A major theme in Great
Expectations is that of unrequited love, and that is something that relates
to everyday teenagers, myself included. Although at this age it’s probably just
be a crush, not the love of your life, it is always heart breaking when you see
that special guy (or girl in Pip’s case) look down upon you, or even go for someone
else. This is very much like what happened to Pip when Estella married Bentley Drummle. Another similarity between
high school crushes, maybe even loves, and Great Expectations is that
awful feeling, the feeling everyone has had, when the sliver of hope you hold
on to so tightly that maybe, just maybe the person feels the same way is
crushed. For Pip this is when he finds out Ms. Havisham has no intention of
letting Estella marry him, and for me it was the second I had heard he asked
out another girl, and she had said yes. That is the true way to tell if
you have feelings for someone, the piercing stab of jealousy that goes through
your mind when you see that special person with someone else, and wishing as
hard as you can that someday it will be you they choose. The book may come to a
close with the clue that Pip and Estella may end up together, but even if they don’t
the one good thing is there is always going to be another fish in the sea.
