I recently finished reading "Great Expectations" penned by the legendary, English author Charles Dickens. Dickens was popular for his writing styles and creating complex comically repulsive characters in poor social conditions during Victorian England. So striking is his body of work that it gave rise to its own adjective: Dickensian. The word describes or reminiscent of the novels of Charles Dickens, especially in suggesting the poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters that they portray.
His characters exhibit the sheer absurdity of human behavior. Dickens, through his many novels, best describes the poor social and economic conditions of Victorian England, of which he himself was a victim. For instance, he often considered the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution. During this period, the lower classes experienced sordid working conditions. Dickens himself experienced this hardship as a child when he was forced to work in a boot blacking factory after his father was sent to debtors' prison.
The enigma of "Great Expectations" centres around the potential of Pip, an orphan, who is brought up by hand by his elder sister Mrs. Joe Gargery, wife of Mr. Joe Gargery, who is a blacksmith and about the only person who genuinely cares for the well being of "dear old, Pip!" The book begins with Pip playing beside his parents grave that suddenly he's been held by a convict asking Pip to bring some food and tools and threatening to kill him upon his failure. Pip does what he's been asked to do in a very noble manner. The convict, then, gets caught and is disappears from Pip's life temporarily.
Pip was satisfied, if not happy from his life until he went to Satis House to please a rich old spinster lady: Miss Havisham. There he meets Estella, a very beautiful yet cold-hearted if there is any. Estella is the adopted daughter of Miss Havisham, brought up to set the hell loose on the other sex. On that very day, Pip was made realized of his inferiority and of his ungentlemanly existence, which made him very dismal. Pip, then, decides the only way redeem his honor and win Estella's heart ( poor old chap) is to become a gentleman. But being from modest belongings his dreams of becoming a gentleman seemed only a far fetched dream to all but him. As the time faded so did Pip's hopes. But the arrival of a lawyer from London gives him hope when he learns that he has a secret, wealthy benefactor and that he needs to go to London to begin his education as a gentleman. He makes great friends, acquaintances and was happy, then, one day, a boyhood kind deed returns, altering a course of Pip's life when he learns the identity of his benefactor.
I'm not going to spoil the book any further. It's a great literary classic and I'd love your opinion on the book. But before finishing I'd like to mention: like many of Dickens's protagonists poor Pip's position is constantly destabilized, just one of the reasons why reading Dickens is the best of times for the reader while being the worst of time for his characters.
I hope this short article, makes you wanna read more Dickens. If it does, please share it!
Au revoir, à beintôt!
- Monsieur Shammi
His characters exhibit the sheer absurdity of human behavior. Dickens, through his many novels, best describes the poor social and economic conditions of Victorian England, of which he himself was a victim. For instance, he often considered the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution. During this period, the lower classes experienced sordid working conditions. Dickens himself experienced this hardship as a child when he was forced to work in a boot blacking factory after his father was sent to debtors' prison.
The enigma of "Great Expectations" centres around the potential of Pip, an orphan, who is brought up by hand by his elder sister Mrs. Joe Gargery, wife of Mr. Joe Gargery, who is a blacksmith and about the only person who genuinely cares for the well being of "dear old, Pip!" The book begins with Pip playing beside his parents grave that suddenly he's been held by a convict asking Pip to bring some food and tools and threatening to kill him upon his failure. Pip does what he's been asked to do in a very noble manner. The convict, then, gets caught and is disappears from Pip's life temporarily.
Pip was satisfied, if not happy from his life until he went to Satis House to please a rich old spinster lady: Miss Havisham. There he meets Estella, a very beautiful yet cold-hearted if there is any. Estella is the adopted daughter of Miss Havisham, brought up to set the hell loose on the other sex. On that very day, Pip was made realized of his inferiority and of his ungentlemanly existence, which made him very dismal. Pip, then, decides the only way redeem his honor and win Estella's heart ( poor old chap) is to become a gentleman. But being from modest belongings his dreams of becoming a gentleman seemed only a far fetched dream to all but him. As the time faded so did Pip's hopes. But the arrival of a lawyer from London gives him hope when he learns that he has a secret, wealthy benefactor and that he needs to go to London to begin his education as a gentleman. He makes great friends, acquaintances and was happy, then, one day, a boyhood kind deed returns, altering a course of Pip's life when he learns the identity of his benefactor.
I'm not going to spoil the book any further. It's a great literary classic and I'd love your opinion on the book. But before finishing I'd like to mention: like many of Dickens's protagonists poor Pip's position is constantly destabilized, just one of the reasons why reading Dickens is the best of times for the reader while being the worst of time for his characters.
I hope this short article, makes you wanna read more Dickens. If it does, please share it!
Au revoir, à beintôt!
- Monsieur Shammi
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