Great Expectations

OCR

GCSE

Great Expectations follows the maturation of Philip Pirrip (Pip), an orphan raised by his blacksmith brother-in-law in the Kent marshes. Following a terrifying encounter with the convict Magwitch and a summons to Satis House by the eccentric Miss Havisham, Pip develops a fervent desire to transcend his working-class origins and become a gentleman for the cold, beautiful Estella. Upon receiving a mysterious fortune, Pip travels to London, abandoning his loyal family to pursue 'great expectations' and a life of idleness. The narrative reaches its crisis when the true source of his wealth is revealed not as Miss Havisham, but the convict Magwitch, forcing a painful moral reassessment of gentility, gratitude, and loyalty. Ultimately, the novel serves as a critique of the Victorian class system and a psychological study of guilt and redemption.

Objectives

Exam Tips

Pitfalls

Key Terms

Mark Points

What You Need to Demonstrate

Key skills and knowledge for this topic

AO1: Develop a critical, informed personal response that traces Pip's moral and psychological development (Bildungsroman) across the text.
AO2: Analyse Dickens' use of caricature, grotesque imagery, and setting (e.g., the marshes, Satis House) to reflect character psychology.
AO3: Integrate contextual factors such as the Victorian class system, the concept of the 'gentleman', and legal injustice as drivers of the plot.
AO1/AO2: Demonstrate understanding of the retrospective first-person narrative voice and its ironic distance.

Example Examiner Feedback

Real feedback patterns examiners use when marking

"You have analysed the extract well; now ensure you provide specific evidence from the rest of the novel to support this theme."
"Avoid generalising about 'Victorian times'; link the context specifically to Dickens' critique of the legal system or class ambition."
"Differentiate clearly between what Pip sees and what Dickens wants the reader to understand."
"Use more precise terminology when discussing the structure—consider the effect of the serialised form on the pacing."

Marking Points

Key points examiners look for in your answers

AO1: Develop a critical, informed personal response that traces Pip's moral and psychological development (Bildungsroman) across the text.
AO2: Analyse Dickens' use of caricature, grotesque imagery, and setting (e.g., the marshes, Satis House) to reflect character psychology.
AO3: Integrate contextual factors such as the Victorian class system, the concept of the 'gentleman', and legal injustice as drivers of the plot.
AO1/AO2: Demonstrate understanding of the retrospective first-person narrative voice and its ironic distance.

Examiner Tips

Expert advice for maximising your marks

💡Allocate 15-20 minutes to the extract analysis and 30-35 minutes to the wider text links.
💡Select 3-4 'pivot' quotations from elsewhere in the novel that link to major themes (guilt, ambition, class).
💡Ensure context (AO3) is used to explain *why* Dickens wrote the text, not just *when*.
💡Structure the argument conceptually (e.g., 'Dickens presents ambition as destructive') rather than chronologically.

Common Mistakes

Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

Treating the extract in isolation and failing to link themes to the wider novel.
Describing characters (e.g., Miss Havisham) as real people rather than constructs used to critique society.
Bolting on biographical facts about Dickens (e.g., his time in the blacking factory) without linking to the text's meaning.
Confusing the views of the young Pip (protagonist) with the mature Pip (narrator).

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