English Coursework - Great Expectations
Charles Dickens was born in 1812. He lived with his father for the
first 12 years for his life, until his father fell deep into debt. He
then went to live in a prison until his father paid off his debts.
During the time before he wrote ‘Oliver Twist’, two main events in
history occurred. These were that slavery was abolished by
Wilberforce, and the Chartists started their campaign to help the poor
people of Britain. These indirectly inspired him to write ‘Oliver
Twist’.
Oliver twist is a story about a boy who is born into an orphanage from
his unknown mother, who dies giving birth. He stays in the orphanage
until he is sold to an undertakers for 5 pounds as slave labour. He is
abused at the undertakers and so he decides to run away to London, to
get a better life. When he arrives, he is taken in by a pickpocket and
taught how to steal for a living. He is caught on what seems like his
first attempt. He is put on trial, and is released, due to a last
minute witness statement. The prosecutor sympathises with Oliver, and
so he adopts him legally.
This novel was a large success because of the relation people made
with real life experiences. The aimed-at audience were about 20 years
old, and some of them had experienced what happened in the story. This
book stirred a lot of people. It stirred them enough to abolish child
labour, or at least to question the decisions some of the politicians
made and what effect they would have on the people.
There was a long period of time between the writing and success of
Oliver Twist and the writing of the next book, ‘Great Expectations’.
in this time, he left his wife and 10 children, he wrote another
novel, ‘A Christmas Carol’, and started giving public readings of his
work. He also started a monthly publication of his novels. This was
how he distributed ‘Great Expectations’.
Great Expectations was a story about a boy called Phillip Pirrip,
known as Pip, who doesn’t know any of his parents or 5 brothers, as
they died while he was too young to be able to remember them. His only
relation is his sister and her husband, the local blacksmith, and she
runs a very strict household. The story starts where Pip is in the
village church yard. He is cornered by an escaped convict, called
Magwitch. He threatens Pip and says that if he doesn’t bring him food
and a file, that he will hurt him. Pip runs home and steals a pork pie
from his community and losing all of his status. In the last chapter of the book, "The Kitchen
He decides to lock up and move south. There he hopes to find food and money for
... then finds out that he ran away in search for a pair of new shoes. Colonel Shaw then orders to get shoes for everyone and takes care of Trip and cures him from his back and his feet from all the blisters he had.
eyes of a child so it will be memorable to him as he will never forget
When he finishes the book he gets upset and throws the book through the window. He wakes his parents up ranting about how could she teach children this book it is stupid and why is there not a happy ending? Pat is having trouble regulating his
that she no longer has life or energy. She looks like as if she is
first time since his arrival in America. However, that fails to save him as well. He returns
Oliver Twist, a story that is filled of adventure, but not of one that is a mighty warrior or an epic leader. A small orphaned child is the main character of this story, although he may be no hero facing his rivals with clashing of steel, but he succeeds in hiding, escapes and luck. This orphan designs his own future by pulling his own strings, unlike many today. People, humans, are born to be successful and to achieve and thrive, and many have been but not because of their parental guidance, although that may influence many, or more but twist’s fate twirl downward and is conclusion is to be successful, like many others.
money. Later on he lies to his family saying that he spent his savings and
Oliver Twist is a poor orphan boy cruelly treated in the public workhouse. Pennyless and hungry, he runs away to London, only to fall into the clutches of a gang of thieves and pickpockets led by the master criminal, Fagin. Befriended by a man robbed by the gang, Oliver ultimately learns his true identity and gains a new home, a fortune and a brand new family!
Great Expectations Josh Billings once said "to bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while". There are few things as important in the development of youth as the influence of the adults that surround them. The example of influential adults will almost always dictate, in some way, the behaviour of children. Young people look for role models and examples in the adults they meet. In Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860), vivid adult characters such as the eccentric Miss Havisham, the enigmatic lawyer Jaggers, the simple but kind blacksmith Joe and the mysterious convict Magwitch have fundamental influences over the development of the story's protagonist, Pip.
Suffering is perhaps the biggest theme or idea of the book Great Expectations. The whole story is about Pip suffering throughout his life and what he seeks to discover that ultimately leads him into more pain. All of the people he is closest to in life suffered their whole life, such as Miss Havisham, Magwitch and Estella. The book ends with some hope that resolves all of the pain throughout all of the main characters and even secondary characters lives. Throughout Pip's childhood he and the ones he was closest to, his process of becoming a gentleman he had suffered as well, and when his journey comes to its end he still deals with more pain in him of lost love and curiosity. If the book would have tone renamed its best title for it would be "Suffering Expected".
The novel Oliver Twist follows an orphan on his journey to find out his true identity. During Oliver’s journey, he is forced into the harsh side of reality, ultimately challenging his innocence. His mother dies giving birth to him and he is raised in an orphanage that treats the kids as workers and barely feeds them anything. Oliver eventually runs away from the orphanage and goes to London where he encounters a gang of criminals. Dickens uses his book to criticize the cruelty that the poor experienced in nineteenth century society. Dickens tells the story through the eyes of a poor boy named Oliver Twist who is portrayed as being innocent and pure while everyone else in the book is, on the contrast, evil. Dickens uses Oliver as a symbol of a truly good person who can overcome his experiences and always prevail over evil. Dickens shows that after all of the malevolent things that Oliver goes through, he is still a genuinely good person. In Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist Dickens portrays a boy that can defeat all odds and overcome evil because Oliver Twist is idealistic, ignorant, naïve, and overall inherently good. Dickens shows through Oliver’s ability to not be corrupted an example of idealism in what was his modern Victorian society.
Oliver Twist, written in 1837, the second novel by British author Charles Dickens, is notable for its detailed portrayal of cruel treatments towards the many orphans in London during the Victorian era. Oliver Twist is the main character in this novel who endures a miserable life as an orphan. The adventures of Oliver are like an epitome of the pathetic lives of the lower class. In many ways Dickens criticizes the unsound social system and corrupted criminal justice in the Victorian era through Oliver’s life. To some extent, the life of young Oliver can be seen as a reflection of Dickens’ own childhood.