Great Expectations depicts early Victorian life in England during the time of the Industrial Revolution where the social structure was experiencing great upheaval. It was a time when the rich were very rich and the poor led a life near to slavery. The novel provides an insight into both country life and city life where the only advantages that the poor have in the countryside is a clean environment.
Dickens deals with the power that money has and documents Pip’s struggle from being a bound apprentice in the forge to one of the rich gentlemen in the city.