In the novel “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, the main character Philip Pirrip, known as “Pip” throughout the novel, has a series of great expectations that he must fulfill. The title of the novel, like many other great book titles, contains various meanings present in the story. In a literal sense, Pip's “great expectations” refers to the 19th century meaning, which involves receiving a great inheritance. Meanwhile, on a deeper level, Pip sets goals he hopes to achieve in the future, which could also be called his “great expectations.” The title, with these multiple meanings attached to it, ends up being ironic after everything that is said and done at the end of the novel. Pip comes from a lower-class Victorian family. The reader first meets Pip around the age of 6, when he explains that his parents, as well as 5 of his siblings, died and he was raised by his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, and her husband Joe Gargery. His sister continually reminds Pip that she raised him "by hand" (Dickens 7) and also details her regrets about taking him in as her own son saying "I would never do it again!" (Dickens 8). Despite his harsh upbringing, or perhaps because of his harsh upbringing, Pip has high hopes of one day becoming a gentleman and continually dreams of what his life will be like once he is part of the upper class. These aspirations indicate that Pip has high expectations for himself. He expects to become a perfect gentleman and climb the ladder of social status. Immediately after explaining his family situation, Pip describes to the reader his meeting with Mrs. Havisham, who he describes as “an immensely rich and gloomy lady who lived in a large, sad house… middle of paper… . …” and his high expectations of becoming a gentleman and marrying Estella are never fully fulfilled. Although Pip becomes part of the upper class for a while, he eventually achieves a career like any other hard-working man, as is evident from his conversation with Estella at the end of the novel in which he says, "I work pretty hard to make a living, and so – yes, I'm all right” (Dickens 489). Although Pip's high expectations are never actually achieved, they ultimately teach Pip a lot about what it means to be a true gentleman, not the materialistic, suave definition of a gentleman he has with. began the novel.The failures that arise from his original great expectations make the title of the novel ironic and push the reader to examine what people's true great expectations in life should be. Works Cited Dickens, Charles , Mead, 1942. Print