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Great Expectations
I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.” ― Charles Dickens
Great Expectations is Charles Dickens's thirteenth novel. It is his second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman or a coming-of-age novel, and it is a classic work of Victorian literature. It depicts the growth and personal development of an orphan named Pip. The novel was first published in serial form in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861.
In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes. Dickens originally intended Great Expectations to be twice as long, but constraints imposed by the management of All the Year Round limited the novel's length. The novel is collected and dense, with a conciseness unusual for Dickens. According to G. K. Chesterton, Dickens penned Great Expectations in "the afternoon of [his] life and fame." It was the penultimate novel Dickens completed, preceding Our Mutual Friend. It is set among the marshes of Kent and in London in the early to mid-1800s. The novel contains some of Dickens's most memorable scenes, including its opening, in a graveyard, when the young orphan Pip is accosted by the escaped convict, Abel Magwitch.
Great Expectation is a graphic book, full of extreme imagery, poverty, prison ships ("the hulks"), barriers and chains, and fights to the death. Upon its release, Thomas Carlyle spoke of "All that Pip's nonsense." Later, George Bernard Shaw praised the novel as "All of one piece and consistently truthful." Dickens felt Great Expectations was his best work, calling it "a very fine idea," and was very sensitive to compliments from his "Bulwer, who has been, as I think you know, extraordinarily taken by the book. "Great Expectations has a colorful cast that has entered popular the capricious Miss Havisham, the cold and beautiful Estella, Joe the kind and generous blacksmith, the dry and sycophantic Uncle Pumblechook, Mr. Jaggers, Wemmick with his dual personality, and the eloquent and wise friend, Herbert Pocket.
Great Expectations is Charles Dickens's thirteenth novel. It is his second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman or a coming-of-age novel, and it is a classic work of Victorian literature. It depicts the growth and personal development of an orphan named Pip. The novel was first published in serial form in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861.
In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes. Dickens originally intended Great Expectations to be twice as long, but constraints imposed by the management of All the Year Round limited the novel's length. The novel is collected and dense, with a conciseness unusual for Dickens. According to G. K. Chesterton, Dickens penned Great Expectations in "the afternoon of [his] life and fame." It was the penultimate novel Dickens completed, preceding Our Mutual Friend. It is set among the marshes of Kent and in London in the early to mid-1800s. The novel contains some of Dickens's most memorable scenes, including its opening, in a graveyard, when the young orphan Pip is accosted by the escaped convict, Abel Magwitch.
Great Expectation is a graphic book, full of extreme imagery, poverty, prison ships ("the hulks"), barriers and chains, and fights to the death. Upon its release, Thomas Carlyle spoke of "All that Pip's nonsense." Later, George Bernard Shaw praised the novel as "All of one piece and consistently truthful." Dickens felt Great Expectations was his best work, calling it "a very fine idea," and was very sensitive to compliments from his "Bulwer, who has been, as I think you know, extraordinarily taken by the book. "Great Expectations has a colorful cast that has entered popular the capricious Miss Havisham, the cold and beautiful Estella, Joe the kind and generous blacksmith, the dry and sycophantic Uncle Pumblechook, Mr. Jaggers, Wemmick with his dual personality, and the eloquent and wise friend, Herbert Pocket.
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First published January 7, 1998
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About the author
Charles Dickens
12.6k books31.3k followersCharles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
(from Wikipedia)
Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
January 25, 2015
"It is a great human weakness to wish to be the same as our friends. If they are rich, we wish to be rich. If they are poor, then we don't mind being equally poor. We are not ashamed of being stupid, we are only ashamed of being more stupid than our friends. It is a matter of comparison.
It is also a matter of expectation. We don't miss things that we never expected to have. We are not disappointed at being poor if we never expected to be rich."
Well said. Awesome book from the begining till the end.
It is also a matter of expectation. We don't miss things that we never expected to have. We are not disappointed at being poor if we never expected to be rich."
Well said. Awesome book from the begining till the end.
January 13, 2016
the best oxford book until nowwww!!!!!
yeaah actually i didnt like the main character, he is so lame, so stupid.
This book told me that we should be have great expectations but not sooo high, dont be weak with this life, remember who with you when you poor.
Like thiss book, want the full boook:(
yeaah actually i didnt like the main character, he is so lame, so stupid.
This book told me that we should be have great expectations but not sooo high, dont be weak with this life, remember who with you when you poor.
Like thiss book, want the full boook:(
September 16, 2025
A very interesting story that I loved.
March 24, 2024
I really liked this book (I didn't expect it) I used the intensive reading technique to read it. I intend to reread it at least 3 times.
May 28, 2017
The book is about a boy named Pip, although his actual name is Philip. He lives with his sister who is married to the blacksmith called Joe Gargery. He lives in Essex, a small village. His life is pretty bad since his sister is always mistreating him. One day it’s all about to change when Pip gets invited to Miss Havisham’s house. A rich old lady that is adopting a beautiful girl named Estella. Whom pip falls in love with. He suddenly is in possession of ‘great expectations’.
There are a lot of good things to say about this book. First of all, the book is quite easy to read. The sentences weren’t made too complex so that you didn’t have to read some things over again. You can read this book within a day because it doesn’t have a lot of pages and was easy to read. Another good thing about this book is that it has images in it. It makes it easier to imagine the characters in the story. A lot of things happened in the story which makes the book more interesting, it felt like you were reading a bigger book because of it.
No book is perfect and this one isn’t an exception. The thought process of all pip’s decisions weren’t described well enough, the characters themselves were described well, but not their thoughts. You were stuck with the questions why they did that sometimes. The book in my opinion went by too fast, the writer could’ve put more time into every scenario instead of going over a lot of scenarios. But it isn’t that big of a deal since the book has only 86 pages.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was a quick read with an enjoyable story. Something you don’t hear me complain too much about.
There are a lot of good things to say about this book. First of all, the book is quite easy to read. The sentences weren’t made too complex so that you didn’t have to read some things over again. You can read this book within a day because it doesn’t have a lot of pages and was easy to read. Another good thing about this book is that it has images in it. It makes it easier to imagine the characters in the story. A lot of things happened in the story which makes the book more interesting, it felt like you were reading a bigger book because of it.
No book is perfect and this one isn’t an exception. The thought process of all pip’s decisions weren’t described well enough, the characters themselves were described well, but not their thoughts. You were stuck with the questions why they did that sometimes. The book in my opinion went by too fast, the writer could’ve put more time into every scenario instead of going over a lot of scenarios. But it isn’t that big of a deal since the book has only 86 pages.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was a quick read with an enjoyable story. Something you don’t hear me complain too much about.
January 23, 2015
2015 Reading Challenge: A BOOK A FRIEND RECOMMENDED
I think this is my first five-star rating of the year. The book was enjoyable and started in a great way. I love it when a book captures me in those first few sentences. I liked the story, even though one thing led to another in the most unusual way, having every character connected to one another where you didn't think it possible, it was still interesting and acceptable.
As a shorter and more simple version of "Great Expectations", this book was a very good read.
I think this is my first five-star rating of the year. The book was enjoyable and started in a great way. I love it when a book captures me in those first few sentences. I liked the story, even though one thing led to another in the most unusual way, having every character connected to one another where you didn't think it possible, it was still interesting and acceptable.
As a shorter and more simple version of "Great Expectations", this book was a very good read.
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August 6, 2019What a fool and superficial man.
December 27, 2025
nostalgic but in a serious and more recent kind of way... I hope this makes sense but I know it probably doesn't
Read
November 2, 2019This book is about a boy named Philip, but when he was younger he could only say Pip. He lived with his sister and her husband Joe, he was a blacksmith. He lives in a small village called Essex with them. His life is not great because his sister mistreats him but luckily Joe takes care of him. Pip meets a convict who threaten him. He had to give him food and a file and Pip could not tell anybody about him and that is what he did. One day he was invited to Miss Havisham’s house she was an old woman who was rich and she had a adopted daughter named Estella. She and Pip were good friends but Pip was in love with her. He wanted to be accepted by Estella, he wanted to become a gentleman and not a blacksmith like Joe. Later got Pip a big fortune by someone anonymous. Pip thought it was Miss Havisham, he thought she was helping him to become a gentleman and then marry Estella. He thought wrong, it was the convict who gave him the money. After he found that put he didn’t want his money anymore but still wanted to protect the convict because he started to care for him. So he tried to let him escape to another county but that failed and the convict got executed. after that he went to his village to ask for forgiveness because he didn’t treat his friends very well because he became very arrogant with them. And then at the end he and Estella became good friends.
I thought this book was not going to be good because I don’t really read that kind of genre but I actually really liked the book. The words were not that difficult to understand and the sentences were also not that complex, so it was easy to read. What I didn’t really like was that you didn’t know why they made the decisions so it left me sometimes with questions but overall it was a good book.
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October 10, 2019The book is about a boy named Philip but when he was young he only managed to say Pip, so that’s what everybody calls him. He lives with his sister and her fiance who is the blacksmith. his live is really hard because his sister isn’t really the easiest until one day. One day he get's invited to Miss Havisham’s house. she is a rich old lady who had a beautiful daughter named Estella. After a few meeting with them began Pip to feel more and more for Estella. At some point Pip doesn’t want to become a blacksmith because it reminds him of his abusive step brother Joe. But then everything get’s a turn when a lawyer says against Pip and Joe that he has great expectations with them.
Overall the book was really easy to read , of course there where some words I didn’t understand but the vocabulary list in the back helped with that. It also has a great storyline , the book has a good story to tell. But personally I don’t like it because it’s situated a while ago so there are some old characteristics.
If you like to read a little bit of history and you don’t get bored to fast I would really recommend this book.
Overall the book was really easy to read , of course there where some words I didn’t understand but the vocabulary list in the back helped with that. It also has a great storyline , the book has a good story to tell. But personally I don’t like it because it’s situated a while ago so there are some old characteristics.
If you like to read a little bit of history and you don’t get bored to fast I would really recommend this book.
November 10, 2018
The story was extremely good and so Dickensian, I really enjoyed it. Charles Dickens is one of the greatest English novelists, because his story could touch people heart and thought so much. Although this retold book is a bit fast at the end of the story, I think it would be a really great story, and I'll read the full edition in the future. This story is about a boy with his "great expectations", but also with a big heart and great kindness. I really love the characters in Charles Dickens, even Miss Havisham, Magwitch, Estella, they are a mixture of good and bad, they have mistake and failure, and they are just like a real human like us. I can't appreciate more with this story
September 14, 2017
In a gloomy , neglected house Miss Havisham sits as she has sat year after year in a wedding dress & veil that were once white and are now faded & yellow with age.
her face is like a death's head her dark eyes burns with bitterness & hate.by her side sits a proud and beautiful girl and in front of her trembling with fear in his thick country boots , stands young Pip.
Miss Havisham stares at Pip coldly & murmurs to the girl at her side :
"break his heart , Estella ,break his heart!"
her face is like a death's head her dark eyes burns with bitterness & hate.by her side sits a proud and beautiful girl and in front of her trembling with fear in his thick country boots , stands young Pip.
Miss Havisham stares at Pip coldly & murmurs to the girl at her side :
"break his heart , Estella ,break his heart!"
August 14, 2017
"It is a great weakness to wish to be the same as our friends. If they are rich, we wish to be rich. If they are poor, then we don't mind being equally poor. We are not ashamed of being stupid, we are only ashamed of being more stupid than our friends. It is a matter of comparison." I'm deeply in love with this book.
January 21, 2025
I already knew the great set pieces from this book from the film and general knowledge but didn't really understand the story and it themes. The atmosphere and characters do not disappoint and there is a poignant melancholy that beautifully pervades the tale. I got a bit bogged down after a hundred pages as Pip heads to London, but things picked up again with the last half of the book a delight.
February 4, 2020
This story is so incredible!!! It kept me awake many a late night and I don't regret any of them! Such a moving story!!!
April 13, 2021
Asco.
June 18, 2014
تلخيص رائع للرواية
بيفكرني بالمسلسل المبني ع الرواية من انتاج قناة البي بي سي
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يمكنك تخيل جليان اندرسون وهي تقدم دور ميس هافيشام
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بيفكرني بالمسلسل المبني ع الرواية من انتاج قناة البي بي سي
my link text
يمكنك تخيل جليان اندرسون وهي تقدم دور ميس هافيشام
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June 4, 2017Philip was also called Pip, because when he was younger he coudn't say Philip but only Pip. So that was his new name. Pip, was an orphine child who lived with his abusive sister and her husband Joe. He had the village blacksmith.
On one day, his uncle Pumblechook, arranged with the wealthy Miss Havisham to play with her beautiful dauther Estella. Miss Havisham husband left on the day they would marry. On this day, she still weres her old wedding gown. Even when she is mutch older and in a wheelchair. Afther a while, Pip and Estella became good friends and Pip liked her more than normal. He was in love with her and would do anything to get her attention. After somme months, pays Miss Havisham Pip's study to become a blacksmith but Pip didn't want to be a blacksmith. The reason why he didn't want to become a blacksmith is that it reminds him back of his abusive step-brother Joe.
But then everything changes when a lawyer says against Pip en Joe that he has great expectations with them.
Persenol i didn't like the book because it took to long to say something. It was also hard to read the book because the genre of the book was not good for me. I like the storyline but i think he could have done better. He could make the actions a lot faster so it was more exciting to read.
I would recommend not to read this book.
On one day, his uncle Pumblechook, arranged with the wealthy Miss Havisham to play with her beautiful dauther Estella. Miss Havisham husband left on the day they would marry. On this day, she still weres her old wedding gown. Even when she is mutch older and in a wheelchair. Afther a while, Pip and Estella became good friends and Pip liked her more than normal. He was in love with her and would do anything to get her attention. After somme months, pays Miss Havisham Pip's study to become a blacksmith but Pip didn't want to be a blacksmith. The reason why he didn't want to become a blacksmith is that it reminds him back of his abusive step-brother Joe.
But then everything changes when a lawyer says against Pip en Joe that he has great expectations with them.
Persenol i didn't like the book because it took to long to say something. It was also hard to read the book because the genre of the book was not good for me. I like the storyline but i think he could have done better. He could make the actions a lot faster so it was more exciting to read.
I would recommend not to read this book.
July 22, 2024
Fue una lectura ligera y fácil de llevar, la verdad me sentí cómoda al leerla.
Viendo q es una adaptación de la novela original me encanta q no hallan descuidado el desarrollo y las características de los personajes, o la historia como tal, ya que incluso si fue reducida a menos de 100 páginas es fácil de comprender y hubieron partes q me tocaron el corazón.
Este libro deja mucho que pensar, habla de las diferencias en las clases sociales y de cómo la gente te trata dependiendo de la tuya, lo que alguien es capaz de hacer para poder ascender en estas y las consecuencias de sus actos, o como a veces uno puede estar tan cegado por ser "importante" q se olvida de aquellos q estuvieron siempre e incondicionalmente.
Sin embargo, siento que pudieron ocurrir algunos sucesos de manera distinta si no era por la conveniencia en estas escenas, pese a q fueron pocas.
En fin, queriendo darle una oportunidad a la novela original!
Viendo q es una adaptación de la novela original me encanta q no hallan descuidado el desarrollo y las características de los personajes, o la historia como tal, ya que incluso si fue reducida a menos de 100 páginas es fácil de comprender y hubieron partes q me tocaron el corazón.
Este libro deja mucho que pensar, habla de las diferencias en las clases sociales y de cómo la gente te trata dependiendo de la tuya, lo que alguien es capaz de hacer para poder ascender en estas y las consecuencias de sus actos, o como a veces uno puede estar tan cegado por ser "importante" q se olvida de aquellos q estuvieron siempre e incondicionalmente.
Sin embargo, siento que pudieron ocurrir algunos sucesos de manera distinta si no era por la conveniencia en estas escenas, pese a q fueron pocas.
En fin, queriendo darle una oportunidad a la novela original!
February 1, 2025
That was the novel I studied in both 7th and 12th grade. It has got a special place in my heart.The amount of critical thinking questions I answered made me understand the characters quite well. I think that the beauty of this novel lies in how it portrays human nature. Joe, the super selfless kind person. Pip who wants to feel appreciated and loved even if it's at the expense of his dignity. Clara, the amazing woman her lines were my absoulte fave. Miss Havisham, who is everything and nothing. Last, who is by no means the least Estella. She's such a controlling character. Overall, I think it's a nice novel that has lots of wisdom.
June 23, 2021
I am so happy that I’m finally DONE with this book.
Now, 1 Star was for the work out it, deserves a 0.5. I can’t wrap my mind around how boring this book was.
Charles’s Oliver Twist had the same affect on me, useless and too much details with no interesting plot but lives of fictional character he created.
Pip wasn’t interesting at all, I would take more from a book with a language I don’t understand than I did from this one.
Now, 1 Star was for the work out it, deserves a 0.5. I can’t wrap my mind around how boring this book was.
Charles’s Oliver Twist had the same affect on me, useless and too much details with no interesting plot but lives of fictional character he created.
Pip wasn’t interesting at all, I would take more from a book with a language I don’t understand than I did from this one.
January 30, 2024
This book is another short version from Oxford Press. In my opinion, at the beginning of the story, the story was very slow-paced as the characters were not that loveable. However, I like how the first part of the story worked as a base for the second adventure. As well, I was very surprised who sent him the money all the years and who actually was the father of Estella.
March 16, 2022
Better than the origin book!
January 25, 2023
No more lies, live well and die happy.
~Joe
~Joe
jóvenes
October 3, 20252 ejemplares
May 23, 2014
Pip is the main character of this book, who had lost his parents when he was young and raised by his elder sister and her husband, Joe Gargery. One day, Pip met a convict who threaten Pip to bring a file and some food. Pip gave these things to convict and he didn't tell anyone about a convict. Uncle Pumblechook introduced Pip to Miss Havisham and this visit has a great influence on his life. Miss Havisham was a poor woman who betrayed by her fiancé. Pip had a crush on Estella who is Miss Havisham's adopted daughter. Miss Havisham wanted to break men's heart through Estella. Perhaps, she wanted revenge to others instead of her fiance, and a victim was Pip. Estella made fun of his appearance and Pip wanted to be a gentleman. Later, Pip has inherited a fortune from anonymous benefactor and leave for London to be a gentleman. He received education and got a nice friend, Herbbert. Pip was getting selfish and arrogant. He ignored his true friends, Joe and be embarrassed his appearance. Pip thought anonymous benefactor was Miss Havisham. He thought she made Pip a gentleman to make him marry with Estella, but it was not. A convict, Magwitch was a benefactor and Pip was in shock about that. This was the climax of this story.Pip was ashamed of him, but he started to care him and decided to protect Magwitch from police with Herbbert. This escape failed and Magwitch died before his execution. All these events made Pip really sick. Joe came to London to nurse Pip, but he back to the village when Pip got better. Pip decided to go back to the village and asked forgiveness of his arrogant. The last scene of this book was reunion of Estella and Pip. Finally, they became a true friends to each other. Joe was a static character, but it was a really good static. I think the real gentleman is Joe. He refused when Mr Jagger tried to pay for lost his apprentice and he took care of Pip even Pip ignored and ashamed of him. The most important thing is that Pip inherited great expectation from Joe, a proper values and great, true love.
November 27, 2019
*WARNING - A RANT REWIEV AHEAD*
2,5 stars…
I love Charles Dickens' stories, but every time Oxford Bookworms try to adapt a book it ends up terrible. I honestly hope I will never have to read another adaptation. EVER.
And what's so wrong with it? Just imagine taking a book filled with deeper thoughts which delicately describes the character transformation and growing up of a boy who is also climbing the social ladder and cram it into 70 pages, where you can also find all the complex back-stories and a myriad of iconic characters. It's an impossible task, which turned out even worse than expected.
I can't say that I had great expectations for this shortened version, but I was still very disappointed.
I wouldn't complain so much if this book was targeted at kids of age 8 to 10, but it is not. It is supposed to be for students completing their FCEs - age 14 to your final hours.
So in conclusion let me just say:
Dear Oxford,
Please stop making your students read these adaptions. Just assign them the original. There are many good books easy to read which you do not have to rewrite. Have you ever heard of Animal Farm - it's the ideal book for students at B2 level and guess what, it has only 80 pages - just as your useless adaptions. Or if you do not like picking originals and simply want to rewrite books, just pick ones that are already horrible and do not have a important message and maybe you can make them a bit more tolerable. If you need a hint, I would suggest Twilight.
Sincerely,
Colca
2,5 stars…
I love Charles Dickens' stories, but every time Oxford Bookworms try to adapt a book it ends up terrible. I honestly hope I will never have to read another adaptation. EVER.
And what's so wrong with it? Just imagine taking a book filled with deeper thoughts which delicately describes the character transformation and growing up of a boy who is also climbing the social ladder and cram it into 70 pages, where you can also find all the complex back-stories and a myriad of iconic characters. It's an impossible task, which turned out even worse than expected.
I can't say that I had great expectations for this shortened version, but I was still very disappointed.
I wouldn't complain so much if this book was targeted at kids of age 8 to 10, but it is not. It is supposed to be for students completing their FCEs - age 14 to your final hours.
So in conclusion let me just say:
Dear Oxford,
Please stop making your students read these adaptions. Just assign them the original. There are many good books easy to read which you do not have to rewrite. Have you ever heard of Animal Farm - it's the ideal book for students at B2 level and guess what, it has only 80 pages - just as your useless adaptions. Or if you do not like picking originals and simply want to rewrite books, just pick ones that are already horrible and do not have a important message and maybe you can make them a bit more tolerable. If you need a hint, I would suggest Twilight.
Sincerely,
Colca
July 24, 2010
9. If you could ask any character a question, what would you ask? If you could ask the author a question, what might that be? Explain why you chose these questions.
I would ask a question to Pip why he always missed the opportunities which could make a really difference in his life. First of all, he didn’t behave correctly when Joe came to London to see him first time. Instead, he was ashamed of Joe who always helped and supported him when he had difficulties. If he didn’t forget where he came from, it would be better for him to show how a gentleman could be a polite and respectful to others at the same time. Secondly, he fell in love with Estella, and he just dreamed a wonderful future with her. He didn’t do something special to convince her. It could be an important obstruction that she was trained to be heartless against to man by Mrs. Havisham, however; Pip at least persuade her to marry with him. Even when he learned she will marry with another guy, he didn’t act anything to change her mind, and just accepted what will happen.
12. Are you puzzled or confused about anything in the story? What is it that confuses you, and why do you find it confusing?
Yes, I was somewhat confused especially in the last parts of the book. I didn’t understand why Pip tried not to take money from Abel Magwitch who Pip doesn’t know how he earned that money. On the other hand, he gave some of the convict’s money to Herbert to become a partner in his new business. Second, Pip solved the relationship between Abel Magwitch, Estella, and the housekeeper of Mr. Jaggers, but Jaggers didn’t find the connection even though he has more information about these people.
I would ask a question to Pip why he always missed the opportunities which could make a really difference in his life. First of all, he didn’t behave correctly when Joe came to London to see him first time. Instead, he was ashamed of Joe who always helped and supported him when he had difficulties. If he didn’t forget where he came from, it would be better for him to show how a gentleman could be a polite and respectful to others at the same time. Secondly, he fell in love with Estella, and he just dreamed a wonderful future with her. He didn’t do something special to convince her. It could be an important obstruction that she was trained to be heartless against to man by Mrs. Havisham, however; Pip at least persuade her to marry with him. Even when he learned she will marry with another guy, he didn’t act anything to change her mind, and just accepted what will happen.
12. Are you puzzled or confused about anything in the story? What is it that confuses you, and why do you find it confusing?
Yes, I was somewhat confused especially in the last parts of the book. I didn’t understand why Pip tried not to take money from Abel Magwitch who Pip doesn’t know how he earned that money. On the other hand, he gave some of the convict’s money to Herbert to become a partner in his new business. Second, Pip solved the relationship between Abel Magwitch, Estella, and the housekeeper of Mr. Jaggers, but Jaggers didn’t find the connection even though he has more information about these people.
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