ESSAY TOPICS / ESSAY IDEAS

1) Is "Great Expectations" like a soap opera?

Comments from readers:

Consider all that Pip went through, or just take parts, like his trial
with the girl, at first, she didn't like him, and then later on in his
life, she loved him. Also, what are the chances that some poor boy
that no one knows ends up inheriting a huge sum of money out of
the blue one day, and that the person who leaves it to him is an
escaped criminal who Pip just happened to help out one day. All of
these things are coincidence, and that's mostly what soap operas
are based on.

2) What are the 3 stages in Pip's Expectations?

Comments from readers:

1st-He is going to be apprenticed to Joe.

2nd-He is expecting to be of upper class.... a gentlemen.
3rd-His very much lowered expectations.

3) Many of the characters other than Pip have their own

expectations as well. Discuss both Herbert Pocket and Pip's
expectatons. Compare and contrast.

Comments from readers:

Herbert's expectations are different to Pips in that he does not raise

his expectations, like Pip does. He wants simple things, like for
Clara to marry him; a good life; no complications or distractions.

4) Discuss the alternative endings to the novel?

Comments from readers:

In the original ending, Pip learned that it is better to make an

honest living and be surrounded by those you love than to have a
false fortune and false friends. Here he does not marry Estella and
never hears from her again or thinks about her.
In the abridged ending, Pip marries Estella. Here he learns to
forgive and forget. Even though Estella has treated him horribly his
whole life-used him and then thrown him away-he can still love her
and be happy with her.

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5) Other characters influence on Pip: Positive or Negative?

Comments from readers:

In most ways, Joe is a positive influence. he is kind, simple and

just. However he does inadvertantly affect Pip in a negative way
because Pip is so ashamed of him, since he is a blacksmith, that he
takes pains to avoid being a simple man himself.

Magwitch had an overall negative affect on Pip. Besides scaring him

to death as a boy, Magwitch's giving him his "great expectations"
gave him a chance to turn into a greedy little brat that never did
anything for himself! On the other hand, there is that saying that
you never know what you have until its gone, in which case it was
better that Pip found out what being rich is really like BEFORE he
spent his life loathing where he came from.

Estella is a NEGATIVE influence on Pip because it is her comments

about how coarse and common he is that lead him to act the way
he does, and him wanting so badly to be a gentleman. He also falls
in love with her to the point where he cannot see clearly the good
intentions of those that he should love and listen too, such as Joe
and Biddy!

Magwitch is a good influence in the end. He helps Pip to a better

life. After his arrival at the temple pip begins to like him and
becomes a little kinder because of it.With the money he gives a
partnership to Herbert. Overall, at the end of the story, he is Pip's
friend.

6) What are the differences and similarities between Pip and

a true gentlemen?

Comments from readers:

Pip is the epitome of the phrase "you can take the boy out of the
common but not the common out of the boy". Pip is much like a
gentleman on the exterior in regard to his skills and manners which
were taught to him, yet his innermost person remains a common
boy. For example in Chapter 53 in Pip's confrontation with Orlick,
Pip reverts back to his boyhood form when being confronted, he
screams and cowers in the shed. But before, in chapters 49 and 50,
Pip acts much like a gentleman when dealing with Miss Havisham.
He comforts her and helps her in her time of need.

7) What does Pip learn from Mr. Jaggers about his "great
expectations"? What three conditions are attached?

Comments from readers:

Pip learns that he will come into a handsome property, and that he
is to be taken from Joe, Mrs. Joe, and the village and raised as a
gentleman. The three conditions are:
1. He must always bear the name of Pip.
2. The name of his benefactor must remain a secret until the
benefactor chooses to reveal it.
3. Pip must not try to find out who his benefactor is.

8) How is wealth or money corrupting?

Comments from readers:

- Pip thinks that he is better than Joe because he has more money,
and Pip is very greedy, wanting more stuff, causing him to get very
deep in debt.

- Pip's morals were truly corrupted by money. He would never have

dissed Joe and Biddy if he didn't get all of that money from
Magwitch.

- Pip's reasoning was affected by money. We can see this because

Pip would never had gone for Estella without his new "gentlemanly
figure", which was inspired by money.