This lesson plan will explore this theme of social mobility through a reading of extracts from Samuel Smiles's Self-Help (1859), the handbook that many young men in 19th-century Britain turned to in seeking advice as to how to better themselves. Students will look at these extracts alongside key moments in Pip's life, and will also consider why Charles Dickens was so concerned with the theme of social mobility, drawing on what they know of the author's early experiences.

Concepts

characterization, victorian britain, great expectations

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Additional Tags

'how to get on in society', 19-century britain, john betjeman, samuel smiles, bildungsroman, novel of education

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Classroom Considerations

• Knovation Readability Score: 4 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)
• The intended use for this resource is Instructional