Book Review on Great Expectations
Life is short, and we as people can only live one kind of life. However, literature creates an opportunity for us to imagine the different kind of life experiences. I like reading books, especially great novels, which make me feel the happiness and sadness of different kind of life through the experience of the characters. Great Expectations is one of the great novels.
Great Expectations was written by Charles Dickens, a great English novelist and representative of realism. He wrote the novel in later of his life, which expose and criticize the poverty, injustice, and hypocrisy of the English bourgeois society of his age.
The main characters in the novel are Pip, an orphan brought up by his sister---Mrs Joe, and Estella, a beautiful girl who is brought up by a rich lady, Miss Havisham .Pip was invited into Havisham’s home, and Pip had a crash on Estella when they first met. However, Estella laughed at his boots and rough hands, which made him change his mind. Pip wanted to be a gentleman in order to marry her, instead of a blacksmith, just like his brother-in-law, Joe. To Pip’s surprise, he received a large amount of money from a convict, who was helped by Pip earlier and earn a lot of money later in another country. With the money, Pip went to London to receive the higher education. Pip didn’t resist the temptation of money
and position, he went to the bad. When pip thought that he has the ability to marry Estella, but Estella choose to marry another man. At the same time, the convict was arrested, and the legacy Pip inherited from him was handed in. Under this situation, Pip went to another country to make a living. Many years later, he went back to his hometown, and he met Estella again, and they became companion.
Reading good books make us not only experience a different kind of life, but also have strong feelings. We can learn a lot from the good books, which can help us have a good view on our real life. After reading Great Expectations, I learnt three points. Firstly, people need to be grateful to the person who helped us. The world consists of many kinds of people, some of them like money and beautiful women, some like stealing, some like laughing at others’ achievement…no matter what kind of work you have done, you cannot lost a heart with grateful minds. In the novel, Pip helped a convict, he gave the convict bread and wine and other things the convict need. When the convict was recaptured, he didn’t tell others Pip helped him run. Instead, he lied to protect Pip and many years later, he gave Pip money to receive the higher education. All of these can show the repay to Pip’s help. Even though he is a criminal, he known the gratefulness in his heart. I read many reports on the newspaper, which was about a poor people, who receives many help from fellow villagers. After he became succeed, he used money to help his villager to live better
life by building school, establishing a home for elder people, and so on. The society needs the spirit. Secondly, do not ignore others’ feeling especially the person who loves you when you make an important decision. In the novel, when the lawyer came to tell Pip that he can receive a legacy from a rich person, he was glad because he had the chance to become a gentleman, his great expectation. While his brother-in-law Joe became angry when the lawyer gave Joe money for pay, because Joe regarded Pip as a great friend, money cannot replace his love to Pip. On the other day, Pip left his home, he didn’t show any unwillingness. He left with smile, but he didn’t see the sorrow on Joe’ face. In our life, it was the same case. When we pursue the things we expected to own, we often ignore the feelings of our friends and families. They are the people who love us from the deep of heart, so they tolerate us even we hurt them. However, if a person cannot love those who love him, how can he love those who have no relations with him? Therefore, love yourself, but also the people around you. Lastly, love can be expressed in many ways, in addition to words. MRS Joe left a deep impression on me. I thought she was a rude and cruel woman when I read the first several chapters. However, the later part of the novel changed my mind. She asked her uncle to make Pip have most of his connections with the rich, Miss Havisham. She knew her family cannot give Pip a bright future, so she wanted him to play up to Miss Havisham, and maybe he
can receive money from the rich lady. However, Pip didn’t have a good perspective on MRS Joe. He didn’t realize how much his sister has paid to the family. In most of his memory, his sister was a cruel woman, who beat him most of the time. However, he was wrong. He has a great sister, taking care of him like a mother.
Thanks to the great novel, I learn to cherish more about what I have own, my great friends and families.