I’m not sure if I’m dissapointed or relieved at the ending of Great Expectations. On the one hand, I was kind of expecting a happy ending–with all the loose ends tied up, events explained, and possibly, a marriage. But if I had gotten all those things, I might have been inclined to write the whole book off as conventional and convenient. So it goes.
I did enjoy the last hundred pages or so of the book. I finally got plot! Stuff happened! There were chases, escapes, deaths, fires. Good final act. I was almost sorry to see it end. (But after nearly 600 pages of Pip, I was ready to be done.)
One thing I did like about the ending–though it was a little moralistic–was Pip’s redemption. He grew up into a fine person in spite of his expectations. He finally gave credit where it was due and learned to care more about others than about himself. I am also glad that Estella and Havisham got their chances at redemption, too. Estella finally found her heart and Miss Havisham finally realized what she had done to the people around her and tried to make amends.
Overall, I liked Great Expectations. I liked enough to attempt another Dickens some time–probably David Copperfield. But not right away. 🙂
Of course it was moralistic–it was written by Dickens!I’ve taught Great Expectations several times, and although my students–usually having read an abridged version–came to it with a heavy heart, we always managed to have fun with it and enjoy it. Dickens actually wrote two different endings to the story, you know …
I didn’t know there was an alternate ending. Where can I find that? Or can you give me a quick outline? Did Dickens have Estella and Pip get together?That is so cool that you teach Dickens.