Charles Dickensʼ Great Expectations

Andre writes:
I consider Charles Dickensʼ Great Expectations to be among the more wellcrafted,
but bland books that I have read. It is wonderfully written, with the author giving
you a very good sense of Victorian England and the time period that Pip, the main
character, is living in. Dickens brings his characters to life through extensive physical
and emotional descriptions placed thoughtfully throughout the book. They feel real and
celebrate their successes and mourn their failures like real people would.
! However, while reading Great Expectations, I got the sense that Dickens focused
too much of his time and energy into creating the wonderful, flowing language that we
find in the book and didnʼt pay much attention to the plot. It can, at times, become a bit
tedious, but I do understand that this was intentional. In my opinion, the plot serves
mainly as a vehicle to carry the characters and Dickensʼ message, which is indeed
unique.
I think that Great Expectations is first and foremost a social criticism. Certain characters
behave so ridiculously that you canʼt help but wonder at the underlying message and
what Dickens is trying to tell you. By the end, though, it becomes more than a social
criticism. The book has taught me more about human nature than any other that I have
read and appreciate the personal lessons that I have learned from it (honor your family,
mind your money etc.)
Overall, the book is definitely worth a read. The eloquent writing and powerful
underlying messages are too good and meaningful to go unnoticed (which they
havenʼt). But Great Expectations does have its drawbacks, too. The plot is fairly boring
and bland and the writing, while elegant, can sometimes become tedious. It is also very
long- around 500 pages. I feel that Dickens wrote more than what was necessary (given
his payment) but still did it well.
Great Expectations is a well-written, moving, emotional book despite its faults and I
would recommend it to anybody.
Overall score:
8 out of 10.