GreatExpectation.ppt

1、Whats the great expectation in your mind?,Charles Dickens,February 7, 1812 June 9, 1870 Considered one of the greatest novelist of the Victorian period and the creator of some of the worlds most memorable fictional characters.During his lifetime Dickenss works enjoyed unprecedented popularity and fa

2、me, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was fully recognized by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to enjoy an enduring popularity among the general reading public. Critics and readers alike admired his works for their sharply defined characters, dramatic scenes

3、, emotional force, and penetrating vision of society.,Novels,Beginning in the late 1840s, Dickenss novels grew increasingly critical of Victorian society. These novels display his development as a writer and reflect a deeper understanding of humanity. Among Dickenss best-known works are: Oliver Twis

4、t (1838) David Copperfield (1850) Bleak House (1853) Hard Times (1854) A Tale of Two Cities (1859) Great Expectations (1861),Great Expectations: Introduction,Is it childish to dream about a future completely different from what you expect to happen?,In Great Expectations, Pip is at first content wit

5、h his future as a blacksmiths apprentice.,The blacksmith, his brother-in-law Joe, is much nicer than Pips own sisterwho has brought him up “by hand.”,One day Pip wanders across the marshes to visit his parents graves.,But instead, he finds a runaway convict who demands that Pip help him escape from

6、his chains.,Although the man is later caught, Pip feels horribly guilty.,He is sure Joe will be disappointed if he finds out what Pip has done.,But this frightening episode fades from Pips memory when he encounters even more remarkable people.,As soon as he met and fell in love with Estella by chanc

7、e,he always compared himself with her. He felt ashamed of his property and foolishness.,Fortunately, he got an opportunity to inherit a fortune and to be well educated as a gentleman. He felt abashed of Joe and even looked down upon his old friends.,Nevertheless, after Pip had discovered the unbelie

8、vable truth, he gradually woke up to reality and realized his fault.,He forgave and save his enemy, protected and supported his friends and became grateful to Joe. In the end ,he gained his love.,Ambition and Self-Improvement Social Class Crime, Guilt, and Innocence,Themes of Great Expectations,Dick

9、ens establishes the theme and shows Pip learning this lesson, largely by exploring ideas of ambition and self-improvementideas that quickly become both the thematic center of the novel and the psychological mechanism that encourages much of Pips development.,Ambition and Self-Improvement,At heart, P

10、ip is an idealist; whenever he can conceive of something that is better than what he already has, he immediately desires to obtain the improvement.,Affection, loyalty, and conscience are more important than social advancement, wealth, and class.,Social Class,Throughout Great Expectations, Dickens ex

11、plores the class system of Victorian England, ranging from the most wretched criminals (Magwitch) to the poor peasants of the marsh country (Joe and Biddy) to the middle class (Pumblechook) to the very rich (Miss Havisham). In general, just as social class becomes a superficial standard of value tha

12、t Pip must learn to look beyond in finding a better way to live his life, the external trappings of the criminal justice system (police, courts, jails, etc.) become a superficial standard of morality that Pip must learn to look beyond to trust his inner conscience.,Crime, Guilt, and Innocence,Magwit

13、ch, for instance, frightens Pip at first simply because he is a convict, and Pip feels guilty for helping him because he is afraid of the police. By the end of the book, however, Pip has discovered Magwitchs inner nobility, and is able to disregard his external status as a criminal. Prompted by his

14、conscience, he helps Magwitch to evade the law and the police. As Pip has learned to trust his conscience and to value Magwitchs inner character, he has replaced an external standard of value with an internal one.,Pips characteristics,1.Innocent kind generous 2.Snnobish seeking for vanity and self-conceited and a little greedy 3.Full of love loyal a person with high morality,At last,Pip realized the money and social status is not the most important thing in life.Mans true value has nothing to do with his money and status.,What