Charles Dickens has never been a favorite author of mine. The only book I truly like of his is the Christmas Carol, and then only for its shortness and originality. I enjoy the story idea, but not his writing. The same went for the book Great Expectations. I respected and was interested by the plot, but his style of writing kills me. Saying that his style is over descriptive doesn't do the thing justice. Try uber-mega-super-unnecessarily-descriptive. Apparently, the reasoning behind this is because his publisher payed him by the word, and Dickens wanted be rich, I guess. He must've been, taking Great Expectations and David Copperfield into account. But anyway, despite my absolute loathing of the swampy, overcrowded use of adjectives and run-on sentences, I still minimally enjoyed Great Expectations; again, only for the story. And, before I move on, if you think that I only find Charles Dickens difficult to read because I'm an ignorant 21st century teenager, think again; much of England in c. 1860 felt the same way, thus hurting his sales. Hmmm... So, are we saying that Dicken's greed actually made him poorer? Food for thought.
Why do I find the storyline of Great Expectations so interesting? Because its relatable. I understand what the main character is going through, for the most part. For those of you who have not had the ridiculous pleasure of reading Dickens' work, Great Expectations is basically about the life of a young man from age 7, onward. Thus, I can relate in some ways. Pip, however, becomes friends(more or less) with an escaped convict; I, on the other hand, have never had the pleasure of doing so. Pip also is an orphan; I gratefully own two parents, with extended warranties both (just in case of accidents).Back to relatable, though. Pip has trouble just with growing up. Hormones and inexperience plague him like they do all of us. And, of course, he deals with having to live up to great expectations. We all face this problem. We've all seen the dad who forces his son to practice, practice, practice until he's perfect (My dad, while very encouraging, is thankfully not obnoxious). Nobody enjoys parents who care more about their child's appearance than the child himself. Pip is forced to go and be a gentleman, a big deal in the 19th century. Only the very wealthy could afford to do so, and only those who wished to make something of themselves ever bothered to do so. Thus, Pip finds himself having much required of him. Much expected.
As a teenager, thirteen through nineteen, stress is to be expected(no pun). Pressure will be exerted and, at times, threaten to crush you. But with the right attitude, and the right tools, dangerous levels of hormones will never be reached and you may just survive. In part two, I will discuss HOW to survive the great expectations of the teenager years. Don't touch the dial.
~Ian James~
I, like you did not care for the way he wrote his books. BUT my husband LOVES this book. I know he loves the thought behind the story, as you do. He tries to encourge my two boys to read it all the time. I can't want to read part 2....
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