Charles Dickens

Great Expectations follows Pip, an orphan raised by his harsh older sister and her kind husband, Joe Gargery. After encountering an escaped convict and becoming acquainted with the wealthy but eccentric Miss Havisham, Pip begins to dream of rising above his humble origins. When he unexpectedly receives money from an anonymous benefactor, he moves to London to become a gentleman, believing that wealth and social status will bring him happiness and the love of Estella, Miss Havisham’s beautiful but emotionally distant ward. As Pip discovers the truth about his fortune, he must confront his own pride and the assumptions he has made about class and respectability. Dickens explores ambition, guilt, loyalty, and moral growth, revealing that genuine worth depends less on social position than on kindness and integrity.