Charles Dickens was and still is a very popular and influential author. He was born almost 200 years ago and his stories were often based on the lives of the unfortunate in the 19th century in Britain. He created a great variety of characters and settings to produce work that is still adored today. But why was his work, I am especially focussing on Great Expectations, so engaging and how did the opening five chapters of Great Expectations encourage the reader to carry on?
Charles Dickens lived between the years of 1812 and 1870, and during this time wrote many stories. The general theme in most of his stories was of the mistreatment of the less fortunate people in Victorian society. He wrote about the plight of the poor and the harsh treatment of prisoners, the example in Great Expectations being that of Magwitch, turning to crime because he was a starving orphan.
English: Title page of first edition of "Great Exp...
Book illustration from Great Expectations
Copy of a Photograph of Charles DickensDickens' own father had been imprisoned for being in debt. Also highlighted was the fact that many working class children were unable to go to school. Pip, the hero in Great Expectations, went to a school but it was ran by an old woman who was disillusioned whilst Joe, his brother-in-law, had never been to school and could not read nor write. Dickens did not of course have the problem of being illiterate, but he had been removed from school at the age of 12 because he needed to work to help support his family.
The story in a way is a fairytale, as Pip turns from a poor boy to a rich well-to-do gentleman. It engages many with just this storyline, but Charles Dickens really excels in his creation of characters and his descriptions of them.
Charles Dickens introduces us to many characters in the first...