Charles Dickens has great expectations about what. Charles Dickens "Great Expectations"
Just recently, half sitting and half reclining, at night, I turned over the last pages of “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. After that, sleep refused to visit me for quite some time. My thoughts wandered in the darkness, returning and returning to the main characters of the novel, as to living people. Because the author really brought them to life on his pages. I read somewhere that Dickens knows the whole story, the whole life of each of his characters, even minor ones. Perhaps this is what makes them so real.
Starting my journey through the pages of the work, I was immediately captivated by Dickens’s subtle, slightly sad, but at the same time lively and so simple humor. The boy’s very accurately described children’s ideas about life, about unfamiliar words, and surrounding objects evoke a kind, gentle, albeit slightly sad smile. But the hero grows up quite quickly and at the same time there is less and less humor, he wants to smile less and less.
I am still haunted by this grey, gloomy atmosphere of the swamps where Pip is destined to meet the convict. I think, again, it was no coincidence that the author chose such a funny name for the hero’s father, Philip Pirrip, from which the little boy could only pronounce “Pip,” as he was nicknamed. The above-mentioned meeting led to a series of amazing events that completely changed the boy’s life. At the first moment of my acquaintance with a convict named Abel Magwich, I felt disgust and dislike for this rude, cruel criminal in dirty rags and shackles. I think this is exactly what Dickens was hoping for. Indeed, what other feeling can one have for an escaped prisoner? Little Pip experiences great fear of this man. But at the same time, he feels pity for him when he sees with what animal appetite he attacks the food brought by the boy, with what difficulty he moves and coughs. This is the first acquaintance for a long time left a mark on Pip's memory. It remains a mystery to me whether it was only out of fear that he took a terrible risk for himself and helped the convict, or whether his soul initially also contained pity for this man. Perhaps the author himself did not fully understand this for himself. Did Pip start getting more and tastier food from the pantry? Or why does Joe agree with Pip when he says he doesn't want the prisoner to be caught? At this point, we say goodbye to Magwitch for a long time and it seems that nothing foreshadows his return to the pages of the novel, except for the money he transferred to Pip as a token of gratitude through his acquaintance.
Why is the work called “Great Expectations”? This soon becomes clear. After meeting the house of Miss Havisham and Estella, Pip has completely different guidelines in life. Until this moment, he believes that life should go on as it goes. The eccentric older sister, who invariably causes disgust with her cynicism, rudeness and imperiousness, raises the boy “with her own hands,” as the author repeatedly reminds us. Moreover, this expression is perceived by Pip in the literal sense, because these same hands caress him every day, first on the head, then on the back, then on the arms, accompanying angry, crazy tirades that it would be better for the boy to die. Pip's only comforter and his most faithful friend in life is Joe. This rustic, clumsy fellow with a pure and open soul, whom you can’t help but fall in love with from the very first pages. He may be uneducated, often unable to express his thoughts, but he is almost the only one who loves the boy. It is surprising that without exception, all relatives and friends of the family treat Pip no better than his sister, accusing him of ingratitude and disobedience. Such a contrast between Pumblechook and Joe immediately gives a clear picture of the characters and morals that at that time coexisted among many residents of the province and at the same time brings the heroes to life.
Soon another interesting face appears on the horizon. This is Mr Jaggers. A professional lawyer who knows his business and nitpicks every word, at first he reminded me of one of the institute teachers. But after a while I realized that he was not like that at all, but, in essence, good man, accustomed not to trust someone’s words, general phrases, but to trust only facts. From beginning to end, he remains neutral, not expressing his opinion on any matter. This is what bourgeois society does to a person - an insensitive, calculating, cold creature. But it is precisely this person who is the connecting link of the entire novel. Only he knows Pip's benefactor, only he knows who Estella's mother is and
Spoiler (plot reveal)
how is a convict related to a noble lady?
But these secrets are revealed only at the end. In the meantime, the boy, or rather, already a young man, does not know to whom he owes his hopes. Of course, he is almost sure of Miss Havisham, as well as that Estella is destined for him, but the author makes it clear to the reader through Jaggers’ words that only facts can be trusted.
Perhaps the devotion of friendship, friendly love in the novel is somewhat exaggerated, since I have never met such a thing in my life, but maybe I’m wrong. One way or another, the theme of love and friendship permeates Dickens’s entire work. For me, the ideal of this love was Herbert and Joe. Two completely different people: one is from the poor class of the population, the other is a London gentleman, although not very rich. They are both devoted to Pip until the very end. Herbert is an open, honest young man who is not at all interested in his pedigree, for whom money is not as important as close people. Knowing about Pip's origin, he still becomes his friend, helps him get out of all difficult situations, and learn to navigate high society. Even when he learns about his friend’s true benefactor, the “pale young gentleman” does not turn away, but helps. Joe is a slightly different type of friend. He has known Pip since childhood, he loves him like a father, like an older brother, but at the same time he is his friend. "We're friends, Pip." It was unbearably painful to see how ungratefully, how vilely Pip treated him when he fell into the whirlpool of high London society. He is embarrassed by him, embarrassed to meet him, offends him. But Joe understands that he is not nearly as stupid as Pumblechook or Lady Havisham's relatives. He understands everything and forgives his little friend. And this devotion and kindness only kills and tramples even more, because it seems that this cannot be forgiven (“Joe, don’t kill me with your kindness!”). Joe is that ideal of the human soul, strong and unshakable, to which Dickens himself strove all his life, as he confessed to his young admirer F. M. Dostoevsky when they met in London.
But the blacksmith is not the only one who values Pip so much. At the beginning of the end appears
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
our old acquaintance, a convict, about whom you have already managed to forget
This appearance marks the last part of the book. At first, Pip experiences disgust and hostility towards his benefactor, even when he learns that it is to him that he owes his changes in life. The hero’s great hopes are immediately crushed, scattered into small fragments, because he understands that Estela was never meant for him, will never be him and will never love him, because he feels that he can no longer live on the money of a criminal. But still, when an old man stretches out his hands to him with such love, looks into his eyes with such gratitude, no matter who he is, he begins to evoke sympathy and sympathy. I couldn’t come to terms with the fact that Pip disdains him, why he was so unpleasant to him. But the boy doesn’t seem to understand this himself. Yes, at this moment it is as if he again becomes a boy who does not know what to do and how to live.
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Everything falls into place when Megwitch tells his story. Then you begin to understand why this character is so touching, despite the fact that he is a criminal. He didn't become like that himself. He was made this way by strict laws and rules, by an insensitive English society that despises poverty and does not give any chance to survive legally. He has only one goal in life - Pip. Do everything for him, make him a “real gentleman,” challenge aristocratic society. Pity for this man, who lived most of his life in prisons and hard labor, permeates the entire ending of the novel. It is impossible not to sympathize with him, it is impossible not to smile with bitterness at his naive hopes of making a gentleman out of Pip.
But he is not alone in his desire for revenge, in his almost thoughtless desire to prove something. Miss Havisham - how his female counterpart raises Estela to the destruction of all men, in order to take revenge on them for all the evil, for the pain that was once caused to her. In her passionate and blind pursuit, she does not see what she is turning the girl into, replacing her heart with a piece of ice. And the first and most injured man turns out to be Pip. Only when Miss Havisham sees in his confession to Estela the same feelings, the same pain, the same bitterness that she herself once experienced, then she is penetrated by the consciousness of what she has done. From this consciousness she gradually fades away after she asks Pip for forgiveness for all the evil that she caused both him and Estella.
This novel is not only about the sad fate of a boy from a blacksmith’s family. This is not only a detective story misterious story. This is a story about a man. And about what bourgeois society does to him. About the all-destructive power of kindness. About humanity and compassion that still continue to live in people - both simple and educated.
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Wemmick's split personality
And the spiritual strength of Joe and Biddy is a clear example of this. This is a novel about the intertwining of destinies different people. About the immeasurable power of friendship and compassion. In the annotations for some film adaptations of this novel they write that this is a love story. Maybe. But not Pip’s love for Estella, but something broader. The love of a person for a person.
Rating: 10
Well, in Once again I can only quietly admire Dickens's skill. Honestly, it's just some kind of magic. There are no stylistic beauties, no dashingly twisted intrigue, no cunning postmodern twists. Slightly naive narration, predictable plot, a slight touch of edification. But with all this, Dickens's novels are amazingly correct and life-like, simply unbelievable. The characters behave exactly as living people should: they hate and love, do stupid things and suffer because of it all their lives. There is not an ounce of falsehood in Dickens's characters; they are all complete, integral characters down to the smallest detail. Good Joe, hypocritical Pumblechook, dear Wemmick, proud Estella, Pip himself - each of the characters becomes family and friends in just a couple of chapters. There, on the other side of the page, they live their own, such real life, their emotions and feelings are truthful and sincere. And this is probably why you become so attached to them. No, Dickens does not press for pity at all, does not shove the merits of some and the misdeeds of others in our faces, does not impose his assessments. But just a couple of remarks, a successful epithet, literally a couple of strokes are enough - and the portrait of the next hero is ready. What is this if not skill?
The predictability of the development of events is not even important here. In addition, it is clear to the reader that every detail of the story is not accidental and is intended to play its assigned role in the future. For the heroes, what is happening for the time being is just a chain of accidents and coincidences. And besides, the cozy regularity of Dickens’s plots has its own charm and charm. The author is not trying to shock or discourage the reader, he simply tells a story, sometimes sad, sometimes even scary, but with an inevitable happy ending. A special pleasure is the gradual merging of storylines, how one after another the pieces of the puzzle conceived by Dickens fall into place. The story of great hopes is as perfect and complete as its characters.
A true masterpiece of a great master. I take off my hat in admiration.
Rating: 8
Great Expectations is undoubtedly one of the best novels I have ever read. As difficult as it was for Dickens to write a sequel novel, the work turned out so well. Without a doubt, this is one of the standards of the classics and an example of a brilliant English pen!
How the best way show your time? How to show the intelligentsia that ceases to be intelligentsia after the loss of the means of a comfortable existence, those people who are ready to burst into bragging if it brings them some benefit or fame? At the same time, the reader should see modest hard workers who are inherently much nobler, more caring and honest than many gentlemen. I must see the arrogance, indifference and cruelty of beautiful ladies who, in my opinion, do not know what they are doing. A wonderful writer managed to weave all this and much, much more into the novel. His characters are so well written that, as in any good work, you begin to perceive them as alive. Dickens skillfully and leisurely leads the reader to the denouement, weaving all the plot lines and tightening the knots.
I think that a writer must be a real genius if he can write a good novel with a sequel. The point is that part of such a novel has already been published in the magazine, and the author is just writing a sequel. It would be unnecessary to mention that this is incredibly hard work, because it is necessary not only to write on time, but also not to make any annoying mistakes in the plot. The writer coped with both of these in an excellent manner. It is also known that Dickens expressed regret that the reader, receiving the work in small portions in this way, would not be able to clearly imagine the author's intention. Anyway, I was lucky that I read the novel in a separate publication and not in a magazine in 1860 and 1961.
A classic example of Dicken's novel and the English novel of the early 20th century. half of the 19th century century. One of the most wonderful, fun and sad at the same time!
Rating: 10
We are all guilty of cruel mistakes
It took me a long time to get to Great Expectations. The book, which, for reasons unknown to me, was constantly put off, has finally seen its finest hour! Most likely, such a long acquaintance was postponed due to a not very successful start in the form of another, no less popular novel, “A Tale of Two Cities.” But if I simply fell asleep with that novel, then “Great Expectations” at least kept me awake for the first 200 pages.
In general, a great desire to read this work of Dickens arose after reading a completely different book, by a different author - Lloyd Jones “Mr. Pip”. That’s when I realized that I shouldn’t wander around the bush for so long. To be honest, then story line I wasn't particularly surprised. This was facilitated by multiple references in different films, books, etc. So I knew the gist, but the characters themselves were vague.
Dickens is undoubtedly a genius in his field. He wrote masterfully and you are immediately imbued with the atmosphere that reigned in the book. But it was difficult. How many characters are there, and therefore names. How I don't like this. Eternal confusion, and ask me about this or that, you will only get a surprised look in response - my memory has completely crossed them out of the GG list.
Pip - main character, from whose perspective we observe everything that happens. How do I feel about him? Hmm... No way. It evoked absolutely no emotion in me. Estella is also not a particularly attractive character. In principle, this could be said about absolutely everyone, but oddly enough, Miss Havisham is quite an interesting character. Yes, she was supposed to push away, but it happened differently. In the book, she is a ghost of herself, wanting revenge on all the men for treating her so cruelly. It’s hard to describe exactly what I feel for her, but I clearly remember her much more vividly than anything else.
The novel was difficult to read, although at the beginning, when Pip was still small, everything went very quickly. I just didn’t notice how I easily read 200 pages. True, when the story began as an adult, I simply became bored. I happily turned the last pages and closed the book. Do I want to remember what happened there? Not really. Let it all remain illusory and foggy.
Rating: 7
I never thought that I could like a novel written by an Englishman 150 years ago so much. After all, I spent a long time reading Bulwer-Lytton, grinding my teeth through half of the novel “Tess...” by T. Hardy, and tried to master Collins. And it’s not surprising that I fearfully took on Dickens’s 530-page novel, expecting whole pages of descriptions of nature and cityscapes, a sea of sentimentality, love pangs and “intrigue” in quotation marks. In principle, I received all this, but not in the quantity and quality that I expected.
Yes, the novel has all the “shortcomings” of English romanticism, but at the same time, Dickens skillfully and professionally brings the characters out of the pages of the book and introduces you to them in real life. The characters in the book are incredibly realistic, all their actions and actions are quite logical and fit into the mind of the reader. London is depicted as it is, without embellishment.
Great Expectations is 19th century Shadow of the Wind. Dickens is simply a genius. Not everyone can write such a gorgeous novel, even in our time. Humor and irony mixed with Dickens's slightly sad intonations are simply delightful. And I want more, even more Dickens.
And just think, the novel was written in a hurry, since it was published in parts in a weekly magazine and the author had to fit into this small time frame. And despite this, Dickens simply amazed everyone. All of England, and soon all of Europe, read about the story of the little village boy Pip and his big hopes. There is no point in retelling the plot, the summary is enough, and then the spoilers will begin.
Rating: 9
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
It is impossible to say how far the influence of an honest, sincere, devoted man to his duty extends; but it is quite possible to feel how it warms you along the way.
I was recently told that Dickens is "sleepy." Not so for me! He is verbose but engaging - a rare talent. He, of course, looks like an elderly uncle “teaching” young people, but for some reason this is taken for granted, and on the contrary, one wants to absorb this experience. And Pip's story suits this best.
Who among us has not dreamed of wealth falling from the sky, of the opportunity to join the “high society”? Who has not considered himself destined for something more than the ordinary working life that awaits us? Who hasn’t put themselves above the “good, but too simple” people around them? And if this is spurred on by rare, but even more striking visits to a rich, mysterious house with a beautiful beloved... And the contrast is so strong that you begin to be ashamed of your surroundings, turn up your nose, give preference to wealth and nobility, no matter what lies behind them.
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
So all our lives we commit the most cowardly and unworthy acts with an eye on those whom we don’t care about.
Pip alternately evokes irritation and sympathy. But you can’t really be angry with him; a tiny little worm of doubt gets in the way: how would you behave in his place? However, the good beginning in the young man is beyond doubt, which is clearly visible after all his expectations went to waste. And, if you think about it, his life turned out no worse than if they were justified. Dickens originally intended to end the novel on a sad note: Pip, having received a serious life lesson, remained a lonely bachelor, but the ending was changed. And in this form, everything makes sense, because... hopes never leave us, right?
Rating: 10
I don’t like this expression of thoughts, but I can’t resist: Dickens is Dickens. My apologies, Sir Charles! Why were these words the first to come to mind when I read a couple of chapters of one of his most famous novels, Great Expectations? Probably because there is everything here that I like so much in the work of this writer. Bright characters with memorable features (Pumblechook alone is worth it), an interesting plot, beautiful language and amazing, subtle humor (Miss Havisham's testament). But most importantly, there is life here! When you read Great Expectations, you live the book and experience life with almost every character. Despite the fact that life in the novel takes place during the Victorian era, and, therefore, had great relevance in the past, it is still relevant now and will not lose its relevance in the future.
This may sound somewhat naive and utopian, but what attracts me most in the novel are hopes (and these are by no means the hopes of the main character). It is to such “hopes” as Joe, Biddy, Herbert, sometimes Wemmick and, of course, Magwitch (I don’t mean his generously donated wealth) that the work looks bright, after reading it you want to become better, to do something good for others.
For some reason I don’t want to talk about the main character at all. But we must give him his due and thank him for a small and at the same time very valuable lesson: “grief is the best teacher,” therefore, in joy, do not be a pig.
Rating: 10
Being familiar with Dickens, I got what I expected from this book, but some circumstance forced me to take part in the life of the main character completely unarmed. The little boy Pip, like Nellie from “The Antiquities Shop,” could at the very beginning of this work lay claim to an ill-fated fate, which, bringing down sorrows and misfortunes on Pip, would allow him, by the end of the story, to look back on his journey and feel that he, who had known in his own skin, hunger, cold and betrayal of loved ones, he, who boldly looked into the eyes of his enemies, despised hypocrites and liars, he, now proud of having withstood this onslaught, did not in vain endure and fight and not in vain squeezed a stingy tear from the reader. I had every reason to believe that Dickens would dispose of Pip this way and not otherwise, but then we would have had a second poor Nelly, whose good qualities, coupled with an upset state of mind and constant tears, led to bleak but expected consequences. Therefore, Dickens added the very circumstance that I mentioned, making Pip, or, more accurately, his inexperience, his main enemy.
If I say that a young man who suddenly becomes the heir to some fortune worthy of being talked about, will promise, having experienced the contrast of poverty and wealth, too much first of all to himself and will not fulfill his promises, and if I add to this, that this young man is not at all to blame for his lack of performance, will anyone tell me that I am wrong! Isn’t it natural that a person is prompted, albeit occasionally, to reject his promises, which his conscience will repeat to him, which is necessary for this purpose in order to repent and be able to distinguish between black and white; would a person refuse this? Come on! And what can I say then about our hero, Pip, all the hopes, all the promises of which were dictated by his inexperience, and were rejected by the awareness of this inexperience and the zeal with which he made more and more new promises, allowed his hopes to be reborn in a new guise, and after - crumble into dust or into thousands of small fragments - here, choose for yourself, at your own discretion, and do not be deceived that you did not do the same thing that Pip did.
The hopes of the young men are nourished...
To be honest, there was some kind of unconscious and therefore difficult to formulate fear before reading this book. Either he was afraid of viscous, languid boredom, or protractedness and tediousness, or problems with the expressiveness of the language, or something else. However, the book managed to gain confidence literally immediately, that is, by the end of the second chapter. But if you trust someone (something), then that’s a completely different matter, right?
The style in which Dickens created this novel, I would characterize as sentimental-romantic realism. Because there is too much sentimentality, and sometimes just outright sentimentality, in the novel. It is difficult to find a character who would be completely devoid of this temperamental trait, and even those heroes who were distinguished by callousness and callousness almost all the time they spent on the pages of the book, even by the end they became changeling agents and turned inside out - Miss Havisham, Estella, Mrs. Joe Gargery...
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Probably the only one who did not do this was the scoundrel convict Compeson, the evil genius of the entire intrigue of the novel, and only because he drowned during another malicious deed and he simply did not have the opportunity to repent and cover the main character’s brow with tears. He, and even the novice scoundrel Orlik.
Well, where there is sentimentality, expect romance. Of course, this is not the romance of “distant wanderings” and “white silence”; it would be more correct to call it romanticism. And our narrator and at the same time the main character Pip (finally we got to his name) has an extremely romantic nature, and his convict benefactor Abel Magwitch, no matter how strange it may seem, is not devoid of a romantic spirit, and the rich recluse Miss Havisham, and others characters in the novel too. True, along with them in the novel there are also bearers of the practical component of life - lawyer Jaggers and his assistant Wemmick, and Pip’s friend Herbert in the end turned out to be a quite realistic person who perceives life (although at first he also “looked closely” at the matter for a long time, not making attempts to engage in this business), however, they also constantly reveal this very romanticism in their actions.
But there is also no doubt about the realism of the main theme of the novel and the entire external surroundings, because whatever one may say, Dickens describes to us the very real world of that time, with all its nuances and features, distinctive features and properties, with the trends of the times and with the value system of different layers of English society. True, the author does this partly indirectly, including signs of the times in the storyline in the form of inclusions - descriptions, mentions in dialogues, simply telling the reader about certain morals - deducing trends and general lines from all this. And psychologically the novel is very reliable - taking into account adjustments for the era itself.
Of course, this book is one hundred percent moralistic and instructive. At the same time, the morality of each situation described in the novel and the behavior of almost every character are so frankly edifying that they do not require deep understanding or guesswork-discoveries at all - everything is on the surface, everything is in the words of the characters themselves or in the author’s text.
However, this edifying, instructive and moralistic nature does not at all make the book tedious or yawningly boring. Of course, for a good half of the book the events unfold slowly and unhurriedly, but gradually the severity of the plot increases and the novel takes on the features of an adventure - quite a bit, but nevertheless...
And most of all, I remember the author’s words in the novel, where Dickens, with an obvious grin, speaks about the arrogance of English society in relation to the rest of humanity - well, how can you not draw a thread of comparison with modern times...
Rating: 9
Super, I really liked the novel! =) This is the first thing I read by Dickens, but I will definitely read something else. All the characters are really alive and memorable... The ending turned out to be a great success, I am very grateful to the author that everything ended this way and not otherwise... Of course, I was very upset about the “movable property”, but time put everything in its place ... I hope that they will be happy, Good luck to you Pip And Estella.... I will not forget you....!
Rating: no
The first-person narration makes you sympathize with the main character more than he sometimes deserves.
With such a time frame, it is difficult to navigate without a chronological framework: you will not understand whether the hero has grown or not, and if he has grown, then by how much.
In places the plot lacks plausibility, and in the end the fates of the heroes are intertwined in a very fairy-tale way.
But overall, it's not too bad. Perfect open end.
The novel "Great Expectations" is one of Dickens's later works. It was written in 1860, when the writer had a lot of life and creative experience behind him. Dickens addressed the most important conflicts of his time and made bold social generalizations. He criticized the political system of England, parliament and the court.
The novel “Great Expectations” was first published in the magazine Dickens published. All year round", published weekly. Publication continued from December 1860 to August 1861. The novel was then published as a separate book. It was published in Russian immediately after its appearance in England in 1861 in the magazine “Russian Herald”.
Two big topics raised in Dickens's novel Great Expectations - the theme of lost illusions and the theme of crime and punishment. They are closely connected and embodied in the story of Pip and the fate of Magwitch. Pip is the main character of the novel. It is on his behalf that the story is told. Pip tells the reader the story of his life, full of mysterious events, adventures and troubles.
One night at the cemetery, where 7-year-old Pip came to visit the graves of his parents, he meets an escaped convict and asks the boy to help him. In secret from his older sister, who is raising him, and her husband, Pip's only friend, Joe Gargery, he takes sawdust and food from home and thereby helps the convict free himself.
Then the second plot line of the novel appears. Pip visits a strange house in which life stood still on the day of the failed wedding of the owner, Miss Havisham. She grew old, not seeing the light, sitting in a decayed wedding dress. The boy must entertain the lady, play cards with her and her young pupil, the beautiful Estella. At first sight he falls in love with the girl, but this was Miss Havisham's goal. He wanted to take revenge on all males for his unhappy love. “Break their hearts, my pride and hope,” she repeated, “break them without pity!” Pip becomes Estella's first victim.
But one day the boy is approached by a man whom he once saw at Miss Havisham's house and invites him to go with him to London, where Great Expectations await him. He reports that from now on Pip has a patron who is ready to make him a real gentleman. Pip cannot resist such a tempting offer, because this is what he has dreamed of all his life. He has no doubt that his mysterious patron is the powerful Miss Havisham; he is sure that Estella is destined for him. He leads a riotous lifestyle, spends money, gets into debt and completely forgets about who raised him, about his poor friends left in the village. Dickens does not show the life of modern England from the good side. Pip encounters two-faced and cruel people, ruled by the desire to get rich. Essentially, Pip becomes part of this society. In the novel "Great Expectations" we're talking about that for an honest and unselfish person there is no place and there can be no satisfaction in the empty, albeit prosperous life of gentlemen, because such a life kills all the best in people.
But Pip's Great Expectations are dashed when he learns that his patron is not Miss Havisham, but the same escaped convict, Abel Magwich, whom the little boy once helped.
"Great Expectations" is not only a novel about Pip's private fate. And this, of course, is not only an entertaining work with a detective line - finding out the secrets of Pip, Estella, Miss Havisham. The detective is secondary here. The fate of everyone characters The novels are endlessly intertwined: Magwitch is Pip’s benefactor, but he is also the father of Estella, who, like Pip, lives in the intoxication of “great hopes” and believes in her noble origins. The maid in the house of Jaggers, the lawyer who brought Pip to London and who is essentially the central link in the intricate relationships of the novel's heroes, the murderer, turns out to be the mother of this cold beauty. Compson, Miss Havisham's unfaithful fiancé, is Magwitch's sworn enemy. The abundance of criminals in the novel is not just a tribute to crime literature. This is Dickens's way of exposing the criminal essence of bourgeois reality.
Clerk Wemmick in Jaggers's office is another example of what bourgeois society does to an individual. He "split into two." At work - dry, extremely calculating; at home in his tiny garden he is much more human. It turns out that the bourgeois and the human are incompatible.
Dickens shows how an inhumane society maims and disfigures people, sends them to hard labor and the gallows. This is the fate of Abel Magwitch. The story of his life is the story of the gradual fall and death of a man under the burden of inhuman laws and unjust orders established by a hypocritical society of gentlemen. A driven and embittered man, he seeks to take revenge in life, to invade the hated and at the same time so tempting world of gentlemen. This world attracts Magwitch freely and easy life which he himself never lived. Pip, the only creature who took pity on him, an escaped convict, becomes the instrument for fulfilling Magwitch’s wishes. The thought that he has made Pip a “true gentleman” brings joy and satisfaction to Magwitch. But Magwitch's money does not make Pip happy. However, the suffering of his patron transformed the young man, turning him from an ambitious young gentleman with hopes of a prosperous existence into a man capable of compassion and help to his neighbor, although his “great hopes” were dashed. If at the beginning of the novel the author called Pip’s hopes “Great Hopes,” then in the end they turned into only “pathetic dreams.”
But it was not only Magwitch's money that made Pip's fate unhappy. Miss Havisham's wealth disfigures Estella's character and ruins her destiny. By forcing her pupil to live according to the laws of high society, Miss Havisham deprives her of her humanity. Too late she realizes her guilt before Estella: “I stole her heart and put a piece of ice in its place.”
The complex fates of the novel's heroes reveal the nature of bourgeois society - two-faced and anarchic, criminal at its core.
Dickens's moral and aesthetic ideal is embodied in the images of ordinary people. Joe, Biddy and Herbert Pocket, who broke with his absurd family, are Pip's true friends, each of them helps him in the most difficult moments of his life. However, Pip was not immediately able to understand and appreciate these people. The life and views of the village blacksmith Joe is a kind of life program that Dickens offers, comparing it with the mistakes and delusions of Pip. Joe sees the meaning of life in work that brings him joy. He looks at life calmly and simply, being convinced that only with the truth can one “achieve what one wants, but with lies you will never achieve anything.” Joe dreams of the unity of ordinary people: “It would, perhaps, be better if ordinary people, that is, those who are simpler and poorer, would stick to each other.” Quiet and rustic, Joe is an internally independent and proud person.
The pages of “Great Expectations” are covered with deep sadness and pain; quiet sadness determines the tone of the final scenes of the novel, although Dickens opens up for his heroes - Pip and Estella - some hope for changes in their fate.
The novel "Great Expectations" very clearly shows Dickens' humanism and democratic principles. He himself wrote: “My faith in the people is limitless,” which accurately expresses his position. N.G. called Dickens a defender of the lower against the higher. Chernyshevsky, M. Gorky wrote about his admiration for the writer, “who has mastered the most difficult art of loving people.” But, perhaps, F.M. spoke best about Charles Dickens. Dostoevsky: “Meanwhile, in Russian we understand Dickens, I am sure, almost the same as the English, even, perhaps, with all the nuances; we may even love him no less than his compatriots. And yet, how typical, unique and national Dickens is.”
The novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1812-1870), published week after week in the Home Reading magazine from December 1860 to August 1861 and released as a separate edition in the same year, is still popular throughout the world. world. Translations into all languages, many film adaptations dating back to 1917, stage plays and even a cartoon... “Great Expectations turned out to be the most complete of all Dickens’s works, clear in form, with a plot that matches the depth of thought with the remarkable simplicity of presentation,” - wrote the famous English novelist and scholar of Dickens's work, Angus Wilson. It’s rare that any of the readers and viewers of “Great Expectations” - even in Russia, which is so different from Victorian England - has not tried on the story of the ordinary boy Pip, who, by the will of fate, turned into a gentleman and was conquered for the rest of his life by the cold beauty Estella. Deep penetration in inner world, into human psychology, a fascinating plot, a fair amount of humor - there is no doubt that this famous book will always be read and reread. Accompanying article by Leonid Bakhnov Leonid Vladlenovich Bakhnov (born 1948) - prose writer, critic. Graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State Pedagogical Institute. Worked for Teacher's Newspaper, Literary Review, Izvestia. From 1988 to 2017, he headed the prose department at the Friendship of Peoples magazine. Member of the Moscow Writers' Union, member of the Academy of Russian Contemporary Literature (ARS "S").
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"Great Expectations" - plot
A seven-year-old boy, Philip Pirrip (Pip), lives in the house of his older sister (who raised him with her own hands) and her husband, the blacksmith Joe Gargery, a simple-minded, good-natured man. The sister constantly beats and insults the boy and her husband. Pip constantly visits the grave of his parents in the cemetery, and on Christmas Eve he meets an escaped convict who, threatening him with death, demanded that he bring “grub and filing.” Frightened, the boy brings everything secretly from home. But the next day the convict was caught, along with another whom he tried to kill.
Miss Havisham is looking for a playmate for her adopted daughter Estella, and Uncle Joe, Mr. Pumblechook, recommends Pip to her, who then visits her many times. Miss Havisham, dressed in a wedding dress yellowed with age, sits in a dark, gloomy room. She chose Estella as an instrument of revenge on all men for her groom, who, having robbed her, did not show up for the wedding. “Break their hearts, my pride and hope,” she whispered, “break them without pity!” Pip finds Estella very beautiful, but arrogant. Before meeting her, he loved the craft of a blacksmith, and a year later he shuddered at the thought that Estella would find him black from rough work and would despise him. He is talking about this with Joe when lawyer Jaggers from London comes to their house, who reports that his client, who wished to remain anonymous, wants to provide Pip with a “brilliant future”, for which he must go to London and become a gentleman. Jaggers is also appointed his guardian until the age of 21 and advises him to seek guidance from Matthew Pocket. Pip suspects that the anonymous benefactor is Miss Havisham and hopes for a future engagement to Estella. Shortly before this, Pip's sister was severely shell-shocked by a terrible blow to the back of the head from an unknown person; the constables tried unsuccessfully to find the attacker. Pip suspects Orlik, the blacksmith's assistant.
In London, Pip settled in quickly. He rented an apartment with his friend Herbert Pocket, the son of his mentor. Having joined the Finches in the Grove club, he recklessly squanders his money. While he is busy listing his debts “from Cobs, Lobs or Nobs,” Pip feels like a first-class businessman. Herbert only “looks around”, hoping to catch his luck in the City (he “caught” it only thanks to secret financial help from Pip). Pip visits Miss Havisham, she introduces him to the adult Estella and privately encourages him to love her, no matter what.
One day, when Pip was alone in the apartment, he was found by former convict Abel Magwitch (who had returned from Australian exile despite fears of being hanged). So it turned out that the source of Pip's gentlemanly life was the money of a fugitive, grateful for the old mercy of the little boy. Hopes about Miss Havisham's intentions to benefit him turned out to be imaginary! The disgust and horror experienced at the first moment were replaced in Pip's soul by a growing gratitude towards him. From Magwitch's stories it was revealed that Compeson, the second convict caught in the swamps, was the same fiance of Miss Havisham (he and Magwitch were convicted of fraud, although Compeson was the leader, he exposed Magwitch as such at the trial, for which he received a less severe punishment). Gradually, Pip realized that Magwitch was Estella’s father, and her mother was Jaggers’s housekeeper, who was suspected of murder, but was acquitted through the efforts of a lawyer; and also that Compeson is pursuing Magwitch. Estella married for convenience to the cruel and primitive Drumle. The depressed Pip visits Miss Havisham for the last time, inviting her to contribute the rest of the share to Herbert's business, to which she agrees. She is tormented by severe remorse for Estella. As Pip leaves, Miss Havisham's dress catches fire from the fireplace, Pip saves her (sustaining burns), but she dies a few days later. After this incident, Pip was lured by an anonymous letter to a lime factory at night, where Orlik tried to kill him, but everything turned out okay.
Pip and Magwitch began to prepare for a secret escape abroad. Sailing to the mouth of the Thames in a boat with Pip's friends to transfer to the steamer, they were intercepted by the police and Compeson, and Magwitch was captured and later convicted. He died of his wounds in the prison hospital (having received them when Compeyson drowned), his last minutes were warmed by Pip's gratitude and the story of the fate of his daughter, who became a lady.
Pip remained a bachelor and eleven years later he accidentally met the widowed Estella in the ruins of Miss Havisham's house. After a short conversation, they walked away from the gloomy ruins, holding hands. “Wide open spaces spread out before them, not darkened by the shadow of a new separation.”
Criticism
The novel "Great Expectations" belongs to the mature period of Dickens's work. The target of the author's criticism is the empty and often dishonest (but wealthy) life of gentlemen, which is contrasted with the generous and modest existence of ordinary workers, as well as the stiffness and coldness of aristocrats. Pip, as an honest and unselfish person, does not find a place for himself in “secular society,” and money cannot make him happy. Using the example of Abel Magwitch, Dickens shows how the burden of inhuman laws and unjust orders established by a hypocritical society and applied even to children leads to the gradual downfall of man.
In the story of the main character, autobiographical motives are felt. Dickens put a lot of his own tossing, his own melancholy into this novel. The writer's original intention was to end the novel tragically; however, Dickens always avoided heavy endings to his works, knowing the tastes of his audience. Therefore, he did not dare to end “Great Expectations” with their complete collapse, although the whole plan of the novel leads to such an end. N. Michalskaya. Dickens's novel "Great Expectations" / Charles Dickens. Big hopes
, David Fagenblum, more Composer Richard Hartley Editing Tariq Anwar Cameraman John Matheson Dubbing director Mikhail Tikhonov Writers David Nicholls , Charles Dickens Artists Jim Clay , Dominic Masters , Mike Stallion , more
Do you know that
- The film is based on Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860).
- In an interview, Helena Bonham Carter said that she actually wore one shoe during the filming. This is exactly how Miss Havisham was described in the book.
- The role of Pip was offered to Alex Pettyfer, but he turned it down.
- Rooney Mara turned down the role of Estella.
- Meryl Streep was going to play the role of Miss Havisham, but was unable to due to scheduling conflicts.
More facts (+2)
Errors in the film
- At the very beginning of the film, as Pip runs towards the camera, he steps into the mud, in which wide tracks from modern tires are visible.
Plot
Beware, the text may contain spoilers!
Philip Pirrip is a simple boy who lost his parents in a very early age. Everyone just calls him Pip. He grew up in the house of his sister, who hated him and bullied him in every possible way. Pip is passionate about blacksmithing and devotes all his free time to it.
Sometimes Pip goes to the cemetery where his parents are buried. That day he met a man who turned out to be an escaped convict. The former prisoner asks the boy to bring sawdust and some food. Pip fulfills the request and even helps to free himself from the shackles. This meeting will change the boy's fate forever.
Philip meets his beautiful neighbor Estella. They quickly find a common language. Years go by, Pip realizes that he loves her. Unfortunately, the beauty is in no hurry to respond to the hero’s feelings because of her mother, Miss Havisham.
Many years ago, her fiancé ran away right before the wedding. Since then, the woman wears her wedding dress, never taking it off, and hates all men. She teaches Estella to look down on her suitors. The daughter, according to the mother's plan, should become an instrument of retribution. She grew up arrogant and arrogant.
One day, Philip's life changes dramatically. An unknown rich man arranges a huge inheritance for the young man. He gets the opportunity to go to London and study at a prestigious university. Pip's education, manners and kindness will be able to melt the ice in Estella's heart, and they will finally be together, despite Miss Havisham.
The novel "Great Expectations" is considered one of the most famous works of Charles Dickens, at least it was based on a large number of theatrical plays and film adaptations. There is a kind of dark humor in this book, in some places you have to laugh through your tears, but to a greater extent this novel can be called difficult. Having hope is good, but it is not always justified, and then a person experiences the greatest despair in his life.
The events of the novel take place in Victorian England. The little boy Pip was left without parents, he is being raised by Native sister. However, the sister cannot be called caring and gentle; she often uses force for educational purposes. Even her husband gets it, who works as a blacksmith and is very kind by nature.
A boy is introduced to a neighbor girl so that they can spend time together. Estella is not being raised by her own mother. This woman was once deceived by the man she loved. And now she wants to raise a daughter who will take revenge on all men. Estella must be beautiful, attract men, and then break their hearts. She grows up to be an arrogant girl.
Pip falls in love with Estella, over time realizing that he is embarrassed to appear in front of her in an unkempt or stupid manner. When a mysterious benefactor appears who wants to provide the guy with everything he needs, Pip begins to think that this is Estella’s mother. He believes that this is how she wants to make him a successful person, so that he becomes a worthy match for her daughter. The guy looks into the future with great hopes, but will they come true, or will he be severely disappointed?
The work belongs to the Prose genre. It was published in 1861 by Eksmo Publishing House. The book is part of the "Foreign Classics" series. On our website you can download the book "Great Expectations" in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format or read online. The book's rating is 4.35 out of 5. Here, before reading, you can also turn to reviews from readers who are already familiar with the book and find out their opinion. In our partner's online store you can buy and read the book in paper form.