Plausibility in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens The film Great Expectations, based on the book of the same name written by Charles Dickens, is about a poor young boy named Pip whose luck takes a drastic turn for the better when he meets a convict escaped into the swamps near his home. He demands that Pip bring him tools and supplies to help him escape the law. However, the plan soon fails and the convict is captured. He surprises Pip, however, by keeping his tongue and not denouncing him. Shortly afterwards, Pip is summoned by the curious Miss Havisham to play at Satis House; his estate. It is upon his arrival that he meets Estella, radiant but with a heart of stone. After many afternoons playing at Satis House, Pip begins to develop feelings for Estella as well as a suspicious hope that Miss Havisham intends to marry them. He is quickly proven wrong when Miss Havisham apprentices him to her blacksmith brother-in-law Joe, thus ending any possibility that he might ever marry Estella. Up to this point in the plot, all the events in the story have seemed quite plausible; albeit extremely lucky. It is not far-fetched to imagine a young boy encountering an escaped convict in the swamps near his home while said convict was housed aboard prison ships in the adjacent harbor. It is also not a stretch to assume that the escaped convict would endeavor to use the boy in his favor. it is certainly not excluded that the escaped convict will be recaptured by the authorities. It is not uncommon for this same young boy to be summoned to play at the neighboring estate of a wealthy woman, because she had an adopted young daughter. It is also not unknown... middle of paper ...... and after Satis House, Pip meets Estella who is now single and seems to be heading down the same sad path that Miss Havisham has taken. Pip frantically tries to get her out of her bad situation and, having succeeded, the story ends with the two of them leaving Satis House presumably to live happily ever after. At this point, this seems as far from plausible as Dickens could have written it. It is highly unlikely that this series of events could occur without some form of tampering. Since Dickens provides no evidence that anyone tampered with Pip's life other than what was previously mentioned, the audience can assume that he attributes all of this to chance. Even if the first half of the story can happen by chance, it would have to be an extremely small world for the rest to happen. In force; No, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is not plausible.