This encapsulates the social and economic gulf that was widening due to industry and capitalism. Wells presents such images of industry when the Time Traveller explains ‘there is the Metropolitan Railway in London, for instance there are underground workrooms and restaurants, and they increase and multiply’ (Wells 48). The choice of the verb ‘multiply’ subtly suggests that capitalism and industry are a disease that will infect society and the individual, Wells is no doubt warning against it. It is the lower social classes that work here keeping society running for upper and middle classes who continue to enjoy an idle life style. Similarly in Great Expectations Magwitch exclaims to Pip ‘I have lived rough, that you should live smooth; I worked hard, that you should be above work’ (Dickens 319). Pam Morris highlights that Magwitch’s speech ‘reconnects wealthy lifestyle and conspicuous consumption to the reality of their source in degraded and punishing labour’ (Morris 116). This segregation of certain individuals created a socio-economic barrier that resulted in the Eloi and Morlocks and also caused Pip’s contempt of Magwitch despite Magwitch being his benefactor.
Marxism and socialism are important in relation to the individual’s place within the social and economic sphere and what effects it had. Dickens and Wells in their evaluation of this use Marxism to present their opinions and thoughts. Marxism considers that economic conditions determine consciousness and character. Although Pip becomes a gentleman, he gains such social mobility at the price of alienation from his working class background and his close friends Joe and Biddy. When Joe is in London to visit Pip, London, Pip admits;
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...owever he now sees Magwitch as a true friend and companion. Indeed John H. Hagan explains that in Pip’s ‘lonely struggle to work out his salvation, he is atoning for the guilt of society at large. In learning to rise above selfishness, to attain to a selfless love for Magwitch, he brings to an end the chain of evil that was first forged by the selfish Compeyson’ (Hagan 7). The implication is that Dickens wants us to see beyond the stereotypes of criminals and the poor.
To conclude both texts have different ways of evaluating the effects of social and economic conditions on the individual. The historical context of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism are central in both, with the resulting gulf between rich and poor a concern for Dickens and Wells. As a result both used their position as authors to invest their texts with social and moral message.
The settings of Great Expectations are Pip’s homes, one home that he lives in during his childhood in Kent, England, and the other that he lives in when he is grown in London, England. Social status was a big deal in the mid-nineteenth century. The rich were highly respected and liked by all, and the poor were treated unkindly and were sometimes made fun of. The rich could have any job that they liked, but the poor would almost always take over the job that their father had. The narrator of Great Expectations is Pip. If the novel were narrated from any other point of view, it would not have the same effect as it does now.
This is the very end of Chapter 1 and the setting in this passage plays a very important role as it situates the plot within a dramatic line, suggesting that this black and dense atmosphere brings with it a dangerous situation, being almost a connection with this criminal situation we have just witnessed and with the events to come afterwards. In spite of Magwitch’s appearance and first impression, Pip tries to help him without hesitation, giving at the same time the idea of Pip’s humble feelings, and in fact, in Chapter 3, early in the morning, Pip leaves his house in order to attend Magwitch’s needs: “all this time I was getting on towards the river; but however fast I went, I couldn’t warm my feet, to which the damp cold seemed riveted,
H.G. Wells was a prolific writer. In his book The Time Machine, he takes his readers on a journey into a future that is vastly different than they might have expected. During Well's lifetime, England was marked by distinct class differences, the working class and the idle rich. It is not surprising that in his writings Well's Marxist attitude comes through. This is especially seen in his fascination about the class division between the Eloi and the Morlocks, the effect capitalism has on the future, and the advancement of the human
9. Ashbury, M (2001) Representation of Industrialization in Dickens’ Hard Times [Online]. Available: http://www.colourpurple.com [Accessed 25th April 2005].
Charles Dickens used Great Expectations as a forum for presenting his views of human nature. This essay will explore friendship, generosity, love, cruelty and other aspects of human nature presented by Dickens over 100 years ago.
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
Pip, in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, is an idealist. Whenever he envisions something greater than what he already has, he passionately desires to obtain the improvement and better himself. In the Victorian Era, as an underprivileged orphan though, dreams are often easier dreamt than accomplished. Pip however, has an instinctive ambitious drive. His unstoppable willpower, plus the benefit of a benefactor, elevates him from the bottom, to the top of the social, educational, and moral food chain in the Victorian Era.
Our Mutual Friend, Dickens' last novel, exposes the reality Dickens is surrounded by in his life in Victorian England. The novel heavily displays the corruption of society through multiple examples. These examples, that are planted within the novel, relate to both the society in Dickens' writing and his reality. In order to properly portray the fraud taking place within his novels, Dickens' uses morality in his universe to compare to the reality of society. He repetitively references to the change of mind and soul for both the better and the worst. He speaks of the change of heart when poisoned by wealth, and he connects this disease to the balance of the rich and the poor. This is another major factor to novel, where the plot is surrounded by a social hierarchy that condemns the poor to a life of misery, and yet, condones any action that would normally be seen as immoral when it occurs in the aristocracy. It expands on the idea that only an education and inheritance will bring success in society, with few exceptions. Lastly, Dickens expands his opinions of society through his mockery of ...
In Oliver Twist and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, both main characters refuse to except the poor hand the world has dealt them. Pip and Oliver reach a great epiphany in regards to social injustice, and in turn rebel against the system that oppresses them. They are tired of being mistreated and neglected, and therefore decide to make a stand. Charles Dickens exhibits through Oliver and Pip that the revolt of the weak against the strong results from the oppression of the poor. As a result of their revolt against the system, Pip and Oliver are ostracized for their non-conformist ideals. Thus change in an oppressing and conformist society can only be achieved through change in moral, social, and political instincts.
At the start of the novel, Pip is a poor uneducated orphan boy unaware of social classes, or even the existence of such things. As a result, he is content with what he has and who he knows. Moving on in life, he comes across new people from all spectrums of social classes, and his content turns to shame and greed, as he longs to be “better”. All of a sudden Pip becomes ashamed of both his family and his social class. As Pip begins to understand the true meaning of life, his childish attitude does however change. “Pip learns as he grows older, however, that having money and power and being of a higher social class is not necessarily better than having true friends that care about him - even if they are of a lower social class” (Bloom, “Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations” 236). As the aforementioned quote suggests, in the final stages of the story Pip’s mindset changes for the better and Pip is able to give up having the “money and the power” and focuses ...
He manages to incorporate the troubling issue of the social-economic interference of gender identities and the way that so many coped with it. London is a completely different place than where Pip grew up, but every place still has its rules and regulations that maintain a society 's consistency. That consistency usually includes the unspoken but blindly followed gender roles, and specific socio-economic settings. And because Dickens intertwined these two themes together, he demonstrates to the reader clearly the extent to which one and the other affect each
...ip, who turns his back against those who loved and cared for him most. First, he turns his back against Joe and Biddy out of shame for their poverty. Then he turns against Magwitch when he finds out that he's Pip's benefactor. Although his repulsion towards Magwitch is somewhat justifiable, Dickens' point still comes through clearly, which is that a person should not be not be judged for the clothes one wear, or even always for the crimes one commits. This epitomizes the dichotomy Dickens felt towards both the treatment and perception of criminals.
Marxism consists of the political and economic theories of Karl Marx, in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in Western societies. Marxism applies to the novel Great Expectations in many ways. Dickens uses Pip’s complex and altering relationships with Estella, Joe, and Magwitch to show the subjugation of the working-class from the privileged.
The wealthy people had a great advantage over the poor in the industrial revolution. Even though the poor families did most of the work they still had the short end of the stick. Having their young children work in factories coal mines and mill. Having their wives take care of the wealthy children and clean their houses, the men themselves did labor work for the wealthy. Without the natural human instinct to fight for survival the industrial revolution would have ever happened. Money was the soul point in the separation of classes. The wealthier you were the less work you had to do and I their eyes even a better life style even though when they had boring childhood. Pip has lived in both life styles the rich and the poor. The wealthy people of the Victorian era were at a huge advantage, leaving the poor in the worst living conditions.
Many choices the characters make have a negative effect on their lives. The characters of Magwitch and Pip make bad decisions, but throughout the novel they realized their wrong doings and strive for improvement and better understanding. In the beginning of the book, Pip ventures into the marshes around the forge. As he encounters Magwitch, a convict, he is asked to bring back some “wittles” or food and a file to break free from the chains (Dickens 25). Magwitch informs Pip that if he were to disobey orders, a man would sneak in to his house and eat his heart. Afraid, Pip takes Joe’s file and Mrs. Joe’s cake instead of alerting them about Magwitch and the threats; this displays Pip’s low level of trust in his guardians. The guilt he feels “on the score of this minor theft is only part of a larger guilt,” leaving him to believe he is not only thought of as a burden to his sister, but also a delinquent (Barnard 109). Pip would rather go behind Mrs. Joe’s b...