By Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is one of the world’s greatest novelists. He belongs to the brilliant school of 19-century critical realists.

What we value most in Dickens’ works is his criticism of the English bourgeois society of his time with its evils and contrasts of wealth and poverty, his unique humour and mastery of character drawing.

The world he describes is that of the middle and lower classes particularly of London. Being great humanist he viewed human’s nature from all sides. It may be that some of his characters are exaggerated, yet they play their part so consistently that we feel, they are as real as the actual world and the people we meet every day.

Dickens’ novels are full of optimism. He sincerely believes that an honest and virtuous man is sure to get his small share of happiness even in a capitalist world. And though he is a representative of the petty bourgeoisie, Dickens still cherishes some illusions concerning the possibility of reforming the world within the existing conditions. Even if the majorities of his works are tinged with sentimentality and are crowned with happy endings, the Soviet reader highly appreciates Dickens’ unquenchable spirit of optimism, which is an expression of his democratic views, his love for the common people and his staunch belief in the final victory of good over evil.

Dickens’ humour is to be found on every page and in characters and incidents of the greatest diversity. Sometimes his humour is mixed with satire.

Dickens possesses a great dramatic instinct, and through the melodramatic is prominent enough in some places his dramatic situations are nonetheless real for that.

The extract below is proof of that.

The main character of “Great Expectations” (1860 – 1861), Pip is orphan. He is brought up by his elder sister in mystery. His childhood is hard and mirthless.

Quite suddenly Pip comes into possession of a great fortune. He does not know who is his benefactor is, but [20] his coming into fortune does not only change the way of his life, but his views as well. Now he looks down on his former friends and aspires to becoming a real gentleman.

The extract below presents the scene of Pip’s encounter with his mysterious benefactor – a convict, whom he had helped to escape from pursuit when a little boy. The revelation is a terrible blow to a “new” Pip, for all his great expectations are crushed in a moment.