Reader discussion: Great Expectations

Public reader discussion about Great Expectations in the WeRead Catalog by Dickens, Charles.

Great Expectations chapter 1

By Superuser

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Sorry it’s late—I totally dozed off. Discussion questions: - We finally get to know Pip a bit—what were your first impressions of him? - Is “Phillip Pirrip” even a real proper English name? - We run into that really threatening guy—what did you think of him? - What do you think Pip should do? What would you do? - Anything else you want to bring up? Links: Project Gutenberg Standard eBooks Librivox Audiobook And honestly, I’m not sure why but now I was scared again, so I just ran home without stopping.

What are your favorite characters from Great Expectations?

By EstivageFable

I’m almost done with the novel and I really just wanted to say how much I’m enjoying it—the characters are so good, and they’ve really grabbed me.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

By lunar_old1979

Hi! 😊 So I’m actually reading a Charles Dickens book for the very first time. I picked *Great Expectations* because it was featured in my favorite show, *Pretty Little Liars*, and now I’m wondering if I chose the right one or if I should’ve gone with something else.

[Discussion] Great Expectations - Spoilers

By orangeFinch

Has anyone actually finished this? I’m curious what you all thought. My copy says Dickens revised the ending a few years after the first version came out. Does anyone know what the original ending was supposed to be? And how do people feel about the two different endings?

Great Expectations, a 2011 three-part miniseries based on Charles Dickens' novel of the same name. Starring Douglas Booth, Ray Winstone, Gillian Anderson, David Suchet, Mark Addy, Shaun Dooley, and Vanessa Kirby.

By HardcoverVolume74

This is still my favorite version of Great Expectations. The cast is just amazing—like, top tier. I’ve watched the Hulu one too and it’s pretty good, but this one beats it by a lot.

Man I wish I got into reading earlier in my life

By starlight_vector21

School totally ruined reading for me—it was so boring and felt like homework no matter what. They picked books that were basically a snooze, like *Of Mice and Men* and *The Kite Runner*, and I just couldn’t stay interested. But I gave it another shot lately and realized I actually really like fantasy. I’ve been getting into Brandon Sanderson’s stuff recently and I’m loving it, I just wish I’d discovered it earlier when I had more time.

What's the general opinion on Charles Dickens?

By tideWire86

I’ve barely gotten into Dickens—like maybe the first couple hundred pages of *David Copperfield*—so I’m honestly just curious what people think of him. Is he really that stuffy and overly dramatic, like a lot of people say? And is he too wordy—I've heard that too, but I don’t know, because in *Copperfield* there were parts that genuinely caught my breath. Because of that I’ve sort of ended up thinking he’s basically the second-best writer after Shakespeare. So what do you all think his strong points are? I remember John Irving making a big deal in the intro to *Great Expectations* about Dickens being really good at plotting—do you agree?

The two endings of <Great Expectations>

By draft_ribbon

I finished the whole book and didn’t skip anything, but since English isn’t my first language I’m still not 100% sure I got the ending right. Estella says something like “friends apart,” and then in the very last paragraph it kind of reads like there’s “no parting” from her. That felt really contradictory to me, so I looked up what the ending means. I saw that there are actually two versions: one where Estella ends up marrying someone else and Pip stays single, and another where they end up together. From what I found, Dickens later changed the original unhappy ending into the happier one. So… is it fair to say the novel effectively has two endings?

I just finished Great Expectations

By cup_cold

I know a bunch of people seem not to like it, or just didn’t get into it, but I really, really enjoyed it. I liked that it didn’t end with everything being fine—things kind of fall apart. Still, it feels like there’s this idea of some final atonement, like Pip loses his money and turns into a better person, and Estella has to get humbled and basically gets put through it. The whole way the characters change and repeat patterns is honestly pretty fascinating. It also reminded me a lot of that Dan Harmon story circle thing. Overall, great book.

11 Dickensian Facts About 'Great Expectations'

By Bookish_Cocoa68

Really enjoyed the book. I still feel like Dickens’s original ending was way better than the one they ended up publishing, honestly.

How can I understand classical literature?

By draft_ribbon

I really want to get into classics like Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, and anything by Dostoevsky (plus Sylvia Plath, etc). I even tried White Nights, but I honestly couldn’t follow the words or what they meant. I’m guessing that’s because it’s not modern writing, but I still want to read those books so badly. Any tips on how to get through them or start understanding them better?

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

By rhoding8

If you’re grabbing the free ebooks on Amazon, don’t hit the “Read for Free” button. Use “Buy Now” instead when the Kindle price shows $0.00. The “Read for Free” option feels like it’s part of Kindle Unlimited, which ends up costing money.

What were you assigned to read in high school English (or your native language) class?

By SleepyNotebook91

I saw this pop up somewhere else and it made me wonder what books everyone actually got assigned to read in high school. So I’m curious—what did you all have to read? And just to set the scene, what year did you graduate and about where was your school (like the region/state)? I know it’s been a long time for some of us, so whatever you remember is fine.

So i got an essay about Charles Dickens Great expectations and i need help

By Mirror_Late

I was assigned an essay on Innocence vs experience in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and I’m honestly not sure what I’m supposed to write. Can someone help me figure out what to say?

Great expectations by charles dickens review

By bleater_bee_gold

I just finished Great Expectations and, wow, I really did love it. From the very start it moves at this kind of steady, easy pace, and I actually liked that it gives you time to really be with the characters instead of rushing through everything. You get to notice their moods and thoughts as they go, and it just feels comfortable. The cast also might be the best I’ve ever run into. Everyone felt super clear and different. I’d heard Dickens can be wordy, but I didn’t feel it dragging at all—his descriptions were detailed in a way that kept me interested, not bored. And the writing had this sly humor that kept popping up. I thought it was going to be way more heavy and serious the whole time, but then you’d get these moments that made me smile. Pumblechook is ridiculous, Mr. Wopsle trying to act is genuinely funny, and Wemmick was such a good surprise—cold and stiff at work, but at home he turns into this warmer, almost playful guy. That contrast was great. Pip and Estella’s whole thing was also really interesting, and Miss Havisham? What a character. I’m still stuck on her—still in that wedding dress after all those years, and keeping everything at Satis House frozen like time stopped for her. I don’t think I’ll forget that image. Magwitch really hit me too. At first he’s scary and rough, and I honestly felt that disgust early on (like, Pip does), but later Dickens completely flips how you feel. By the end it’s so sad I got emotional—also, I’m not the type to cry at character deaths, so that was a big deal for me. Joe Gargery has to be one of the most wholesome characters I’ve read. His loyalty to Pip, even when Pip was not exactly deserving it, just felt really sweet. And Pip’s journey overall felt believable—his mess-ups, his changes, all of it. One moment that totally threw me was when Pip realizes Joe is marrying Biddy. I was not prepared for that at all, and somehow Dickens handles the mixed feelings without spelling everything out. By the end I was like… okay, this makes sense why it’s a classic. It definitely earned a spot on my all-time favorites list.

Frustrated with 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens

By Lake_Frog

I picked up Great Expectations by Charles Dickens a few months back because a coworker recommended it. I’ve read older classics before, like Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde, but this one just felt really far away and kind of out of step with me, so I ended up mostly skimming just to get through it. It honestly felt like I’d need to know London, its streets, and the whole way people talk there to really get it. The writing seemed like something only people used to that kind of dialect would naturally follow. I probably could’ve made sense of every line if I kept looking up every phrase and slang bit online, but after a while I was just tired of doing that. Is it just me, or did other people have a similar experience with this book? I don’t think I’m going back to Dickens after this.

Great expectations by Charles Dickens

By rhymeParcel1982

I just can’t seem to get into it at all. Can someone help me see it in a better light? I want to figure out a way to keep going with it without getting bored.

I just finished my first Dickens novel (Great Expectations)

By curious-library2000

I read *A Christmas Carol* ages ago, but that was a novella, and before that I’d only really seen a kids’ version of *Oliver Twist*. So this felt like my first real Dickens novel. I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would. I guess I was expecting 19th century stuff to drag with tons of description, but it was actually pretty easy to get through, and it mostly keeps focused on the characters. The characters themselves were great. A lot of them are memorable because they’re kind of odd or over-the-top, but it doesn’t come off like fake cartoons. Even with all the eccentricities, they still feel alive, like Dickens really believed in them. I also enjoyed the writing and the way he handles the really intense emotional moments. Yeah, people accuse him of being sentimental, and I kind of see that, but I think it works here—more like part of the appeal than a problem. There are some plot coincidences that might make you side-eye a little, and a couple things near the end felt rushed, but honestly I didn’t mind. I was too caught up in the main struggle—what’s going on inside Pip’s head. Would he manage to stay the decent, generous kid, or would his big ambitions end up ruining him like he rejects the people who actually care about him—*his* “great expectations” and all that? It’s one of those books that stuck with me after I finished, and I’m pretty sure it won’t be my last Dickens.

Great Expectations- Thoughts

By oliveArch

The start of the book grabbed me the most. I liked the ending too, even if the very last bit felt a little underwhelming—I guess I just didn’t see it coming. The final chapters did a nice job tying everything up, and I really liked how the characters’ connections kept quietly building as the story went on. Also, Pip’s relationship with his benefactors shifts a lot by the end, which I thought was interesting. I do kind of wish it hit harder at the end, but I get that the author probably wanted it that way—life doesn’t always give you a perfect happy ending, and sometimes you only realize things too late. Overall I’d say 8/10. I still liked *A Tale of Two Cities* more, but this was still a great Dickens story.

Great expectations [review]

By amber-fish

Just finished *Great Expectations* by Charles Dickens, and I genuinely loved the whole thing. From the very first chapter it had this calm, steady feel to it, and I was really into that slow-burn pacing. I like when a story takes its time so you can actually hang out with the characters and watch how their thinking changes. And honestly, the cast is probably the best I’ve seen in a while. Everyone felt clearly different, like you could tell them apart instantly. I’d heard Dickens can be wordy, but for me it read as super detailed and rich, not dragging at all. If anything, it kept pulling me along. One thing I didn’t expect was how funny it could be. I thought it would be all dark and heavy, but then his wit would pop up here and there and I’d end up smiling. Pumblechook is ridiculous in the way he carries himself, Mr. Wopsle trying to act is just absurd, and Wemmick… I loved that contrast where he’s all stiff and “office mode” during the day but at home he’s softer and almost cheerful. Pip and Estella’s whole situation was also really interesting. And then there’s Miss Havisham—what a character. She’s impossible to forget, still in that wedding dress after all those years, basically keeping Satis House stuck in the past. That whole image just stuck in my head. Magwitch really hit me too. At first he comes off rough and scary, but later I felt my opinion completely flip. And then his ending is so tragic that I actually got teary-eyed, which is rare for me—like I don’t usually cry at character deaths. I think I’ve only done that once before. Joe Gargery might be the most wholesome person I’ve read. His loyalty to Pip, even when Pip didn’t really earn it, was honestly kind of beautiful. And Pip’s growth felt real—messy, believable, and not magically fixed overnight. One moment that totally threw me was when Pip figures out Joe is marrying Biddy. I was not expecting that at all, and Dickens somehow captures all those messy emotions without spelling everything out. Overall, it went way past what I thought it would be. Now I totally get why it’s such a classic. It’s definitely going on my all-time favorites list.