Social Class in Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations"
During the 19th century, Britain was entering a new era. The reign of
Queen Victoria had brought about many exciting propositions, with
industry leading the way at the forefront. Due to the Industrial
Revolution and the fact that Britain was being ruled by a woman, the
action of 'Great Expectations' was occurring against the backdrop of
major social and cultural changes. Although Britain, as a whole, was
becoming exceedingly richer, the Industrial Revolution that was taking
place also spawned great poverty. The working conditions in the
factories were deplorable. Child labour was prevalent and the slums of
large cities, such as London, bred transgression, crime and disease.
Only men of property had the right to vote, so the proletariats were
excluded from the political system, impeding the aristocrats to take
any action on the matters of lower classed citizens. Women had few
rights and little choice but to marry and upon doing so everything
they owned, inherited and earned automatically belonged to their
husband. It was in this underside of society and the injustices of
life in Victorian Britain that Charles Dickens' found the material for
his novels. These injustices are exactly what link Mrs. Joe Gargery, a
downtrodden and poor blacksmith's wife, to Miss Havisham, an
'immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal house'.
Mrs. Joe Gargery and Miss Havisham may be of totally divergent
classes, but they both suffer the detriments of life in Victorian
Britain. Although Mrs. Joe Gargery and Miss Havisham are quite
idiosyncratic and eccentric characters, they are both examples of very
inexorable and domineering women.
The eccentricitie...
... middle of paper ...
...dumbfounded and destroyed,
beyond the point of repair, and her quirky and peculiar idiosyncrasies
fade away.
Dickens' chose two very different female characters, which both helped
and hindered Pips journey to becoming a gentlemen. In my opinion, I
think Dickens' created these characters to show that in both ends of
the social spectrum, there are still people who are not happy.
Dickens' intended message about women that he tried to portray in this
book is mixed. In Mrs Joe Gargery, he shows strength and dominance
over men, where as in Miss Havisham, he shows total dependence on men,
and we see her world fall to pieces without one. I think he decided to
use such extreme characters to help readers understand and realise
that not all women are the same. They can vary from being confident
and domineering, to being dependant on others and very impressionable.
Social classes have been around since the beginning of time. Most people are lead to believe that rich people live in beautiful and extravagant homes, throw luxurious parties and do not give a damn about keeping it a secret. The poor people are happy to have a roof over their heads and have food on the table and will work their asses off to make a penny. The higher the class that someone is in, the better that person’s life is perceived to be and vice-versa. There is old money versus new money, which determines which side of town one lives on. Everyone knows the difference in social classes and is able to see where most people fit in. In the classic novel, The Great Gatsby, the reader is exposed to many things that show a difference in social class that sadly, still exist in today. Most people have a dream of being in a certain class; whether they ever get to experience it or not, the dream is there. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, shows how social class plays a theme in the story.
Her need to be loved by him had taken over her idea that he enjoyed the power, she couldn’t live with out his love.
...rson and he knows that she will take care of the little guy even if the Guy is not around. A distort desire to be free of the situation drive the whole family into tragedy and leave them grieves
she left him for a man that showed much potential to give the kind of love
without her. "He was his wife's man and not his own." When he became aware of
she did. He is set in his ways, and that it is survival of the
The "American Dream" supposedly allows everyone to climb the "social/economic ladder," if they wish to do so. Anyone that works hard is supposed to be able to move to a higher class. However, society often prevents social mobility. Social classes dictate who moves to a higher class and who does not. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this issue was especially prevalent. The rigidity of classes was often an underlying theme in many novels during this time period. For example, The Age of Innocence and The Great Gatsby both feature the exclusive nature of social classes as a motif. In both The Age of Innocence and The Great Gatsby, the rigidity of social classes and the desire for social mobility leads to the downfall of several
I have chosen to look at how the relationship of Pip and Magwitch develops during the novel. I have chosen 3 key scenes in which Magwitch and pip meet and I will look at how each is portrayed in terms of character, development, setting and the messages or morals that dickens is trying to convey.
...ho she loved is not going to be the same man who comes back after the war.
Social Classes of Industrial England in Charles Dickens' Hard Times In his novel, Hard Times, Charles Dickens used his characters to describe the caste system that had been shaped by industrial England. By looking at three main characters, Stephen Blackpool, Mr. Josiah Bounderby, and Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, one can see the different classes that were industrial England. Stephen Blackpool represented the most abundant and least represented caste in industrial England, the lower class (also called the hands) in Charles Dickens' novel. Stephen was an honest, hard-working man who came to much trouble in the novel, often because of his class.
In her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen brought to life the struggles and instability of the English hierarchy in the early 19th century. Through the heartaches and happiness shared by Elinor Dashwood, who represented sense and her sister Marianne, who stood for sensibility, Austen tells a story of sisters who plummet from the upper class to the lower crust of society and the characters that surround them. Austen juxtaposes the upper and lower classes in English society to give the reader a full understanding of the motivation to be a part of the upper class and the sacrifices one will give up to achieve such status. Austen exposes the corruptness of society, the significance of class and the fundamental building blocks both are to the decision-making surrounding her protagonists, Marianne and Elinor.
In the novel ‘Great Expectations’ there are three women who Dickens portrays differently to his contemporary’s, writers such as Austen and Bronté, and to the typical 19th century woman. These three women go by the name of Mrs Joe (Pips sister), Miss Havisham, and Estella. Mrs Joe who is Pips sister and Mr Joe’s wife is very controlling and aggressive towards Pip and Mr Joe. ‘In knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand’. This shows Dickens has given Mrs Joe very masculine qualities, which is very unusual for a 19th century woman. Mr Joe has a very contrasting appearance and personality to Mrs Joe. ‘Joe was a fair man, with curls of flaxen hair on each side of his smooth face, and with eyes of such a very undecided blue that they seemed to have somehow got mixed with their own whites.’ In many ways Dickens has swapped the stereo type appearances and personalities of 19th century men and women. Dickens portrays Miss Havisham to be rich but lonely women. ‘I should acquit myself under that lady’s roof’. This shows Miss Havisham owns her own property which is Satis House. This woul...
Dickens criticized the world of his own time because it valued the status of being a gentleman over someone doing a useful job. Those who thought they were gentlemen often mocked ordinary citizens. Show how he achieved these aims through the language used and his description of the way Pip and the other characters behaved in the novel.
"I must entreat you to pause for an instant, and go back to what you know of my childish days, and to ask yourself whether it is natural that something of the character formed in me then" - Charles Dickens
Importance of Social Class in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations Social class played a major role in the society depicted in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Social class determines the manner in which a person is treated and their access to education. Yet, social class does not define the character of the individual. Many characters were treated differently because of their social class in Great Expectations. Seeing the contrast between how the poor and the rich were treated will give a clearer understanding of how much social class mattered.