Great Expectations

Question 1

How does the story begin and with who?

Answer 1

At a cemetery where the main character Pip is staring at his parent’s graves

Question 2

What happens to Pip at the beginning of the book?

Answer 2

Pip is coerced into helping a convict escape; the convict is still captured but Pip isn’t implicated in helping

Question 3

Where does Pip’s uncle take him, who does Pip meet as a result? How did he/she make her fortune?

Answer 3

Uncle Pumblechook takes him to Satis House, home of a wealthy dowager, Miss Havisham, where Pip meets Estella; Havisham’s family fortune was made through a brewery

Question 4

How does Estella treat Pip?

Answer 4

Coldly and contemptuously

Question 5

What become of Pip’s hopes to marry Estella

Answer 5

Pip is trained to be a common laborer

Question 6

Who is Pip apprenticed to? Who does Pip also meet?

Answer 6

His brother-in-law Joe, who is the village blacksmith; Pip also meets and studies with Biddy

Question 7

What happens to Pip’s sister, Mrs. Joe and who does he suspect did it?

Answer 7

She is viciously attacked, probably by Orlick

Question 8

What fortunate event happens to Pip and who brings him the good news?

Answer 8

Jaggers, an attorney, told Pip he suddenly received a lot of money, and could become a gentleman

Question 9

Who does Pip think gave him the money and why?

Answer 9

Miss Havisham, to marry Estella

Question 10

Who does Pip study with in London?

Answer 10

Matthew Pocket

Question 11

What comes of Orlick and Mrs. Joe?

Answer 11

Orick is employed as Miss Havisham’s porter, but is fired by Jaggers thanks to Pip; Mrs. Joe unfortunately dies

Question 12

What figure from the beginning of the book does Pip see again, what is his name, and what did he do?

Answer 12

The convict, Magwitch, who is the secret benefactor of Pip’s fortune; He made a lot of money in Australia to repay Pip for his kindness in the cemetery

Question 13

What is revealed about Estella and Miss Havisham?

Answer 13

Estella is Magwitch’s daughter, and has been trained by Havisham, who was dumped by his former crime partner, Compeyson, to play with men’s emotions as revenge for her own pain

Question 14

What comes of Estella and Miss Havisham?

Answer 14

Estella marries Bentley Drummle, an upper-class but mean and uncaring man, and Miss Havisham, after begging for forgiveness, nearly burns to death

Question 15

Does Pip get Magwitch out of London? What comes of Compeyson?

Answer 15

Magwitch does not get out and is sentenced to death; however he does drown Compeyson

Question 16

How does the story end?

Answer 16

Orlick goes to jail for trying to rob Pumblechook, Havisham dies and leaves her money to the Pockets, Biddy and Joe get married, and Pip joins his friend Herbert Pocket into the mercantile business

Question 17

Is there another ending to the story?

Answer 17

Yes; Drummle dies, Estella remarries, and Pip and Estella briefly see each other

Question 18

What is the moral theme of Great Expectations?

Answer 18

Affection, loyalty, and conscience are more important than social advancement and material things

Question 19

How does Pip’s ideology relate to the title of the book?

Answer 19

Pip has the drive to want to improve his social standing and livelihood, largely because of Estella, and thus has “great expectations” for his future

Question 20

What does three things about himself does Pip want to improve?

Answer 20

Morals, social life, and education

Question 21

Does Pip treat Joe and Biddy with respect?

Answer 21

No, and he later is kicking himself over this

Question 22

How does Pip change as a gentleman?

Answer 22

He doesn’t change at all

Question 23

How do Pip’s views on self-improvement change?

Answer 23

With Magwitch’s generosity, Joe’s hard work, and Drummle’s negative example

Question 24

How does Dickens reinforce the themes of ambition and self-improvement?

Answer 24

He ignores nobility and aristocracy, and focused instead on those who earned their fortune through things like commerce

Question 25

How do Pip’s inner struggles relate to crime, guilt, etc.?

Answer 25

Pip learns to look beyond superficial aspects of justice system to satisfy his conscience

Question 26

Describe the symmetry in the book

Answer 26

Convicts, Benefactors, (Pip buys Herbert’s way into mercantile business), mutes, etc.

Question 27

What do Havisham’s wedding dress and stopped clocks symbolize?

Answer 27

Her desire to not move on with her life

Question 28

What happens in misty marshes in the book?

Answer 28

Something dangerous