The Great Expectations - Novel by Charles Dickens

Source: http://www.pfspublishing.com/bookclub/2010/12/first-line-analysis-charles-dickens-great-expectations.html

After reading 'The Great Expectations' novel, I was amazed at how fantastic and unforgettable the novel actually is. It is one of the most touching love stories which I have read. Right at the start of the novel the relationship between Pip and Estella becomes alive and there are always mysteries to be solved, and the urge to find out what happens next. Pip being the immature boy he is, is one of the most engaging characters. His friends John Wemmick and Miss Skiffins are also very memorable. There are a lot of humorous moments which stand out as well as the moments of suspense, passion and realisation. I read the book more than once to make sure I got a full understanding of the story and both times reading it I was totally engaged.

Below are some quotes which I liked from reading the novel.

Part 1

• Quote: I give Pirrip as my father's name on the authority of his tombstone. Here you are able to discover that Pip is an orphan and someone we feel very sorry for. (chapter 1)

• Quote: Miss Havisham's house, which was of old brick and dismal, and had a great many iron bars to it. Some of the windows had been walled up; of those that remained, all the lower were rustily barred. Here it shows Satis house resembles a prison. It's made of brick and is dismal and dark, has very few windows, and many bars. (chapter 8)

• Quote: I thought I heard Miss Havisham answer, only it seemed so unlikely, "Well? You can break his heart". Here you can see Pip learns early on what Estella and Miss Havisham's plans are, although he still continues to pursue her. This introduction to the two shows the reader immediately what Estella and Miss Havisham are like. (Chapter 8)

• Quote: It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home. Here you can see Pip's desire to impress Estella makes him ungrateful and blind to the things that once made him happy. (Chapter 14)

Part 2

• Quote: So throughout life our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise. Here you can see Pip regretfully expounds on a universal truth after disrespecting Joe in order not to look bad in front of a student who he hates. (Chapter 27)

• Quote: I'll tell you what real love is. It is blind devotion, unquestioning self humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to the smiter as I did. Here you can see this quote on love given by Miss Havisham could have just as well as been stated by Pip. Miss Havisham raised Estella to be the smiter, and she succeeded. (Chapter 29)

• Quote: I did really cry in good earnest when I went to bed, to think that my expectations had done some good to somebody. Here Pip finally figures out the secret to happiness, serving others and this serves as the turning point in Pip's life. (Chapter 37)

Part 3

• Quote: It would have been cruel of Miss Havisham, horribly cruel, to practice on the susceptibility of a poor boy, and to torture me through all these years with a vain hope and an idle pursuit, if she had reflected on the gravity of what she did. But I think she did not. I think that in the endurance of her own trial, she forgot mine, Estella. Here Pip displays his maturity as he forgives Miss Havisham for all her wrongs and cruelties against him. Pip realises he is not the only tormented soul and can actually empathise with the eccentric jilted lover. (Chapter 44)

• Quote: I want to pursue that subject you mentioned to me when you were last here, and to show you that I am not all stone. But perhaps you can never believe, now, that there is anything human in my heart. Here the old freak eventually does something kind. Her remorse, although it was late shows Miss Havisham to be a dynamic character, one who changes throughout the novel. Both Pip and Miss Havisham's first kind act involve establishing Herbert in business. (Chapter 49)

• Quote: "Oh", she cried despairingly, "What have I done!" Here Miss Havisham's wasted life is the subject of her rant, a hard repentance for a hard heart. (Chapter 49)