The most significant changes affect an individual mentally or psychologically. Change can happen to the most unaware people; yet, at the same time people can incite change within themselves.This phenomenon can be undoubtedly observed within the main character, Pip: the narrator and main character of the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. A major theme in this book is moral development. Pip’s definition of what a true gentlemen is evolves in Pip’s mind as the story progresses and as Dickens manages to give this internal event excitement associated with external action . He has great expectations for himself and what his life is going to be like causing his growth into a true gentleman to be affected by guilt, ambition, and
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As he steps foot into Miss Havisham’s house, he longs to be a wealthy man. His desires to improve himself as an individual is a change of consciousness morally and socially. These motivate Pip’s best behavior throughout the novel. He is hard on himself when he acts unethically and feels a guilt that encourages him to act better in the future. When Pip is leaving for London, he criticizes himself for treating Joe and Biddy harshly saying “I was after I had cried, than before-more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle” (124). Pip’s behavior toward Joe and Biddy leads him to self-improvement where he learns to lose his immaturity. This is a step closer to him becoming a man. Furthermore, Pip has an ambition of improving himself socially after meeting Estella. Because he is in love with her, he desires to be a member of her social class. “Miss Havisham’s intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me; I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations” (254). However, Pip’s great expectations only lead to suffering, but suffering is what makes Pip turn into a
After gaining his wealth, Pip becomes snobby and lets everything go to his head. Now, after losing his wealth, we, as readers see a new change in Pip's personality. As for himself, Pip appears to feel ashamed of himself and his new class. In Great Expectations, explaining Pip's feelings, Pip thinks, "Next day, I had the meanness to feign that I was under a binding promise to go down to Joe; but I was capable of almost any meanness towards Joe or his name." (Dickens, 391) Pips thoughts here, represent how he starts to realize how he has changed since moving to London. In his childhood, Pip was practically best friends with Joe, then becoming a gentleman, he has this sense that he is above Joe and essentially wanted nothing to do with
Pip displays selfishness by wanting to advance in society and no longer become a blacksmith like Joe. He accepts to leave to London in order to become a gentleman, but selfishly wants to lose all connection with the common world and when Joe visits, in Chapter XXVII, Pip states that “if I could have kept him away by paying money, I certainly would have paid money” (Dickens 197). Pip’s selfishness and ambition are what causes him to grow distant from Joe, whom he once saw as his closest friend. Exploitation is shown by how Pip is sent to see Miss Havisham when he is young in hope that she will pay Mrs. Joe Gargery back with money. He is being exploited in order for his sister to gain social status.
“Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.” (Dickens 72). In his classic novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens’ creates a platform to support and embolden the main character, Pip, with this single, decisive quote. Throughout the novel, the ever important gold or iron chain of Pip is molded into something new, much like Pip himself. The examination of Pip’s growth and maturity in relation to the quote reveals a critical, memorable moment at Satis House, a catalyst consisting of a handsome property and a mysterious benefactor, and the long, hard journey
Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations chronicles Pip’s struggle to improve his status in English society. He is originally taught that his happiness directly correlates to the amount of wealth he accumulates. Two characters he encounters—Joe Gargery and Miss Havisham—help him realize that this notion is an unfortunate misconception, and their experiences show Pip that he not live his life by such norms.
1) Pip’s development from a young and innocent boy to a wise and seasoned adult is the major plot element of the saga of Great Expectations. His development starts with the innocence and naïveté of his young childhood evidenced by his guilt over doing minor wrongs, such as stealing the file and food from the house or lying about his first visit to Satis house. In this stage Joe’s kindness is his major influence, as he is trying to shield Pip from Mrs. Joe’s fury and is his sole friend. After he is first invited to Satis House, he becomes enamored with the idea of Estella and the idea of being a gentleman. Miss Havisham’s encouragement and Pip’s unrealistic and overly optimistic expectations causes this unhealthy obsession. This affliction causes him to be nasty to Joe and Biddy and eventually drives him to despair, debt, and depression.
Pip is content at the forge until pompous Uncle Pumblechook, Joe's uncle, takes him to visit to Satis House, for the first time, where he makes the acquaintance of Miss Havisham and Estella. Satis House is dismal and devoid of life with the exception of Estella, in Pip's eyes. Estella is a pretty, proud, and emotionless girl with who treats Pip badly yet still causes Pip to become completely infatuated with her. The forge now makes Pip ashamed and embarrassed because a coarse, common man could never spend an eternity with such a beauty. Pip is so confused about Estella's insults intertwined with her flirting that all he really knows is that he is ashamed of his social standing. Pip's love for Joe was shadowed by this embarrassment. "…I was ashamed of the dear good fellow—I know I was ashamed of
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.
Section One of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens outlines the beginning of Pip’s journey. He starts as a young boy, at the age of seven, which is revealed at the end of the novel. He is portrayed as a very naive and innocent character, with grand ideas of the world. He has a “most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things” (Dickens 9) Pip ages the most drastically in Section One, growing to about the age of eighteen, at both the tail end of his teenage years and at the start of his young adult life.
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 learns that a person’s character is determined by their experiences and whether they choose to overcome them. As a poor child, Pip sees the world as morally straightforward, with clear divisions between right and wrong. As a young gentleman, Pip tries to stick to the clean distinctions between moral and immoral that he had as a child, but he learns that people are complex and possess the potential for both benevolence and malevolence. As a mature adult, Pip comes to understand the other characters as doing both good and evil being shaped as people by circumstances beyond their own control. His experiences throughout the book teach him that he should not forgive others so easily and not himself, that the nature of morality is complex because
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 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
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.
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
Pip’s dreams to become a gentleman come true. Through Pip’s eyes, his benefactor, who he believes to be Miss. Havisham, saves him from his ‘common’ life and, in that, launches him into a life of nobility. It is immediately shown that Pip’s new fortune has transformed him, almost instantly, into a snob. Not only does he describe those living alongside him in the village with words like ‘common’ and ‘coarse’, which had once been used by Estella to hurt him, but he also misinterprets Joe and Biddy’s sadness for that of jealousy rather than of love. If not enough, Pip even states, “As I passed the church, I felt (as I had felt during service in the morning) a sublime compassion for the poor creatures who were destined to go there, Sunday after Sunday, all their lives through, and to lie obscurely at last among the low green mounds,” (Dickens 185).