Dickens and Pip

Charles Dickens had a rough childhood. He was the 2nd born of 8 children and his father had financial difficulties that landed him in debtors prison. Dickens worked alongside the working class in a factory that handled “blackening” or shoe polish.

Pip similar to Dickens grew up poor, at the mercy of his older sister and her husband the blacksmith because his parents and 5 siblings were deceased. Pip is set to apprentice as a blacksmith and that would have been his trade for the remainder of his life.

Dickens lived in a poor area of London called Camden Town, The frequently shown gibbet cage in Pips home town was most likely seen where Dickens lived as well. Prisoners were likely seen, and possibly even interacted with, in poorer areas, but I am unsure if any prison hulks were seen were Dickens grew up. It is possible that Dickens witnessed or even experienced an altercation with a prisoner that influenced his opening chapter of “Great Expectations.”