ry what he actually meets is himself had he not had the opportunity to become a gentleman. Dickens seems quite clear here to be applauding old values and to be making a statement that people should never be ashamed to stay who they are as that is the easiest way to contentment. In effect, the novel comes full circle when our hero takes his namesake down to the graveyard in the marshes.Clearly, Great Expectations is a novel of family and familial relationships which encompasses all the feelings and emotions that can influence family life in Dickens’ nineteenth century England or in our students’ twentieth century America. It is a novel of identity and the havoc that these emotions, both joyous and painful, can rain upon someone who is trying to find his niche in society. Our students face the question of identity daily, and, not unlike Pip, this experience is heightened by the familial relationships they encounter throughout the years. Starting with the eighth grade academic year our students are asked to make decisions concerning their future. Oftentimes the way is not that clear and can become quite encumbered by familial pressures and experiences. A novel such as Great Expectations read with respect to familial relationships can help students understand these pressures and experiences more fully and, as a consequence, help them find their identity and their own great expectations.Sequence of LessonsThis unit is purposely designed to allow for maximum flexibility by any of its users. The following suggested activities for discussion and writing are merely my own preference as to the focus the unit should assume. These suggestions, however, are not exclusive, and future users of this unit are encouraged to adapt the unit to their own teaching style and level of students. My focus group of students that I will use the unit with are eighth graders of average to above average ability. The eighth grade is traditionally a challen...
