“””Both Great Expectation and Frankenstein suggest that the individual development is crucially determined by his social environment. While this is an important theme for the realist novel, both novels are unusual in deploying gothic and surreal modes of writing to express the realist point. Discuss this statement with reference to the novels. “

I agree to a large extent that individual development is dependent upon hiss social environment. However to express the genre of Frankenstein and Great Expectation, there is a need for the gothic and surreal modes to be applied to give greater realism to the story. In this paper, I will show that it is the environment that turned Frankenstein creation into a monster due to his masters treatment and societal rejection. I will also show how Pip in his effort to be part of Estellas life resulted in his rejection of his current lifestyle, in his search for a better one. It is by obtaining sponsorship that he became a London gentleman and led a lifestyle he had always desired. However, it led to his moral digression until his environment changes, which compels him to help his sponsor. This ultimately led to his moral awakening that led him to morally develop into a hardworking individua…(short extract)