Great Expectations

Why can't Estella love Pip?

• She has been rejected before and it hurts to love again.

• She isn't interested in Pip.

• Ms. Havisham raised her to break hearts and not to have hers broken.

• She hates him for what he did to her.

What did Ms. Havisham wear every day to symbolize her sadness and that time had stopped?

• Her wedding dress

• Her pajamas

• The dress she wore when she met Compeyson

• Her hospital robe

What does Pip tell Magwitch right before he dies?

• I have no more money.

• I am going to prison.

• Your daughter didn't die, and I love her.

• Ms. Havisham has died.

Pip's opinion of himself, his home, and his family changes after his first visit to Miss Havisham's mansion. What is the inner conflict that results from Pip's exposure to Miss Havisham and Estella?

The nature of Pip's relationship with Joe is one of the important threads in the novel. Pip's attitude toward Joe changes throughout the story. What is ironic about the ending?

Compare the Pip of the first few chapters with the Pip who leaves for London. How has he developed and changed?

• He hates his family.

• He has hope that he will one day be with Estella.

• He is no longer in love with Estella.

• None of the above.

When Pip learns that it is the convict who has been his benefactor, how does he react? Explain.

Where in the novel does Pip for the first time make up his own mind to do something for someone else? What does this act show about Pip's character?

In Great Expectations Dickens explores different kinds of love. Miss Havisham tells Pip that real love is 'blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust...giving up your whole heart and soul as I did!' Would you say that Pip's love for Estella is of the same kind? How?

What experiences teach Pip the value of real friendship and affection?