Despite the morbid and gloomy tone Charles Dickens has set for the rest of the novel, the rewritten ending fits well along with the surrounding context because the reader is able to better understand the development of Estella’s character, it is far more conclusive in comparison to the original, and it reveals a little more about Pip’s growth in character and traits. Throughout the course of the novel, Estella is perceived to be this cold-hearted reptile, but this is contradicted in Charles Dickens’ rewritten ending, when she is instead written to have grown much more open and warm towards Pip, exemplifying her growth and development in character. Although Great Expectations mainly revolves around Pip’s adventures and …show more content…
In relation to the original resolution of the novel, the rewritten one would be much more fitting as it is far more conclusive and sets this tone of completion. The original ending, even though matching moods with the rest of the novel, seems to end, leaving the reader with a sense of confusion, as if it ended ever so bluntly and depressingly. The setting Charles Dickens has chosen for the second ending, the garden of Satis House, gives the novel an intriguing elliptical feeling, as it seems to tie the entire book together from where it all began. It would only seem appropriate that Pip and Estella should reconcile at Satis House -- the area that symbolizes all death and decay, in addition to the rough and dirty past, and renew their lives. This provided setting appears to not only Estella's character, but the issues regarding Miss Havisham and their ever so solitary, unfortunate lives. Regardless of what seems to be a not fitting, “happy” ending, the imagery of the “cold silvery mist [that] had veiled the afternoon” sets the same tone of mystery and gloom, and therefore connecting with the rest of the novel. The imagery of this night and its celestial moonbeam represents Pip and Estella’s newfound light beyond their sorrow and past, in spite of
Great Expectations tells the ultimate rags to riches story of the Orphan Pip. Dickens takes his readers through life changing events that ultimately mold the identity of the main character. Dividing these events into sections will provide the basis for interpreting which events had the most profound effect on Pip’s identity towards the end of the novel. These life-changing events provide the catalyst for the development of Pip’s character from childhood, his adolescence, maturing into a social gentleman, and finally becoming a self-aware man of society.
With a beautiful angelic face and a cold-heart Estella serves an important role as Pip’s love interest in the story. Although she is everything that Pip should never want in a friend, that doesn’t stop him from loving her. In the novel, Estella is an important character in both the literal and figurative
He never would have been embarrassed about Joe if he did not expect to live a better life than him. When Dickens gives Pip the possibility of happiness with Estella in the revised ending, he completely undermines the lesson he was teaching Pip and the reader.
The main storyline has to do with Pip’s expectations of becoming a gentleman. To do this he received help from a secret benefactor. For the first half of the novel Pip is convinced that Miss Havisham is the one doing this so one day he and Estella can be together. Dickens creates a story around Pip’s assumption to make this a very logical explanation. Coincidentally right after Pip realizes and confirms he was wrong about his benefactor, an unexpected character reappears. “You acted nobly, my boy,” said he. “Noble Pip! And I have never forgot it!” (Dickens 248) These words ring out of his benefactor’s name. Who appears to be the escaped convict from the beginning who threatened him, known by the name of Magwitch. Magwitch reveals that ever since that day in the graveyard when Pip returned to give him what he requested he has found a job to help Pip out for what he did for him. By doing this secretly for all this
Through the years, a number of individuals have argued that this is the best way for the novel to conclude. These people tend to believe that this ending is more true to the overall tone of the novel than the revised finale. Great Expectations never exists as a typically happy story. Its plot is marked by constant disappointment and suffering, which would therefore make the application of a happy, romantic ending seem rather unnatural. By the end of the story, Pip has learned a great deal about himself and reached a new level of maturity. He has come to recognize the mistakes that he had made as a young man and is able to appreciate the importance of family. No longer is he consumed by a selfish desire for wealth and social status. Pip’s primary motivation for attaining such a gentlemanly status had been his desire to marry Estella. By the end of the novel, however, Pip’s character has been redeemed. He has progressed beyond the point in his life that was represented by his love for Estella. This deliverance would then seem to make it impossible for Pip to continue loving Estella. She was a part of his youth; Pip, however, has become a man.
and I, but to obey our instructions. We are not free to follow our own
From reading this quote, you can see just how much Pip loves Estella and how much Pip says he loves Estella. Pip says his description of love for Estella is in images of nature and the many other things that are surrounding him.Therefore in a way, Estella isn’t a human to him, she’s just areas that are around him. I think that maybe this is the reason why Dickens didn’t allow Pip and Estella to be together,because Pip’s love is all about
Pip then goes on to address the reader directly and explains that “[t]hat was a memorable day to [him], for it made great changes in [him],” (Dickens 70). After meeting with Estella several times and becoming extremely fond of her, despite her bipolar attitudes towards him, Ms. Havisham suddenly decides to recompense Pip for his time and then tells him that he no longer has to come back to the Satis House. Everyday after this, Pip continuously thinks of Estella and of how he must become a gentleman in order to be at the same level as Estella and eventually marry her. Another character Biddy (whose relationship to Pip is somewhat complicated) begins acting as Pip’s teacher and Pip says “[w]hatever [he] acquired, [he] tried to impart to Joe,” because “[he] wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common.” Pip’s plans to become a well-mannered gentleman to be worthy of high-society and to be worthy of Estella’s affection are two goals or “great expectations” that Pip sets for himself that ultimately carry the plot of the novel along.
Charles Dickenss’s novel Great Expectations occurs during Pip’s period of transition from adolescence into adulthood when others’ opinions matter far more than his own. Because of Pip’s acute awareness of societal views and expectations, his first meeting with Estella results in lasting change that drives Pip to change his social standing: “...and that there had been a beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's who was dreadfully proud, and that she had said I was common, and that I knew I was common, and that I wished I was not common…” (Dickens 70). Before Pip’s introduction to the wealth Miss Havisham experienced, he felt no shame in his identity and background. Additionally, although Pip recognizes Estella’s own flaws, Estella’s obvious privilege and his own
In the book Great Expectations, the story is about how a young orphan boy named Pip starts out homeless and poor and shows how his life gradually got better and he became rich in the end with the help of anonymous benefactors. Pip lived his whole life believing that Miss Havisham was his benefactor, when she really wasn’t. Miss Havisham played a huge part in this story, she practically raised Pip since he was a little boy and she stayed in the story until the end. She helped him in many ways but also breaks his heart by using her adopted daughter Estella. Estella is Pips crush whom he falls in love with and spends his whole life trying to get with but never does because she was raised not to love because of Miss Havisham’s bad experience with
That is where he sees Estella after she left him to go get married with Drummle, but Pip and Estella end up living happily ever after. The way a Victorian era compared to a Modern day women would interpret this as their goals in life just like the Modern day women. They both would want someone who after they have been hurt by this specific person they still would accept them, but for the Victorian women if she gave the guy all of her and he hurts her mentally and she leaves him. She would lose everything her parents passed down to her because that all goes to the guy since women weren't allowed to own property. The Modern day women won't have to sacrifice as much as the Victorian women do. They end up with a broken heart and they won't get back with the guy to live a happily ever ending because they can find a happily ever ending with another guy who won't treat them bad as the first guy she
Mickey Spillane once said, “The most important part of a story is the ending. No one reads a book to get to the middle.” Despite the fact that the beginning and middle of story play an important role, the resolution is what tends to stick with the reader the most. From the instant the audience meets Pip to the final chapter where Pip and Estella bump into each other after such a long time, Great Expectations is, all the way through, a complete classic. Yet, there is some debate on the most important part of the story - the ending. The ending that Dickens published in his book was actually different from the one he had first written. After hearing some advice from his friend Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Dickens decided to change the final part of his novel. A huge debate has been created as a result of the fixes Dickens made: which of the two endings that Dickens wrote was better - the original or the published one? After examining both Dickens’ original ending and published ending, it’s clear that Dickens’ original ending is the conclusion that overall fits Great Expectations better because of its good thematic expression and plausibility.
With her plan of revenge in mind, Miss Havisham deliberately raises Estella to avoid emotional attachment and treat those who love her with cruelty. A specific quote in the book, where Miss Havisham tells Pip that he must love Estella at all costs, sheds light on Miss Havisham's vengeful character. One can draw parallels from the life of Miss Havisham to the life that she
Estella also is a victim to her guardian in the novel. She too is never given the chance to be her own person and live life to its fullest. Estella is conditioned by her guardian, Miss Havisham, to make men suffer, and in return it is Estella who will be made to suffer for her guardian's actions. Miss Havisham is a severely disturbed old woman who has adopted Estella. Miss Havisham was abandoned on her wedding day and as a result she forever maintains hatred toward men. Thus for her dirty work, Miss Havisham uses Estella to meet this purpose. Pip concludes that Miss Havisham "had done a grievous thing in taking an impressionable child (Estella) and had manipulated into the form that her wild resentment, spurned affection, and wounded pride, found vengeance in". Miss Havisham makes Estella have a fear of men being close to her and not to allow herself to become attached to them emotionally. Dickens’ made Estella an almost identical copy of Frankenstein: trained to perform specific tasks for the pleasure of their guardian. However someday, they crack and see the illness in their lives. Estella was Miss Havisham’s toy. Estella never
There are salient junctures in Pip’s upbringing that make him who the person he was; this is a tale that in which Pip was soliciting for awareness of himself, as well he realized that his life had major elements of obscurity; due to the fact, he was presented clearly, two radical different lifestyle choices; one, involving a life as a blacksmith and the other; involving the path as life as am affluent prosperous gentleman. Dickens carefully wrote in the periods of Pip’s life and how those set of circumstances; affected by choice, as well affected Pip’s later choices he had made. The temptation of class and wealth perverted the actions of Pip and other people around him; Pip is therefore contemplating on how he was saved by reminiscence of the stages of his life. In the first stage; Pip encounters Magwitch; by accident, this affects the outcome of later events of his life; Pip is than introduced to Miss Havishism and Estella, he fell in love with Estella, and was dramatically persuaded by the promises he made to himself, from his encounters with Miss Havhishism and Estella. Dramatically; Pip than learned the truth about his wealth and that Magwitch was Estella 's father; this collapsed Pip’s vision of reality and forced him to alter his exceptions concerning the truth; Pip than had to save himself from his own selfishness, as well as his malice actions, to the ones who were faithful to him; finally, at the end Pip is a full grown adult and had gain