Achieving Measure of Contentment in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations Works Cited Not Included Great Expectations is a novel that not only satires the issues of Victorian society, such as status and crime, but additionally centres on the rites of passage for a child living in that society. It is through this central focus on rites of passage that Dickens is able to convey to the reader messages about the serious issues he felt so strongly about. One such issue is an issue that concerns all humans. It is the desire for contentment in ones life, which is central to the novel, as it follows Pip during his attempt to achieve this for himself. However, it is not until the end of the novel that Pip finally accomplishes some measure of contentment in his life. What is meant by 'contentment'? When defined, contentment is a state of happiness and satisfaction, or a sense of self-fulfilment, that allows you to feel at peace or at rest with your successes and failures in life. Dickens queries whether this is attainable in the novel by posing the question: how can this be achieved? Many philosophers and writers have tried to answer this question, for example, philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) said that humans strive to achieve satisfaction through the seeking of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. This theory is shown with Pip in the novel as he himself tries to achieve a measure of contentment by aspiring to become a gentleman, who has no need to work, therefore avoiding the '... ... middle of paper ... ...pond to people around you. However, despite this, the most important lesson, that comes through the novel, in learning how to achieve contentment in life is living it. Pip says that he was happy at the forge before he went to London, but he was not content (Page 315). Therefore, this suggests that the novel recommends that the best way to gain contentment is to live your life and learn through the experience of it; otherwise you would feel unsatisfied with your experience of life. And with your experience would come the lessons that Pip must learn in order to achieve contentment; good and bad values, to be able to control fantasies and phobias, listening to the advice of others, recognising that wealth does not bring satisfaction and, most importantly, to live your own life how you feel best the best way to live it is.
The Range of Devices Charles Dickens Uses to Engage the Reader in the Opening Chapter of Great Expectations
sweet name for a small sweet boy; Magwitch - is he a witch? Or evil?
Throughout the novel Great Expectations, Pip's character and personality goes through some transformations. He is somewhat similar at the beginning and end, but very different while growing up. He is influenced by many characters, but two in particular:Estella and Magwitch, the convict from the marshes. Some things that cause strength or growth in a person are responsibility, discipline, and surrounding oneself around people who are challenging and inspiring. He goes through many changes some good and some bad
the sentence where it says “ a man with no hat, and with broken shoes,
Another way that Pip shows his discontent with his present life is by not wanting to be a blacksmith when it would be very practical for him. Pip's brother-in-law is a blacksmith which would make it easy for him to learn the trade. Also, Miss Havisham agreed to pay for his apprenticeship, yet Pip insists that he is better than that and is upset by that fact that he is just a commoner. He states his dissatisfaction" with my home, my trade and with everything" (773). Pip also turns away Biddy when she is something that is obtainable to him. Biddy is somebody in the story that really loves Pip, yet he turns her away and uses her to get what he wants. Pip also gives the impression that he is better than Biddy when he is no less a commoner than she is.
Charles Dickens utilizes his life for inspiration for the protagonist Pip in his novel Great Expectations. They both struggle with their social standing. Dickens loved plays and theatre and therefore incorporated them into Pip’s life. Dickens died happy in the middle class and Pip died happy in the middle class. The connection Dickens makes with his life to Pip’s life is undeniable. If readers understand Dickens and his upbringing then readers can understand how and why he created Pip’s upbringing. Charles Dickens’ life, full of highs and lows, mirrors that of Pip’s life. Their lives began the same and ended the same. To understand the difficulty of Dickens’ childhood is to understand why his writing focuses on the English social structure. Dickens’ life revolved around social standing. He was born in the lower class but wasn’t miserable. After his father fell into tremendous debt he was forced into work at a young age. He had to work his way to a higher social standing. Because of Dicken’s constant fighting of class the English social structure is buried beneath the surface in nearly all of his writings. In Great Expectations Pip’s life mirrors Dickens’ in the start of low class and the rise to a comfortable life. Fortunately for Dickens, he does not fall again as Pip does. However, Pip and Dickens both end up in a stable social standing.
I have chosen to look at how the relationship of Pip and Magwitch develops during the novel. I have chosen 3 key scenes in which Magwitch and pip meet and I will look at how each is portrayed in terms of character, development, setting and the messages or morals that dickens is trying to convey.
In the opening chapter, we feel sorry for Pip as we find out that his
The idea of redemption is an idea that has existed for as long as humanity has. Therefore, it should be no surprise to see the idea of redemption in the literature of many different periods, let alone the Romantic period. Throughout Great Expectations, characters experience redemption in a manner of ways. Characters go through vast changes and lives change unexpectedly. A theme and motif of redemption is clearly developed in Great Expectations. Some ways this theme of redemption is express during the book are, when Pip gets a mysterious note to go to the marches and is ambushed and almost killed, Throughout the story when Pip warms up to Magwitch, When Pip realizes how much he loves Joe and Biddy, How Pip’s redeeming factors stem from his early childhood, Ms. Havisham’s eventual realization of the error of her ways, and in society itself.
When Pip was a child, he was a contented young boy. He wanted to grow
The Forge was a place of harmony and safety, and had the loving mood for Pip. However, as he became a gentleman, he made the decision of abandoning Biddy and Joe. This transformed the Forge into a place with a heavy atmosphere that represents guilt and shame for Pip and reminds him of his selfish decisions. When he goes there, he feels guilt, and Biddy’s attitude towards him changed, in that he calls him Mr. Pip and is less personal with him. Pip’s mentality also changed with London’s mood and influence as he now thinks money is the solution to most problems.
ing his time living with Herbert, Pip learns from him and evolves into a more gentlemanly figure, although he still lacks certain things. When Magwitch arrives, Pip plans for him to leave the country, putting his own life at risk. Pip also sets Herbert up in business, without his knowledge. At the end, after losing Magwitch's money, he is quite content in moving back to the forge to live with Joe. These three things show that Pip has completed his personal evolution from a simple country by into a gentleman.
...eration. It’s ironic that if only Pip had followed through with the original expectations that he had set for himself instead of the supposed greater expectations that he hoped for, he would have been better off.
"I must entreat you to pause for an instant, and go back to what you know of my childish days, and to ask yourself whether it is natural that something of the character formed in me then" - Charles Dickens
Marcus Aurelius once said, "A man 's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions." It is human nature to desire the approval from the outside world. However, like Aurelius said, ambitions don 't define a person. Throughout Charles Dickens ' novel Great Expectations, Pip 's character integrates ambition to become someone he is not and results in disappointment and sadness. When Pip does not receive a satisfactory outcome, he is quick to blame others rather than his own physiological desires.