Charles Dickens Relationship Essay

Charles Dickens remains one of the most prominent and certainly the most commercially successful literary artist of nineteenth century England. In addition, Dickens enjoyed a large readership in America. The author’s success on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean stems from his entertaining literary style and his deep respect for social values and the human condition he encountered and incorporated into his writing. Dickens was a prolific writer who drew upon his personal experiences and integrated a certain comic pathos in his writing to delight his reading audience. Dickens can be aptly termed a chronicler of English life as his novels and stories accurately reflect various societal ills and joys of both urban and suburban England. Indeed,

Estella is the daughter of Abel Magwitch, Pip’s convict in the opening scene and his subsequent benefactor, and Molly, Mr. Jaggers’ housekeeper. Here we see how Dickens is able to illustrate a familial relationship between three people who will never meet in the context of the story and yet our young protagonist, Pip, not only learns about this ill-fated family but ultimately knows more about them than they do themselves. Magwitch’s importance as Pip’s benefactor and Estella’s father points once again to Dickens’ use of multi-dimensional characters in the novel. Likewise, Molly’s role as a servant to Jaggers, who once defended her for murder, and her maternal link to Estella shows that even a very minor character can be made multidimensional by

It is a novel of identity and the havoc that these emotions, both joyous and painful, can rain upon someone who is trying to find his niche in society. Our students face the question of identity daily, and, not unlike Pip, this experience is heightened by the familial relationships they encounter throughout the years. Starting with the eighth grade academic year our students are asked to make decisions concerning their future. Oftentimes the way is not that clear and can become quite encumbered by familial pressures and experiences. A novel such as Great Expectations read with respect to familial relationships can help students understand these pressures and experiences more fully and, as a consequence, help them find their identity and their own great