How Does Life Change In Great Expectations

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.

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

This quote introduces where Pip spends a great deal of his time as a child. The Satis House is the home to two main characters in this novel; Miss Havisham and Estella. Miss Havisham, a frantic yet wealthy woman is Estella’s adoption mother. She is raising Estella, a beautiful young girl to become a weapon against men as revenge against the Compeyson, the man who deserted her on her wedding day. As soon as Pip sees the stunning Estella, he completely falls in love and ignores the fact that she is a cruel girl who is just using him. In fact, most of Pip’s life decisions are based upon Estella. Pip first meets the two in their rotting mansion, the Satis House when he is asked to come over and play with Estella. This house is (very) symbolic of Miss Havisham. They are both decaying from inside and out. The house is filled with objects that symbolize Miss Havisham. As an example, her wedding cake from her wedding with Compeyson is on the feast table rotting. In addition, all the clocks are stopped at twenty minutes to nine- the time she found out that Compeyson fled from her. Pip remembers the house as a dark prison. This house also brings the theme self-improvement. As soon as Pip sees the house along with Estella, he longs to be a wealthy

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.

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

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

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

The theme of expectations is illustrated in Great Expectations through the characters, especially Pip. Throughout the book, Pip’s attitude depends on his expectations. In the beginning, all Pip wanted “was to be apprenticed to Joe” (43), and he was happy with his life, and his social status, calling his job at the forge a “superior position” (43). After he visits Satis House, he becomes uncomfortable and embarrassed of his social class. Pip expects that a higher class person would be better than a lower class person at everything, and wishes to be a gentleman. Pip starts to become ungrateful and unhappy with his life. When Pip learns about his benefactor, he is ecstatic, he expects it to be Miss Havisham showing that he is supposed to be with Estella. In the end, Pip learns that wealth isn’t as important as being around those you love. Pip’s expectations are different to Estella’s because Pip expects Estella to have a heart no matter what she says because “there could be no such beauty without it” (237). Although, Estella expects Pip to not love her because she didn't want to break his heart, “‘but you would not be warned’” (362). Pip’s expectations are different from Joe’s expectations because Pip expects life to be perfect as a gentleman, and working at the forge an embarrassment, while Joe expects Pip to enjoy his time at the forge, and not take an interest in money and wealth. Their expectations are similar because they both expect to be friends even after the social class difference, but it becomes awkward for both of them, although Joe is still always there for Pip. Pip’s expectations are different from Magwitch’s because Pip expects Miss Havisham to be his benefactor, while Magwitch expects to own a gentleman. Their expectations are similar because they both expected that being a gentleman would make their lives easier. Pip’s expectations are different from Miss Havisham’s because Pip expects that Miss Havisham is Pip’s benefactor and wants Pip and

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

Throughout the novel, Pip goes through a lot of events that transforms him as a person. At the start of the novel, Pip, an uneducated and naïve little boy, does not care about social class and is happy with what he has. But as he