More handpicked essays just for you.
Characterisation in Great Expectations
Characterisation in Great Expectations
Characterisation in Great Expectations
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Great Expectations
Josh Billings once said "to bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while". There are few things as important in the development of youth as the influence of the adults that surround them. The example of influential adults will almost always dictate, in some way, the behaviour of children. Young people look for role models and examples in the adults they meet. In Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860), vivid adult characters such as the eccentric Miss Havisham, the enigmatic lawyer Jaggers, the simple but kind blacksmith Joe and the mysterious convict Magwitch have fundamental influences over the development of the story's protagonist, Pip. They do this in two ways. In a novel about a young man's moral education, the major secondary adult characters in the story contribute to Pip's growth either as instigators of his expectations or as paternal figures or sometimes as both.
Appropriately, the characters who bring about Pip's "expectations" play an integral part in his life; they influence him and shape his development throughout the novel. Firstly, Miss Havisham's was a significant impact on Pip's life. It is at Satis house, her strange, decaying mansion, that he initially comes into contact with the upper class life for which he later aspires. As his first contact with a wealthy person, Miss Havisham prompts Pip to try and better himself financially. She also, indirectly, pressures Pip into changing through her influence over Estella. Estella's cruel behaviour towards Pip is the direct result of Miss Havisham's teachings. Embittered by her own broken engagement, Miss Havisham taught the girl to be cruel to men, so she learned to "break their hearts and have no mercy!" (Dickens, 108). Thus, the beautiful Estella's cold reaction to Pip and the way she patronizes him are major reasons why he felt the need to change. It was she who convinced him that he was "in a low-lived bad way" (75) and needed to heighten his social status in order to be worthy of her notice. The impact of Miss Havisham's financial splendor and indirect cruelty make her a crucial instigator of change in Pip.
Unlike the will to change that Miss Havisham's influence inspires, the presence of the lawyer Jaggers in Pip's life brings tangible means to change. As the bearer of the news of Pip's new fortune and his guardian throughout his education, Jaggers, acting on behalf of his unidentified client, is the character who transforms Pip's life financially allows him to hope for the life Miss Havisham and Estella inspired him to have.
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.
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...
taunts Pip and is very cruel to him, but he still falls in love with her. Miss Havisham is teaching Estella to
In the novel, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens the principal character, Pip, undergoes a tremendous change in character. I would like to explore with you the major incidents in Pip’s childhood that contribute to his change from an innocent child to someone consumed by false values and snobbery.
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.
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.
There are many factors that contribute to what a person’s life is like, and will end up like. Of those many factors, the influence of others, especially between a father and son, is particularly impactful. In the book Great Expectations; Pip had no father but had many fatherly supporters. Some of his most important influences were: Joe Gargery, Abel Magwitch, Mr. Jaggers, and Matthew Pocket. All four of these father figures had a hand in the shaping of Pip’s personality and destiny. They made Pip the kind, bold, educated, and beloved gentleman he turned out to be in the end. Without these characters, Pip’s story would be unrecognizably different. In Charles Dickens’s novel, Great Expectations; Joe, Jaggers, Matthew, and Magwitch played important parts that contributed to Pip’s personal development and life story.
Emily Augusta Patmore, née Andrews, was the inspiration for Coventry Patmore's iconic poem "The Angel in the House," both renowned and reviled for its depiction of the ideal Victorian woman. Some telling lines in the poem include "Man must be pleased; but him to please/Is woman's pleasure" and "she, too gentle even to force/His penitence by kind replies." Published in 1854, the poem paints a rosy picture of domestic Victorian life. It gained immense popularity in the years to follow, but became increasingly more controversial as western civilization uncertainly transitioned into an era of feminism and women's rights. Virginia Woolf, a 20th century English writer, notably mocked the poem by publishing her own work, a collection of essays entitled Killing the Angel in the House. Though the sentiments in the poem may be outdated now, it serves as a landmark, a reminder of how life was like for women during the Victorian era. Various other literary works published during the time also reflect similar themes, including Charles Dickens's bildungsroman Great Expectations, which charts the development of its main character but also follows women like Biddy and Estella, foils that seem like polar opposites at first but eventually both settle into their destined roles as domestic, inferior, Victorian women. Dickens's characterization of the alpha female Estella and the beta female Biddy in the novel Great Expectations reveals his misogyny and illustrates the Victorian theme that women are ultimately meant to be dominated.
Dickens portrays Miss Havisham in a very unique way. There is a dramatic irony between Miss Havisham and Pip. It is ironic how she wanted to watch him become miserable, just because he is of the male gender, and ironically she grew to like him. She even paid for part of Pip's expenses for the partnership. Yet what is more ironic is that Miss Havisham does not praise herself for the good deed. In the beginning of the novel, Miss Havisham displayed a harsh, cold attitude toward Pip. This is displayed in her deceptive act on page 69, where she says, "Well, you can break his heart?" As the novel ends Miss Havisham's attitude completely changes. She realizes the pain she has caused Pip and apologizes to him. Because of her positive change, she becomes more likeable to the audience.
When Pip starts to regularly visit Miss. Havisham’s Satis House, he gradually apprehends how low his placement is in the social class. Miss. Havisham is a wealthy old lady out of touch with reality. She and her adopted daughter, Estella live in a mansion that is, theoretically, stopped in time. Estella is a beautiful girl, but don’t be fooled by the eye, beneath her beauty lies a terribly rude, cold-hearted monster raised to trick and manipulate the hearts of men. She victimized Pip, and constantly criticized him, making comments to attack and destruct Pip’s self-esteem. She sees him as nothing more than a common boy, and she takes pleasure in emotionally hurting Pip. “He calls the knaves, jacks this boy, and what coarse hands and thick boots” (63). Previously, Pip had thought everyone had called knaves jacks, but now that he...
Everyone in life struggles to live up to what others and society expects them to be in life, the next Harvard Graduate, or the next new celebrity. But, these expectations can begin to define a person if he believes he has to conform to society's expectations. In Charles Dickens novel "Great Expectations", young Pip feels the pressure from society and his love, Estella, to become a gentleman. By attempting to rise in his social class Pip then abandons his previous good morals and his family members when he moves to London. Each character has aspirations for Pip which he believes he must fulfill in order to succeed in life. He also sets expectations for his friends and family and becomes disappointed when they do not meet his aspirations. The pressure from all the characters and the pressure he puts on others eventually diminish Pip's ideals, because he believes that he must please everyone. These Great Expectations pressured on Pip define the storyline of the novel and the progression of each character. Therefore, In Charles Dicken's novel "Great Expectations", the title plays a significant role due to Pip's struggle with the fact he cannot live for himself, but rather is focused on living up to standards placed on him and others.
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.
Starting out straight from the beginning of Pip's life he is already in pain from losing his parents. He then must live with his older sister Ms.Joe who puts him through a great deal of torture during his childhood. Such as when he went to the graveyard without her approval, she filled his mouth with tarred water just to prove a point to him. Not only was it Ms.Joe though, but the convict as well who put the dark image in his head of the certain someone who would come to kill him if he didn't bring him what he wanted which Pip eventually could not stop being concerned about after he came back from the graveyard. Once Pip starts to visit Miss Havisham though it is obvious the way she has designed the Satis House is in such a low, dark, depressing emotion because of the experiences she's had to suffer during her past. Miss Havisham's suffering has defined her character though. "Miss Havisham herself, of course, is the big victim of the novel, abandoned on her wedding day ...
...ubitably influenced by many females, for better or for worse. Mrs. Joe, Miss Havisham, and Estella each use and abuse Pip for their own pleasure or amusement, causing Pip to become dejected and ashamed. These negative emotions start a chain reaction when Pip hurts those nearest to him to please these women. Biddy, however, is kind to Pip. She is a positive influence; steady, always there for him. In the end, this leads Pip to do the right thing and return to his roots. The combination of these many influences is a large part of Pip’s character. The words and actions of these four women shape Pip. They change him from a kind, innocent boy to an arrogant, selfish fool to a responsible, caring gentleman. Without these women, Pip never would have become the gentleman that he was. His life is directly changed by them. Thus, in the life of Pip, women truly are powerful.
Expectations for Pip are fortune and the desire to become a gentleman as he discusses with Biddy, his private tutor: “I want to be a gentleman on her account” (Dickens, 117). Estella, albeit her bitter attitude towards Pip, changes his view that results in him longing to become a gentleman. His approach in becoming a gentleman is becoming apprenticed to his brother-in-law, the blacksmith. His initial stage of expectations is from Mr. Jaggers, Miss Havisham’s lawyer. The lawyer’s deliberately informs Pip “that he will come into a handsome property…be brought up as a young gentleman” (Dickens, 125). On hearing Mr. Jaggers, Pip was both astonished and excited because he yearned for such status. When Mr. Jaggers explained of Pip’s great amount fortune and significance, he automatically assumed his benefactor to be Miss Havisham. In his first expectation, Pip is to be professionally educated by Mr. Pocket,...