Great Expectations
One of the best storytellers in the English language is the novelist, Charles Dickens. He is feted for writing gripping, believable tales with wonderful characters. His book, Great Expectations is often cited as a favorite amongst Dickens fans. Many of his stories involve the struggle of working class people to better themselves. Sometimes, characters find themselves in poverty, through no fault of their own.
It was the custom in Dickens’ day to serialize a new novel and Dickens’ publishers did this on several occasions and so Great Expectations came out in serial form from 1860. The central character of Pip is the narrator and he looks back over his life covering a period from 1812 when he is seven years old, to the adult Pip in 1840. Pip is an orphan, born into poor circumstances and destined to be apprenticed as a blacksmith. His position is elevated when he comes into property and he re-locates from rural Kent to London. He is to be a gentleman and has to fit in with his new circle in society.
Dickens superbly handles the theme of an outsider trying to fit in. Pip has to keep hold of his values, trying to please his new friends and his old ones. There are references to the life of the author whose own childhood was blighted by family shame and debt. The other main characters in Great Expectations are a convict called Magwitch, who plays a significant role in Pip’s future, a father figure named Joe and Estella Havisham, whom Pip hopelessly falls in love with.
The novel has been filmed on eight occasions, the first two versions from 1917 and 1922, being silent movies. The BBC also broadcast a series based on the book for British television in 1959. Of the movies, the 1946 film directed by David Lean is considered to be the best. The black and white film was awarded two Oscars, for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Pip was played by John Mills and it also starred Jean Simmons and Alec Guinness.
The latest movie version was released in 1998 and starred Ethan Hawke as Pip and Gwyneth Paltrow as Estella. A spin off sequel called Great Expectations, The Untold Story came out in 1986 and tells the story of what happened to Magwitch after he goes to Australia. Michael York and Sarah Miles were the stars of the 1974 version and Anthony Hopkins played Magwitch in 1989.
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