preview

Prodigal Son Vs Jesus

Decent Essays
Open Document
Annette Simmons once said, “If you wish to influence and individual or a group to embrace a particular value in their daily lives, tell them a compelling story.” The book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and the biblical Parable of the Prodigal Son hold some similarities. They do, however, hold distinct differences. The differences between Great Expectations and the Parable of the Prodigal Son can be traced back to the purpose of the authors. The differences are evident though the authors’ purpose, the plot, and the main characters in both works. The main reason that Great Expectations and the Parable of the Prodigal Son are so different, is the intent of the original authors. Dickens wrote Great Expectations as a social commentary.…show more content…
In the beginning of Great Expectations seven year-old Pip meets an escaped convict in the graveyard one night. The convict is recaptured, but it remains something Pip dwells on for the rest of his life. Several years later an elderly woman named Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella invite Pip to visit. Estella berates Pip for being common. Following this encounter, Pip is unhappy with his life until he is told some unnamed benefactor has given Pip a fortune. Pip is whisked away to London where he wastes his money and finds himself in debt. In the parable, the story begins with the son receiving his inheritance from his father. The son then leaves home for a distant country. In this foreign country, “he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation” (Luke 15:13). Pip lives in London for several years until he discovers his benefactor is the convict he met in the graveyard. Pip tries to helps the convict, Magwitch, escape from the police, but Magwitch is captured. As a result, Pip looses his fortune. In the parable the son simply runs out of money just as a famine strikes the land. He tries to make a living taking care of the swine. In the book Pip returns home briefly to make amends with Joe and Joe’s wife Biddy, then returns to London to make an honest living with his friend Herbert. The son in the parable decides to return home in hopes that his father will hire him as a worker. His father instead greets him with open arms and declares “this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found” (Luke 15:24). Pip in Great Expectations and the son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son may appear to be similar, but they are still different. Pip begins the story with low self esteem due to his harsh
Get Access
Related
Get Access