Examples Of Conflict In Great Expectations

As mentioned before, Pip possess and inability to fully express his feeling about those around him. When he first encounters Estella, he knows that is a physical attraction but Estella’s cold and indifferent actions toward Pip leave him longing for someone he cannot create a true connection with. Furthermore, Estella has the one of the greatest influence on Pip’s identity in the novel once he obtains his expectations and attempts to alter his personality to mimic that of a genteel individual. Pip describes the anguish he feels about his background as “a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home” insinuating that the only way to win Estella over is to disregard his humble beginnings in Kent. Which leads to his desires to become a gentleman in London in hopes that he will be better suited for Estella.

During his visit to Miss Havisham’s house, Estella convinced him that he identified himself as a “common” person by exclaiming “With this boy! Why, he is a common laboring-boy!”(60). Estella clearly shows her discontent of the need to play with Pip because she feels superior over Pip. This also implies he feels that Estella has authority over him due to their differences in social status and negative emotions fusses within when he realizes that Estella looks down on him. He also continues this thought by thinking, “how common Estella would consider Joe, a mere blacksmith.”(72). It may seem like Estella enlightened and intensified this thought that Pip considers, but in reality Estella has very little to do with it. After all Pip penetrates himself into this undesirable thought, as he stands as his own worst enemy. He thinks deep into where he happens to be now, and compares himself to Estella, who happens to possess a higher social status than Pip. When someone besets and discredits my life status and me, I can either take it seriously and make changes accordingly and fulfill their ideals or choose otherwise. I can deuce that connotations and attitude does matters when someone responds to your life by giving you a hard time. Joe serves as a reminder to Pip that he should not behave the way he did and take notice of what Estella has said to him. He also

Estella lives in the Manor House with her adoptive mother Miss Havisham who has raised her up as a tool to be used to break men’s hearts. Although she constantly insults and makes fun of Pip, he falls in love with her. This love for her makes Pip vulnerable to any and every little insult that comes out of her mouth and Pip puts to heart everything she says. So, when she says, "He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!...And what course hands he has! And what thick boots!" he takes it to heart (Dickens 105). It is at this point that Pip begins to feel ashamed of his uneducated family, and longs to become a gentleman. Due to Estella’s cold-hearted character and her arrogant personality, Pip is made to feel that he stands no chance with her. Even more dangerous is her destructive influence on Pip which makes him strive to become a gentleman no matter the cost. Rather than being surrounded by people such as Estella who do nothing but put Pip’s character down, he should surround himself with supportive and encouraging individuals who are always there for him and appreciate his unique personality. This is what causes growth in a person.

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

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.

The evidence that Pip is an insecure, impressionable young boy is that Estella opinions in his coarse hands and thick boots made him break down and cry. He blames his sister for his insecurities because of his sisters’ bringing him up had made him sensitive.

However, when Pip pays his first visit to Satis House, his loyalties began to shift (Kappel 116). Like the prodigal son, Pip becomes discontent with his humble origin and longs for a life of prestige. After only one visit to Miss Havisham, Pip already begins to feel discontent and ashamed. Estella’s prideful and scornful attitude makes him feel inferior. Estella derogatorily

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.

Charles Dickens uses his own opinions to develop the larger-than-life characters in Great Expectations. The novel is written from the point of view of the protagonist, Pip. Pip guides the reader through his life, describing the different stages from childhood to manhood. Many judgments are made regarding the other characters, and Pip's views of them are constantly changing according to his place in the social hierarchy. For instance, Pip feels total admiration that, later, turns to total shame for the man who raised him, Joe Gargery. The primary theme in this novel questions whether being in a higher social and economic class helps a person to achieve true happiness. This idea is shown through Pip's innocence at the forge, visits

The character Estella is imprisoned within herself because of her inability to love. Ever since Estella was a child when it came to a boy, Miss Havisham taught her to "break his heart" (54). Being taught to break boys' hearts imprisons Estella within herself for she is confined and excluded from others because it is extremely difficult for her to care for or form bonds with people. Estella finally realizes what Miss Havisham has done to her when she tells Pip, "there are sentiments, fancies . . . which I am not able to comprehend. When you say you love me, I know what you mean as a form of words, but nothing more" (336). This statement shows Estella's grief with her total incapability to love or form any emotional attachment to another. This grief is a change in Estella from the coldhearted behavior

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

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

The expectations that cause Pip's character to become less likable are those that he develops after being introduced to Miss Havisham and Estella. During his first visit to the Satis House, Estella, who considers herself much too refined and well-bred to

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