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Great Expectations: themes
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The novel asks what makes a true gentleman. Its answer is goodness, not money.
Social class and ambition
Pip believes becoming a gentleman will make him worthy of Estella.
In London he becomes idle, in debt and ashamed of his roots.
Dickens shows that wealth and manners do not make a good person.
In London he becomes idle, in debt and ashamed of his roots.
Dickens shows that wealth and manners do not make a good person.
Guilt, crime and justice
Pip feels guilty from the first chapter, when he steals food for Magwitch.
Crime connects rich and poor: Jaggers, Newgate, Compeyson, Magwitch.
The gentleman criminal Compeyson gets a lighter sentence than Magwitch because he looks respectable.
Crime connects rich and poor: Jaggers, Newgate, Compeyson, Magwitch.
The gentleman criminal Compeyson gets a lighter sentence than Magwitch because he looks respectable.
Love, loyalty and redemption
Joe's and Biddy's loyalty contrast with Pip's snobbery.
Miss Havisham repents, Estella softens, and Pip learns humility.
Pip finally values Magwitch and Joe for who they are.
Miss Havisham repents, Estella softens, and Pip learns humility.
Pip finally values Magwitch and Joe for who they are.
Why does Compeyson's lighter sentence matter?
- Compeyson and Magwitch were tried together.
- Compeyson looked like a gentleman and got a lighter sentence.
- Dickens criticises a justice system that favours class over truth.
Answer: It shows how Victorian justice favoured those who looked like gentlemen.
Themes: social class and ambition, what makes a gentleman, guilt, crime and justice, love and loyalty, and redemption.
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