Great Expectations讲解.pptVIP

Great Expectation It is impossible to read Great Expectations without sensing Dickenss presence in the book, without being aware that in portraying and judging Pip he is giving us a glimpse of a younger self. In it he explores and perhaps exorcises the sense of guilt and shame that had haunted him all his life, as he rose from humble beginnings to success and wealth and fame; and chronicles his own at first ambivalent and then cynical response to the Victorian emphasis on gentility. Great Expectations is a work which seeks to define the crucial Victorian concept of the Gentleman The novel, which is in this sense a Bildungsroman. Pips psyche haunts the novel, which is in a sense about the process of becoming wholly human. One central theme is the extent to which wealth and power * and pride and ambition (which appears here as attributes of the upper class) are dehumanizing. Another important theme traces the effect of environment upon the development of the individual. Bildungsroman The Bildungsroman (novel of formation) is a genre of the novel which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood. The genre arose during the German Enlightenment. A Bildungsroman tells about the growing up or coming of age of a sensitive person who is looking for answers and experience. The genre evolved from folklore tales of a dunce or youngest son going out in the world to seek his fortune. Usually in the beginning of the story there is an emotional loss which makes the protagonist leave on his journey. In a Bildungsroman, the goal is maturity, and the protagonist achieves it gradually and with difficulty. The genre often features a main conflict between the main character and society. Typically, the values of society are gradually accepted by the protagonist and he is ultimately accepted into society – the protagonists mistakes and disappointments are over. In some works, the protagonist is able to reach out and help others after havin