Great Expectations is a novel written by Charles dickens in the year of 1861. It is about a boy, named Pip also the protagonist, who is an orphan after the death of his father, mother and five infant brothers when he was young. Throughout the length of the book the story follows Pip's fortunes and misfortunes through his life. This era of 1960's had high death rates, many orphans and a distinct difference in lifestyles of the poor and the rich. Some of the major themes shown in the novel are rich and poor, power and powerlessness and orphan which reflect those historical facts.
In chapter one, we are introduced to Pip and at that point we feel sympathy for him because he is an orphan. We discover that when Pip miserably says "As I never saw my mother or father..." representing the death of Pip's parents, when he was at a very small age. Magwitch the escaped convict is also introduced; who we assume is a corrupt character from the use of language used to describe him by Dickens. He described as "A fearful man, all in coarse gray, with a great iron on his leg" gave us the ideas that he is an escaped convict as only convicts are chained by iron and a bad personality from the phrase "A fearful man". Pip's sister, Mrs Joe Gargery is the final character who is introduced; she acts like a mother figure to Pip. Pip mentions that he has been "brought up by hand" by his sister suggesting that he gets beat up by his sister, this is also why the reader feels sympathy for Pip.
In chapter one, we are introduced to Pip and at that point we feel sympathy for him because he is an orphan. We discover that when Pip miserably says "As I never saw my mother or father..." representing the death of Pip's parents, when he was at a very small age. Magwitch the escaped convict is also introduced; who we assume is a corrupt character from the use of language used to describe him by Dickens. He described as "A fearful man, all in coarse gray, with a great iron on his leg" gave us the ideas that he is an escaped convict as only convicts are chained by iron and a bad personality from the phrase "A fearful man". Pip's sister, Mrs Joe Gargery is the final character who is introduced; she acts like a mother figure to Pip. Pip mentions that he has been "brought up by hand" by his sister suggesting that he gets beat up by his sister, this is also why the reader feels sympathy for Pip.