Great Expectations Is The Finest Novel By Charles Dickens In Terms Of Plot, Structure, Style And Thematic Elements. Written In 1861, It Marks The High Point Of Dickens' Greatness As A Novelist, Particularly Because Of His Increased Sensitivity To Life In Victorian England And The Sham And Hypocrisy He Saw All Around Him. As A Novel Of Social Criticism, It Is Far More Trenchant Than Anything Dickens Wrote Earlier. In The Character Of Pip, Dickens Makes A Serious Attempt To Present The Ambivalence Of The Problem Of Good And Evil. Pip Is Not Just A Young Man Of Native Goodness Thrown On Adversity But Finally Rising Above It. He Is A Complicated Mixture Of Good And Bad - Considerate And Selfish, Loving And Callous, Humble And Ambitious, Honest And Self-Deceiving. The Core Of Dickens' Universal Theme Lies Inside Pip Himself-As It Does In All Of Us-And The Triumph Of Good Comes Through Pip'S Self-Discovery-As It Will For All Of Us.