Historical Information About The Setting - 1226 Words

Historical information about the Setting: The events in the book occur in England around the start of the 19th century, otherwise known as pre- and early Victorian era. Around this time, there were many societal changes occurring, such as the Industrial Revolution (which had begun near the end of the 18th century). These new changes put capitalism and manufacturing under the light of a new, greater wealth. The gap between the wealthy and the poor was noticeably large. The story begins in a rather poor, marsh country. Later, the story develops to take readers into a different class of people, thus giving us insight on other members of society during the same time range. Members of the higher class of society were expected to have good†¦show more content†¦Pip falls in love with Miss Havisham’s cruel, but beautiful adopted daughter, Estella. Pip wants to become a proper gentleman in hopes of marrying her (with the support of Ms. Havisham), but after months of playdates at Miss Havisham’s home, she decides to make him a common laborer. Pip becomes Joe’s apprentice. While he works miserably, Pip hopes to become more educated with the help of Biddy, who is basically the opposite of Estella. Orlick, Joe’s worker, hurts Mrs. Joe, who becomes mute and disabled. Jaggers, a lawyer, brings Pip some hopeful news. An anonymous benefactor has given Pip a large amount of money to make him a gentleman, which brings Pip to London. Pip assumes happily that Miss Havisham is his benefactor and wishes for Estella to marry him. Pip then meets Herbert Pocket and Wemmick, Jaggers’s clerk. Though he misses his old friends and family, Pip also starts to show shame of them. In order to further his relationship with Estella, Pip learns from Herbert’s father how to be a gentleman. Pip and Herbert led irresponsible lives until Orlick is employed as Miss Havisham’s porter. Jaggers fires Orlick after Pip explains Orlick’s past evils. When Mrs. Joe dies, Pip sadly returns home. After many years, the convict that started everything (Magwitch) reveals that he was the secret benefactor and he wanted to repay Pip for his kindness. While Pip is shocked, he has to prioritize helping Magwitch escape since he is still an escaped convict. It turns out that