Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
In the novel, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens we meet a boy named Pip. When young he encountered a convict and later discovered he wished to be a gentleman. We go through Pip's life as he ages into a young man. Chasing his dreams, Pip luckily gets financed to become a gentleman and from there we see an enormous change from simple marsh boy to extravagant rich boy. Pip soon discovers that his benefactor was all along this greatly feared convict. The convict finds Pip and the two become like father and son. When Pip was young he showed kindness to this man and being his benefactor payed Pip back. Because of his crimes however, the convict is put to death and Pip is crushed. Yet in the end he realizes his true love, Estella, and goes off with her.This book was very intimidating because of its massive size and very difficult language. Turns out it was a challenge and I did not enjoy this book. I feel Dickens lengthens his explanations so long that it is easy to forget the importance of what is being described. It felt like a small gift in a very large box for the story felt basic because it was not eventful and dragged.
-Reviewed by Christina, grade 10.
Comments
In my opinion the book is very well written. It has a good amount of advanced vocabulary and unorthodox writing techniques but will be a very interesting read if you take time to truly understand what Dickens is trying to say. However throughout the book you will find that there are sections where things are not as interesting as they could be.
Reviewed by Kevin N., Grade 9
Grandview Library
I have always loved the title of this book. It's so simple, yet so fitting. I didn't explain it in the summary, but basically, because of Pip's life with Ms. Havisham, he starts to think like her as well. By that I mean a rich person. He starts to develop "Great Expectations" and he expects to become wealthy and sophisticated because of his connections with Ms. Havisham. Thus, when he is sent to Joe, although Joe is kind and caring, Pip disregards Joe because of his new standards as a 'rich person'. This new, toxic mindset of his continues throughout the book, all because of those original great expectations. This keeps going until nearly the end of the story, where Pip is shown a reality check of how little he is and how big others can be. Anyways, I just really liked how that them reoccurred throughout the plot. This book is great as always, although Pip is actually really annoying. Because of his 'rich and sophisticated' mindset, he's basically a pompous jerk who thinks too highly of himself, and it really gets on your nerves. If you like a good story and you can handle an annoying protagonist, this book is for you.
Reviewed by Abraham, Grade 9
Montrose Library