Charles Dickens and Great Expectations Essay

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Liana Miles
Mrs. Walden
British Literature
3/28/2013
I came across great expectations by accident; there was an excerpt from it in our British literature book. The excerpt was very interesting and when I saw it on the list my mind wanted more. This research paper will be about the life and works of the author of Great Expectations, Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens was born Charles John Huffam Dickens, born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, on the southern coast of England, Dickens had seven other siblings. His father, John Dickens, was a naval clerk who wanted to be rich and his mother, Elizabeth Barrow was a teacher and school director. In 1822, when Charles was ten, his family moved to Camden Town, a neighborhood in London. During this time Charles experienced one of the most difficult times of his life John Dickens, his father, was sent to jail because he was always in debt. In result Charles had to be taken out of school and put to work as a shoe polisher to help his family get extra money. This gave him experiences that made his writings of poverty interesting and real. A few months later Dickens’s father got out of prison and Charles was able to continue his education. At fifteen his education ended and he worked as an office boy at an attorney’s and studied when it was night time. After that he worked as a reporter for the courts, a parliamentary, and a newspaper reporter. The first theme I noticed in great expectations was self-improvement. In Great Expectations, the main characters Philip Pirrip referred to as, “Pip” is ambitious in self improvement. Pip is very hard on himself when he does something that goes against his thoughts and beliefs. Dickens expresses the theme as he writes about how Pip helps the escaped convicts by stealing, food, alcohol, and a saw for them and how guilty and afraid he felt after hid did it. Also when Pip leaves for London he troubles his mind with thoughts
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