Character Analysis Of Great Expectations

To start off with, at the beginning of the novel Miss Havisham has the reputation that she is rich and that she is secluded. When Pip first discovers that he will be going to Miss Havisham's he states, “[Everyone in town and Pip hears] Miss Havisham up town-as [a very wealthy] and grim lady who [lives] in a [house] barricaded against robbers, and who [lives a secluded life]” (46). This example shows that everyone in Pip’s town believes and gives Miss Havisham the reputation of being secluded and rich, and this reputation want last long. No one knows much about Miss Havisham so they give her a reputation based on what they know and one that can easily change when they get to know her. Next, when everyone gets to know Miss Havisham they learn how generous yet at the same time how cruel she is. When Miss Havisham shows Pip her cake the text states, “What [does Pip] think that?’ [Miss Havisham asks Pip] pointing with her stick, ‘that, where the cobwebs are?’ ‘[Pip] can’t guess what it is [to Miss Havisham]’ ‘It is a great cake. [Miss Havisham’s] cake!” (78). This example shows, that Pip learns that Miss Havisham has kept her old wedding cake for years, which tarnishes her reputation. This makes her seem crazy and not to mention she’s also very mean and rude to Pip as they walk around the cake. Miss Havisham's reputation changes drastically near the beginning of the book and now is seen as a rude and crazy person. Finally, near the end of the novel, Miss Havisham turns into a kind and apologetic person. After Miss Havisham burns in a fire she realizes what she has done was wrong and she changes. Dickens writes, “What has [Miss Havisham] done.’ And then, ‘When [Estella arrives Miss Havisham means] only to save [Estella] from misery like [Miss Havisham’s]” (374). This example shows that Miss Havisham greatly changes and by changing her reputation improves

Pip’s loss of ignorance drives his dreams to become a gentleman in the hopes of one day marrying Estella. In addition, Pip becomes so self-conscious of his humble upbringings that he is embarrassed of the home that he lives in. He reflects, “It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home..., and I would not have had Miss Havisham and Estella see it

She implores Pip to forgive her for making him suffer heartbreak to satisfy her own “wild resentment, spurned affection, and wounded pride” (710). It is only after Miss Havisham’s death that Pip realizes that wealth—whether referring to his own wealth or Miss Havisham’s—often brings out the worst of a person’s character, including his own. He realizes that his dreams to become wealthy and “bestow…a gallon of condescension upon everybody in the village” are petty, and that he is slated to lose everyone he loves to his own greed

One of the most remarkable aspects of Charles Dickens Great Expectations is its structural intricacy and remarkable balance. Dickens plot involves complicated coincidences, extraordinary tangled webs of human relationships, and highly dramatic developments in which setting, atmosphere, event and character are all seamlessly fused. Although, perhaps the most visible sign of Dickens commitment to intricate dramatic symmetry-apart from the knot of character relationships, of course- is the fascinating motif of character doubles or foils that run through the novel. The use of character doubles or foils in the novel effectively let readers understand important aspects and messages of the

1. Why does Pip feel the need to lie about Miss Havisham when he is questioned about her by Mrs. Joe and Mr. Pumblechook? Why is he confident Mr.Pumblechook will not correct his story? Pip feels the need to lie about Miss Havisham because he feels that they won’t believe him and doesn’t want to publicly humiliate her. He is certain Mr. Pumblechook will not correct his story because he does not know her.

Dominique and his family were in a good mood when the QP met with them for a session.

The class system becomes a focal point in young Pip's life. Pip first began to think about his place in society when he was sent to visit the wealthy, old lady, Miss Havisham at her mansion. Through these visits Pip becomes socially conscious and begins to dislike his commonality. Almost instantly he wants to become uncommon. The adopted daughter of Miss Havisham, Estella, becomes a focal point and goal for Pip to obtain. Any morality Pip used to have slips away with each visit. Pip walks in circles in a barely lit room with Miss Havisam holding onto his shoulder and in doing so, Pip is somehow leaving behind all the values he was raised with. Miss Havisham and Estella end up corrupting Pip with the rich life. Greed, beauty and hubris are Pips downward spiral into an immoral life. Pip finds Estella very attractive, but Estella calls him common and this does not sit well with Pip. All of Pip's expectations of becoming a rich gentleman are due to this love of Estella.

   No novel boasts more varied and unique character relationships than Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. This essay will serve to analyze three different relationships, paying special attention to the qualities that each uphold. Dickens created three types of character relationships: true friends, betrayed friends, and loving relatives.

Miss Havisham plays a big part in Pip's life. Dickens portrays her as a women who has been jilted on her wedding day. This event has ruined her life. Miss Havisham has stopped all clocks and sits in her yellowing wedding dress. Miss havisham has stopped all clocks on the moment she has found out that her lover has jilted her. Dickens describes her in a way whick makes me imagine the castle of the white witch in Narnia, with its frozen statues in the courtyard.

In Chapter 44, Pip visits Miss Havisham after he learns the true identity of his benefactor. Pip states, “When you first caused me to be brought here, Miss Havisham, when I belonged to the village over yonder, that I wish I had never left; I suppose I really did come here, as any servant , to gratify a want or whim, and to be paid for it?” Miss Havisham confirms that this is why she brought Pip to her house in the first place. Miss Havisham also points out that it was just a coincidence that Mr. Jaggers was her attorney as well as that of Pip’s benefactor, the convict. Then Pip tells Miss Havisham that when he mistakenly believed that she was his benefactor, she led him to believe it. When Pip asks her if it was kind for her to mislead him, Miss Havisham responds, “who am I, for God’s sake, that I should be kind?” He continues to confront Miss Havisham about the consequences of her lie. Her family members believed that she was his benefactor, and this was the reason that Pip believed that they were nice to him. He realizes that Mr. Pocket let him read to him because Mr. Pocket thought that he was getting paid by Miss Havisham, and not because he wanted to help a young man who was trying to be a gentleman. Then Pip informs them that he truly loves Estella, Miss Havisham knew this, and let him go on even though she knew that this would never happen. It was then that Pip learned that Estella was to marry Drummle. As Pip left Satis House, he remarked that “… the spectral figure of Miss Havisham, her hand still covering her heart, seemed all resolved into a ghastly stare of pity and

Pip’s journey reinforced towards self- discovery by saying “As I had grown accustomed to my expectations, I had insensibly begun to notice their effect upon myself and those around me. Their influence I disguised from my recognition as much as possible, but I knew very well that it was not all good. I lived in a state of chronic uneasiness respecting my behaviour to Joe.” (P.243 chapter 34) Pip discovered his rudeness and snobbishness towards Joe. Pip was influenced by the wealthy Miss Havisham because she is on the top of the societal hierarchy and Pip trusted her fully. This is an affair nowadays that people are mistreating their love when they are being on top of the social class. “Great Expectations, is a story about how pride separates a young man from the people who love him best, and from his own best instincts. Pip, who rejects the honest and simple man who raises him, and then the even less lofty man who turns out to be his benefactor, calls up every conflict we’ve ever felt between yearning for the larger world and wishing to remain loyal to the smaller one we came from.” A quote stated by a reviewer. He thinks that Pip is separating himself from true love that was offered by Joe. This quote can effectively shows the attitude of people towards their love when it comes to money issue. Another book reviewer commented that “The lesson that Pip learns comes in his

2. Briefly describe the convict. What evidence is there that the convict has "human" qualities and is not merely a criminal? The convict is a fearful man all in coarse gray, with a great iron on his leg, no hat, with

Pip's expectations were to become a gentleman wealthy in love and riches. In a way, he both failed and succeeded. He succeeded in becoming a gentleman of status but not one of heart, therefore he ultimately failed to be a gentleman because of the true meaning of such a word. In failing, he wised up and realized his errors and expanded his capacity for feeling; he matured as a person after all his blundering. In the last chapter, Pip compares how he's treated as an upper class man and a lower class man.

Most readers are appalled at the cold-hearted and cruel ways of Estella, but any criticism directed at her is largely undeserved. She was simply raised in a controlled environment where she was, in essence, brainwashed by Miss Havisham. Nonetheless, her demeanor might lead one to suspect that she was a girl with a heart of ice. Estella is scornful from the moment she is introduced, when she remarks on Pip's coarse hands and thick boots. However, her beauty soon captivates Pip and she is instilled as the focal point of his thoughts for much of the remainder of the novel. The fact that Pip becomes infatuated with her is also not Estella's fault. By no means is there any evidence that she loved him. She does not flirt with

In Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, the main character named Pip suffers through a conflict of confusing good and bad people. He repeatedly disregards the people that love and care for him and instead chooses to care for people who do not care for him. When making these choices, Pip senses that he is making the wrong decisions and therefore confuses good and bad and also confuses himself.