The Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Essay Example

Data The Great Expectations by Charles Dickens “The Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is considered to be one of the best creations of his life. This story catches people’s hearts and leave remembrance there. One of the most important socio-psychological problems is raised in the novel. Dickens marks the question of materialistic disunity between higher rank people and common working class people. Genre peculiarities are based on the classical works of the age of realism which are stretched together with the original English humor and a small modicum of European sentimentality. We can observe this creation like a novel of education which reflects several different stories of young people’s incipience in life. The story is written during Victorian era and provides an emphasis on a sense of social duty, family support relationship and feeling of respect and honor to each other. This is a changing period for Great Britain. This is considered to be the time of dilatation worldwide and becoming strong and powerful country. With the changing of economy and technical development people alter by themselves and transform their way of thinking and perception of world in general and literature particularly (Hughes, 3-5). Victorian literature is directed on a mass reader and focused on high amount of people who are going to read this or that novel. That is why, it may be suggested that Dickens decides reveal on the problems which are relevant for the society and for each humane personally. Moreover, he provides a solution to change the end of the story to a positive one. This might be done for readers to leave a desirable outcome and satisfactory effect from the book. As nineteenth century was not easy time for British citizens Dickens wants to bring a positive note in their lives. The central figure of the novel is Philip Pirrip also called Pip, and Charles Dickens leaves a part of his experience and feelings in this character. He was an orphan, “a dull, awkward, labouring-boy” (Dickens, 59) who do appreciate his life and considered to be unhappy. His education and growth is the deal of his sister, Mrs. Georgiana Maria Gargery who is “not a good looking woman” (Dickens, 26), but her character is a hundred times worse than her outlook. She yelps, irritates, trounce her husband and little Pip. This lady has a little devil deep inside in her heart and he is deplorable and wretched. Nevertheless, Pip is acquired kind and sensitive character together with the sincere and pure soul. One day this boy is faced with a chance for bright future in abundance and materialistic galore. The unknown person gives him this opportunity. Still, all his expectations are based on love to one lady. He hopes that mother of that lady gives him such a chance; he wants to believe that this is his preparation to the bright future with his beloved Estella. Hence, he is not much interested in materialistic side. It is sensibly that Pip’s outlook is founded on moral dogmas and inner comfort is much more valuable for ham than materialistic benefits. This boy fall in love with one girl, who is also materialistic and cynic soul, her mother teaches her to be like this. Still she realizes this disadvantage of her character, Estella tells: “you must know…that I have no heart – if that has anything to do with my memory” (Dickens, 237). The development of this character is considered to be curious and acute. The realization comes to her mind and she is able to understand the main moral dogma, laid by Dickens. This position reflects the relatively happy end of the novel. Estella is considered to an ironic personality in the novel. She underestimates the concept of romantic relationships in a dark perspective and criticizes the class system and social hierocracy division with its benefits. She concerns that humanity is bedaubed in materialistic and economical mud. Nevertheless, she behaves coldly and pragmatic the sympathy to her character is sympathetic. Dickens gives the reader a sense of her inner struggle and disposes the significance of her own feelings more essential than her imposed upbringing and education. Author provides a glimpse in inner trials of this lady and explains in such a way that this person deserves Pip’s love. The theme of love is rather essential for this proper work as only love can overcome materialistic prejudices and make unimportant social issues for people. Pip’s love to Estella is huge and immense from the very first day of their acquaintance. “Estella was leading away from me even then” (Dickens, 63), this lady is shown indifferently from Pip and these “away” reflects not only Estella’s feelings but also social view on the matters. She is considered Pip as a “silly boy” (Dickens, 266), but she has a desire to teach him a little, provide some schooling for Pip. Hence, she is not indifferent from the very beginning of their acquaintanceship. And as we may observe in the end Estella comes to Pip and they have a talk. Still, the social influence on Philip’s character is definitely visible and obvious. This rapidly reflects through his love to Estella. The events which are happened with our main hero reflect through his character and predetermine the changing of his personality. This man appears in the story as a main character and as a narrator, so we have two sides of evaluating him. As a character Pip is immature, naive, with a natural fair conscience and idealistic even romantic perception of world and his life. He has a deep desire to improve himself in various spheres such as moral, educational, economical and social. Moreover, poverty, immorality or ignorance seems to be abominable for him. Pip as the narrator provides a critical evaluation of his past life and castigate himself for the incorrect actions or foul decisions, here is the example: “In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong” (Dickens, 31). His idealistic and subjective viewpoint and world perception is strictly filled and make a narrow apprehension of the humanity and moral categories. “Pip, the protagonist is a mixture of good and bad – considerate and selfish, loving and callous, humble and ambitious, honest and self-deceiving” (Bru). Charles Dickens reveals us to such paradoxical perception though the realistic prism. We can observe life of main character since his childhood to his middle age, so it is logical that we encounter with the evolution of thinking and views of Pip. His mind changes due to acquired experience. His development is visible through the novel as he can critically examine his child behavior and bringing up being adult. We can find a number of memorable moments through the story. For example when he just starts to get acquainted with Miss Havisham and Estella he is detracted by both of them and when he comes back he expresses his feelings in such a way: “But, when she [Estella] was gone, I looked about me for a place to hide my face in, and got behind one of the gates in the brewery-lane, and leaned my sleeve against the wall there, and leaned my forehead on it and cried. As I cried, I kicked the wall, and took a hard twist at my hair; so bitter were my feelings, and so sharp was the smart without a name, that needed counteraction” (Dickens, 49). By this very moment we can observe all tragedy and afflictive influence of these two ladies on a small uneducated and unsophisticated boy. He feels a high pity to his own person and inequity of people’s statuses and positions life seem to be dismal for Philip Pirrip. Still the most striking and essential event in Pip’s development takes place in Chapter 39. The moment when Magwitch comes back from Australia and Philip Pirrip understands that the person who helps him and become his benefactor is not Miss Havisham. His expectations are broken and his thoughts are such: “All the truth of my position came flashing on me; and its disappointments, dangers, disgraces, consequences of all kinds, rushed in in such a multitude that I was borne down by them and had to struggle for every breath I drew”(Dickens, 252). A real disillusionment is viewed through these words. The feeling of prospect loosing is noticeable. Moreover, through the first-person narration the readers may experience these emotions together with Pip. The story contains structure which undergoes Dickens tradition. We can divide the novel into three parts. The author provides three stages of character life and development. They all differ by the time, place, aim and perspectives of the novel. That is not just the parts of the text that is parts of Pip’s life and three steps of his evolution as a person and as a member of society. The first part covers Pip’s childhood from the moment of his meeting with a convict in the graveyard until the time of his receiving expectations. He lives a miserable life in some perspectives and waits for some challenges. We can logically end this part by the moment when Pip get an opportunity to live new life and to achieve some higher levels of humane existing. The second part is connected with his living in London as a young man and his learning how to become an extravagant gentleman. This is a pleasant life for him, but he has got a new expectations. He wants to believe that it is Estella’s mother who gives him money for educating and prepares him in such a way for a future living with her daughter. And the last part concentrates on Pip’s adulthood and ends with his returning from Egypt. Here Pip is represented as more experienced and not much naïve man. Life gives him some lessons and he memories them. Also the critics against social materialism and peoples concentration on money together with the loss of moral issues is reflected in his personality during the third part. Each part has its logical concern connected with the moral, time and space determiners. His childhood remains as the age of innocence, young manhood is considered to be time of sin and fall from grace and adult life is represented as a time of atonement and finding of inner peace. That is why we may argue that structure is complete and consistent. The mood the story is definitely dual as concerns two sides of the reader’s perception. We can evaluate this novel as “grotesque tragicomic” (Bloom, 158) as tragic and ironic features are existed in the novel. Such concept is relevant for the Dickens creation as we may observe a mixture of tragic and comic elements in people’s actions, thoughts and characters. The “The Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens contained some autobiographical moments and references to authors life. “It is impossible to read Great Expectations without sensing Dickenss presence in the book, without being aware that in portraying and judging Pip he is giving us a glimpse of a younger self”(Cody). Hence, Pip acquires some characteristic features of Charles Dickens. Still they have different fates and fortune in life. Dickens made his protagonist different from him. He made Pip more innocent and a little bit absurd here of his creation. Still, he presupposes a happy end and positive hope for the better in the novel. The name of the novel displays its content. Our main character has some “great expectations” (Dickens, 1) and he strongly believes in them and predetermines them in his mind, but does not make them on his own. He goes with the flow of life and takes it for granted. Still, he does not provide any hard decision by himself, so can change nothing by his own. The end of the story gives Pip new expectation, another hope for new life. That is a positive side of the novel’s heading, a big hope is considered to be the main issue in protagonist life. Author provides some straightforward critics to the society values and views. This reflected in Pip’s statements and personality. Strong ironic links are reflected in his reply and behavior. That is the educative moments of the novel. These critical remarks make moments to think about and to evaluate denomination of morality and ethic issues for the readers. This novel has a huge impact on a readers and literature discourse in that proper time and in further developments. The serious social and moral themes are appeared within the text, so it is relevant and worth to read for any generation. Moreover, it is represented a number of texts with appears due to the Dickens themes and tradition. All in all It should be mentioned that “The Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is a peasant masterpiece which deserves recognition and honor. The author makes an effort to create a morality fate piece of art with a strong critic on personal, social and materialistic issues. It is a brilliant read with a romance, thinking and hope. Moreover, it beseem to all ages and social groups. Every person is able to find in this text something for himself and matter to think up. Nevertheless, it is created in the nineteenth century the problems which this novel occur are still relevant and actual for modern society and today’s people. It may be suggested that The Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is a story about possibility. The text depicts the challenge and determination of this possibility due to the social norms and dogmas from which there is no way out and escapes. Reference List: Cody, David. Autobiographical Elements in Dickenss Great Expectations. 24 Feb. 2010. Available From: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/auto.html This article is written by David Cody, Associate Professor of English, Hartwick College and directs on the relevant problem which is aroused in the novel “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. Cody argues on autobiographical elements which are included in the novel. This source is valid as it is written by the professor and may be useful for this paper. Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. USA: Start Publishing LLS, 2013, print. “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is a novel about hopes and prospects. Author provides a strict critic on the materialistic society through the characters and existed situations. This is a novel which is analyzed through the paper, so the text of this piece of art is required and indispensable for us. Bloom, Harold. Charles Dickenss Great Expectations. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010, print. This book includes straightforward and detailed analysis of the novel “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. A number of chapters which include investigations of different researchers are represented in the book. All this articles ordered by Professor of Humanities Harold Bloom. Hense this source is considered to be credible and helpful in our paper. Bru. Charles Dickens’ Great Expectation: Character Analysis. 13 Oct. 2011. Available From: http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/145896-Charles-Dickens-Great-Expectation-Character.aspx Article provides clear and straightforward analysis of main characters from the novel “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens which can be appropriate and valid for the paper. Hughes, Holly. Charles Dickenss Great Expectations. USA: Barrons Educational Series, 1984, print. This book suggests full and complete analysis of the novel under consideration. Here is included plot synopsis, character analysis, main theme and style of the novel, the facts from author’s life and career, scene-by-scene discussion of the novel. Analysis is rather meaningful and is supported by quotes from the text. It is made by literary critic Holly Hughes, so the source is relevant and worth to use. Read More