Cover image for

Great Expectations

Author Charles Dickens
Category Fiction
Language English
Published 1861
Word count 185,258
Excerpt

After darkly looking at his leg and me several times, he came closer to my tombstone, took me by both arms, and tilted me back as far as he could hold me; so that his eyes looked most powerfully down into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.

"Now lookee here," he said, "the question being whether you're to be let to live. You know what a file is?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you know what wittles is?"

"Yes, sir."

After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger.

"You get me a file." He tilted me again. "And you get me wittles." He tilted me again. "You bring 'em both to me." He tilted me again. "Or I'll have your heart and liver out." He tilted me again.

I was dreadfully frightened, and so giddy that I clung to him with both hands, and said, "If you would kindly please to let me keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn't be sick, and perhaps I could attend more."

He gave me a most tremendous dip and roll,

ReviewsAdd a review for this title.

Average Rating:

2007.11.02
apollo

i love this book,it is excellent!

2007.08.13
Bipolar Writer

The stories of Charles Dickens are very easy to love.

Though not as popular as his other opuses, Great Expectations enchants the reader through--as with many of Dickens' works--memorable characters, clever use of words, and a well-woven plot. Wordiness and the author's seeming resentment of women are my only problems with this novel. 4. =)

2005.10.16
Lainey

This is my first Dickens book and I thought the story was excellent. I thought it was dull at first but things start happening when Pip meets Miss Havisham and Estella and it gets exciting when Pip goes to London the mystery of the identity of his benefactor continues. Pip's transformation from a country boy to a gentleman then to a simple hardworking man (his head inflates a bit in London) is really the focus of this story.