"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens has left the revised ending of Great Expectations open to interpretation by the individual reader. In contrast to the original ending the reader is able to respond to the novel and decide for themselves the fate of Pip and Estella. Both characters have endured and struggled against cruelty and shame. They have also bestowed on others the same heartlessness. These dejections provided lessons which could be learnt from. The novels ending has brought Pip and Estella full circle back to the place of their first encounter. This scene shows the reader how both characters have emerged to make their own decisions about their future. No longer the puppets of others Pip and Estella are able to create new expectations built from past experiences.…