Great Expectations

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations reads like a Victorian Catcher in the Rye. It's in first-person perspective; the character is naive and irresponsible but bright and goodwilling. Several of his sentences wouldn't currently be considered "good," but he speaks for his generation.

Pip is our Holden Caulfield. He's an orphan, "raised by the hand" by his termagant sister in 19th-century England. He effloresces in a world of poverty and wistfulness. His only true friend is brother-in-law Joe Gargery, arguably the local Rip Van Winkle. Pip chores, Joe listens, Mrs. Joe scolds-------these are the life and times of Pip. Thankfully, he's surrounded by sycophants and crooks who can elevate his social status. Uncle Pumblechook [the merchant] introduces Pip to the nefarious Miss Havisham, a high-maintenance and scarred older woman whose utilizes her step-daughter Estella to avenge her own heartache. Amidst all these introductions and acquaintances, a secret benefactor declares that Pip shall be made "a gentleman," which translates to "He'll be rich, old, and white." Pip soon arrives in London to study.

Many of Dickens' sentences are written like this, from which he'll proceed to write another run-on-semi-sentence like this, which satisfies others but disappoints some because of their difficult length and superfluousness, while some may enjoy the prose and others won't. Now, that was hard to follow, wasn't it? This is one of Great Expectations' flaws. It's difficult to follow. I understand that this is first-person. It's difficult to judge first-person narratives because God isn't the one talking. But Pip was made to be a "gentleman." His studies probably would've made him a more cohesive writer. The prose's vacuous verisimilitude can be frustrating.

Thankfully Dickens sows enough effulgent phrases and scenes to make it tolerable. One of the novel's subplots is his infatuation with Estella. When inconvenient circumstances regarding her are disclosed to him towards the end, Pip's declamation is poignant and cathartic------one, because it's well-spoken, and two, because Dickens has moved us such that yes, we actually care. That's what really matters.

It'd be imprudent not to mention Dickens' interesting characters. These aren't one-dimensional John-Hughes-adults; even the villains here are people. Mrs. Joe, who appears contumelious, incites sympathy in her final moments. Joe's far-fetched English dialect is constantly entertaining and near-indecipherable. When Pip's secret benefactor (cue Twilight Zone music) is revealed, Dickens again succeeds in humanizing one we'd first thought monstrous.

Great Expectations had two endings: an original and re-written one. The original is better; far more realistic and consistent with the novel's themes. Because that was Dickens' inceptive intention (he altered it amidst public outcry), the book should be graded on that. As an occasionally elongated bildungsroman that reaches us and paints its characters vividly, Great Expectations is completely worth the read.

Historical Rating: A
Modern Rating: B+