Seminar #9 charles dickens "great expectations" summary questions

1. Dickens understood one of the basic principles of ethical human behaviour, that a human being must be valued for himself and not only for what he was or for how useful he may be. The violation of this universal law of morality may be one key to the interpretation of "GREAT EXPECTATIONS ". Explain this violation on the relationship between Miss Havisham and Estella, between Pip and Joe, between Pip and Magwitch, between Wemmick and Mrs. Jaggers, between Pip and Herbert Pocket, between Pip and Estella.

2. Dickens' writing was greatly influenced by public demand. The Victorian public for which he wrote believed that goodness was desirable and should he rewarded and that evil would ultimately lead to punishment. Show how this attitude is reflected in "GREAT EXPECTATIONS ".

3. What does the change in Pip as he becomes a fashionable gentleman tell the reader about the social structure of 19th century Engand? What was the idea of a "gentleman"?

4. Analyse one of the following themes of the novel:

a) The prison (real, self chose, psychological). Imprisonment as a metaphor.

I. The prison in regard to Magwitch's experience with it.

II The self-created prison of the mind

III Real prisons.

b) Revenge

I. Miss Havisham's revenge against men.

II. Magwitch's revenge against Compeyson.

III. Orlick’s revenge.

c) Respectability

I. Victorian admiration for respectability.

II Uncle Pumblechook and Pip.

III. Pip's passion to become a gentleman.

IV. The strange household of the Pockets.

d) The double life

I. Pip as a blacksmith and a gentleman.

II. Wemmick’s home and business.

III. Mr. Jaggers.

IV. Estella.

V. Magwitch as criminal and benefactor.

e) The power of imagination to control behavior

I Pip’s imagination about Miss Havisham.

II Miss Havisham’s imagination about her past.

III Many characters imaginations about Jaggers.

IV Magwitch’s imagination about gentlemen, Pip, and gratitude.

5. How does Dickens explore ideas of guilt and shame?

6. How does this novel explore themes of justice, crime and punishment?

7. Dickens has been called the “novelist of childhood”. How well does he describe a child’s mind and imagination in the figure of Pip?

8. What is the value of education? Does it improve people or corrupt them?

9. One of the oldest thematic traditions in literature is the conflict between city and country. Usually, the city is the scene of corruption, confusion, and problems, while the country hosts innocence and resolution. What about the city and country in “Great Expectations”? How do they function? (Cite the examples).

10. Analyze Pip’s reaction to the criminal in the cemetery. Discuss what you would do if you were in Pip’s situation. Would you report the criminal to the proper authorities or would you do the same thing Pip did? Why?

11. Discuss the role Miss Havisham plays in the novel. Some have said she represents an imprisoned state of mind. What does this mean, and do you agree that this is an apt description of Miss Havisham?

12. In Great Expectations, Pip’s foster father, Joe, comes to visit Pip in the city. They are distant and Pip is embarrassed by Joe even though he realizes all that he has done for him. Analyze a time in your own life when you were embarrassed by a family member. How did it make you feel before, during, and after the incident? Do you think Pip was justified in feeling this way?

13. The last chapters of the novel solve many of the novel’s mysteries. Give examples.