Great Expectations: A Glimpse Into Victorian England

‘Great Expectations’ is a highly acclaimed novel written by Charles Dickens first published in 1861, which follows the journey of a young boy commonly known as Pip (his Christian name being Phillip Pirrip) who is born into a middle-class family but goes on to receive riches from a mysterious benefactor in order to pursue his childhood dream in becoming a gentleman. The story is written in first person with Charles Dickens writing back about the experiences of Pip. Although it isn’t his autobiography the events in the book do, in many ways, mirror the events of his childhood. This allows him to reflect on Pip’s actions, which helps in the readers understanding of the Novel.

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.

As the book opens we find seven-year-old Pip paying remembrance to his deceased family members, now all "dead

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is an elaborate retelling of the Biblical parable of the prodigal son (Ryken 157). It follows the life of Pip as he rises through and falls from society. He begins his life as an orphaned boy in a blacksmith’s home to become a young gentleman of “great expectations”. Pip forsakes the love and care of his guardian, Joe Gargery, for advancement in society. Misfortunes befall him; he loses all his wealth and he is forced to return to his home. Pip is the prodigal son who ungratefully leaves his home and squanders all his wealth. Joe Gargery is the loving father who patiently forbears and lovingly welcomes his boy back. Pip’s redemption is revealed in the novel. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman; it is

This all begins when he is at Miss Havisham’s and her daughter Estella comments on his lifestyle. As soon as he sees her, Pip immediately adores Estella, he thinks she is so beautiful. When Miss havisham tells Estella to play cards with Pip, she responds in a way that is crushing to Pip; “With this boy! Why, he is a common labouring-boy!” (Dickens 61). They also comment on Pip’s hands and how they are so course from labouring. Pip never before thought of himself as common and he finds this very insulting. He knows he doesn't want to be classified like this again, especially by the one he admires. From then on, Pip desires to impress Estella. He doesn't live in the biggest house and he doesn't come from the wealthiest family and this upsets him. However, he doesn’t even see how good he has it living the life that he lives in the home that he lives in. This makes him ungrateful and unseeing to the things that once made him happy. Pip is ashamed of what he has: “ It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home” (Dickens Ch 14). Pip is so blinded by how he wants to be higher class for Estella that he doesn't see how good he does have it because he is so focused on what more he wants. Because of the way he wants to be seen by Estella, he dreams much of being a gentleman but he

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.

Great Expectations was a novel written by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form from 1st December 1860 and then further on was released in book form in August 1861, although was previously issued by David Copperfield in 1849. This novel reworks his own childhood as a first-person narrative; Dickens was fortunate and had an advantage of writing Great Expectations due to him living in the Victorian times, and he related his life experiences with the main character of the play, ‘Pip’. Charles opened the play with the character Pip; his name was short for his Christian name Philip. In the Victorian times there were 3 different classes, these were known as the upper class, middle class and lower class. Pip belonged to the

Pip does not tell Joe because he fears he will lose his companionship. In the future, Pip will struggle with telling the truth because of the fear that society will think less of him. Later that same day, the police are engaged in a search party to find the criminal. Joe and Pip accompany them; although, they do not believe that he must be apprehended. Once Magwitch is taken into custody, Joe and Pip both shed a tear. Pip's life at the forge is difficult due to Mrs. Joe's harsh nature, but he is also surrounded by the goodness and love of Joe. He has been taught that humans of all societal levels are important.

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens that thoroughly captures the adventures of growing up. The book details the life of a boy through his many stages of life, until he is finally a grown man, wizened by his previous encounters. Dickens’ emotions in this book are very sincere, because he had a similar experience when his family went to debtor’s prison. Pip starts as a young boy, unaware of social class, who then becomes a snob, overcome by the power of money, and finally grows into a mature, hardworking man, knowing that there is much more to life than money.

Pip’s mindset regarding classes and success in life is drastically altered after his initial visit to the aristocratic Miss Havisham. “She said I was common” (69) spurs the realization in Pip that he is indeed innocent but unfortunately much oppressed. Pip is very distraught with his birth place into society, to the point that he “was discontented” (130) -- he increasingly desires to be a gentleman. He primarily desires this as a means of impressing Estella and winning her over. At this point in the novel, Pip is willing to give away what he loves (Joe – family setting) to obtain a superficial and insulting girl. One day Pip receives word that he now has the ability to grow up to be his ultimate dream, to be a gentleman. Pip awakens to a new world and those he once loved are no longer good enough for Pip. Moving to London, he becomes far more sophisticated, but at the same time loses his natural goodness. (Chesterton 142). Pip is leaving happiness and his real family to attain a life he thinks will make him more content. Before departing, he dreams of “Fantastic failures of journeys occupied me until the day dawned and the birds were singing” (148). This relates the dream that Pip has just before he sets out to London for the first time, with all of his "great expectations" before him. Pip’s dream is permeated with the sadness and guilt caused by his imminent departure from Joe and Biddy and his aspirations for a new social station.

Great Expectations’ main character, Phillip Pirrip- generally known as Pip- had a rough upbringing as a child. His sister, Mrs. Joe had “brought him up by hand”, after their parents and five brothers had all been laid to rest many years ago. Another character, Herbert Pocket experienced a bizarre childhood, though in a different manner. Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations develops through the novel following Pip, a young “common boy” who grew up in the countryside. As he matured so did his love for a girl of higher class, Estella. However, being a common boy, Pip was not good enough for his Estella, thus once he was given an opportunity to become a gentleman in London he seized it without much hesitation. Charles Dickens’ had his own

4). Even though he aids the convict, the reader's sympathy for Pip soon increases, as his robbery of his own home weighs greatly on his conscience. For example, when Mrs. Joe leaves the Sunday dinner to retrieve the "savoury pork pie," which Magwitch had enjoyed heartily, Pip is tortured by the thought of his actions, while his mind screams, "Must they! Let them not hope to taste it!" (p. 27). He seems to sincerely regret his actions and the fact that he "had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong" (p. 40). Approximately one year after his encounter with the convict, Pip is still shown to be an innocent, caring boy. One night, when Pip and Joe are alone at the forge, Joe explains his various reasons for enduring Mrs. Joe's constant abuse. After their conversation, Pip realizes that he cares deeply for Joe and appreciates everything that the blacksmith does for him. Also, he develops "a new admiration of Joe from that night" and "a new sensation of feeling conscious that I was looking up to Joe in my heart" (p. 48). Unfortunately, as Pip develops unrealistic hopes and expectations for his life, these positive characteristics are replaced by undesirable ones.

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

As Magwitch eats, Pip describes him as the following: “the man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. He swallowed… too fast; and he looked sideways… while he ate, as if he thought there was danger in every direction of somebody’s coming to take the pie away,” (Page 19). With the use of alliteration on the “S”s and the use of harsh assonance when it says that “[he] took strong sharp sudden bites”, Dickens proves that Magwitch has a very aggressive nature as well as being very strong and threatening. Describing him as looking around every time he ate does not only show that it is the behavior expected of a convict while on the run, but also to emphasize the distance Magwitch keeps from society because of his distrust in everyone and everything. However, as a result of the concerns Pip had for Magwitch, Magwitch becomes humanized. In court, where Magwitch is denoted as a desperate criminal, he looks at Pip “with a trustful look, as if he were confident that [Pip] had seen some small redeeming touch in him, even so long ago as when [Pip] was a little child. As to the rest, [Magwitch] was humble and contrite, and [Pip] never knew him to complain” (Page 486). Using diction found in “redeeming touch”, Dickens verifies that Magwitch is redeemed from all of his criminal acts by his inner dignity and love for Pip.

Charles Dickens wrote this story in the Victorian times. Hence we seem to think what ‘does he mean’ by “Great Expectations”. By us the readers, knowing and understanding what it means, we can get a rough idea of what the story is like. By Great Expectations we mean having high expectations for life, class and dreams for a better life.