Class And Gender Representation In Great Expectations By Charles Dickens

ENG10090- Coming of Age Narratives Essay. Alan McPartlan (14347141) Tutor- Katie Moten

Essay Title- Examine how either text represents EITHER class OR gender. Are these representations problematic or contradictory? How do they relate to the plot and structure of the novel?

The Following essay will examine how class is represented in the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Both in this novel and many others, which are based around the time of the 1800’s, class is a major part of life which in turn made your life’s path completely dependent on what class or background you were brought up in. This was majorly the case in Great Expectations and especially in the life of Pip. After reading Great Expectations there are many arguments

Many people of the time had large houses filled with many pricey and elaborate décor. This is another major aspect of the differences between classes and how they are presented. A big example of this in the novel is when Pip is walking up to Ms Havisham’s house and sees the sheer size of it, although run down. Straight away Ms Havisham is represented as being a wealthy woman and in the higher class just by the manor of her abode. This is a trend throughout this novel, the first house we read of is Pips, where he grew up in, which is described as quite a lower classed house with not many expensive accessories in it. This is a clear parallel to the house Pip receives when he moves to London which was ten times the size. This is a point you could refer back to the thesis statement on that Pip received this house and didn’t have to work for it at all so would he have got such a nice house if he hadn’t helped Magwitch, that cold windy day in the graveyard. The houses were a clear representation of your class throughout this novel. As well as houses, clothing was another large give away of what class you belonged to. The higher classes would have elaborate and expensive clothes which they would change three or four times a day, while as on the other hand the poor, if they were lucky, had three or four outfits in their whole wardrobe. The representation of this is clearly seen in the novel when Pip goes to buy new presentable clothes and is startled by the difference in the quality of clothing that the higher classes would wear. Throughout the novel it is clear of the social classes just by how Dickens describes their dress style. The representation of class through the theme of possessions and assets is clearly evident throughout this novel in many shapes and forms and sometimes prove problematic for Pip and his understanding of the