... looks back on his life at key episodes. Pip tells his story from the time when he is seven, and is an innocent boy from a poor background, until he is twenty-three. One theme of the book is about the realisation of class and how Pip became ashamed of his background and strove, through a mysterious donation of income, to improve himself. In ... the tombstones of his brothers and how he envisages them and how his parents looked, all these images cause the reader to feel great sympathy and sorrow for the little boy who knows not the comfort of a loving secure environment. "As I never saw m...

• Word Count: 1797
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... expose the injustice of 19th Century Britain, and its controversial (by today's standards) view of the poor in society. Oliver Twist depicts the story of a young boy's life and how he must choose the path between good and evil. He meets many people on this journey - some that try to lure him to evil ... characters in Oliver Twist, but his importance is great. He is the one responsible for nearly all of Oliver's misadventures: he paid Fagin to corrupt the young boy. The reason for this was because Monks is Oliver's half brother - they shared the same mother - and was simply jealous of him....

• Word Count: 1323
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the switch comes with the fog being 'in the eyes and throats' and 'cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little 'prentice boy on deck' to the metaphorical. The latter, while it could still be considered a physical fog, indicates instead the extended metaphor of the city's sickness, ... concern was primarily the social hierarchy and how fair, or unfair, it was. In the given passage, as mentioned previously, the fog cruelly pinches the little boy and yet, here, where it all comes to a head, 'the raw afternoon is rawest, and the dense fog is densest' there sit...

• Word Count: 1875
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... on that hand, sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see-1. Miss Havisham had paid Pip a premium of twenty-five guineas for going there. "The boy has been a good boy here, and that is this reward.""2 She looks like a fairy godmother to him since then. "She is making her crutch stick play round me, as if she, the fairy ... mean stole, said the sergeant. And I'll tell you where from. From the blacksmith's.-16 Magwitch is Pip's benefactor, who used his wealth to make Pip a gentleman. "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you! It's me what has done it!-17 "Look'ee he...

• Word Count: 2002
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... on that hand, sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see-1. Miss Havisham had paid Pip a premium of twenty-five guineas for going there. "The boy has been a good boy here, and that is this reward.""2 She looks like a fairy godmother to him since then. "She is making her crutch stick play round me, as if she, the fairy ... mean stole, said the sergeant. And I'll tell you where from. From the blacksmith's.-16 Magwitch is Pip's benefactor, who used his wealth to make Pip a gentleman. "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you! It's me what has done it!-17 "Look'ee he...

• Word Count: 2002
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... on that hand, sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see-1. Miss Havisham had paid Pip a premium of twenty-five guineas for going there. "The boy has been a good boy here, and that is this reward.""2 She looks like a fairy godmother to him since then. "She is making her crutch stick play round me, as if she, the fairy ... mean stole, said the sergeant. And I'll tell you where from. From the blacksmith's.-16 Magwitch is Pip's benefactor, who used his wealth to make Pip a gentleman. "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you! It's me what has done it!-17 "Look'ee he...

• Word Count: 2002
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... on that hand, sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see-1. Miss Havisham had paid Pip a premium of twenty-five guineas for going there. "The boy has been a good boy here, and that is this reward.""2 She looks like a fairy godmother to him since then. "She is making her crutch stick play round me, as if she, the fairy ... mean stole, said the sergeant. And I'll tell you where from. From the blacksmith's.-16 Magwitch is Pip's benefactor, who used his wealth to make Pip a gentleman. "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you! It's me what has done it!-17 "Look'ee he...

• Word Count: 2002
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... on that hand, sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see-1. Miss Havisham had paid Pip a premium of twenty-five guineas for going there. "The boy has been a good boy here, and that is this reward.""2 She looks like a fairy godmother to him since then. "She is making her crutch stick play round me, as if she, the fairy ... mean stole, said the sergeant. And I'll tell you where from. From the blacksmith's.-16 Magwitch is Pip's benefactor, who used his wealth to make Pip a gentleman. "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you! It's me what has done it!-17 "Look'ee he...

• Word Count: 2002
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... on that hand, sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see-1. Miss Havisham had paid Pip a premium of twenty-five guineas for going there. "The boy has been a good boy here, and that is this reward.""2 She looks like a fairy godmother to him since then. "She is making her crutch stick play round me, as if she, the fairy ... mean stole, said the sergeant. And I'll tell you where from. From the blacksmith's.-16 Magwitch is Pip's benefactor, who used his wealth to make Pip a gentleman. "Yes, Pip, dear boy, I've made a gentleman on you! It's me what has done it!-17 "Look'ee he...

• Word Count: 1999
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... return to Satis House the place of their first encounter. In their first meeting there was a definite distinction between their classes. Pip the blacksmith's boy and Estella the ward of a wealthy woman. However at this meeting they are sitting next to one and other on a bench. This signifies equality ... person's social class or desire for a higher social standing can cloud people's thoughts. They seem to lash out with harsh words and not think about the feelings of others. Pip and Estella's social standing often put them in the position of either being the deliverer or the recipient of ...

• Word Count: 2210
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... dream of becoming a gentleman is realized upon his meeting of Estella, the love of his life. Pip changes from an innocent, sensitive and common young boy to a selfish, rejecting adolescent. He is led into making grave mistakes based on his false expectations of marrying Estella and being a gentleman. In the ... and is intimidated by her upon meeting. He observes her to be haughty, contemptuous and cold-hearted, yet beautiful. She constantly refers to him as "boy" which emphasizes Pip's inferiority to Estella. Estella instills in Pip a shame of himself and his commonness. During Pip's firs...

• Word Count: 2287
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... of good fortune that Pip had family member who was able to give him an apprenticeship position. It's evident that Pip is a very caring and considerate boy, and when he meets Magwitch, an escaped convict hiding in the marshes, he helps him by providing him with food, despite the fact that Magwitch has ... Estella, her adopted daughter. As he and Estella are playing cards, Estella makes mention of his lower class features: "'He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!' said Estella with disdain, before our first game was out. 'And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!' I have never tho...

• Word Count: 1549
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... childhood up until he gets to London and meets new friends, but also meets new enemies. At London, he finds his only family members and he learns about his past. This book is a mystery and adventure story. THE PLOT: OPENING SITUATION, PROBLEM, & RESOLUTION The opening situation of the book starts off with ... a lady running away and coming across a small cottage. The lady laid a baby boy, but she dies because she was ill. The boy is named by Mr. Bumble, who owns an orphanage. Mr. Bumble names him Oliver Twist. Oliver had to move to another house because ... being. Mr. Brownlow plays the...

• Word Count: 1261
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... lived beyond his means, and floundered financially. Dickens" mother was a lady of energy and culture, and from her the Dickens received the rudiments of Latin. Before Charles was 12, the boy had read the contents of the paternal library, which consisted of "Roderick Random," "Peregrine Pickle," "Humphrey Clinker," "Tom Jones," "The Vicar of Wakefield," "Don Quixote," "Gil Blas," "Robinson Crusoe," "The ... this time, Dickens began submitting "penny-a-line" material (whereby writers were paid per line for their work) to the British Press. Such submissions largely took the form of factual...

• Word Count: 2308
• Approx Pages: 9

... newly founded factories. Although a fictional location of the industrial age, it serves Dickens" intent of presenting industrialism at its worst. Many of the details of Coketown are based on truths about on these booming urban towns, but Dickens slightly exaggerates them to focus the readers" attention on the points of the age he would like to criticize. Working under the assumption ... Pegasus banned from such existence, the excessive need for uniformity of thought led to even a very real horse being disallowed from decoration, all in the name of fact. The one boy able to perfectly ans...

• Word Count: 1653
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Clara, intimidates her, and breaks her down to her death. Miss Betsey Trotwood clearly explains to the readers what Mr. Murdstone is, while she is still indecisive about what to do with David, " "Mr. Murdstone," she said, shaking her finger at him, "you were a tyrant to the simple baby, and you broke ... , was a most unfortunate boy, however, and was caned because of his family's financial position. "He was always being caned- I think he was caned everyday that half-year, except one holiday Monday when he was only ruler"d on both hands- and was always going to write his uncle about it, an...

• Word Count: 1580
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... object of suspicion than anyone else." Although Pip was in no way responsible for his sister's attack, he is filled with guilt. Pip was a young boy riddled with intense feelings of shame and guilt. As a result of this, he undergoes a change in character. Pip is encountered with an opportunity to leave ... behind his life of being a common labouring boy and on his way to become a gentleman. Pip is quite pleased with these circumstances because he feels that he will then be accepted by the upper ... class and, therefore, be able to win Estella over. However, these circumstances bring abou...

• Word Count: 1605
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... friendship, the narrator returns to the railway cutting to visit the signalman but finds that he has been killed in an accident that the ghost had warned about. 'The Withered Arm' features a milkmaid named Rhoda Brook whose ex-husband, Mr Lodge, remarries a young lady called Gertrude. Even before meeting Gertrude ... Rhoda had on Gertrude's arm and so Rhoda becomes worried that she was the cause of Gertrude's withered arm. Rhoda leaves the village as gossip about the reason for Gertrude's skin complaint spreads. The condition on Gertrude's arm worsens, applying more stress to Gertrude and...

• Word Count: 2219
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... name is "Oliver Twist" and is written by the famous author, "Charles Dickens." This book is certainly a classic and is one of the most fantastic reads. Its basic theme is about a boy called "Oliver Twist." Dickens, Charles (1812-1870), an English author, was born in Portsmouth, and is one of the world's most popular, prolific, and skilled novelists. Early Life and Works ... of Edwin Drood, unfinished. His grave is in Westminster Abbey. The book was named so as the main character of the book is named "Oliver Twist." The book mainly is about him and his life and the book takes you onto a ...

• Word Count: 1264
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... that a prisoner has escaped: "Mrs. Joe," said I, "I should like to know-if you wouldn't much mind-where the firing comes from." "Lord bless the boy!" exclaimed my sister, as if she didn't quite mean that, but rather the contrary. "From the Hulks!" "Oh-h!" said I, looking at Joe. "Hulks!" Joe ... gave a reproached cough, as much as to say, "Well, I told you so." "And please, what's Hulks?" and I. "That's the way with this boy!" exclaimed my sister. "Answer him one question, and he"ll ask you a dozen directly. Hulks are prison-ships, right "cross th" meches." We always used that name ... ...

• Word Count: 1954
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... Dickens suffered much abuse from his parents, and this abuse is often expressed in his novels (Marcus 82). Pip, in Great Expectations, talked often about the abuse he received at the hands of his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery. On one occasion he remarked, "I soon found myself getting heavily ... into his inheritance (Marcus 75)." To Oliver, Fagin is seen as an escape from all previous misery. He also helps Oliver by easing the boy's fears about starvation and loneliness (Kincaid 72). Just as Fagin becomes Oliver's means of escape, Magwitch, an escaped convict, becomes Pip's means of escape. ....

• Word Count: 1452
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... social criticism and an acute observation of people and places, both real and imagined" (Sundell). Most of Dickens' works have the main character as a young boy facing the hardships of growing up in a poor family or having the life of a pauper in a big city. In these tales, though at times fictional ... warm and understanding feeling. The joy and bliss of the main character is rarely showed; the main attitude is the overwhelming complexity of situations that a boy of that age must face. The reader's reaction to this may be to feel depressed because Dickens' has not showed more blissful t...

• Word Count: 2276
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

There are many common, familiar cliches about illusion versus truth. "All that glitters is not gold" and "Things are seldom what they seem" are the most universal hackneyed phrases, but they do not cover entirely every aspect ... the truth. The appearance of certain things is often detrimental to the outcomes of characters when the reality of a situation is revealed. These illusions are revealed through Pip, a lower class boy caught in the struggle of the social classes of 19th century England. Throughout the book, Charles Dickens emphasizes the difference between appearance and reality thro...

• Word Count: 1658
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

There are many common, familiar cliches about illusion versus truth. "All that glitters is not gold" and "Things are seldom what they seem" are the most universal hackneyed phrases, but they do not cover entirely every aspect ... the truth. The appearance of certain things is often detrimental to the outcomes of characters when the reality of a situation is revealed. These illusions are revealed through Pip, a lower class boy caught in the struggle of the social classes of 19th century England. Throughout the book, Charles Dickens emphasizes the difference between appearance and reality thro...

• Word Count: 1660
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... on one aspect of the story. You could know more of the back-rounds on other characters in the story, and what they go through as well. You could know about what's going on in the big picture, instead of just what the narrator was seeing or thinking. So you see, hearing the story just from one side causes you to ... yourself what is true or untrue. You don't have enough information to think otherwise from what you have been told. Describe several ways that Joe helped Pip both as a young boy and as an adult. Joe acts as a father, a brother, and a friend throughout Great Expectations. As a...

• Word Count: 1542
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School