Great Expectations

Great Expectations Synopsis

This title includes in-depth critical discussions of Charles Dickens' novel. ""Great Expectations"", one of Dickens' finest novels in terms of writing and construction, tells the story of young Pip as he grows up from being a poor and abused orphan to being a man of means. Pip's struggles with class consciousness, wealth, and education have provided critics with ample material for discussion and consideration. ""Great Expectations"" remains one of Dickens' most read novels and continues to generate interest among literary critics. Edited by Eugene Goodheart, Edytha Macy Professor of Humanities Emeritus at Brandeis University, this volume of critical approaches brings together a lively and diverse selection of essays. Of primary concern to a number of the essays reprinted in this volume is the moral character of the protagonist, Pip. Essays by Samuel Sipe and Elizabeth MacAndrew argue that Pip achieves a sort of moral autonomy as the novel progresses while critics like Peter Brooks and Eiichi Hara view Pip as a victim-of both his own demons and the plotting of others. Scholar John Cunningham examines the Christian imagery and rituals present in the novel, while Calum Kerr employs a mythic-structural approach in viewing Pip's progress as a character. In the volume's concluding essay, the topic of Dickens' treatment of gender and class is taken up by Peter Scheckner. Each essay is 5,000 words in length, and all essays conclude with a list of 'Works Cited', along with endnotes. Finally, the volume's appendixes offer a section of useful reference resources: a chronology of the author's life; a complete list of the author's works and their original dates of publication; a general bibliography; a detailed paragraph on the volume's editor; notes on the individual chapter authors; and, a subject index.

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