Summary
First Glimpse of London's Dark Heart
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
London greets its new arrival with harsh realities that immediately complicate Pip's romantic notions of genteel living. Mr. Jaggers's office in Little Britain is surrounded by the grime and desperate characters of the criminal justice system. Waiting for his guardian, Pip observes the brutal efficiency with which Jaggers handles clients—poor people seeking help from a lawyer who trades in their misery with cold professionalism. The city smells of decay and crime, far from the sparkling fantasyland Pip imagined. When Jaggers finally appears, he hands Pip off to Wemmick, his clerk, who escorts the newcomer toward his new lodgings. Wemmick proves an odd character, seeming to harden and soften depending on location, separating his professional life from his personal life with deliberate precision. The journey through London's streets shows Pip dirt, poverty, and violence—the Newgate prison looms large, a reminder that for every gentleman in the city, there are countless others headed toward brutal justice. The reality of London contradicts all of Pip's fantasies, though he's too committed to his new path to acknowledge his disappointment. His lodgings in Barnard's Inn, while suitable, are far from palatial, and the general shabbiness of his first day suggests that being a gentleman involves more grit and less glory than he'd imagined.
Coming Up in Chapter 21
Pip meets Wemmick, Jaggers's clerk, who will become an unexpected guide through London's contradictions. As they walk through the streets together, Pip begins to understand that even in this harsh city, people find ways to maintain their humanity.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
The journey from our town to the metropolis was a journey of about five hours. It was a little past midday when the four-horse stage-coach by which I was a passenger, got into the ravel of traffic frayed out about the Cross Keys, Wood Street, Cheapside, London. We Britons had at that time particularly settled that it was treasonable to doubt our having and our being the best of everything: otherwise, while I was scared by the immensity of London, I think I might have had some faint doubts whether it was not rather ugly, crooked, narrow, and dirty. Mr. Jaggers had duly sent me his address; it was, Little Britain, and he had written after it on his card, “just out of Smithfield, and close by the coach-office.” Nevertheless, a hackney-coachman, who seemed to have as many capes to his greasy great-coat as he was years old, packed me up in his coach and hemmed me in with a folding and jingling barrier of steps, as if he were going to take me fifty miles. His getting on his box, which I remember to have been decorated with an old weather-stained pea-green hammercloth moth-eaten into rags, was quite a work of time. It was a wonderful equipage, with six great coronets outside, and ragged things behind for I don’t know how many footmen to hold on by, and a harrow below them, to prevent amateur footmen from yielding to the temptation. I had scarcely had time to enjoy the coach and to think how like a straw-yard it was, and yet how like a rag-shop, and to wonder why the horses’ nose-bags were kept inside, when I observed the coachman beginning to get down, as if we were going to stop presently. And stop we presently did, in a gloomy street, at certain offices with an open door, whereon was painted MR. JAGGERS. “How much?” I asked the coachman. The coachman answered, “A shilling—unless you wish to make it more.” I naturally said I had no wish to make it more. “Then it must be a shilling,” observed the coachman. “I don’t want to get into trouble. _I_ know _him_!” He darkly closed an eye at Mr. Jaggers’s name, and shook his head. When he had got his shilling, and had in course of time completed the ascent to his box, and had got away (which appeared to relieve his mind), I went into the front office with my little portmanteau in my hand and asked, Was Mr. Jaggers at home? “He is not,” returned the clerk. “He is in Court at present. Am I addressing Mr. Pip?” I signified that he was addressing Mr. Pip. “Mr. Jaggers left word, would you wait in his room. He couldn’t say how long he might be, having a case on. But it stands to reason, his time being valuable, that he won’t be longer than he can help.” With those words, the clerk opened a door, and ushered me into an...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Reality Gap - When Dreams Meet Truth
The painful disconnect between our expectations and actual experience that occurs when we build dreams on incomplete information.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how institutions maintain power through casual cruelty and normalized exploitation.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when organizations treat desperate people with bureaucratic indifference - watch the body language and tone that maintains distance from human suffering.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Hackney coach
A horse-drawn taxi for hire in London, often shabby and overpriced. These coaches were notorious for taking advantage of newcomers who didn't know the city or fair prices.
Modern Usage:
Like getting ripped off by an airport taxi driver who takes the long route because you're obviously a tourist
Little Britain
A street near Smithfield in London where lawyers' offices clustered. The name is ironic - it wasn't grand at all, but a narrow, grimy area associated with the legal profession's darker side.
Modern Usage:
Like how 'Wall Street' represents finance - a place name that stands for an entire industry and its culture
Smithfield
London's main meat market and site of public executions. It was a place where violence and commerce mixed openly, representing the brutal realities of city life that shocked newcomers.
Modern Usage:
Like the roughest part of any city where legitimate business happens alongside crime and desperation
Newgate Prison
London's most notorious prison, famous for public hangings and brutal conditions. Visiting it was like touring a chamber of horrors that showed how society dealt with crime.
Modern Usage:
Like taking a tour of a maximum-security prison today - confronting the harsh reality of how justice actually works
Death masks
Plaster casts made of executed criminals' faces after death. Lawyers like Jaggers displayed them as trophies, showing their connection to the justice system's ultimate power.
Modern Usage:
Like a prosecutor displaying newspaper clippings of their biggest convictions - proof of their power over life and death
Allowance system
A way of controlling someone by giving them money regularly but keeping them dependent. The benefactor maintains power by controlling the purse strings and setting conditions.
Modern Usage:
Like parents who pay for college but threaten to cut off funding if you don't study what they want
Characters in This Chapter
Pip
Protagonist experiencing disillusionment
Arrives in London full of romantic expectations but immediately confronts the city's harsh realities. His shock at London's ugliness and brutality begins his education in how power really works.
Modern Equivalent:
The small-town kid who moves to the big city and gets a reality check
Mr. Jaggers
Powerful lawyer and Pip's guardian
Demonstrates absolute control over his clients and environment. His office filled with death masks and weapons shows how he uses fear and intimidation to maintain power over desperate people.
Modern Equivalent:
The high-powered attorney who owns the room and makes everyone else feel small
Hackney coachman
Minor character representing exploitation
Immediately takes advantage of Pip's inexperience, overcharging him for a short ride. Represents how the city preys on newcomers who don't know the rules.
Modern Equivalent:
The cab driver who runs up the meter on tourists
Jaggers's clients
Desperate supplicants
Grovel and beg for Jaggers's attention, showing how the legal system creates dependency. Their desperation contrasts with Pip's privileged position as Jaggers's ward.
Modern Equivalent:
People waiting in a government office, hoping someone in power will help them
Key Quotes & Analysis
"We Britons had at that time particularly settled that it was treasonable to doubt our having and our being the best of everything"
Context: Pip's first impression of London's ugliness
Shows how national pride can blind people to obvious problems. Pip realizes he might think London is ugly, but he's been taught that doubting British superiority is almost criminal.
In Today's Words:
We Americans have convinced ourselves we're number one at everything, so questioning that feels unpatriotic
"Now, I return to this young fellow. And the communication I have got to make is, that he has great expectations."
Context: Jaggers explaining Pip's situation to Mr. Pocket
The phrase 'great expectations' becomes ironic as Pip sees the corruption behind his good fortune. Jaggers speaks like he's announcing a business deal, not changing someone's life.
In Today's Words:
This kid just hit the lottery, but don't ask questions about where the money came from
"Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule."
Context: Giving Pip advice about navigating London
Jaggers reveals his cynical worldview - never trust appearances, always look for proof. This advice will prove crucial as Pip learns that nothing in his new life is what it seems.
In Today's Words:
Don't believe what people tell you - always check the receipts
Thematic Threads
Disillusionment
In This Chapter
Pip's romantic expectations about London crumble as he encounters grimy streets, brutal justice, and Jaggers's cold efficiency
Development
Introduced here as Pip's first major reality check
In Your Life:
You might feel this when starting a new job, relationship, or living situation that doesn't match what you imagined.
Power
In This Chapter
Jaggers displays absolute control over desperate clients, dismissing them with ruthless indifference while they grovel for attention
Development
Introduced here through Jaggers's character
In Your Life:
You see this in any situation where someone controls resources others desperately need - bosses, landlords, government offices.
Class
In This Chapter
The contrast between Pip's genteel expectations and London's brutal realities exposes the gap between social classes
Development
Evolving from earlier focus on Pip's shame about his background to seeing upper-class reality
In Your Life:
You experience this when moving between different social or economic environments and feeling the cultural differences.
Corruption
In This Chapter
London's justice system appears more like organized brutality, with public executions and casual commerce in human suffering
Development
Introduced here as systemic rather than individual moral failing
In Your Life:
You might recognize this in any system that claims to help people but seems designed to benefit those running it instead.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific sights and experiences shock Pip during his first day in London?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Dickens fill Jaggers's office with death masks and weapons - what does this tell us about how justice works in this world?
analysis • medium - 3
When have you experienced a 'Reality Gap' - arriving somewhere or starting something that was completely different from what you expected?
application • medium - 4
How could Pip have better prepared himself for London's realities, and what does this teach us about researching major life changes?
application • deep - 5
What does Pip's shock reveal about how we build expectations when we have limited information?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Reality Check Your Next Big Move
Think of a major change you're considering - new job, relationship, move, or life decision. Write down your current expectations about what this change will be like. Then research what people actually experience in similar situations. Look for honest accounts, not just success stories.
Consider:
- •What information gaps are you filling with wishful thinking?
- •Who could give you realistic insights about the daily reality?
- •What would you need to know to make a truly informed decision?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when reality didn't match your expectations. What did you learn from that experience, and how did it change how you approach new situations now?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 21: First Impressions of London Life
As the story unfolds, you'll explore people adapt different personas for survival in harsh environments, while uncovering first impressions of new places often clash with our expectations. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.