Interpretation of Great Expectations by Dickens

Great Expectations is exemplary for presenting a moral development which causes social downfall. I attempt to prove that Dickens adopted the elements of the novel of manners and the melodrama in order to present the moral development of the nineteenth century. In the first chapter I try to illustrate the historical backgrounds which are necessary to understand in order to interpret the spiritual message of the book. In the next chapters I give the definitions of two genres (novel of manners and melodrama) and the reasons why Dickens adopted the elements of these genres. Since melodramatic features are dominant in the novel I would like to analyse them in the following chapters. In the fifth chapter I attempt to interpret two concepts (virtue and sin) because they are the central questions of the novel. With the help of these concepts I interpret the virtuous ideals and the immoral reality of Victorian society. The next step is to introduce and analyse the characters. I would like to examine their moral role and the devices used for presenting them. In the last chapters _I try to illustrate_ - - first the moral development of the protagonist, which is an obligatory element of melodrama, and then the social development which is a characteristic feature of the novel of manners.