GREAT EXPECTATIONS QUESTIONS

Character List Quick Quiz

1. What does Estella warn Pip that she is missing?

 Her family
 A heart
 A soul
 Ambition

2. Why does Jaggers smell of soap?

 Because his housekeeper douses him with it

 Because he cleans his office everyday
 Because he compulsively scrubs his hands
 Because he nibbles on a bar of soap throughout the day

3. Who takes credit for Pip’s rise in status?

 Miss Havisham
 Jaggers
 Uncle Provis
 Uncle Pumblechook

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4. What does Mrs. Joe threaten Pip and Joe with?

 Her cane
 Her whip
 Her fists
 Her smarts

5. What happens to Drummle after he marries Estella?

 He gets rich.
 He rises in social status.
 He dies.
 He divorces her.

Analysis of Major Characters Quick Quiz

1. How does Pip, the narrator, view his own past?

 Nostalgically
 With a sad fondness
 Harshly
 Happily
2. How does Miss Havisham raise Estella?

 To be a heartbreaker
 To be career-oriented
 To be a mother
 To be a nun

3. What word best describes Estella’s marriage to Drummle?

 Pleasant
 Ambivalent
 Miserable
 Uneventful

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4. How does Miss Havisham feel about what she did to Pip?

 Proud
 Indifferent
 Envious
 Regretful

5. How are Miss Havisham and Pip alike?

 They both have broken hearts.

 They both lost their fortunes.
 They’ve both been betrayed by Estella.
 They both are orphans.

Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Quick Quiz

1. Which measure of success is the most important in Great Expectations?

 Social status
 Wealth
 Inner goodness
 Large families

2. What does Miss Havisham’s wedding dress symbolize?

 Decay
 Romance
 History
 Optimism

3. What do the mists signify?

 Clarity
  Danger
 The past
 Selfhood

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4. Which of the following pairs is an example of doubles?

 Joe and Mrs. Joe

 Biddy and Estella
 Herbert and Drummle
 Jaggers and Orlick

5. Who can be seen as a direct contrast to Pip?

 Joe
 Jaggers
 Drummle
 Herbert

Chapters 1-3 Quick Quiz

1. What is Pip’s real name?

 Peter Philips
 Philip Pirrip
 Pipper Philips
 Paul Pirrip

2. What does Pip come across in the village churchyard?

 A stray dog
 His older sister
 An escaped convict
 The church’s priest

3. What does the convict ask Pip for?

 A map of his town

 Food and a file
 A place to stay for the night
 Liquor and cigars

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4. Whom does Pip come across first when he returns to the marshes?

 A second convict
 The first convict he met
  His Uncle Joe
 His sister, Mrs. Joe

5. Why does the convict Pip first met get angry when he sees him again?

 Because Pip does not bring him enough food

 Because Pip mentions the second convict
 Because he cannot remove the irons from his legs
 Because he feels guilty about his crimes

Chapters 4-7 Quick Quiz

1. What do the police officers have when they walk into Joe’s house?

 A warrant for Pip’s arrest

 The file that Pip stole from Joe
 A pair of handcuffs
 The escaped convict

2. What do the police officers want?

 To question Pip about the convict

 Joe’s help fixing the handcuffs
 To have a drink with Pumblechook
 Directions to the marshes

3. How does Pip’s convict explain the file and the food?

 He identifies Pip as his accomplice.

 He says the other convict got them for him.
 He says he stole them himself.
 He tells the policemen nothing about them.

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4. Why does Pip feel guilty?

 Because he didn’t tell Joe the truth

 Because he stole from his sister
 Because his sister will punish him
 Because Joe didn’t fix the handcuffs

5. Why are Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook excited for Pip to play at Miss
Havisham’s?

 They think Pip is lonely and needs friends.

 They think Pip is a burden and needs to get out of the house.
 They think Miss Havisham will teach him a lesson.
 They think Miss Havisham might make him rich.
Chapters 8-10 Quick Quiz

1. What is Miss Havisham wearing when Pip meets her?

 A dressing gown
 A wedding dress
 A business suit
 A nurse’s uniform

2. How does Estella treat Pip?

 Unpleasantly
 Forcefully
 Indifferently
 Eagerly

3. How does Pip explain his time at Miss Havisham’s?

 He tells the truth about it.

 He makes up lies about its grandeur.
 He refuses to talk about it.
 He says he never wants to go back.

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4. What advice does Joe give to Pip?

 To do whatever he must to succeed

 To avoid Miss Havisham at all costs
 To always be honest and forthright
 To enjoy spending time with the wealthy

5. What does the stranger in the bar give to Pip?

 Money
 Joe’s file
 Advice
 Supper

Chapters 11-13 Quick Quiz

1. What does Pip get when he wins the fight?

 A small fortune
 To kiss Estella
 Joe’s approval
 Mrs. Joe’s wrath

2. What does Pip hope Miss Havisham will do for him?

  Help him move out on his own
 Punish Mrs. Joe for her cruelty
 Make him into a gentleman
 Encourage Estella to marry him

3. What does Miss Havisham encourage Estella to do?

 Break Pip’s heart

 Play cards with Pip
 Help Pip with his studies
 Take Pip’s money

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4. What does Miss Havisham offer Pip?

 A formal education
 To make him Joe’s apprentice
 Estella’s hand in marriage
 Financial security

5. Whom does Pip begin to confide in?

 Joe
 Mrs. Joe
 Estella
 Biddy

Chapters 14-16 Quick Quiz

1. What does Pip think of while he works at Joe’s?

 Making money for his sister

 Returning to Satis House
 Making his family proud
 Punishing Miss Havisham

2. What does Pip do on Sundays?

 Go to church
 Spend time with Estella
 Go for long walks
 Teach Joe to read

3. How does Orlick treat Pip?

 Generously
 Fairly
 Cruelly
  Indifferently

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4. What happens when Mrs. Joe is attacked?

 Joe vows revenge on her attacker.

 She dies from her injuries.
 She suffers brain damage and is disabled.
 Joe gets into a fight with Orlick.

5. Whom do Biddy and Pip suspect to be Mrs. Joe’s attacker?

 Orlick
 Pumblechook
 The convicts
 Estella

Chapters 17-19 Quick Quiz

1. Whom does Pip confess his love for Estella to?

 Biddy
 Mrs. Joe
 Joe
 Miss Havisham

2. What does Jaggers tell Pip is in his future?

 A police interrogation
 A large inheritance
 More work with Joe
 A gift from Miss Havisham

3. Whom does Pip believe his benefactor to be?

 Miss Havisham
 Orlick
 Pumblechook
 Wopsle

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4. When does Jaggers say that Pip will learn the identity of his benefactor?

 At age 21
 When he begins his career
 Never
 When he marries
5. What does Pip regret most?

 Not spending time with Estella

 Treating Joe and Biddy poorly
 His sister’s condition
 Not knowing the identity of his benefactor

Chapters 20-26 Quick Quiz

1. Where does Pip remember Herbert from?

 His early days in school

 His apprenticeship with Joe
 A visit to Miss Havisham’s
 A Christmas at Joe’s house

2. What does Herbert call Pip?

 Handel
 Humbert
 Philip
 Pirrip

3. What does Herbert reveal to Pip about Miss Havisham?

 That she is his benefactor

 That she was left at the altar
 That she was friends with his father
 That she is not actually wealthy

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4. How does Jaggers appear in court?

 Hesitant
 Pleasant
 Menacing
 Ineffective

5. What characteristic describes Wemmick at home?

 Cynical
 Unrealistic
 Mean
 Happy

Chapters 27-35 Quick Quiz

1. What news does Joe have of Estella?

  That she remains abroad
 That she is engaged to be married
 That she is home and wants to see Pip
 That she has left Miss Havisham’s house

2. Who does the mysterious stranger say asked him to give Pip money in the
pub?

 Joe
 Miss Havisham
 Jaggers
 Pip’s convict

3. What surprises Pip about Estella?

 Her beauty
 Her height
 Her wealth
 Her cruelty

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4. Why won’t Herbert marry Clara?

 He does not love her.

 His father will not let him.
 He is too poor to marry.
 She will not make a good wife.

5. Who does Pip learn has died?

 Orlick
 Biddy
 Wemmick
 Mrs. Joe

Chapters 36-37 Quick Quiz

1. Why does Pip believe that Miss Havisham is his benefactor?

 Because she wants him to marry Estella

 Because she wants him to move away from Estella
 Because she has always taken on boys who need help
 Because she is known for her anonymous donations

2. What does Pip receive on his 21st birthday?

 The identity of his benefactor

 A letter from Joe
  A visit from Estella
 A steady income

3. What does Pip’s encounter with Jaggers remind him of?

 His relationship with Joe

 Mrs. Joe’s old punishments
 His interaction with the convict
 Spending time at Wemmick’s home

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4. How does Jaggers’s presence alter Pip’s birthday celebration?

 He makes the party even more exciting.

 He makes the party less enjoyable.
 He helps Pip pay for the celebration.
 He gives Pip and Herbert financial advice.

5. How does Pip want to help Herbert?

 By giving him a loan to get out of debt

 By buying him into the merchant business
 By helping him court and support Clara
 By convincing his father that he will be successful

Chapters 38-39 Quick Quiz

1. What does Pip notice about the relationship between Estella and Miss
Havisham?

 That it is warm and loving

 That it is purely financial
 That it is antagonistic
 That it is welcoming to him

2. Who is courting Estella?

 Herbert
 Wemmick
 Drummle
 Jaggers

3. How does Estella handle Pip’s concerns about Drummle?

 She takes them seriously.

 She dismisses them.
 She vows to avoid Drummle.
 She thinks Pip is biased.
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4. Who is revealed as Pip’s true benefactor?

 Pip’s convict
 Miss Havisham
 Jaggers
 Mr. Pocket

5. What does Pip do when he finds out that his convict is on the run?

 He goes to the police.

 He decides not to get involved.
 He runs away.
 He plans to help him.

Chapters 40-46 Quick Quiz

1. What does Pip decide to call his convict?

 Magwitch
 Uncle Provis
 Uncle Magwitch
 Abel

2. How did Compeyson get a light sentence for crimes he committed with
Magwitch?

 By turning on Magwitch
 By bribing Miss Havisham
 By using his gentleman’s status
 By hiring Jaggers

3. How is Compeyson tied to Miss Havisham?

 He is her old fiance.

 He is an old friend.
 He is Estella’s uncle.
 He is her half brother.

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4. What does Miss Havisham agree to do for Pip?

 Convince Estella to marry him

 Continue to support him
 Help Herbert financially
 Help Magwitch avoid the law
5. Whom does Estella plan to marry?

 No one
 Drummle
 Pip
 Herbert

Chapters 47-52 Quick Quiz

1. What does Pip find out about Compeyson?

 Compeyson is pursuing Estella.

 Compeyson is following him.
 Compeyson has threatened Herbert.
 Compeyson has returned to his home.

2. Who does Pip believe Molly is?

 Wemmick’s sister
 Jaggers’s girlfriend
 Estella’s mother
 Compeyson’s ex-wife

3. How does Miss Havisham get injured?

 She catches on fire.

 She falls down the stairs.
 She leaps off the balcony.
 She fights with her porter.

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4. Who is Estella’s father?

 Magwitch
 Compeyson
 Jaggers
 Arthur

5. What does the anonymous note that Pip receives say?

 It announces Estella’s marriage.

 It announces Miss Havisham’s death.
 It threatens Uncle Provis.
 It declares Herbert’s promotion.

Chapters 53-56 Quick Quiz

1. Who sent Pip the anonymous note?

  Compeyson
 Wemmick
 Jaggers
 Orlick

2. What crime does Orlick confess?

 Killing Mrs. Joe

 Setting fire to Miss Havisham
 Attacking Magwitch
 Stealing from Joe

3. Who saves Pip from Orlick?

 Jaggers
 Wemmick
 Joe
 Herbert

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4. What happens when Pip tries to help Magwitch escape?

 Magwitch turns himself in.

 Compeyson attacks Magwitch.
 The police come to arrest Magwitch.
 Wemmick gets the signals wrong.

5. What does Pip say to comfort Magwitch?

 That he is grateful for his help

 That his daughter Estella is alive
 That he’ll go after Compeyson
 That he’ll try to talk to the judge

Chapters 57-59 Quick Quiz

1. What is Pip arrested for?

 Aiding a convict
 Going into debt
 Lying to the police
 Threatening Orlick

2. Who comes to nurse Pip back to health?

 Herbert
 Estella
 Biddy
  Joe

3. Who pays off Pip’s debts?

 Jaggers
 Wemmick
 Joe
 Miss Havisham

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4. What surprises Pip about Biddy?

 That she has married Joe

 That she opened her own school
 That she moved to London
 That she ran off with Orlick

5. What does Pip come across as he revisits Satis House?

 Miss Havisham’s will

 Estella
 A letter to him
 Money

Study Questions

1.

Discuss Pip as both a narrator and a character. How are different aspects of his personality
revealed by his telling of his story and by his participation in the story itself?

Pip’s story—the story of the novel—traces his development through the events of his early
life; his narration, however, written years after the end of the story, is a product of his
character as it exists after the events of the story. Pip’s narration thus reveals the
psychological endpoint of his development in the novel. Pip’s behavior as a character often
reveals only part of the story—he treats Joe coldly, for instance—while his manner as a
narrator completes that story: his guilt for his poor behavior toward his loved ones endures,
even as he writes about his early life years later. Of course, Dickens manipulates Pip’s
narration in order to evoke its subjects effectively: Pip’s childhood is narrated in a much
more childlike voice than his adult years, even though the narrator Pip presumably writes
both parts of the story at a single later date. Dickens also uses Pip’s narration to reinforce
particular aspects of his character that emerge in the course of the novel: we know from his
actions that Pip is somewhat self-centered but sympathetic at heart to others; Pip’s later
narration of his relationships with others tends to reflect those qualities. When Magwitch
reveals that he is Pip’s benefactor, for instance, Pip is disgusted by the convict and describes
him solely in negative terms; as his affection for Magwitch grows, the descriptive terms he
chooses to apply to the convict become much more positive.

2.
What role does social class play in Great Expectations? What lessons does Pip learn from his
experience as a wealthy gentleman? How is the theme of social class central to the novel?

One way to see Pip’s development, and the development of many of the other characters in
Great Expectations, is as an attempt to learn to value other human beings: Pip must learn to
value Joe and Magwitch, Estella must learn to value Pip, and so on. Throughout the novel,
social class provides an arbitrary, external standard of value by which the characters
(particularly Pip) judge one another. Because social class is rigid and preexisting, it is an
attractive standard for every character who lacks a clear conscience with which to make
judgments—Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook, for instance. And because high social class is
associated with romantic qualities such as luxury and education, it is an immediately
attractive standard of value for Pip. After he is elevated to the status of gentleman, though,
Pip begins to see social class for what it is: an unjust, capricious standard that is largely
incompatible with his own morals. There is simply no reason why Bentley Drummle should
be valued above Joe, and Pip senses that fact. The most important lesson Pip learns in the
novel—and perhaps the most important theme in Great Expectations—is that no external
standard of value can replace the judgments of one’s own conscience. Characters such as Joe
and Biddy know this instinctively; for Pip, it is a long, hard lesson, the learning of which
makes up much of the book.

3.

Throughout the novel, Pip is plagued by powerful feelings of guilt and shame, and
everywhere he goes he tends to encounter symbols of justice—handcuffs, gallows, prisons,
and courtrooms. What is the role of guilt in the novel? What does it mean to be “innocent”?

At the beginning of the novel, Pip’s feelings of conscience are determined largely by his fear
of what others might think, a state of mind no doubt reinforced by Mrs. Joe’s “Tickler.” He
has strong feelings of guilt but an inadequate system by which to judge right from wrong;
unable to determine the value of his own actions, he feels guilty even when he does the right
thing. He acts with compassion and sympathy when he helps the convict, but he nevertheless
feels deeply guilty and imagines that the police are waiting to take him away. As the novel
progresses, Pip comes closer to trusting his own feelings; when he helps Magwitch at the end
of the novel, he feels no guilt, only love, and he remains with the convict even after the police
arrive to take him away. Throughout the novel, symbols of justice, such as prisons and police,
serve as reminders of the questions of conscience that plague Pip: just as social class provides
an external standard of value irrespective of a person’s inner worth, the law provides an
external standard of moral behavior irrespective of a person’s inner feelings. Pip’s
wholehearted commitment to helping Magwitch escape the law in the last section of the novel
contrasts powerfully with his childhood fear of police and shows that, though he continues to
be very hard on his own shortcomings, Pip has moved closer to a reliance on his own inner
conscience—which is the only way, as Joe and Biddy show, that a character can truly be
“innocent.”

Suggested Essay Topics

1. What significance does the novel’s title, Great Expectations, have for the story? In what
ways does Pip have “great expectations”?
2. For much of Great Expectations, Pip seems to believe in a stark division between good and
evil, and he tends to classify people and situations as belonging to one extreme or the other:
for instance, despite their respective complexities, he believes that Estella is good and the
convict is evil. Yet, both socially and morally, Pip himself is often caught between extremes;
his own situation rarely matches up to his moral vision. What is the role of moral extremes in
this novel? What does it mean to be ambiguous or caught between extremes?

3. Discuss the character of Miss Havisham. What themes does she embody? What
experiences have made her as she is? Is she a believable character? How does she relate to
Pip and Estella?

4. Think about the novel’s two endings—the “official” version, in which Pip and Estella are
reunited in the garden, and the earlier version, in which they merely speak briefly on the
street and go their separate ways. Which version do you prefer? Which version seems more
true to the thematic development of the novel? Why?

A+ Student Essay

What is the significance of the character of Wemmick in Great Expectations?

With his sharply split personality, which expresses itself in completely opposite ways
depending on whether he is at work or at home, John Wemmick is among the most peculiar
figures in Great Expectations. Dickens creates this unusually divided man as a way of
showing how living and working in a capitalist society forces individuals to develop public
personas that are different from their private ones.

Wemmick’s brusque manner and inflexible features strike Pip upon their initial acquaintance.
Wemmick is so impervious to feelings of sympathy and generosity that Pip says that he
appears to have been chiseled out of wood. Pip repeatedly describes Wemmick as mechanical
and refers to his mouth as a “post office,” a perfectly rigid slot that betrays no emotions at all.
Wemmick’s demeanor seems as hardened as his face, and Pip becomes deeply disconcerted
by the clerk’s familiarity with unsavory people and places and his casual way of referring to
nefarious activities as though they were completely normal. The only thing that seems to
interest Wemmick is “portable property,” which he describes as his leading concern in life.
All of this distance from what Pip views as the normal course of behavior, coupled with
Wemmick’s association with the seemingly vicious Jaggers, leaves Pip wondering if he has
not aligned himself with men as disreputable as the criminals whose affairs they handle.

The first hint that Wemmick’s cynical exterior may mask another side to his personality
occurs when he tells Pip that Jaggers does not want Pip to know his true intentions. Pip is
visibly struck by this remark, and Wemmick tells him that “ ‘it’s not personal; it’s
professional: only professional.’ ” This statement suggests that Wemmick believes in a sharp
division between personal life and professional life, and that people should leave their
feelings at home when they go to work. The extent of this separation becomes even clearer
when Pip accompanies Wemmick to his home, a bizarre suburban castle complete with a
moat and drawbridge. This fortified building allows Wemmick to leave his public life
completely behind, and once at home he becomes a totally different person. He is jovial and
generous, and displays a great deal of sympathy toward his father, whom he lovingly calls the
“Aged P.” Later Pip discovers that Wemmick even has a fiancé, Miss Skiffins, to whom he is
deeply attached. When they leave Wemmick’s house, Pip notices that the clerk’s features
grow more and more wooden the closer they get to the office, until Wemmick has changed
back into the dry mercenary he first appeared to be.

Wemmick’s two sides are clearly at odds. In fact, Wemmick tells Pip that his sentiments at
home and his sentiments at work have nothing to do with each other, and suggests that they
are so unrelated that they cannot even be said to be in conflict. This point is underscored by
the fact that in the office Wemmick tells Pip that helping Herbert Pocket would be the
equivalent of throwing money straight into the river, but at home he shows his eagerness to
support Pip’s plan for advancing his friend. Wemmick has created a hardened, cynical shell
so that he can get through his workday, during which his primary concern must always be
helping his employer make a profit. The profit motive for workers in a capitalist economy is
so great, Dickens suggests, that people must transform themselves into amoral machines just
to get through their workdays.

Dickens calls attention to this feature of capitalism so that he can subsequently suggest ways
to reform it. The change Dickens seeks to introduce occurs when Pip wants Jaggers to
confirm Estella’s identity. As Jaggers continues to refuse to help, Pip pleads with Wemmick,
reminding the clerk that he has a family and home that he loves, and asking him to open his
heart to Pip’s case. Jaggers is stunned by the revelation of Wemmick’s other life, and
Wemmick tells him that he kept it hidden because it had nothing to do with work, hinting as
well that Jaggers ought to have a home life instead of merely a professional existence.
Jaggers is so moved by this that he instantly reveals the details Pip seeks about Estella. In
crafting this scene, Dickens proposes an alternative version of the relationship between
private and public life, one in which the feelings of the home can be brought into the
workplace, thereby relieving workers of the burden of living double lives and infusing the
workplace with sympathy and generosity.