Many characters face imprisonment in the novel Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. This essay explores those imprisonments, be they literal or figurative. "'Keep still you little devil or I'll cut your throat!' A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg." Early on in the novel Great Expectations, Dickens introduces the concept of imprisonment, a theme that is subtly intertwined throughout the story. In this first part, the man …showed first 75 words of 442 total…

…showed last 75 words of 442 total…ss Havisham. When Miss Havisham finally comes to terms with this, she goes hysterical, exclaiming repeatedly, "What have I done!" As the reader can see, imprisonment is a theme that is intertwined throughout the story. The "prisons" are psychological and physical. Characters are put into the prison by others or the prison is self-imposed. Whatever the prison may be, it is certain that the prevalent theme of imprisonment is a vital component of Great Expectations.