Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Plot Summary

Great Expectations Summary

This article describes the great expectations summary. Great Expectations was a novel written by Charles Dickens in 1860-1861.  This article covers the great expectations summary that tells the story of Pip, a young boy who grows up and learns many valuable lessons about life, about himself and others.

Great Expectations Summary in short

This article is all about great expectations summary in short. Great Expectations summary centers a boy. His name is Pip. Pip is a young orphan, living with his sister and her husband, Joe Gargery, the strong but gentle blacksmith of the village.

Pip goes to visit his parents’ graves. However, Pip meets Magwitch, an escaped convict over there. Pip helps the convict. However, he is eventually recaptured and taken back to prison. Pip continues his simple living as a poor but honest boy. However, he cannot help, feeling discontented with his place in life.

Pip is taken to meet Miss Havisham. She is a strange lady who has shut herself away ever since her wedding was called off at the last minute. She never leaves her house. Moreover, she still wears her wedding dress and despises men.

Pip meets Miss Havisham’s adopted daughter Estella too. She is being brought up by Miss Havisham to break the hearts of men. Estella, therefore, treats Pip cruelly especially when she talks about Pip’s background as a common boy. Pip makes many visits to them and slowly falls in love with Estella. He dreams to become a gentleman so that he could be worthy of her.

Miss Havisham pays the money as a reward for his visit. This allows Pip to become Joe’s apprentice. He works in the forge with Joe and Orlick. Although it is not what he really hoped for, Pip becomes a steady worker trying to educate and improve himself with the aid of a local girl, Biddy.

During this time, Mrs. Joe is severally attacked. Furthermore, she became incapable to care for the family anymore. However, Biddy moves into the family home to help them out.

One day, Mr. Jaggers, a lawyer at London visits Pip, who is now a young man. Jaggers tells Pip that he has come into a fortune. He must move to London in order to become a gentleman, improve his education, and take up a higher class life.

Pip convinces himself that the money has come from Miss Havisham. Also, he interprets that she plans for him and Estella to be a couple.

Pip travels to London. Mr. Jaggers, the lawyer, becomes his guardian till he becomes an adult. He lives with Herbert Pocket, a young man related to Miss Havisham, who teaches him how to act like a gentleman. She teaches that by developing good manners, wearing nice clothes, and speaking more formally.

Pip is a quick learner. Thus, he was soon able to mix with people from the upper classes such as Bentley Drummle. During this time Pip repetitively meets Estella, falling ever more deeply in love with her.

Unfortunately, in his efforts to win Estella and make an impact on people, Pip started to look down on others. He becomes ashamed of his origin. Also, he starts neglecting his family in the process. Furthermore, he felt uncomfortable even when he returns to attend his dead sister’s funeral. He begins spending too much money and soon he and Herbert were in debt.

Pip starts feeling that he is being followed. One dark stormy night he answers his door to a ragged figure. He turns out to be Magwitch, the ex-convict Pip helped out as a child.

Magwitch has spent many years in Australia. He transported from England on pain of death should he return. However, he has made a great amount of money and has risked everything to come back to him.

He tells Pip that he is the mystery benefactor who gave Pip all of his money. Pip is horrified. He feels that the money is not good. Moreover, he finds that his assumptions about Miss Havisham wanting him and Estella to be together have been wrong all along.

Pip tries to get Magwitch out of the country However, he was unsuccessful. Later, Magwitch dies in prison and Pip loses his fortune.

Later, in great expectations summary, Estella plans to marry Bentley Drummle. Miss Havisham agrees to help Herbert in setting up his business. However, a tragic incident took place and Miss Havisham is involved in a terrible fire. This leads to her sad demise.

Pip, now older and wiser, returns to his family home. He thinks of marrying Biddy. However, she was already married to Joe. Later, Pip meets Estella once more who has become a widow.