the writer is presenting.


b) Write a short paragraph explaining how these character traits are presented in the older Orlick in Chapter 53.

Possible points:

• He has deviously led Pip to a place of his choosing.

• He hates Pip and wants him dead.• He taunts Pip and shows that he felt intimidated

and resentful in the past.• He threatens to torture Pip before killing him.• He admits to the attack on Mrs Joe and that he

would have burnt her body if he had known she would survive.

• He tries to justify his actions by blaming Pip for everything.

Activity 18: Write a short paragraph explaining why Pumblechook changes his attitude to Pip so much and how far he goes in Chapter 19 to try and use Pip’s good fortune.

Points might include:

(from Chapters 4, 8 and 12)• He is at pains to support the perspective of

Mrs Joe with respect to Pip, that is, she has sacrificed herself for him and is a martyr to his poor behaviour.

• He is bombastic and likes the sound of his own voice.

• He enjoys the adoration of Mrs Joe, who values his opinions on everything.

• He enjoys the hospitality offered by Mrs Joe and indulges himself.

• He is a self-centred and boastful individual.

(from Chapter 19)• He has undertaken a complete transformation

in the light of Pip’s elevated social standing and prospects.

• His boastful nature has turned to obsequiousness, but this is still a self-centred tactic, hoping to be in Pip’s favour as he reaches his potential.

• He is portrayed as an unpleasant character who favours those from whom he can benefit.

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Activity 19: Use the table below to note some brief details about the minor characters.

Sample answer:

Character Role Quotation Quality/trait

Compeyson The ‘second’ convict and Miss Havisham’s intended husband

“and ain’t it him as the Judge feels sorry for”

Liar and cheat. Fraudster, bully. Thief

Matthew Pocket

The tutor assigned to help Pip learn to be a gentleman in London

‘there was something comic in his distraught way’

Trapped by an early marriage, unfulfilled career.

Belinda Pocket

Wife of Matthew, but portrayed as lazy and demanding

“the cook – felt I was born to be a Duchess”

Disorganised, with delusions of being of high birth

Bentley Drummle

Fellow student of Pip and rival for the ‘love’ of Estella

‘he was idle, proud, niggardly, reserved and suspicious’

Aggressive, surly, uncaring and a bully

Startop Fellow ‘student’ of Pip, helps Pip to organise the attempted escape of Magwitch

‘He had a woman’s delicacy of feature’

Devoted to his mother. Willing to support Pip.

The Aged P Wemmick’s father, cared for by his son, a happy and comfortable man

“I have heerd that my son is a wonderful hand at his business, Sir?”

Not quite alert to all that happens but happy in life

Miss Skiffins Married to Wemmick near the end of the novel, making him a happy man

‘That discreet damsel was attired as usual’

A quiet and very demure figure, the perfect match

Molly Housekeeper to Mr Jaggers, unconvicted murderess and Estella’s mother

‘extremely pale, with large faded eyes’

Quiet, controlled by Jaggers to whom she is in debt

Trabb’s boy Dislikes Pip and is very disrespectful of him as a ‘gentleman’

‘the most audacious boy in all that country-side’

Jealous, surly, disrespectful

Clara Marries Herbert and joins him when he works abroad, she is admired by Pip

‘a very pretty, slight dark-eyed girl of twenty or so’

Charming, sweet-natured, a perfect match for Herbert

Mr Wopsle Known to Pip as a child, fulfils his ambition to act

“You’ll hardly believe what I am about to tell you”

Extrovert, a friend of Mrs Joe in the early chapters

LanguageActivity 1: Look at the quotations below and consider the intended effect on the reader. Explain how the use of metaphor strengthens the description.

One example has been completed.

Activity 2: Compile your own record of metaphors used in the novel. For example, you could look for more examples focused on Miss Havisham to see how Dickens develops the aura of death that surrounds her in the novel. Complete the spider diagram.

Some ideas have been provided.

Activity 3: Look at the following examples of similes used in the novel. Skim through more chapters from Volume 2 and add more examples of similes to the list.

Examples will vary.

Activity 4: Select four similes that you have listed which you feel are the most powerful. Write a short paragraph for each, explaining how Dickens uses the simile to build up a vivid picture for the reader, enhancing the description and adding subtle connotations.

An example has been provided.

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Activity 5: Listed below are some examples of personification used in Great Expectations by Dickens. Match up each quotation to its correct explanation.

Quotation Explanation

‘his eyes looked so awfully hungry too’ Hunger is an unusual trait to be evident in a look – and emphasises the need for food.

‘Fate threw me in the way of that unlimited miscreant, Trabb’s boy.’

It is as if Pip has no self-will or determination, and that his actions are predetermined.

‘The doorway soon absorbed her boxes.’ The luggage almost seems to have been physically consumed.

‘To Let, To Let, To Let glared at me from empty rooms.’ The fact that the rooms are empty and in need of occupants seems to be spoken aloud.

‘the day came creeping on, haltering and whimpering and shivering, and wrapped in patches of clouds and rags and mist’

The dawning of the day is described as almost a painful and shameful exercise.

‘the closet whispered, the fire-place sighed’ Within the room, everything is in a hushed mood.

‘the road that ran with us, seeming to sympathise with us, animate us and encourage us’

Their spirits seem to be given a boost by the distance covered.

‘I saw the great black dome of St Paul’s bulging at me’ The building is given a sense of life; it is not still and seems to be pulsing.

(Barnard’s) ‘was undergoing penance and humiliation as a mere dust-hole.’

It is as if the place is being punished in some way and being covered with dirt on purpose.

‘Barnard was shedding sooty tears outside the window.’

The polluted environment around Pip’s lodgings seems sorrowful.

Activity 7: The table below contains some extracts from dialogue in the novel. Consider the ways in which the narrative development of the novel is affected by what we learn from the speaker in each case and note down your ideas in the third column.

Sample answers:

Chapter Dialogue extract Significance

1 “Hold your noise!” cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch. “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat.”

This certainly creates a memorable first impression of Magwitch. The reader can feel the fear of the young Pip, faced with the despair of the man ravaged by cold and hunger. The kindness shown by Pip at this point is critical in the later development of the novel.

Activity 6: Look at the extract from Chapter 49. Write an analysis, explaining the use of personification and how this intensifies the emotions described.

Possible points:

• Her resentment is ‘wild’, which reflects the way she reacted and the damage caused to others.

• The ‘wounded’ pride is a key to her inability to act differently. The public blow to her reputation and the loss of trust cut her to the core and permanently damaged her.

• Her mind is described as ‘diseased’ as if separate from the rest of her ‘self’, controlling everything that she does.

• The sorrow is vain because it is so self-serving, disregarding the pain of others.

• Her penitence is placed above the feelings of others.

• Both her remorse and sense of unworthiness are, again, placed before others in the selfish, self-obsessed world of Satis House.

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Chapter Dialogue extract Significance

7 ‘“It were but lonesome then,” said Joe, “living here alone, and I got acquainted with your sister. Now Pip;” Joe looked firmly at me as if he knew I was not going to agree with him’

This enables Joe to give Pip and the reader a rationale for why he tolerates such difficult moods from his wife. He later explains that he knew she would struggle and that he welcomed Pip too.

8 “I sometimes have sick fancies,” she went on, “and I have a sick fancy that I want to see some play. There, there!” with an impatient movement of the fingers of her right hand; “play, play, play!”

This is during Pip’s first visit to Satis House and sets the tone for future visits until Pip knows the truth about Estella and his benefactor. We are given the impression of a bizarrely demanding woman, living in a closeted world.

21 “So you were never in London before?” said Mr. Wemmick to me. “No,” said I… “You are well acquainted with it now?” “Why yes,” said Mr. Wemmick. “I know the moves of it.”

Wemmick is introduced as the clerk to Mr Jaggers and this conversation leads the reader to see that he is both modest and thoughtful. His character develops into one of the most caring in the novel.

33 “You ridiculous boy,” said Estella, “will you never take warning? Or do you kiss my hand in the same spirit in which I once let you kiss my cheek?” “What was it?” said I. “I must think a moment. A spirit of contempt for the fawners and plotters.”

This conversation signals a change in the relationship between Estella and Pip. He feels able to be frank in reply to her ‘warning’ that she is unable to love. The reader is given a hint of a change in Estella but it is short-lived. We realise later that she has been trapped by Miss Havisham’s misguided conditioning.

41 “How can I?” I interposed, as Herbert paused. “Think of him! Look at him!” An involuntary shudder passed over both of us. “Yet I am afraid the dreadful truth is, Herbert, that he is attached to me. Was there ever such a fate?”

Herbert and Pip come to the realisation that Magwitch is their responsibility. If found, he could be hanged for returning, while they could be condemned for aiding and abetting a criminal. This is a pivotal moment for Pip, shown by the use of exclamations and the rhetorical question.

49 “If I give you the money for this purpose, will you keep my secret as you have kept your own?” “Quite as faithfully.” “And your mind will be more at rest?” “Much more at rest.” “Are you unhappy now?”

Pip asks Miss Havisham for the £900 to complete the purchase of Herbert’s partnership. They speak on a different level here; Miss Havisham is remorseful and wishes for his forgiveness. She later realises the dreadful mistake she has made in allowing Estella to marry Drummle.

57 “Have you heard, Joe” I asked him that evening, upon further consideration, as he smoked his pipe at the window, “who my patron was?” “Well! I heerd as it were a person what sent the person what giv’ you the banknotes at the Jolly Bargemen, Pip.”

Pip has been nursed to health by Joe. He feels guilty at the way he treated his old friend. This conversation shows that Joe holds no grudges and serves to reaffirm his friendship and loyalty to Pip.

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Activity 8: Research the text to further develop your understanding of the way dialogue is used by Dickens to reveal important plot shifts. Collect some examples of other important moments of dialogue.

Answers will vary.

Activity 9: Write at least one paragraph discussing the importance of dialogue in the novel. You should now have plenty of examples to reference but choose carefully – avoid rewriting complete quotations – use selected words and phrases. Discuss the ways in which the dialogue affects how the reader may react to the characters involved.

Answers will vary.

Activity 10: The following extracts signal a dramatic revelation and/or plot-shift in the novel. Identify the moment and its significance in the novel. You should also consider any interesting points about the choice of language.

Sample answers:

Chapter Critical moments Significance/effect of language

17 “Biddy,” said I, after binding her to secrecy. “I want to be a gentleman.” “Oh, I wouldn’t if I was you!” she returned. “I don’t think it would answer.”

This moment is a critical parting of the ways for Biddy and Pip. It is clear to the reader that Biddy is very keen that he stays but the young, ambitious Pip fails to recognize the situation. Her double warning (wouldn’t/don’t) is ignored.

22 “Lord bless me; you’re the prowling boy!” “And you,” said I, “are the pale young gentleman!”

The exclamation marks signify the shock and pleasant surprise that Pip and Herbert feel at meeting again, many years after their first encounter at Satis House.

29 ‘The lady whom I had never seen before’

The third-person description of the young woman who has been transformed from the child-Estella emphasises just how much Pip is shocked at who stands before him.

30 ‘I love her, I love her, I love her!’ hundreds of times. Then a burst of gratitude came upon me, that she should be destined for me, once the blacksmith’s boy.’

This is confirmation that the appeal from Miss Havisham’s to ‘love her’ has become reality. Full of ‘gratitude’, Pip begins to wonder when she will reciprocate and decides that being disconnected from Joe will help – a tragic miscalculation.

39 ‘I relinquished the intention he had detected, for I knew him! Even yet I could not recall a single feature, but I knew him!’

The most dramatic moment when Magwitch walks back into Pip’s life. The exclamation marks do not signal joy, but shock and dismay. The bigger shock is soon to be revealed.

48 “Do you remember the sex of the child?” “Said to have been a girl.”

Wemmick is unforthcoming in the development of his response to this question from Pip but the answer is clear to the reader. A simple question and answer have a powerful effect. In the next chapter this will be confirmed by Miss Havisham.

49 “One night he brought her here asleep, and I called her Estella.”

The final piece of the jigsaw is put in place by Miss Havisham on the day that she begs for and is given Pip’s forgiveness. The ‘child’ has become ‘Estella’ and everything has changed.

Activity 11: Write about the way that the language in this extract emphasises Pip’s feelings, using the paragraph opening below. Remember to integrate short, appropriate quotations in your answer.

Answers will vary.

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Activity 12: Look at the following examples of accent and/or dialect reflected in the direct speech of a character. Complete the table below by either finding the quotation that fits the description or analysis, or writing your own analysis of a given quotation.

Chapter Quotation What is being reflected in the speech

1 “Darn me if I couldn’t eat ‘em” said the man, with a threatening shake of his head, “and if I han’t half a mind to’t!”

Magwitch’s criminal persona is emphasised by his aggressive tone coupled with the non-standard, ‘Darn’ and multiple contractions.

5 “so you’re the blacksmith, are you? Than I’m sorry to say, I’ve eat your pie.”

Magwitch uses the present tense to refer to the past and pronounces ‘Then’ with ‘Than’ which further emphasises his lower status in the scene.

7 “he hammered away at my mother, most onmerciful. It were a’most the only hammering he did, indeed, ‘xcepting at myself.”

Joe describes his father’s beatings of his mother by using the verb ‘hammered’. He also pronounces the negative prefix ‘un’ as ‘on’ and replaces ‘except’ with ‘‘xcepting’.

15 When I went to Lunnon town sirsToo rul loo rulToo rul loo rul

This extract from a ‘comic song’ is used to show the limitations of the ‘literature’ Pip was exposed to as a child.

18 “Which I meantersay,” cried Joe, “that if you come into my place bull-baiting and badgering me, come out!”

Joe is angry that Mr Jaggers has the nerve to talk to him with a condescending tone when seated in Joe’s own local tavern. His attempt at formal language with ‘meantersay’ is not successful.

20 “Mithter Jaggerth! Half a moment! My hown cuthen’th gone to Mr Mithter Wemmick at thith prethent minute, to offer him happy termth.”

Dickens quite clumsily stereotypes the speech of a Jewish character in a similar way that he reflected the speech of Fagin in Oliver Twist over twenty years earlier in 1838. This would have been acceptable at the time.

39 “arter having looked so for’ard so distant, and come so fur”

Magwitch finds it hard to contain himself on first seeing Pip as a gentleman. His accent is emphasised in ‘arter’ (after) and ‘fur’ (far).

53 “You was always in Old Orlick’s way, since ever you was a child. You goes. He’ll have no more on you. You’re dead.”

Orlick is angry and resentful in this scene. His aggressive tone is heightened by his non-standard English (‘was’ for ‘were’ and ‘goes’ or ‘go’). He also refers to himself in the third person in a detached way: ‘He’ll have’.

Activity 13: Explore the text further to find more examples of the way Dickens uses the spoken language of characters to reflect their social and cultural background and/or their mood through accent and dialect. However, this time you should focus on speech that reflects social prestige and authority, such as the language used by Mr Jaggers.

Answers will vary.

Activity 14: Using the information and examples completed for Activities 11 and 12, think about the effect on the reader of the spoken language used by Dickens’s characters and answer the questions below.

a) How do you think that Joe’s spoken language is meant to affect the reader? Does Pip’s

changing attitude to social class have any impact on the reader in relation to Joe?

Possible points:

• He is like a child at times – ‘What larks!’• His rural non-standard English is used to endear

him to the reader.• He struggles in the ‘wrong’ social environment,

which makes the reader sympathise.• His lack of formal education is initially a device to

distance him from Pip.• He remains (and sounds) the same throughout

Pip’s ‘London’ phase.• He has a wisdom beyond his social class that is

characterised by his forgiving nature.

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b) There is a noticeable difference in tone in the way that Orlick speaks to Pip in Chapter 53 compared to their last meeting in Chapter 29. Explain why you think this is the case and use examples from the text to support your thoughts.

Possible points:

• In Chapter 29 Orlick is working for Miss Havisham as a porter and has to be civil to Pip, “Young master”.

• There is an air of potential violence with the presence of the gun and apparent indifference from Orlick, “Burn me, if I know!”

• His hatred of Pip in Chapter 53 is unmistakeable, “O you enemy, you enemy!”

• He blames Pip for his lack of success with Biddy, “How dared you come betwixt me and a woman I liked?”

• He is aggressive and dominant both physically and in the tone of his speech, “Speak, wolf!” and “You’re a liar”.

• He threatens to torture Pip before he kills him and burns his body in a lime-kiln.

c) How does the tone of the language spoken by Magwitch to Pip after the ‘reconciliation’ scene in Chapter 39 reflect their change in circumstances from the early part of the novel and the initial confrontation in the graveyard?

Possible points:

• Initially, he is aggressive and frightened, “Hold your noise!”, “or I’ll cut your throat!”

• He is threatening, “Or I’ll have your heart and liver out”, “never dare say a word”.

• On his return, he is polite and formal, “I wish to come in, Master”.

• His original non-standard English is evident in “I’m glad you growed up, a game one!”

• His repetition of the adjective ‘noble’ and his great pleasure at seeing Pip signals that this a changed man from the convict in Chapter 1.

• “I hope to hear you say so, my dear boy” catches Pip unawares in both its familiarity and its knowing tone.

Activity 15: Create your own dictionary to help you understand and recall some of the words and phrases that you find difficult during a first reading of the novel. Note the quotation in which

they appear, the chapter number and explain the meaning in modern English.

Sample answers have been given.

Themes Activity 1: Complete the spider diagram, adding themes that you have identified so far in Great Expectations.

Some details have been given as an example.

Activity 2: Look at the quotations. Explain the context of the comment (who says it and when) and what Dickens is revealing about the theme of social aspiration and class through his characters.


Activity 3: Answer the questions below, commenting on the language and using short textual references from the extract to support your thoughts.

a) How do you know that Magwitch is so excited by what he sees?

Sample answer:

He is excited because Pip has become a gentleman. This is further emphasised by the use of exclamation marks.

b) Why does he comment on the contents of the room and Pip’s personal possessions?

Sample answer:

The room with all the accessories such as the watch and the ring are physical evidence of Magwitch’s dream of making a gentleman out of Pip being fulfilled. He refers to the material features that signal gentlemanly status to him, such as ‘gold’, ‘diamond’, ‘fine and beautiful (linen)’ and ‘books… by hundreds’.

c) How do we know that Pip is uncomfortable?

Sample answer:

At the end of the extract, we learn that Pip’s blood ‘runs cold’.

d) What do Magwitch’s comments suggest about his plans?

Sample answer:

They show that he knew that he could never aspire to be a gentleman himself but that his money could

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create one. He is pleased that he cannot read the books because it shows that Pip is more educated than himself and he has therefore been successful. When he states, ‘You shall read ‘em to me, dear boy!’, it shows that Magwitch has no plans to leave in the near future. This prospect horrifies Pip further.

Activity 4: Using some of the ideas and references covered in the previous activities, as well as new ones of your own, write about the way that Dickens presents the theme of social class in Great Expectations.

Possible points:

• The way that Magwitch was led into crime through poverty and lack of opportunity

• The low self-esteem of Joe when viewing his social status – reflected in Pip’s thinking once he has met Estella

• The privilege of those born with wealth or who benefit from the wealth of others

• ‘Gentlemen’ are educated and know how to behave in polite society

• A ‘gentleman’ is not just judged by his clothes (for example, Magwitch’s view of Compeyson)

• A ‘gentleman’ respects others and does not always say what he feels for fear of upsetting others or creating an argument

• Though relatively ‘poor’ and not worldly wise in business, Herbert Pocket is a good candidate as a true ‘gentleman’ because of his kindness to others and his moral behaviour

• Pip learns that his original thoughts about being a gentleman were misguided: wealth, education and a knowledge of manners do not necessarily make a ‘gentleman’, for example, Bentley Drummle

• Pip learns that ‘good’ people exist in every social class – for example, Joe and Biddy – and that treating people with respect and kindness is a more important trait than demonstrating wealth and power.

Activity 5: The quotations below are evidence of Dickens’s presentation of the failed love of Pip and his obsession with Estella. Explain how Dickens develops the presentation of love through each quotation.


Activity 6: What do you think Dickens wanted the reader to feel about the ongoing saga of the relationship between Pip and Estella? Should we feel sympathetic or critical of Pip, Estella – or both

characters – in the former’s unremitting love and the latter’s misled ‘loyalty’ to Miss Havisham’s designs, even when they could be abandoned for some form of happiness?

Possible points:

• Dickens wanted the reader to feel that love is a powerful emotion and should be handled carefully – individuals can be damaged by lies and insincerity.

• We can be sympathetic towards Pip as he has no control over his ‘love’ for Estella: not only is this a natural attraction, it is unnaturally encouraged and nurtured by Miss Havisham.

• It is possible Pip might have felt less keen if he had known about his true patron and that there was no definite ‘plan’ for Pip and Estella on Miss Havisham’s part.

• Pip’s love for Estella is certainly sincere and is made more painful by the strictures of social class and potential marriage partners.

• It is hard to be overtly critical of Estella because she does not change her essential character from her first appearance as a child and is therefore consistent in her lack of empathy and emotion throughout the vast majority of the novel.

• She warns Pip on more than one occasion that she cannot love and does not really appreciate the effect of the emotion on others – apart from the disappointment of rejection.

• We should feel sympathy for Estella. The ‘emotional illiteracy’ she struggles with for most of the novel is due to the cynical, poor parenting of Miss Havisham.

• Dickens leaves the reader with some hope that a form of love may be possible at the end of the novel, for example, Pip refers to the ‘friendly touch of a once insensible hand’ and Estella states that her own ‘suffering – has taught me to understand what your heart used to be’ and that she is in a ‘better shape’ (implying perhaps that she may be more able to accept and give love).

Activity 7: There are a number of other ‘romantic’ relationships in the novel, though not all of them may be immediately recognisable as such to the reader. Look at the couples in the table below and comment on what we learn about ‘love’ from the portrayal of their relationships in the novel. Use short textual references to support your thoughts where appropriate.


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Activity 8: Look at the characters in the table below. Comment on the way that Dickens portrays the difficulties they faced as children and how these influence the way they behave as adults.


Activity 9: In the extract:

a) What do you think Mr Jaggers is referring to as: ‘an atmosphere of evil’?

Sample answer:

He is describing the world of the law courts, where he was coming into contact with the evils of crime on a daily basis and the short- and long-term consequences for families as well as criminals. He may also be referring to the evils of poverty.

b) What does Mr Jaggers’ statement ‘generated in great numbers for certain destruction’ reveal about Dickens’s thoughts about what happened to many children at that time?

Sample answer:

He viewed the large number of children born into poverty as a crime in itself and was sure that many of the children would be destroyed by a life of poverty and crime.

c) Why do you think that Dickens includes such a politically sensitive issue in the novel?

Sample answer:

He may have wanted to emphasise the argument that society was fundamentally unfair and that the government did not do enough to support innocent children born into poverty.

d) Why do you think that Mr Jaggers uses the word ‘spawn’ as an image as part of his explanation to Pip?

Sample answer:

By using the word ‘spawn’ to describe children, Mr Jaggers is emphasising the way that his profession demonised and objectified (removed their human identity) the children directly or indirectly involved in crime.

e) Why does Mr Jaggers state that the orphans would be ‘bedevilled somehow’?

Sample answer:

This is a direct reference to them being affected by the evils of crime and perhaps even the indifference of the general public.

f) How may the reader’s opinion of Mr Jaggers’ character be altered by this ‘admission’?

Sample answer:

The reader may feel that Mr Jaggers has a great deal more compassion and empathy for people than we have been led to believe by the writer’s presentation of his character to this point in the novel. He has been portrayed as cold and professional, so this revelation is a surprise.

Activity 10: Consider some of the main secrets in the novel and complete the panels.

An example has been provided.

Activity 11: Write one or two paragraphs about the way that Dickens presents the theme of secrecy in the novel.

Answers will vary.

Activity 12: Use the following table to note the nature of and differences in the friendships Pip has with other characters.

Possible points:

Pip’s ‘friend’ Key points about the friendship

Biddy • She attends school with Pip and helps him learn to read and use numbers.• While caring for Mrs Joe, she becomes a surrogate ‘mother’ within the home.• She is his confidante and patiently listens to him voicing his obsession with Estella.• She warns him that he needs to treat Joe respectfully and not be aloof.• He ultimately realises that she deserves happiness with Joe and not himself.

Joe • Although he is a sort of father, Joe is also Pip’s friend and fellow ‘child’ in attitude.• He helps Pip to avoid being punished by Mrs Joe and warns him of danger.• He defends Pip in situations where he feels he is under threat, for example, from Mr Jaggers.• He visits London, and though extremely uncomfortable, dresses formally.• He comes to help Pip when he is at his most vulnerable.

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Pip’s ‘friend’ Key points about the friendship

Herbert • He initially fights Pip at Satis House as a child and learns about honour.• He helps and supports Pip throughout his time in London.• Pip is loyal in return and engineers a career for his friend.• He risks everything for Pip when helping Magwitch to escape.• He loyally offers to employ Pip when his fortunes have changed.

Estella • At first, their relationship is characterised by Pip’s devotion and her disdain.• Pip loves her despite all the pain of indifference encouraged by Miss Havisham. • He is outraged when Drummle insults Estella in front of gentlemen.• Estella cares for Pip but warns him that she is incapable of love.• They share a past with Miss Havisham and this gives them common ground.

Wemmick • He is aware that Pip needs someone to help and guide him in London.• He offers advice and demonstrates caring and kindness for his father.• He helps Pip to organise Herbert’s job at Clarriker’s.• He allows Pip to share in his family life and invites him to his wedding. • He is emboldened to respond to Jaggers after Pip’s defence of his character.

Main role in the plot• Husband of Mrs Joe, his kindness to Pip

counterbalances Mrs Joe’s harsh treatment.• His simple, honest and morally faultless attitude to

life is a great influence on Pip.• Pip is made to feel ashamed of his role as ‘son’

of a blacksmith by Estella and is all too ready to accept Mr Jaggers’ offer from the secret benefactor.

• Pip realises later in the novel just how badly he treated Joe when he left for London.

• Joe later comes to Pip’s rescue and cares for him when he is very ill.

• Joe marries Biddy at the end of the novel.

Relationships with others• Faithful husband to Mrs Joe and tolerant of her harsh

treatment of himself because he vowed to always do ‘what’s right by a woman’ – unlike his father.

• A loving ‘parent’ to Pip while ironically sharing the bad treatment from Mrs Joe almost as another child.

• Employer of Pip and teacher of morals as well as practical skills at the forge.

• Respectful to all he sees as his social or intellectual superiors but never afraid to speak when he thinks a wrong has been committed.

• Husband to Biddy after the death of his Mrs Joe.

Key quotations1. “you and me is always friends, and I’d be the last

to tell on you any time.” (Chapter 2) (He is about to comment on Pip ‘bolting’ his food,

showing affection and naivety.)

Activity 13: Write a paragraph exploring the importance of friendship in the novel.

Possible points:

• The importance of ‘true’ friendship is emphasised throughout the novel (mainly through the comments and actions of Joe, Biddy and Herbert).

• Joe in particular embodies the meaning of ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’. He does not resent Pip’s time of rejection and distance, and comes to his aid when he is ill, nursing him and paying his debts.

• A lack of friendliness (for example, in Mr Jaggers) makes characters appear distant and cold.

• The warmth of friendship can help individuals to survive, for example, the way in which Wemmick introduces Pip to his sanctuary in Walworth.

• Strong friendships will survive, for example, Biddy and Joe remain concerned about Pip’s welfare throughout the novel.

Skills and Practice Activity 1: Create a page for each cluster of chapters in the novel.


Activity 2: Design your own graphic images for each cluster.


Activity 3: Create your own character pages for Great Expectations.

Sample answer focused on Joe:

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2. “We don’t know what you have done, but we wouldn’t have you starved to death for it, poor miserable fellow-creatur. – Would us, Pip?” (Chapter 4)

(He is showing kindness to Magwitch and encouraging Pip to have the same attitude to those less fortunate than himself.)

3. “And bring the poor little child. God bless the poor little child.” (Chapter 7)

(Joe is explaining that he was prepared to take on the role of father to Pip when he married.)

4. “Howsoever they come, they didn’t ought to come, and they come from the father of lies, and work round to the same. Don’t you tell no more of ‘em Pip.” (Chapter 9)

(He is warning Pip never to lie after Pip admits to embellishing the events at Satis House.)

5. “Pip is that harty welcome,’ said Joe, ‘to go free with his services, to honour and fortun’, as no words can tell him. But if you think as Money – can make compensation for the loss of the little child – what come to the forge – and ever the best of friends!” (Chapter 18)

(Joe becomes angry at the suggestion from Mr Jaggers that he must be seeking compensation for the loss of Pip as his apprentice – he feels insulted.)

6. “You and me is not two figures to be together in London; nor yet anywhere else but what is private, and beknown, and understood among friends.” (Chapter 28)

(Joe is expressing his great discomfort at meeting Pip as a gentleman away from the forge, dressed in clothes which are ‘wrong’.)

7. “Which dear old Pip, old chap,” said Joe, “you and me was ever friends. And when you’re well enough to go for out a ride – what larks!” (Chapter 57)

(Joe is still there in Pip’s hour of need, tending to him when he has a fever.)

8. “There’s subjects enough as betwixt two sech, without onnecessary ones.” (Chapter 57)

(Joe is diplomatically not commenting on what he now knows about Pip’s real benefactor.)

9. “there have been larks. And dear sir, what have been betwixt us – have been.” (Chapter 57)

(Joe is acknowledging that they have a shared past that he too will remember fondly.)

10. “O dear old Pip, old chap,” said Joe, “God knows as I forgive you, if I have anythink to forgive!” (Chapter 58)

(Joe’s final words to Pip in the novel as he speaks to Pip with Biddy.)

Key points to remember• Joe is a father figure for the young Pip but also a

fellow ‘child’ at times.• He is mild-mannered and is a moral teacher

for Pip.• Pip loses touch with Joe as he aspires to be a

gentleman in London.• Joe is there to care for Pip after Magwitch dies.• Pip feels no ill will to his old friend when he

discovers that Joe has married Biddy.

Activity 4: It can be very helpful to create a diagram or chart to represent different aspects of the relationships between the characters in the novel. Design your own version, using whichever ideas you feel would help you.


Activity 5:

a) Choose different points in the novel where the dramatic effect of language is evident such as the description of character (e.g. Miss Havisham) and place (e.g. Pip’s first visit to Mr Jaggers in London) or through dialogue (e.g. the different meetings of Magwitch and Pip).

b) Decide what form the record should take – table, graph, chart or graphic images – and note down relevant quotations and explain their effect on the reader.

Sample answer:

The first meeting with Miss Havisham (Chapter 8)

Character‘sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see.’‘She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white.’‘she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white.’‘She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on’‘the bride within the dress had withered like the dress’‘shrunk to skin and bone’‘had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes’‘ghastly waxwork’

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‘skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress’‘Now, waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved’

Pip’s first meeting with Miss Havisham reflects the confusion of a boy contrasting what appears to be a wealthy woman with the poverty of her appearance. She remains the ‘strangest’ lady he has ever seen because of all the expectations of her initial appearance in the half-light that are contradicted by her age, what appears to him to be unfinished dressing and her demeanour. The young bride’s dress, the faded white, the resemblance to the waxwork and the skeleton – all combine to communicate the appearance of ‘death’ to the young Pip. Dickens is depicting the death of her self-esteem, hope and spirit in this initial image before she speaks and we can feel the fear as he explains that he ‘should have cried out’ but is stopped by her question, ‘Who is it?’

Place‘a pretty large room, well lighted with wax candles.’‘No glimpse of daylight was to be seen in it.’‘much of it was of forms and uses then quite unknown to me.’‘a draped table with a gilded looking-glass.’‘I made out at first to be a fine lady’s dressing-table.’‘Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half packed trunks were scattered about’.‘everything within my view that ought to be white, had been white long ago’

Pip’s initial view of the room in Satis House is affected by his expectations of wealth due to what has been said about Miss Havisham before his arrival. He is impressed by the size of the room and the fact that so many candles can be afforded, which would be beyond his experience. However, the older man looking back can be seen through the way he explains that much of what he witnessed was ‘quite unknown to me’. The contrast between the wealth suggested by the ‘gilded’ furniture is soon overridden by the disorganisation of the ‘scattered’ dresses and trunks. The degradation of the white dress is noticed by Pip but the significance is not clear at this point.

Activity 6: Complete the spider diagram of the theme ‘Secrecy’.

An example has been started.

Activity 7: Look at the list of verbs that can be used appropriately to describe what a writer ‘does’ in a text. You could also use these verbs to describe the effect of characters, a word, phrase or sentence.

a) Which verbs would you use to describe the use of imagery?

b) Which verbs relate to arguing a point?c) Which verbs relate to emotion?d) See how many other verbs of your own you can

add to each list.

Answers will vary.

Activity 8: The following student response discusses aspects of the role of Mr Jaggers in the novel. Fill the gaps with appropriate connective vocabulary.

Sample answer:

Mr Jaggers makes an early entrance in the novel in Chapter 11, however his critical significance becomes clearer with the revelation of the ‘unusual business’ he has to explain in Chapter 18. We initially see him portrayed as a ruthless professional in court. Nevertheless, his character’s personality is gradually revealed to be far more thoughtful and complex. Furthermore, he is revealed to the reader as more sympathetic than first realised, when we learn how he ‘saved’ Molly’s daughter from poverty. Therefore, we can understand why Pip changes his mind about revealing Estella’s true parentage.

Activity 9: Create a quick plan for an essay asking you to discuss the presentation of Biddy in the novel.

Answers will vary.

Activity 10: Write an effective introduction to one of the following questions:

• Explore the presentation and significance of secrets in Great Expectations.

• Examine what is learned about the importance of friendship in Great Expectations.

• Explore the presentation of Biddy and Herbert in Great Expectations and their influence on Pip.

Responses will vary.

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Activity 11:

b) Read the second student example. Make notes on the positive aspects of this response and where and how you think it could be improved.

Positive aspects might include:

• The opening sentence clearly shows a detailed understanding of the theme of social class in the novel and focuses on one of the key aims of the essay.

• The conclusion successfully summarises key points.

• Short integrated quotations are used appropriately and thoughtfully to enhance explanation.

• There is a clear sense of overview and control of the subject-matter.

• The final sentence shows a thorough understanding of the importance of the presentation of social class in the novel.

• The style is formal, controlled and succinct in the way it expresses complex issues.

Suggestions for improvement:

• Add references to points made in previous paragraphs.

• Make more detailed reference to what Joe says about social class in the extract.

c) Write your own conclusion to the same question. Try to avoid the weaknesses of the examples and leave the examiner feeling that you have a confident grasp of the text and can offer valid and well-supported points.

Answers will vary.

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