I plan to use this unit within the confines of a single marking period ranging from eight to ten weeks. A schedule of independent reading will be devised depending upon the ability of the particular class experiencing the unit. This reading will be supplemented by reading in class and by my reading to the class. At least one day each week will be devoted to discussion of prior reading and will be the impetus for writing assignments that will be scheduled. Once again the time period for teaching this unit need not be strictly followed as more able classes may proceed more quickly and less able groups slower. The user of this unit should monitor the progress of it by spot checking the assigned reading through a series of questions related to the story line. Such a strategy will allow the teacher to gauge which students are doing the reading while assuring that those who are not at least have an idea of how the story is progressing.
A study of Great Expectations as a novel of familial relationships provides a variety of topics for extended classroom discussions since the book raises a number of key questions as Pip seeks to find his niche in life. One such question deals with the role of Miss Havisham who is so very central to the plot of Dickens’ tale. Although the novel is rich in familial relationships, Miss Havisham is unmarried as a result of her ill-fated affair mentioned earlier. This fact, in itself, does not make her an anti-family figure. Rather, it is her tutelage of the young and beautiful Estella whom she raises as an extension of her own bitter attitude toward men. Estella is openly encouraged to break men’s hearts as Miss Havisham’s own heart was broken when her wedding plans diminished so abruptly. Why would Dickens use such a character at the core of his novel? One could argue that Miss Havisham is a tool of Dickens’ then developing literary art and merely a vehicle to add a certain mystique and intrigue to the life of the novel’s hero. It also could be said, however, that the matriarchal figure of Miss Havisham as an anti-family figure merely asserts Dickens’ view of the importance of the family in life. Time has stopped for Miss Havisham both literally and figuratively. Without the hope and promise of a familial relationship, Miss Havisham remains a character of tragic consequence who can not achieve the fulfillment of her once cherished dream. Students should be encouraged to discuss the role of Miss Havisham in the novel. Such a discussion should lead students to a realization of the importance of familial love and caring and how these familial qualities can contribute to their own growth and maturation.
Closely aligned but probably easier to understand than the spectre of Miss Havisham at the core of Great Expectations is the absence, for the most part, of the nuclear family in the novel. The only glimpses Dickens affords us are the highly comical Matthew Pockets and the Joe and Biddy relationship at the end of the novel. This revelation should be particularly realistic for our students since one parent families are very often the norm in an urban setting such as New Haven. A discussion of the term nuclear family should be introduced during the study of the novel. Students should be encouraged to discuss any advantages or disadvantages a member of a nuclear family might experience. Is a nuclear family really that important to its individual members? A writing assignment where each student remarks about the strengths of his own family will be suggested following this discussion.
We can assume if we read the story of Dickens’ life that he had much respect for the family unit. Dickens was one of eight children and fathered ten himself. Dickens realized, however, through personal experience that the family unit may oftentimes become fragmented. Certainly, there are no clearer indications of this than in Great Expectations where Pip’s immediate family is the result of the death of his parents and the Magwitch-Molly union along with Estella is separated by tragic circumstances. These two families should be discussed in light of their importance in the novel.
Any study which deals with eighth grade students reading literature that focuses upon the search for identity must necessarily concern itself with the students’ own future and careers. Several diverse professions are highlighted in Great Expectations that range from blue collar trades to white collar professionals. No clearer example of a blue collar occupation exists than in Joe Gargery’s station in life as a blacksmith. Joe labors at his forge daily creating and repairing implements which he has no cause to use himself. The more fortunate citizens who own horses come to Joe so that he may shoe their symbols of success. The landed property owners use Joe to repair farming implements. Even the soldiers from the prison ship need Joe to repair the manacles before they resume their search. Joe’s occupation is certainly important and useful in his society although he enjoys no special significance or lofty stature in the community. Joe labors daily in a tedious manner right at his home thus making his jaunts to the Jolly Bargemen all the more pleasurable.
In contrast to Joe Gargery’s trade is the position of John Wemmick who serves as Jaggers’ clerk in the law office. Wemmick commutes to work each day, handles all the clerical duties in the office such as record keeping and screening Jaggers’ clients, and then returns home each evening to a charming abode which he lovingly calls his castle. Wemmick is able to make work and home life two very distinct experiences unlike Joe who toils in the same place he lives. Wemmick also enjoys a certain notoriety since clients and potential clients of Jaggers view him as a direct link to the prominent lawyer. While Joe works with his hands, Wemmick works with his mind. Each has his pleasures in life, and each is a major influence on Pip in the novel.
Dickens takes the world of work one step further with his inclusion of Jaggers in Great Expectations. Jaggers is certainly the most successful character in the novel in terms of an occupation. He is a lawyer, a paid confidante and advisor, and a manipulator who can successfully defend seemingly guilty clients through cunning and guile. Dickens makes it quite clear that Jaggers performs no task without just compensation. Jaggers is a professional who can pick and choose his clients unlike Joe and Wemmick who are both subservient either to the public or to an employer. Jaggers’ only allegiance is to his clients or rather the fees his clients pay for the benefit of his judicial brilliance. In stark contrast to Joe and Wemmick, however, Jaggers has no family. His housekeeper, Molly, is a former client whom he saved from the gallows. Everything Jaggers does is job related. He is the consummate professional although he seemingly attains his stature at the expense of not having a private life—a tavern or a castle as a means of escape.
Students will be asked to discuss their views on these three levels of work in relation to their somewhat yet unformed ideas of what careers they might explore. The advantages and disadvantages of each job will be weighed. We will examine the responsibilities each of the characters have to the public. Since the major thrust of the unit deals with questions of family, the impact each character’s occupation has upon his family or private life will be explored. Students will be encouraged to compare other occupations to the ones read about in the novel and to develop a working list of different job categories. In essence, this portion of the unit might exist as a launching pad for my students to experience career exploration and better equip them to make a more conscious choice of a high school to attend the following year.
Charles Dickens’ great popularity on both sides of the Atlantic can be attributed in part to the form in which his work was generally presented to the reading public. Dickens released his novels and stories through serialization using English periodicals such as Bentley’s Miscellany, Household Words, and All the Year Round as vehicles. Since Dickens was a master storyteller, he knew how to intrigue his readers by ending each serialized segment at such a moment so as to leave them virtually breathless until the following publication of the periodical reached the sellers. Monetary profit was always a concern of Dickens, and he was thus able to gauge the popularity of his work in progress on a weekly basis.
Another factor which contributed to Dickens’ popularity and wide readership was his periodic condescension to giving public readings of his published works in his later years. Once again Dickens’ goal of being commercially successful played an important role here as his financial solvency was a factor in every literary enterprise he undertook. Dickens would pack the theaters and halls to the rafters for these public presentations which would last some several hours. During these readings Dickens would read excerpted material from his writing and deliver it in such a way as to highlight his own dramatic personality as an accomplished thespian—a career he certainly could have made illustrious.
The serialization of his novels and the subsequent public readings of them by Dickens prompt this unit to attempt an additional task. I intend to draw upon other notable masterpieces by Dickens to further highlight family relationships of nineteenth century England and the brilliance of his writing. These additional works from which I hope to take excerpts and read aloud to my students include the highly autobiographical David Copperfield, the endearing Oliver Twist, the socially conscious Bleak House, and the time-honored classic, A Christmas Carol, which will not only be read in its entirety but will be explored in comparison and contrast to Great Expectations. In addition to this complete reading of A Christmas Carol and various excerpts from the other novels, I plan to show various visual representations of Dickens’ work including the 1946 movie of Great Expectations.
I firmly believe that this method of concentrating on one theme, familial relationships, provided by one author, Charles Dickens, through a reading of Great Expectations and excerpts from his other stories will provide a worthwhile experience for my students. The use of this unit will afford teachers the opportunity to introduce one of the world’s great literary artists to their students in a relevant way that should pique students’ interest and cause them to consider not only their family unit complete with benefits and problems but also their future as they prepare to take that very first step toward focusing upon their own identity.