Charles Dickens wrote several Novels, one however, particularly appeals to the public. Great Expectations was written in the aftermath of the Victorian Era. During this time period, social status was of optimal importance, and classes rarely mingled. There were, just as today, three classes of social stature. First, second, and third classes each with noticeable difference in income and activities. In the Novel Great Expectations, the narrator, Pip, grows up living a middle class life, however in poverty. Both of Pip's parents died before the Novel ever starts and pip is forced to live with his older sister and her husband Joe. Joe worked as a Blacksmith, which in this time period was actually a fair trade to be involved in. Mrs. Joe (Pips sister) treats the members of the house hold very badly, and is partly to blame for some of Pips troubles and lack of confidence later on in the Novel. Ever since young Pip was a child, he dreamed of living a better life as a "Gentleman", in upper class England. Many people ridiculed him for his course of action, and again play a role in pips lack in confidence. Dickens use of imagery helps demonstrate how the characters upbringings affect the guilt they may feel.
             Dickens used a great deal of imagery in his writings, which many people cannot distinguish without careful interpretation. An example of imagery would be dickens use of the dog. He emphasizes the dog over and over again throughout the novel, especially with the use of a main character Magwitch, an escaped convict. Pip first encounters Magwitch in an old grave yard in a wet and ugly marsh. The convict had recently escaped from jail and was demanding assistance from pip, or he threatened to kill him. Pip was forced to retrieve some food and supplies for the convict and retreat back to the grave yard the following morning. As pip delivers the food, he watches as the convict rapidly consumes every morsel of fo...