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Abstract:The whole thesis is to study the delicate techniques of displaying arts and literature exercised by Dickens. Furthermore， the thesis is to guide readers to know about the wordings and humour of Dickens and appreciate the charm of Great Expectations through a large number of examples.

Key words:humourGreat expectationsgentleman

Part One

Dickens was a novelist， born at Landport， near Portsmouth， where his father was a clerk in the Navy Pay-Office. The hardships of his early life， his want of regular schooling， and his miserable time in the blacking factory， which form the basis of the early chapters of David Copperfield， are largely accounted for by the fact that his father was to a considerable extent the sample of the immortal Mr. Micawber; but partly by his being a delicate and sensitive child， unusually susceptible to suffering both in body and mind. Oliver Twist was coming out in Bentley’s Miscellany. Thence forward Dickens’ literary career was a continued success. American Notes appeared in 1842， the first of the Christmas books—the Christmas Carol—appeared in 1843， Hard Times in 1854， and started All the Year Round， in which appeared A Tale of Two Cities (1859)， and Great Expectations (1860-61).

One of Dickens’ most marked characteristics is the extraordinary wealth of his invention as exhibited in the number and variety of the characters introduced into his novels. Another， especially， of course， in his earlier works， is his boundless flow of animal spirits. Others are his marvelous keenness of observation and his descriptive power. And the English race may well， with Thackeray， be “grateful for the innocent laughter， and the sweet and unsullied pages which the author of David Copperfield gives to [its] children.” On the other hand， his faults are obvious， a tendency to sarcasm， a mannerism that often tires， and almost disgusts， fun often forced， and moving power not seldom degenerating into sickishness. But at his best how rich and genial is the humour， how tender often the moving power. And when all deductions are made， he had the laughter and tears of the English-speaking world at command for a full generation while he lived， and that his spell still works is proved by a continuous succession of new editions.

Dickens is best remembered， perhaps， for his ability to create humour out of farce， nonsense， and satire， using such types as the drunk， the abnormal， the affected actor， the farce actor， the hypocrite， snobbish physician and his ally， the undertaker， and such subjects as education， child abuse and neglect， and keeping up with the Joneses.

Part Two

Great Expectations written by Charles Dickens is regarded as a masterpiece of the American novels. The main characters invented by Charles Dickens in the book have displayed their own charms completely because of the extraordinary wealth of Charles Dickens’ invention as exhibited in the number and variety of the characters introduced into his novels， his marvelous keenness of observation and his descriptive power， and also his creative power of humour. As the main character and narrator of Great Expectations， Pip begins the story as a young orphan boy being raised by his sister and brother-in-law in the marsh country of Kent， in the west of England. Two important childhood events change his life forever and remain irrevocably intertwined with his subsequent history， he meets a convict in a cemetery and aids him by stealing food and a file from home， and he is taken to play at the home of Miss Havisham， a rich old eccentric， where he meets a beautiful young girl named Estella. Pip is passionate， romantic， and somewhat unrealistic at heart， and he tends to expect more for himself than is reasonable. Pip also has a powerful conscience， and he deeply wants to improve himself， both morally and socially. A fearsome criminal， Abei Magwitch (“The Convict”) escapes from prison at the beginning of Great Expectations and terrorizes Pip in the cemetery. Pip’s kindness makes a deep impression on him， and he subsequently devotes himself to making a fortune and elevating Pip into a higher social class.

For Magwitch， becoming a gentleman is all about riches and possessions. His dream is to make Pip a gentleman in this way. When he sees Pip in London， he is pleased to see that Pip has fulfilled that dream and that Pip shares the same idea of what a gentleman is.Even though Pip does not see Joe as educated and sophisticated， he is the best example in the novel of a wise man and a true “gentleman”. “Gentleman is not a word that refers to class， ancestry， or occupation. To be a gentleman， one must have a gentle soul—as Joe does.”Joe teaches Pip about friendship and the freedom that comes along with it. Joe is willing to let Pip go because he knows that Pip must learn for himself the meaning of friendship and true nobility.

Part Three

Great Expectations is the story of Pip， an orphan boy adopted by a blacksmith’s family， who has good luck and great expectations， and then loses both his luck and his expectations. Through this rise and fall， however， Pip learns how to find happiness. He learns the meaning of friendship and the meaning of love and， of course， becomes a better person for it. Dickens used the growth of his characters in Great Expectations， particularly Pip， in relation to others to write about social reform， and most effectively illustrated this by using the first-person narrative style.

Part Four

In Dickens’ novels he sees the chief problem in life as being people’s failing to understand one another clearly， to see the emotional and spiritual reality beneath the surface. This problem is reflected in such matters as the harshness of employers， the disinterestedness of government， the biases of the penal and justice systems—in short， the sheer inhumanity of British social institutions. “What is a gentleman， what is true gentility?” are the questions Dickens poses to his readers in Great Expectations. He shows the development of Pip from an innocent， unsophisticated orphan to a pseudo-gentleman and snob tinged by the taint of the prison house. The desire of the animalistic and brutal Orlick for personal vengeance reflects what Dickens sees as the fearful revolutionary potentialities of the masses. Estella， cold and distant as the stars that hold the mysteries of our fates， makes Pip painfully aware of his humble condition and motivates him to strive to be something better， worthier of her love (which she can never bestow).

To summarize， Satis House and London are a complementary microcosm and macrocosm. Dickens’ symbols generally and of the world-as-prison metaphor in particular involve mud， dust， gardens， seeds， the courts， and the river. He contrasts the purity of the Thames in the marsh country， at its mouth， with its pollution and corruption in the metropolis. Dickens’ ability to build suspense through adapting the devices of the late eighteenth-century’s Gothic novel has served as a model for later novelists. Dickens uses the persecution and exploitation of children and the theatricality of funerals to build moving power.

Bibliography:

[1]John Forster．The Life of Charles Dickens，1872．

[2]Peter Ackroyd， Dickens．1990．

[3]Max Byrd．“Reading” in Great Expectations， PMLA， 1970．

[4]Harry Stone．Dickens and the Invisible World: Fairy Tales， Fantasy， and Novel-Making， 1979．

(作者單位：福建經貿學校)