Bailey Debra A - CliffsNotes on Dickens Great Expectations

Great Expectations

By Debra Bailey

In This Book

Learn about the Life and Background of the Author

Preview an Introduction to the Novel

Explore themes, character development, and recurring images in the Critical Commentaries

Examine in-depth Character Analyses

Acquire an understanding of the novel with Critical Essays

Reinforce what you learn with CliffsNotes Review

Find additional information to further your study in CliffsNotes Resource Center and online at www.cliffsnotes.com

About the Author

Debra Bailey is a freelance writer and editor living in Cary, NC.

Publishers Acknowledgments Editorial

Project Editor: Tere Drenth

Acquisitions Editor: Greg Tubach

Editorial Administrator: Michelle Hacker

Glossary Editors: The editors and staff of Websters New World Dictionaries

Composition

Indexer: York Production Services, Inc.

Proofreader: York Production Services, Inc.

Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services

CliffsNotes Great Expectations

Published by:
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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www.wiley.com

Copyright 2000 Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, New York

ISBN: 0-7645-8598-3

Printed in the United States of America

15 14

1O/TQ/QW/QW/IN

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, NJ

Published simultaneously in Canada

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bailey, Debra.

CliffsNotes Great Expectations / by Debra Bailey.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 0-7645-8598-3 (alk. paper)

1. Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870. Great Expectations--Examinations--Study Guides.I. Title: Great Expectations.

PR4560 .B28 2000

823.8--dc21 00035074

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A Note to the Reader

READ THE ENTIRE LITERARY WORK. THESE NOTES ARE NOT INTENDED AND HAVE NOT BEEN PREPARED TO SERVE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE TEXT ITSELF OR FOR THE CLASSROOM DISCUSSION OF THE TEXT. STUDENTS WHO ATTEMPT TO USE THE NOTES AS SUCH ARE DENYING THEMSELVES THE VERY EDUCATION THEY ARE PRESUMABLY GIVING THEIR MOST VITAL YEARS TO ACHIEVE.

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CliffsNotes give you the basics including such features as information about the author, social and historical backgrounds, structure and tradition of literary genres, facts about the characters, critical analyses, review questions, glossaries of unfamiliar terms, foreign phrases and literary allusions, maps, genealogies, and a bibliography to help you locate more data for essays, oral reports, and term papers.

These features are intended as a supplementary aid to all students of literature. CliffsNotes will help free classroom students from intensive note taking, thus enabling them to listen intelligently while making selective notes on the instructors comments and class discussion, secure in the knowledge that they have a basic understanding of the work. The Notes are also helpful in preparing for an examination, eliminating the burden of trying to reread the full text under pressure and sorting through class notes to find that which is of central importance. A thorough appreciation of literature allows no shortcuts. By using CliffsNotes responsibly, reviewing past criticism of a literary work, and examining fresh points of view, you can establish a unique connection with a work of literature and can take a more active part in a key goal of education: redefining and applying classic wisdom to current and future problems.

How to Use This Book

This CliffsNotes study guide on Dickens Great Expectations supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better understand Great Expectations. This study guide was written with the assumption that you have read Great Expectations. Reading a literary work doesnt mean that you immediately grasp the major themes and devices used by the author; this study guide will help sup-plement your reading to be sure you get all you can from Dickens Great Ex-pectations. CliffsNotes Review tests your comprehension of the original text and reinforces learning with questions and answers, practice projects, and more. For further information on Charles Dickens and Great Expectations, check out the CliffsNotes Resource Center.