Great Expectations: Chapters 1–3

1. How much do you remember? Do the quick quiz.

1. Who does Pip live with?

Mrs Joe and Joe Gargery (his sister and her husband).

2. What happens in the graveyard in the opening chapter?

Pip meets an escaped convict who makes him promise to bring him food and a ile.

3. Why do soldiers visit Pip’s house on Christmas Day?

To get some handcuffs mended.

4. Why have very few people seen Miss Havisham?

Because she hasn’t left her house.

5. What was Miss Havisham wearing when Pip met her for the first time?

Her old wedding dress.

6. What did Estella give to Pip before he left the house?

Some food.

7. What happened between Pip and the fair-haired boy in Miss Havisham’s house?

They fought and Pip won.

8. Why did Orlick get angry with Joe?

Joe gave Pip an afternoon off to see Miss Havisham, but he didn’t get any time off.

Vocabulary

2. Complete the sentences about Chapters 1–3 with the correct words from the box.

1. An escaped convict asked Pip to get him some food and a file.
2. The convict had leg-irons attached to his ankles.
3. Joe mended some handcuffs for the soldiers.
4. When Pip met Miss Havisham she was dressed as a bride.
5. Pip worked hard so he could become a gentleman.
6. Pip realized that the strange man in the inn knew about the convicts because he was using the blacksmith’s file that Pip had given to the convict to stir his tea.
7. Miss Havisham and Estella lived in a very gloomy house.
8. Pip began an apprenticeship as a blacksmith with Joe.
9. Orlick and Mrs Joe had a big argument.

Reading

3. Read the sentences and choose the best answers A, B or C, according to the text in Chapters 1, 2 and 3.

1. Five of Pip’s brothers and sisters …
a had died when Pip was very young.
b lived with Pip.
c lived in the same village.

2. On Christmas morning Pip went back to the graveyard …
a to visit his parents’ graves.
b to take the escaped convict some food.
c to help the escaped convict take off the leg-irons.

3. The soldiers came to Pip’s house …
a because they knew Pip had seen the escaped convicts.
b to see if the escaped convicts were hiding in the house.
c to get some handcuffs fixed.

4. On the marshes a fight took place between …
a two escaped convicts.
b Joe and the soldiers.
c the soldiers and the escaped convicts.

5. Joe wasn’t happy that …
a Pip didn’t have any friends.
b Pip didn’t like Mrs Joe.
c Mrs Joe was unkind to Pip.

6. Estella made Pip sad because …
a she wouldn’t play with him.
b she wouldn’t hand him the food and drink.
c Estella was crying.

7. Pip thought the large dark-haired man visiting Miss Havisham was …
a a relative.
b a doctor.
c a neighbour.

8. When Pip grew up a little, he wanted …
a to be an apprentice.
b to improve his position in life.
c to earn a lot of money.

9. Joe …
a was angry about Pip taking an afternoon’s holiday.
b didn’t mind Pip taking an afternoon off work.
c let Orlick have an afternoon off work as well.

4. Do you agree with the following statements about the characters in Great Expectations?
Find examples from Chapters 1, 2 and 3 to support your opinions.

1. Mrs Joe wasn’t very loving towards Pip.

In Chapter 1, Pip says Mrs Joe ‘liked to complain about me’, and in Chapter 2 Joe tells Pip that he wishes Mrs Joe wouldn’t hit Pip.

2. Joe was a kind, understanding man.

In Chapter 1, Pip says ‘Joe is my friend’ and neither of them want to ind the convicts when they are with the soldiers. In Chapter 2, Joe speaks kindly to the convict when he says that he stole the pie.

3. Miss Havisham is a strange, unhappy woman.

In Chapter 2, we learn that Miss Havisham never leaves her house. Pip meets her and she’s wearing an old wedding dress. In Chapter 3, Miss Havisham shows Pip her wedding cake, in a room that’s covered in spiders’ webs and mice. This is all strange.

4. Pip has a powerful conscience.

In Chapter 1, Pip felt guilty for taking the food and the ile. He wanted to tell Joe, but he was afraid that Joe might not want to be his friend anymore.

5. Estella is cold and cruel.

In Chapter 2, Estella is very rude to Pip when she irst meets him. Estella smiles when her unkind behaviour makes Pip cry.