Great Expectations: Analyzed Through A Marxist Criticism

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Marxism consists of the political and economic theories of Karl Marx, in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in Western societies. Marxism applies to the novel Great Expectations in many ways. Dickens uses Pip’s complex and altering relationships with Estella, Joe, and Magwitch to show the subjugation of the working-class from the privileged.

Estella is raised in a prosperous household and is judgmental of Pip because he is from the working class. She insults his appearance when she says, "But he is a common laboring boy. And look at his boots! (Dickens 45)" because he is not of the upper class. She also criticizes the way he speaks when he calls one of the playing cards Jacks instead of Knaves (Dickens 46). Dickens uses her negative comments about Pip’s appearance and use of slang to highlight the differences between the two classes. She also insults Pip with a comment calling him a “stupid, clumsy laboring boy (Dickens46)." Because of the differences between their classes, she instantly labels him as unintelligent because of the way she has been raised with uncommon people. Pip thinks about what Estella would think of his family and what Joe does to earn a living. Pip also contemplates how his sister and Joe eat dinner at the kitchen table and how

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utterly lower class that would be to Estella. "I thought how Joe and my sister were then sitting in the kitchen and how Miss Havisham and Estella never sat in a kitchen, but were far above the level of such common things (Dickens 55)." This shows how the minimal differences between the two classes contribute to a greater variance in the attitudes of the two. Through his exposure to Estella and Miss Havisham, Pip discovers the realit...

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...ntation of the distinctions between the social classes. Dickens uses Pip’s relationships with Estella, Joe, and Magwitch to show how the lower class is judged by social status or appearances, instead of morals and values. The lower class is looked down upon and taken advantage of the upper class, and this is prevalent in the novel Great Expectations.

Works Cited

Katsev, Igor. "The Name Abel - Origin and Meaning of Abel." Male & Female Names. N.p., 2007-2012. Web. 25 Mar 2012. .

Moore, Andrew. "Studying Relationships in Great Expectations." . N.p., 2000. Web. 15 Mar 2012. .

"Pip's Expectations." Charles Dickens. N.p., 07/05/2002. Web. 17 Mar 2012. .

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