Great Expectations – Crime, Punishment and Transportation

A comprehensive and professionally structured resource exploring how crime, punishment and transportation shape the characters, themes and moral arguments of Great Expectations.

This resource examines Magwitch’s experiences as an escaped convict and transported prisoner, the threatening presence of the prison hulks and the unequal treatment of Magwitch and Compeyson. It considers how Dickens uses Pip’s changing response to criminality to challenge assumptions about guilt, justice, class and redemption.

Key features:

• Clear analysis of Victorian punishment, prison hulks, transportation, exile and the social consequences of criminal conviction
• Focus on Magwitch as criminal, victim and benefactor, alongside Pip’s guilt, shame and developing moral awareness
• Exploration of Compeyson’s privileged treatment, class bias within the justice system and the distinction between legal guilt and moral worth
• Nine structured exercises covering retrieval, context, close language analysis, structure, character judgement, themes, debate, creative writing and extended essay preparation
• Detailed answer key and supporting presentation slides included for straightforward teaching, marking, feedback and review