In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the character of Pip, demonstrates the working class and their restrictions. Dickens uses Pip and various other characters to show that class mobility is nearly impossible in the Victorian society. If one is able to move into another class then it would change them for the worse and they would end up where they first began. In the beginning, Pip is hardly aware of his social class and his education level, but as he becomes exposed to Estella, he becomes more perceptive and desires self-enhancement. He moves to London due to the kindness of an unknown benefactor and pursues to become a “gentleman”. Philip Pirrip or Pip did not have the deep desire to improve himself or attain educational, moral, or social advancement, until he met Miss Havisham and Estella. In the beginning of the story, Pip was alone at a graveyard and reveals that he had never met his parents. When he is older in the story he reminisces about his misconception of the engravings on the gravestones; “I read ‘wife of the Above’ as a complimentary reference to my father’s exaltation to a better world” (Dickens 38). This shows that Pip’s confusion about class structure and definition brings about the possibility for his story to be one of self-discovery (Brooks). Pip starts to view the world differently when he meets a wealthy woman named Miss Havisham and her adopted child Estella. Miss Havisham is a wealthy old woman who lives in a manor called Satis House near Pip’s village. Pip’s views change when Estella starts pointing out and criticizing Pip’s low social class and his unrefined manners. Estella calls Pip a “boy”, implying Estella views herself as above Pip. For example, when Miss Havisham requests for her to play w... ... middle of paper ... ... more humbled man. Works Cited Brooks, Peter. "Repetition, Repression, and Return: Great Expectations and the Study of Plot." On Narrative and Narratives: II. New York: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994-98. 503-26. Print. Vol. 3 of New York Literary History. 11 vols. Capuano, Peter J. "Handling The Perceptual Politics of Identity in Great Expectations." DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Sept. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. Cody, David. "The Gentleman." Victorian Web. Hartwick College, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. . Crossick, Geoffrey. "Classes and the Masses in Victorian England." History Today. History Today, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Random House, 1992. Print. Loftus, Donna. "The Rise of the Victorian Middle Class." BBC History. BBC, 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
In his early existence, extraordinary young Pip lives in impoverished house in Kent, England with his sister, Mrs. Gargery and her husband, Joe Gargery, a blacksmith. Here he is constantly beaten into submission by his caring sister. When these beating fail to correct Pip he is then subjected to the atrocious tar water. Then one evening while masquerading as a pleasant hostess, Mrs. Gargery learns of a splendid opportunity for Pip, the privilege to travel to a wealthy mistress’s house, Mrs. Havisham’s house.
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.
In Great Expectations, Pip was one of lower class. Although he did not have the fortunes, Pip was happy. Once he was introduced to the rich Miss Havisham and her daughter Estella, he fell in love. Estella became the object of his affection, yet because she was considered high class, there wou...
In a way, our boy, Pip, is quite like dear Elphaba. In Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, the moral theme is simple: devotion, faithfulness, and conscience are more imperative than social inclination, wealth, and class. Pip is an idealist at heart; whenever he can muse of something that is better than what he already has, his immediate desire is the drive to obtaining that particular improvement. When he sees Satis House, he longs to be a wealthy gentleman; and when thinking of his moral shortcomings, he longs to be good; when he realizes that he cannot read, he longs to learn how. However, as long Pip is an ignorant country boy, his hope of social advancement is deemed quite low on the spectrum of possibility. He understands this fact as
Living in a world where much about a person’s character is measured by wealth, it has become increasingly important to maintain a separation between material characteristics and intangible moral values. Pip, in Dickens’ Great Expectations, must learn from his series of disappointments and realize the importance of self-reliance over acceptance to social norms. Through his unwavering faith in wealthy “ideals,” such as Miss Havisham and Estella, Pip develops both emotionally and morally, learning that surface appearances never reveal the truth in a person’s heart.
The perennial pursuit of humankind is finding and establishing a unique identity while still maintaining enough in common with others to avoid isolation. This is the central pursuit of many of the characters in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, and it shapes the way that characters feel and interact in profound ways. Those who are certain of their selfhood are the most successful, and the acquisition of an identity is fundamental to achieve happiness and satisfaction for characters in Great Expectations.
... social mobility in England. Despite of all of the obstacles that got in Pips way he was still able to make something of himself other than a mere village blacksmith. The love between friends that was shown by Magwitch gave Pip all of the financial and social resources Pip required in order to allow him to pursue his dream of becoming a person of class. Estella impacts Pip through her lack of love because of the way she cruelly manipulates men into loving her only to later betray them. Miss Havisham’s love of herself enables her to seek revenge through her step-daughter Estella without regard to the suffering she caused to both Pip and Estella. Because of the love some of these characters show to Pip he is able to realize that wealth and your position on the social ladder does not make you a good person, and it can stop you from seeing the finer things in life.
In Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, the reader is taken through the journey of a little boy as he pursuits his dream and great expectations beyond his common self. Pip's, the protagonist, dream of becoming a gentleman is realized upon his meeting of Estella, the love of his life. Pip changes from an innocent, sensitive and common young boy to a selfish, rejecting adolescent. He is led into making grave mistakes based on his false expectations of marrying Estella and being a gentleman. In the end, he learns that all his aspirations have been based on false presumptions and expectation of his ability to rise above his past and become something better.
...ntation of the distinctions between the social classes. Dickens uses Pip’s relationships with Estella, Joe, and Magwitch to show how the lower class is judged by social status or appearances, instead of morals and values. The lower class is looked down upon and taken advantage of the upper class, and this is prevalent in the novel Great Expectations.
This difference in class alludes to Pip possessing a clear desire to be a gentleman, to win over Estella, who has a preconceived impression of him of his social class rather than his true character. The character of Pip can draw parallels to the author of the novel, Charles Dickens, who moved to Camden Town as a young boy, with his father being imprisoned after being convicted on charges of debt. Living the life of a poor boy, he also wished to be a gentleman as shown through Pip, during his younger years. Pips lack of education is also a point of relevance to Dickens who had to leave school at the age of 12 and again at 15, to support the family financially. This element of desire, shown through a character like Pip, sheds light on people of the victorian era, amid the industrial revolution. With children and people of lower
The Victorian Era started in 1837, the year Queen Victoria was crowned. The Industrial Revolution also started in this era. Cities started to form and become heavily populated. In the novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens had the main character, Pip, live in two different life styles in the Victorian Era. Pip lived with both the poor and the rich population. Both life styles are very different and placing Pip in both societies helped to show that, while the wealthy people benefited from the industrial revolution, the poor people often paid the price.
Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations follows the maturing of main character Philip “Pip” Pirrip from a very young age until his adulthood. The novel starts with Pip being just six years old, alone on the marsh where he has an encounter that changes his whole life. What is notable about this early Pip is how he is shaped and manipulated by the ideologies of those around him, especially when it comes to social class. Dickens makes it very clear that Pip does not reach maturity until he frees himself from these notions that had been set upon him, and begins to see past the overt attributes associated with station.
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 comes from a lower class family of the Victorian era. The reader first meets Pip around the age of 6, when he explains that his parents, as well as 5 of his brothers, have all passed and he has been raised by his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, and her husband Joe Gargery. His sister continuously reminds Pip about her having brought him up “by hand” (Dickens 7) and even details her regrets about having taken him in as her own child saying “I’d never do it again!” (Dickens 8). Despite the rough upbringing, or perhaps because of the rough upbringing, Pip has high hopes of one day becoming a gentleman and continuously dreams of what his life will be like once he is part of the upper class. These aspirations indicate that Pip has great expectations for himself. He expects to become a perfect gentleman and climb the social status ladder. Soon after explaining his home situation, Pip describes to the reader of his encounter with Ms. Havisham, who he describes as “an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal hous...
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a coming-of-age story written from December 1860 to 1861. Great Expectations follows the life of Phillip Pirrip, self-named Pip; as his “infant tongue could make of both name nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.” (I, Page 3) The story begins with Pip as a young child, destined to be the apprentice of his blacksmith brother-in-law, Joe Gargery. After spending time with an upper-class elderly woman, Miss Havesham and her adopted daughter, Estella, Estella, with whom he has fallen in love, he realizes that she could never love a person as common as himself, and his view on the social classes change. Pip’s view of society grows and changes with him, from anticipating the apprenticeship of Joe, to the idealization of the gentle class, and eventually turning to the disrespect of the lower class of which he once belonged. Although Pip may grow and physically mature, he did not necessarily grow to be a better person. He loses his childhood innocence and compassion, in exchange for the ways of the gentlemen.