Great Expectations
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- Category: English: Novels
- Date Submitted: 04/14/2016 05:22 PM
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Great Expectations
Author
Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812. Dickens lived in Kent, England. His father was loving but was incompetent as a caretaker and was eventually arrested for his debt. His mother, Elizabeth, moved all of her children except Charles to prison. Charles worked attaching stickers to bottles. This was a traumatic experience for Dickens because he believed he was too good for the job. His father was released from prison and Dickens returned to school. Charles Dickens was a clerk, then a reporter and finally a novelist. Dickens’ life is greatly reflected in Great Expectations and it is considered one of his most autobiographical books. Dickens died on the 9th of June, 1870 from a stroke.
Historical Context
England
1. 1860, Dickens finishes Great Expectations
2. 1863–65, construction of St. Pancras train station.
3. 1867, Second Reform Act, extending vote to tax-paying males of the urban working class 1868
4. 1868, last public execution; public hangings stopped because caused crime among spectators.
5. 1868, last shipment of convicts from England to Australia.
6. 1869, Ferdinand de Lesseps builds Suez Canal.
America
1. 1860, Dickens finishes Great Expectations
2. 1861-1865, American Civil War
3. 1865, Lincoln assassinated
4. 1866, Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1866
5. 1867, Charles Dickens first reads publicly in America
6. 1868, first Memorial Day
Literary Style
Great Expectations seems to be a mix of Gothic and Realist styles of writing. It draws from the dark ideas and styles of Gothicism. The story also draws from Dickens’s real life. Pip deals with situations that any person could find himself facing. Moral dilemmas are also example of realism, such as whether or not to help an escaped prisoner if the prisoner’s life depends on it.
This book is set in Victorian England. The social divisions between upper and lower class were bigger than ever. The Industrial...
Author
Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812. Dickens lived in Kent, England. His father was loving but was incompetent as a caretaker and was eventually arrested for his debt. His mother, Elizabeth, moved all of her children except Charles to prison. Charles worked attaching stickers to bottles. This was a traumatic experience for Dickens because he believed he was too good for the job. His father was released from prison and Dickens returned to school. Charles Dickens was a clerk, then a reporter and finally a novelist. Dickens’ life is greatly reflected in Great Expectations and it is considered one of his most autobiographical books. Dickens died on the 9th of June, 1870 from a stroke.
Historical Context
England
1. 1860, Dickens finishes Great Expectations
2. 1863–65, construction of St. Pancras train station.
3. 1867, Second Reform Act, extending vote to tax-paying males of the urban working class 1868
4. 1868, last public execution; public hangings stopped because caused crime among spectators.
5. 1868, last shipment of convicts from England to Australia.
6. 1869, Ferdinand de Lesseps builds Suez Canal.
America
1. 1860, Dickens finishes Great Expectations
2. 1861-1865, American Civil War
3. 1865, Lincoln assassinated
4. 1866, Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1866
5. 1867, Charles Dickens first reads publicly in America
6. 1868, first Memorial Day
Literary Style
Great Expectations seems to be a mix of Gothic and Realist styles of writing. It draws from the dark ideas and styles of Gothicism. The story also draws from Dickens’s real life. Pip deals with situations that any person could find himself facing. Moral dilemmas are also example of realism, such as whether or not to help an escaped prisoner if the prisoner’s life depends on it.
This book is set in Victorian England. The social divisions between upper and lower class were bigger than ever. The Industrial...