Editing Great Expectations (section)

===Chronology===
Pip's story is told in three stages: his childhood and early youth in Kent, where he dreams of rising above his humble station; his time in London after receiving "great expectations"; and then finally his disillusionment on discovering the source of his fortune, followed by his slow realisation of the vanity of his false values.<ref>{{harvnb|Paul Davis|1999|p=153}}</ref> These three stages are further divided into twelve parts of equal length. This symmetry contributes to the impression of completion, which has often been commented on. George Gissing, for example, when comparing Joe Gargery and Dan'l Peggotty (from ''[[David Copperfield]]''), preferred the former, because he is a stronger character, who lives "in a world, not of [[melodrama]], but of everyday cause and effect".<ref>Cited by {{harvnb|Paul Davis|1999|p=158}}</ref> G. B. Shaw also commented on the novel's structure, describing it as "compactly perfect", and [[Algernon Swinburne]] stated, "The defects in it are as nearly imperceptible as spots on the sun or shadow on a sunlit sea".<ref>Cited by David Trotter, Introduction to ''Great Expectations'', London, Penguin Books, 1996, p.vii</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Michael Cordell|1990|pp=34, 24|id=Michael_Cordell.2C_.C3.A9d.1990}}</ref> A contributing factor is "the briskness of the narrative tone".<ref>Cited in ''Dickens and the Twentieth Century'', Gross, John and Pearson, Gabriel, eds, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962, p.199-211.</ref>