Plot and Action
Plot summary: What happens in Great Expectations?
Chapters 1–11: Pip’s childhood, Chapters 12–19: Pip’s education and apprenticeship, Chapters 20–35: Pip moves to London, Chapters 36–42: The return of Magwitch, Chapters 43–55: Estella marries, Pip and Magwitch grow closer, Chapters 56–9: The death of Miss Havisham, Pip and Estella re-unitedChapters 1–3: Pip meets the escaped convict
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key setting: The Thames Marshes, Kent, Key quotation: Pip’s kindness, Exam focus: Writing about relationshipsChapters 4–6: The hunt for the convict
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key form: First-person narrativeChapters 7–8: Pip’s first visit to Miss Havisham
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Exam focus: Evaluating character, Key quotation: Pip and Miss HavishamChapters 9–10: An unlikely tale and a mysterious stranger
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key setting: Satis HouseChapter 11: A second visit to Satis House
Summary, Why is this chapter important?, Key quotation: Pip and Herbert Pocket, Exam focus: Writing about Miss HavishamChapters 12–14: Pip becomes Joe’s apprentice
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key language: Cruelty and unkindness, Top tip: Writing about marriage in Great Expectations, Revision focus: Satis HouseChapter 15: Orlick causes trouble and Mrs Joe is attacked
Summary, Why is this chapter important?, Exam focus: Writing about Orlick, Key quotation: Joe’s defence of Mrs JoeChapters 16–17: Mrs Joe fails to recover and Pip confides in biddy
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key language: How Dickens conveys feelings, Aiming high: Commenting on toneChapters 18–19: Pip is to become a gentleman
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key quotation: Moral judgements, Revision focus: Clothing and character, Exam focus: Writing about the novel’s structureChapters 20–2: Pip leaves for London
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Top tip: Writing about the legal system, Key setting: London, Key quotation: What is a gentleman?, Aiming high: Recognising and commenting on humourChapters 23–5: Pip meets new people
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Exam focus: Writing about Pip as narratorChapters 26–8: Dinner with Jaggers
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key character: Jaggers, Top tip: Writing about Dickens’s language, Revision focus: Pip and JoeChapters 29–31: Pip and Estella meet again
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key structure: Miss Havisham’s deception, Aiming high: Writing about social position, Key quotation: Trabb’s boyChapters 32–5: Estella visits Pip and his sister dies
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key form: Dickens’s use of satire, Key quotation: Pip, Estella and JaggersChapters 36–9: Pip’s benefactor is revealed
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key language: Magwitch returns, Aiming high: Exploring different interpretations of Miss Havisham, Revision focus: Key plot lines, Top tip: Writing about the authorChapters 40–2: Magwitch’s story
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key theme: Social class, Key quotation: Pip’s horror of MagwitchChapters 43–5: Estella is to be married
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key character: Bentley Drummle, Exam focus: Writing about themes such as loveChapters 46–8: Estella’s mother and plans for Magwitch
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key language: Forms of address, Key quotation: Pip’s relationship with Magwitch, Top tip: Writing about Dickens’s use of symbolismChapters 49–52: Fire at Satis House and the truth about Estella
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Aiming high: The fire at Satis HouseChapters 53–5: Orlick attacks Pip, Magwitch is captured
Summary, Why are these chapters important?, Key theme: Physical violence, Revision focus: OrlickCharacters
Pip
Pip’s role in the novel, Pip’s importance to the novel as a whole, Exam focus: Writing about Pip, Top tip: The characters in Pip’s lifeThemes, Contexts and Settings
Themes
Self-knowledge, Aiming high: Writing about a minor character, Justice, Key quotation: Magwitch’s trial, Wealth and power, Exam focus: The importance of money, Pride and revenge, Key quotation: Magwitch’s need for revengeForm, Structure and Language
Progress Booster
Planning your answer
Plan quickly and efficiently, Stage 1: Generate ideas quickly, Stage 2: Jot down useful quotations (or key events), Stage 3: Plan for paragraphs