Resumo de Great Expectations

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), perhaps the best of all the English novelists, depicted the lives of people, their behavior, attitudes and habits in all his novels. We cannot ignore the early circumstances of his own life that haunted him to the end; the most definite one being his grudge against his own parents for neglecting his education and sending him to a degrading work of Warren's Blacking.

From his own autobiographical notes, we get many glimpses of Dickens as a boy. When he was a child he always dreamt of becoming an educated gentleman, in a world of books and moving with great ease among great writers. But some incidents rudely disturbed this The bitterest experience that shattered him was when his parents found a job for him in a factory. This incident was so humiliating for him that it haunted him throughout his life. It was such an impact on his sensitive nerves; he felt a complete betrayal by his own people from whom he had expected only love and protection. He never forgave his parents and deep inside his heart, disgust and hopelessness of life had got imprinted.His job in a law court made him aware of the deceptions of the law and he developed disdain for it.

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His major novels are:

1) Pickwick Papers (1837),
2) Oliver Twist (1839),
3) Nicholas Nickleby (1839),
4) The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-41),
5) Barnaby Rudge (1840-41),
6) Martin Chuzzlewit (1844),
7) Dombey and Son (1848),
8) David Copperfield (1850),
9) Bleak House (1853),
10) Hard Times (1853),
11) Little Dorrit (1857),
12) A Tale of Two Cities (1859),
13) Great Expectations (1860),
14) Our Mutual Friend (1864),
15) Edwin Drood (incomplete).

Great Expectations belongs to the mature phase of Charles Dickens' career as a novelist. In Pikwick Papers he made us laugh, in Oliver Twist, he made us cry and in Great Expectations he made us cry and laugh. The story of Great Expectations starts with a sensational incident. A stranger suddenly turns up from nowhere and terrifies little Pip. The story is told in the first person, the narrator is Pip. The story opens with curiosity, terror, suspense and grim humour.Pip's autobiographical account of his encounter with an escaped convict who threatens him and scares him about being pounced upon by a young fellow in the churchyard, shows us a deep impact on the child's psychology. Dickens very beautifully described the typical behavior of a child. Pip hurries home and instead of eating his food, he hides it for the convict. He steals some more food from the pantry, feeling so guilty all the time that he imagines the boards and cracks in the boards shouting, "Catch Thief!" and "Get up Mrs. Joe". Pip's story enters a new stage when he is sent to Mrs.Havisham's house where we are introduced to two new characters; Mrs. Havisham and Miss Estella. Dickens skillfully brings out the psychology of a child when he is treated with contempt there. Estella's contempt for Pip is so infectious that he too catches it and feels very disgusted about himself. For the first time he notices that his hands are too coarse and his boots too thick. He starts feeling that he is just a ?stupid clumsy labouring boy'; this inferiority complex makes a deep impact on his life. In spite of the large number of characters, Dickens successfully moves ahead without losing the main story. The story revolves around the six principal characters ?Pip, Magwitch, Estella, Mrs.Havisham, Joe and Jaggers.

Great Expectations has a gripping plot, full of suspense and surprises. The plot is determined through two great detections. Firstly, that Pip owes his great expectations to the convict Magwitch and not to Mrs. Havisham.Secondly, that Estella, is in fact the daughter of Magwitch.Although luck seemed to be against Pip from the beginning, at the end fortune smiles on him and he finds a companion and a new self-confidenh lp him in building his future expectations. The end is a happy one as advised by Lord Lytton Both Estella and Pip are united; but not until they are made fit for each other.

Charles Dickens did not just engage himself in writing novels. He also produced plays and acted in them too. He edited magazines and traveled extensively, not just in England, but also in America and Europe and delivered speeches. His energy was indeed infinite.

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