4.. Revenge is a theme of Great Expectations. Where does this theme present itself? How do these occurrences affect the characters involved in those scenes? Revenge is an important theme in Great Expectations. This theme is present in Miss Havisham, Magwitch, and Orlick. Miss Havisham had her heart broken on her wedding day by a man named Compeyson, seeking revenge, she adopted a daughter, Estella, and taught her to break men’s hearts. “‘And with my praises, and…jewels, and…teachings, and with this figure of myself always before her…I stole her heart away, and put ice in its place.”” (399). Miss Havisham was consumed by her revenge and this made her heartless, and selfish, just like Compeyson. Magwitch also wanted revenge on Compeyson coincidentally, because Magwitch and Compeyson were partners. Although …show more content…
Miss Havisham is this way because of Compeyson, the man who left her at the altar. Compeyson broke Miss Havisham’s heart, and because of this Miss Havisham molds Estella to break men’s hearts as revenge. Miss Havisham tells Pip, “‘If you knew all my story…you would have some compassion...and a better understanding’” (400). Although Miss Havisham takes her revenge very extreme, she is a believable character. She suffered from heartbreak and wanted revenge, but without realizing she made Pip feel like she once did with Estella. Miss Havisham relates to Pip and Estella more than she first realizes. Miss Havisham trains Estella to be like Compeyson, and like her, Pip’s the victim. When Pip confronts Estella, Miss Havisham realizes, “‘I saw in you a looking-glass that showed...what I once felt’” (399). Pip’s relationship with Estella ended like Miss Havisham’s relationship with Compeyson, but even though it was supposed to end with Estella breaking Pip’s heart, Miss Havisham suddenly realizes what she had done. She had made someone innocent feel what she felt, and because of this, she was no better than
In Great Expectations, Pip is set up for heartbreak and failure by a woman he trusts, identical to Hamlet and Gertrude, but Pip is rescued by joe who pushes Pip to win the love of his life. Similar to Gertrude in Hamlet Miss Havisham becomes a bystander in Pip’s life as she initiates the play that leads to heartbreak several times and she watches Pip’s life crumble due to her teachings. The next quote shows Miss Havisham explaining to Pip the way she manipulated his love Estella to break his heart every time. “‘but as she grew, and promised to be very beautiful, I gradually did worse, and with my praises, and with my jewels, and with my teachings… I stole her heart away and put ice in its place’” (Dickens, 457). This quote makes it clear the Miss Havisham set Hamlet up for failure by making him fall for a woman he could never have.
Throughout Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, the convict under the alias “Magwitch” contains multiple characteristics that split him between two diverse classes. This duality of character and his frequent detainment cause him to desire a change to reinvent himself and leave the convict lower class. By succumbing to a corrupt class system, Magwitch demonstrates the duality of a man wronged by injustice and blinded by vengeance.
Many years later, Heathcliff returns to the Heights to begin his plan of revenge. Therefore, Bronte suggests that society can distort one’s personality because it provides the situation in which money and greed can fulfill one’s vanity and ambitions for social status, and she indicates that revenge is an index of the hatred that the pressures of society can produce. Thus, one uses revenge to cover up their wounded heart and tricks themselves into a cycle of hatred and self-deception.
Shakespeare’s plays, among other classic works of literature, tend to be forged with the tension of human emotion. The archetypical parallel of love and hatred polarizes characters and emphasizes the stark details of the plot. More specifically, the compelling force of revenge is behind most of the motives of Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. The play opens with the return of Hamlet’s father, a surprising encounter, which ended in his son learning that his father’s death was the result of foul play. By emphasizing this scene as the beginning of the story to be told, Shakespeare clearly implies that the plot itself will be based around the theme of revenge. Through three different instances of behavior fueled entirely by vengeance, Shakespeare creates an image in the reader’s mind, which foreshadows the future of the story and provides insight into the plot line. Even so, despite the theme of revenge being the overarching concern of the plot, the parallels drawn between characters truly strengthen the thematic depth of the piece overall, making the play easily one of Shakespeare’s most infamous and historically valuable works.
Revenge plays a large part in this book so i thought it would be a good motif for my essay.
Revenge is considered part of human nature because it is a survival instinct. Humans are inclined to commit acts of savagery because people are delicate beings. The Oxford English Dictionary defines revenge as, “the action of hurting or harming someone in return for an injury or wrong suffered.” Two good examples involve Montresor from the Cask of Amontillado and the unknown narrator from the Tell- Tale Heart. Montresor murders a fellow wine connoisseur because he insulted Montresor in a manner that could not be exonerated. The narrator of the Tell-Tale Heart enacts revenge by murdering an old man for provoking the narrator’s worst fears in the form of a “ vulture eye”. In both of these works by Edgar Allen Poe, the need for revenge consumed their internal fears and insecurities to perform those cruel acts. In the end though, both of the people discussed showed signs of remorse that in a way formed the character.
The first example that a theme of redemption is emphasized in Great Expectations is when pip gets an anonymous note to go to the marshes and is ambushed and almost killed. Before this ambush and attack from Orlick, Pip does not realize what is truly important. Pip is caught up in being upper class and a gentleman. He gets too worried about appearances. The attack however, made Pip really think about what was important to him. Pip realized he need to stay alive and redeem himself. He did not need to do this for himself, but to fulfill the obligations he now realized he had to Magwitch and Joe. Pip says "Joe and Biddy would never know how sorry I had been that night"(429). Pip realizes how poorly he treated those who he loves and that love him. Pip now knows he must redeem himself and make up for his poor behavior.
In order to make more money Pip’s uncle sends Pip to a psychotic old lady’s house named Mrs. Havisham. Mrs. Havisham is a mean and nasty character who constantly bickers at Pip and tells him of his unimportance. Pip continues to be mild mannered and respectful to Mrs. Havisham yet he begins to see that he will never get ahead in life just being nice. Mrs. Havisham uses Pip as sort of a guinea pig to take out her passion of revenge against men. She does this by using her daughter, Estella to torment Pip.
Revenge is such an enormous part of a being human. It is something that no matter how much you try to avoid part of you will persistently lust for it. When you are hurt in any way your natural instinct will always tell you to make the one who hurt you feel just as bad if not worse as how you felt. It is such a natural and powerful feeling, that when revenge is incorporated into a story it makes it so much stronger. Revenge will make you see so many more sides of characters and make them seem much more complex. Revenge can give fictional characters a more human quality. That is why so many writers use it as their theme.
French, A.L " Imprisonment: The Case of Great Expectations." Discussions of Charles Dickens, 82-92. William R. Clark, ed. Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1961.
Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights employs one of the most powerful forces to drive its plot forward: the need for revenge. This is a force like no other because it thrives on negative emotions such as suffering, loss, and anger, especially from the pain of rejection in the novel. Not only is it influential, but also prevalent. Bronte depicts that the need for revenge is hidden in many characters, suppressed by love, until a single event unleashes its fury, corrupting characters and causing them to aggravate their misdoings, with one disaster following a first. Revenge, like abuse, is a repeating cycle; a sufferer becomes the inflicter of suffering on others so that everybody feels the pain, and only the power of love can overcome this
Dickens portrays Miss Havisham in a very unique way. There is a dramatic irony between Miss Havisham and Pip. It is ironic how she wanted to watch him become miserable, just because he is of the male gender, and ironically she grew to like him. She even paid for part of Pip's expenses for the partnership. Yet what is more ironic is that Miss Havisham does not praise herself for the good deed. In the beginning of the novel, Miss Havisham displayed a harsh, cold attitude toward Pip. This is displayed in her deceptive act on page 69, where she says, "Well, you can break his heart?" As the novel ends Miss Havisham's attitude completely changes. She realizes the pain she has caused Pip and apologizes to him. Because of her positive change, she becomes more likeable to the audience.
Adopted by Miss Havisham as a baby, Estella rises to a high social standing. Raised to be protected from Miss Havisham’s mistakes in love, she is trained to repress notions of romantic love. By “[stealing] her heart away and [putting] ice in its place,” Miss Havisham thus prevents Estella from gaining the ability to achieve true happiness in life. The true meaning and feeling of love is unknown to Estella. Condescension and insensibility to others is sowed into her being early on, and she only can become more incapable of loving as she matures. When Pip is hired to become her playmate, she revels in the opportunity to exercise her prowess. Encouraged by Miss Havisham, Estella hones her ability to break hearts with Pip, but he is only the first of the many destined to befall that fate.
Andrewa, Kenneth. "Suffering in Great Expectations." . N.p., 15 June 2010. Web. 17 May 2014. .
There are many major themes of the book, but revenge is the most imminent theme, the factor that leads the protagonists to their dismal fate. Bronte proves there is no peace in eternal vengeance, and in the end self-injury involved in serving revenge’s purposes will be more damaging than the original wrong.