Plot Summary

      Great Expectations is the story of Pip, a young orphan who is struggling to find his place in society, love, and to meet his “great expectations.” He lives with his sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Joe. This novel explains Pip’s life as a child, teen, young adult, and mature adult. As a child, Pip assists an escaped convict by sneaking him food, liquor and a file to cut off his chains. This early event will change the course of his life for the rest of the story. Pip later meets Miss Havisham, an old, lonely women who is “stuck in time.” All her clocks are set to twenty to nine, the time in which she waited at the alter for her fiancé, who never showed up. This event in her early life sends her into a depression, and she calls upon Pip to help her. Miss Havishams servant, Estella, a young beautiful teen close to the age of Pip, plays an important role in this story. Miss Havisham has Pip come to play with Estella, and Pip quickly falls in love with her.  He grows older with Estella, his tutor Biddy, and his father figure Mr. Joe.  One day Pip receives a large sum of money from a mysterious benefactor. He is convinced it is from Mrs. Havisham, and he knows he is destined to be with Estella. Pip moves to London where he loses himself in money, strangers, new friends, and even a few old ones. Pip learns sometimes your “great expectations” are not the ones life has planned for you.