Great Expectations

3113 Words7 Pages

The novel Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens is a compelling book which many people consider to be one of Charles Dickens’ greatest works. Great Expectations is a novel that has many elements that help the growth and development of Phillip Pirrip, better known as Pip. But none of these elements can be more evident than the kinds of love and their different roles in Pips life. In order to answer how love has influenced Pip’s life we must first define what love is. According to Miss Havisham love is, The different types of love and their roles in Pips life is represented differently by the different characters. The type of love Joe represents in Pips life is the type of love that one can feel between a father and son. Estella represents the lack of love because of the way she treats Pip and the other men in her life. She can also be considered an example of courtly love because of the way she motivated Pip to become a gentleman to win her heart. The type of love that Miss. Havisham represents is selfish love for only oneself. This can be seen by the way she raised Estella to grow up and break the hearts of men. The love that Magwitch represent is compassionate love that is shared between friends, because of the way that Pip treated Magwitch even though he was an escaped convict. Herbert Pocket is also another represents the love that friends have for one another, because he helped add stability Pips life. This is also seen when Pip helped Herbert Pocket reach business success through his donations to his business. Jaggers and Wemmick can also be considered fatherly figures because they helped mentor Pip, and they taught him how to be a gentleman. The love that Biddy represents is both an example of romantic love and the love tha...

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... social mobility in England. Despite of all of the obstacles that got in Pips way he was still able to make something of himself other than a mere village blacksmith. The love between friends that was shown by Magwitch gave Pip all of the financial and social resources Pip required in order to allow him to pursue his dream of becoming a person of class. Estella impacts Pip through her lack of love because of the way she cruelly manipulates men into loving her only to later betray them. Miss Havisham’s love of herself enables her to seek revenge through her step-daughter Estella without regard to the suffering she caused to both Pip and Estella. Because of the love some of these characters show to Pip he is able to realize that wealth and your position on the social ladder does not make you a good person, and it can stop you from seeing the finer things in life.

How Does The Satis House Influence Pip's Behavior
292 Words | 1 Pages
As a young child living in England’s marshes, Pip was a humble, kind, and gentle character. He lived an impoverished life with his sister, Mrs. Joe, and her husband, Joe Gargery, the neighborhood blacksmith. Pip was grateful for everything he had, including his few possessions and his family’s care. When he was offered the chance to play at The Satis House, the home of the wealthy Miss Havisham, Pip went in order to make his family happy.
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Great Expectations
2045 Words | 5 Pages
that she no longer has life or energy. She looks like as if she is
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Discontent in Great Expectations
471 Words | 1 Pages
The first way that Pip demonstrates these themes is by reaching for things that are unattainable to him. For example, Pip is in love with Estella, but he can't have her because she doesn't like him. Also Miss Havisham's man-hating ways have brushed off on her, and she wants nothing to do with Pip. Another thing that Pip strives for is to become a gentleman. He cannot become a gentleman, however, because he is just a commoner. He is very smitten, for example, with "the beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's and she is more beautiful than anybody ever was and I admire her dreadfully and I want to be a gentleman on her account" (780). Thus, Pip wants to become a gentleman only for Estella.
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Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
996 Words | 2 Pages
Charles Dickens utilizes his life for inspiration for the protagonist Pip in his novel Great Expectations. They both struggle with their social standing. Dickens loved plays and theatre and therefore incorporated them into Pip’s life. Dickens died happy in the middle class and Pip died happy in the middle class. The connection Dickens makes with his life to Pip’s life is undeniable. If readers understand Dickens and his upbringing then readers can understand how and why he created Pip’s upbringing. Charles Dickens’ life, full of highs and lows, mirrors that of Pip’s life. Their lives began the same and ended the same. To understand the difficulty of Dickens’ childhood is to understand why his writing focuses on the English social structure. Dickens’ life revolved around social standing. He was born in the lower class but wasn’t miserable. After his father fell into tremendous debt he was forced into work at a young age. He had to work his way to a higher social standing. Because of Dicken’s constant fighting of class the English social structure is buried beneath the surface in nearly all of his writings. In Great Expectations Pip’s life mirrors Dickens’ in the start of low class and the rise to a comfortable life. Fortunately for Dickens, he does not fall again as Pip does. However, Pip and Dickens both end up in a stable social standing.
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Social Class Within Great Expectations, The Doll's House, and Society
716 Words | 2 Pages
In Great Expectations, Pip was one of lower class. Although he did not have the fortunes, Pip was happy. Once he was introduced to the rich Miss Havisham and her daughter Estella, he fell in love. Estella became the object of his affection, yet because she was considered high class, there wou...
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How Does Dickens Present The Different Types Of Love
444 Words | 1 Pages
Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens in 1860-1861 and set in the early 1800s, presents several forms of love. The most prominent is the romantic love Pip holds for Estella, however this ‘love’ is merely infatuation. Similarly, in The Young Victoria, which is also set in the early 1800s, Prince Albert displays true love for Victoria. Pip’s affection is shallow, and based solely on appearance, wealth and status, as even Pip comes to understand, “I loved her simply because I found her irresistible.” He loves her because she is unreachable.
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Pip's Education
1547 Words | 4 Pages
As a bildungsroman, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations presents the growth and development of Philip Pirrip, better known as Pip. Pip is both the main character in the story and the narrator, telling his tale many years after the events take place. Pip goes from being a young boy living in poverty in the marsh country of Kent, to being a gentleman of high status in London. Pip’s growth and maturation in Great Expectations lead him to realize that social status is in no way related to one’s real character.
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Great Expectations: Changes in the Character of Pip
895 Words | 2 Pages
In order to make more money Pip’s uncle sends Pip to a psychotic old lady’s house named Mrs. Havisham. Mrs. Havisham is a mean and nasty character who constantly bickers at Pip and tells him of his unimportance. Pip continues to be mild mannered and respectful to Mrs. Havisham yet he begins to see that he will never get ahead in life just being nice. Mrs. Havisham uses Pip as sort of a guinea pig to take out her passion of revenge against men. She does this by using her daughter, Estella to torment Pip.
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Book Report on Great Expectations
1697 Words | 4 Pages
There are so many important characters in this book that it would take me longer to describe the characters and there importance than it would to summarize the book. So I will keep it to a minimum with just a few crucial people. First there is Pip he is the main character in this book. When he was very young his parents died and know he is raised by his sister and her husband Joe Pip is a very innocent and caring person who wants to have a greater fate than the one presently owned. But is burdened by the fact that he lives in poverty. Next there is Mrs. Joe who raised Pip but is very mean to him and controlling of everyone in her house. Then Joe he is the person that gives Pip help. They play games and explain a lot of things to Pip he is about the only nice person in Pips life. Mrs. Havasham she lets Pip come over to her house and is very wealthy and the people around him think that she will raise him to be a gentleman. But hates men and never changes out of her wedding dress. She also has a daughter named Estella that was adopted and is very beautiful. But is being raised to hate men as well and is using her looks to break there hearts. Magwitch escapes from prison at the beginning of Great Expectations and terrorizes Pip in the cemetery. But out of Kindness Pip still bring the man what he asks for. Pip's kindness, however, makes a deep impression on him, and he subsequently devotes himself to making a fortune and using it to elevate Pip into a higher social class. Herbert pocket who is a good friend of Pip's and gives him advice throughout the book.
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Great Expectations: Analyzed Through A Marxist Criticism
1124 Words | 3 Pages
...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.
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Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
866 Words | 2 Pages
The Victorian Era started in 1837, the year Queen Victoria was crowned. The Industrial Revolution also started in this era. Cities started to form and become heavily populated. In the novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens had the main character, Pip, live in two different life styles in the Victorian Era. Pip lived with both the poor and the rich population. Both life styles are very different and placing Pip in both societies helped to show that, while the wealthy people benefited from the industrial revolution, the poor people often paid the price.
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Pip's Development Through Character Interactions
1288 Words | 3 Pages
Throughout Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, the character, personality, and social beliefs of Pip undergo complete transformations as he interacts with an ever-changing pool of characters presented in the book. Pip’s moral values remain more or less constant at the beginning and the end; however, it is evident that in the time between, the years of his maturation and coming of adulthood, he is fledgling to find his place in society. Although Pip is influenced by many characters throughout the novel, his two most influential role models are: Estella, the object of Miss Havisham’s revenge against men, and Magwitch, the benevolent convict. Exposing himself to such diverse characters Pip has to learn to discern right from wrong and chose role models who are worthy of the title.
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Great Expectations Analysis
1184 Words | 3 Pages
Miss Havisham, an eccentric rich spinster, has a profound influence on young Pip. Having been jilted
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Summary of Great Expectations
736 Words | 2 Pages
The story is told by Pip, a grown man describing his experiences as a young common labouring boy in the early Victorian period. He sometimes tends to narrate the story as if through the eyes of an innocent child. The effect that has on the reader is that it brings out both a mature and young adventurous side in us, it also makes us feel sorry for Pip in a way, because of the way he was treated by his merciless sister. For example when Pip?s uncle Mr Pumblechuck tells Pip he has to go and entertain a woman he doesn?t know called Miss Haversham, his sister forces him to go even though he doesn?t want to with a threat. ?If Miss Haversham wants a boy to go and play there and of course he?s going, or I?ll work him?. The explanation for this is she never wanted Pip in the first place as he was dumped on her, so she was happy to get rid of him.
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The Value of Originality
913 Words | 2 Pages
...kens’ Great Expectations. He now realizes that no one, not even Estella and Joe, can set standards for who he should be. Another significant lesson Pip learns is the effect money should have on his life. Wealth should not affect or change who he is in any way, shape, or form. Even in a Victorian society, riches are merely a means of obtaining concrete possessions and personality is what really counts. Pip’s many disappointments in himself show that others can influence his character, but he makes the final choice that reflects his real persona to the world. The reader should now sense that straying away from one’s true nature can only result in unhappiness and confusion. In Great Expectations, Pip overcomes the ultimate challenge of ignoring the world’s values in life and emerging as one of God’s unique individuals.
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Great Expectations

How Does The Satis House Influence Pip's Behavior