Great Expectations

2185 Words5 Pages

Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens is a compelling work that highlights the life of a young man Pip from childhood to adulthood. In his life this character goes through so many experiences that all contribute towards his growth and development. The theme of love is dominant in this novel as presented by the main characters and the other characters. The different types of love articulated in the story have important roles in the life of Pip as the main character. The life of Pip as the story unfolds is full of so many miseries. He is an individual who want to achieve a new status in the society but he has to face the social injustice that seems to be in his way towards success. Characters like Miss Havisham, Estella, Drummle, Herbert Pocket and Magwitch play a crucial role in the development of the theme of love. They are in one way or another associated with Pip and their interaction impact on his life in different ways. The course of life taken by Pip’s character is to a great extent influenced by the kind of love he is exposed to by all these characters.

Love is a strong emotion that is expressed between people who care for one another. In Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens there are so many scenes and interactions that have been used to show love. Pip as one of the main characters in the novel has made interactions with other characters and in their relationships love has been cited and has played a particular role in his life.

At the beginning of the novel the audience is treated to a scene of an orphan at the cemetery. The young boy is trying to remember the departed loved ones. There must have been love between Pip and his parents. This type of love between parents and the children can also be used to represent th...

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... him frustrate his efforts towards prosperity while those who love him facilitate his ambition towards becoming a gentleman in the society.

Works Cited.

Barbara Hardy. Dickens and the Passions Nineteenth-Century Fiction.Vol. 24, No. 4, The

Charles Dickens Centennial (Mar., 1970), pp. 449-466

Charles Dickens. Great Expectations. Bizarro Press, 2009

John H. Hagan, Jr. The Poor Labyrinth: The Theme of Social Injustice in Dickens's "Great

Expectations "Nineteenth-Century Fiction Vol. 9, No. 3 (Dec., 1954), pp. 169-178

Holly Furneaux Charles Dickens's Families of Choice: Elective Affinities, Sibling Substitution,

Nineteenth-Century LiteratureVol. 62, No. 2 (Sep., 2007), pp. 153-192

Zoe Ripple. New Life, Old Love in Charles Dickens Great Expectations. Retrieved from http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/ripple17.html

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Great Expectations

Relationshipsand Sense of Belonging in Charles Dickens' Great Expectation