Saturday, January 2, 2010

Great Expectations 5

  • "Nevertheless, I knew while I said those words ... It was two years more before I saw herself. I had heard of her as leading a most unhappy life ... Given her a heart to understand what my heart used to be." (p. 487-490)
Edward B. Lytton, a novelist, was able to persuade Dickens to change the original, unhappy ending of Great Expectations. As a reader, the revised version of the ending doesn't appear to fit the overall tone of the novel -- it almost comes across as fairy-tale-like, where in most of the story, nothing ever turns out perfectly. Dickens may have had the desire to please readers with a happy ending, to illustrate love can be realized, or that Estella and Pip were destined for each other. While some believe the original is too harsh, harsh is more suitable than unrealistic.

Work Cited:
"Edward Bulwer-Lytton." The Lost Club Journal. Web. 3 Jan. 2010. http://homepages.pavilion.net/tartarus/lytton.html.

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