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    Themes of Great Expectations...

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    Themes of Great Expectations...

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    Themes of great expectations...

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    Themes of Great Expectations...

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    Themes, Motifs & Symbols

    Themes

    Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
    AMBITION AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT

    The moral theme of Great Expectations is quite simple: affection, loyalty, and
    conscience are more important than social advancement, wealth, and class. Pip’s
    desire for self-improvement is the main source of the novel’s title: because he
    believes in the possibility of advancement in life, he has “great expectations” about
    his future.
    Ambition and self-improvement take three forms in Great Expectations.
    SOCIAL CLASS

    Throughout Great Expectations,  Dickens explores the class system of Victorian


    England, ranging from the most wretched criminals ,to the poor peasants of the marsh
    country ,to the middle class , to the very rich .
    CRIME, GUILT, AND INNOCENCE

    The theme of crime, guilt, and innocence is explored throughout the novel largely
    through the characters of the convicts and the criminal lawyer Jaggers.

    Motifs

    Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to
    develop and inform the text’s major themes.
    DOUBLES

    From the earliest scenes of the novel to the last, nearly every element of Great
    Expectations is mirrored or doubled at some other point in the book. There are two
    convicts on the marsh (Magwitch and Compeyson), two invalids (Mrs. Joe and Miss
    Havisham), two young women who interest Pip (Biddy and Estella), and so on. There
    are two secret benefactors: Magwitch, who gives Pip his fortune, and Pip, who
    mirrors Magwitch’s action by secretly buying Herbert’s way into the mercantile
    business. Finally, there are two adults who seek to mold children after their own
    purposes: Magwitch, who wishes to “own” a gentleman and decides to make Pip one,
    and Miss Havisham, who raises Estella to break men’s hearts in revenge for her own
    broken heart.
    COMPARISON OF CHARACTERS TO INANIMATE OBJECTS

    Throughout Great Expectations,  the narrator uses images of inanimate objects to


    describe the physical appearance of characters—particularly minor characters, or
    characters with whom the narrator is not intimate
    Symbols

    Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas
    or concepts.
    SATIS HOUSE

    In Satis House, Dickens creates a magnificent Gothic setting whose various elements
    symbolize Pip’s romantic perception of the upper class and many other themes of the
    book.

    THE MISTS ON THE MARSHES

    The setting almost always symbolizes a theme in Great Expectations and always sets
    a tone that is perfectly matched to the novel’s dramatic action. The misty marshes
    near Pip’s childhood home in Kent, one of the most evocative of the book’s settings,
    are used several times to symbolize danger and uncertainty
    BENTLEY DRUMMLE

    Although he is a minor character in the novel, Bentley Drummle provides an


    important contrast with Pip and represents the arbitrary nature of class distinctions.

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