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GCSE: Great Expectations

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1,019 GCSE Great Expectations essays

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  1. How does Charles Dickens hook the reader into reading Great Expectations?

    • Essay length: 3698 words
    • Submitted: 16/04/2012

  2. Explore the ways in which Estella is presented and developed in Great Expectations

    • Essay length: 1865 words
    • Submitted: 02/04/2012

  3. Explore the initial presentation of Dickens Magwitch and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations

    • Essay length: 2609 words
    • Submitted: 22/03/2012

  4. Great Expectations -how Dickens uses language in the opening chapter and in chapter 8.

    • Essay length: 2059 words
    • Submitted: 20/03/2012

  5. Great Expectations Chapter One analysis

    • Essay length: 873 words
    • Submitted: 20/11/2011

  6. How does Dickens present childhood in Great Expectations?

    • Essay length: 2247 words
    • Submitted: 13/11/2011

  7. Great Expectations. How does Dickens create characters that are both memorable and striking?

    • Essay length: 1595 words
    • Submitted: 09/10/2011

  8. With particular reference to chapters one to eight, how does Dickens engage the reader in Great Expectations?

    • Essay length: 1957 words
    • Submitted: 26/08/2011

  9. How does Charles Dickens use setting in the novel Great Expectations?

    • Essay length: 1047 words
    • Submitted: 21/08/2011

  10. How does Dickens create sympathy for his characters in the first 11 chapters of Great Expectations?

    • Essay length: 1838 words
    • Submitted: 20/05/2011
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Conclusion analysis

Good conclusions usually refer back to the question or title and address it directly - for example by using key words from the title.
How well do you think these conclusions address the title or question? Answering these questions should help you find out.

  1. Do they use key words from the title or question?
  2. Do they answer the question directly?
  3. Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?

  • Discuss the three main female characters in Great Expectations

    "In conclusion I believe these three women have all had their effects on Pip and his life in some way or another. The majority of these effects have been negative and Pip has had to endure a lot in his life. Yet he has come out all in all a very respectable young gentleman when he could've turned very differently."

  • Compare and contrast the presentation of Pip, Magwitch, Miss Havisham and Estella in the opening chapter of 'Great Expectation

    "In conclusion, in the opening chapters of 'Great Expectations,' I believe that Pip earns the most sympathy due to the way he is presented; his frailty and him being an orphan being the key emotional areas. However, later on as we learn more about each of the other characters, we feel more sympathetic towards them. By the end of the novel, each character is an almost contradiction to themselves as Dickens argues against society suggesting that people can change. Poor, trembling Pip has grown up, he has sufficient money, which is what he wanted, he becomes educated and is a gentlemen, whereas the arrogant and beautiful Estella becomes quiet and battered, her beauty now hidden behind her scars. Miss Havisham dies understanding, that although she felt it is necessary to gain her revenge on men, due to her pain, she'd caused a lot of pain by creating a monster in the cold hearted Estella which meant that her once broken heart could finally feel again. Finally, Magwitch, who seemed to be rough and animal like, mellows down and forms a bond between himself and Pip. His story helps the reader understand him and the hatred they felt towards him in the opening chapters is directed towards Compeyson who becomes the common enemy and villain who meets a just end."

  • Having read Great Expectations how effective is the opening chapter? Discuss the methods Dickens used to ensure his readers continuing interest.

    "In conclusion, I believe that the opening chapter of Great Expectations is very effective. Not only is this one of the most exhilarating novels that a person could read, but it is one to recommend too. Due to the narration of Pip, the opening chapter would make readers very intrigued, wanting to know more about 'what's going to happen next' as well as Pip's life and what his outcome in life is. The choice of language as well as the literary terms used such as metaphors, similes and dramatic tension, would draw one's attention and keep them fascinated throughout the entire book."

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