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Society and class in Dickens novel
Analysis of great expectations by Dickens
The analysis of great expectations by Charles Dickens
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Class is a complex term, in use since the late eighteenth century, and employed in many different ways” (Victorian Web). Social class arises from different individuals-some rich, others poor, and others a combination of both. In proving one’s social class, the upper class would have to show their possessions to other individuals to show there superiority, but the middle classes would have to be industrious workers in order to provide for their families. Pertaining to the rise of social class through industry and possessions in the Victorian era, Dickens’ evidently shows the motif of the rise in social class through the characters of Great Expectations. In the Victorian Era, the industrious workers of the middle and working classes had to do strenuous tasks in order to take care for the families and have a complacent lifestyle. On the contrary, the upper classes were wealthy landowners who often did not work and often subdued themselves to different luxurious indulgences. In the 2nd Industrial Revolution, the rich indulged in luxuries while the middle and working classes need to work to cater for themselves. Evidently, the upper class in the Victorian Era indulged themselves in exorbitant experiences instead of being a laborious worker. The origin of the aristocracy was first proven when they exposed their lifestyle, however, Kenneth Morgan implies, “ The aristocracy came to be known to the urban population chiefly through their representation in the popular press and magazines as men and women as leisure: racing, hunting, shooting and fishing in the country, gambling and attending the season in London” (493). Individuals in the aristocracy dismissed the industrious part of their lives and turned to leisure. The rich have thei... ... middle of paper ... ... England. Although the 2nd Industrial Revolution emphasizes the motif of different social classes through possessions and work in Great Expectations, but we should remember that social class does not exemplify how one makes the correct decisions on how to live their life. Works Cited Dickens, Charles, and Charlotte Mitchell. Great Expectations. London: Penguin, 2003. Print. Landow, George P., ed. The Victorian Web, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. . "Learning Victorians." British Library, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life in Victorian England. Westport: Greenwood, 1996. Print. Morgan, Kenneth O. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford UP, 1984. Print. Soldahl, Nohal J., ed. Victorian Upper-Class Men and their Daily Lifestyle, 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
In America, the late 19th Century was known as the Victorian Era. It was a time when pro-private upper class culture dominated the nation, a time of liberation from the burden of the past and a time when the development of science and technology flourished. The Victorians believed that the advancement in science and technology served as a mean for protection, and could bring in an abundant of wealth and power, something they desired. The middle-class admired those from the upper-class, as they imitated the lives of the wealthy families. It was a period of competition and the survival of the fitness for the Victorians. While these neighbors, friends and families competed against each other for wealth, there was competition between workers and machineries in the cities, as labor was gradually being replaced by modern technology.
The values, standards, and expectations of the upper-middle class in the 19th-century Victorian society were conservative and strict; the pressure to earn prestige and achieve upward mobility in social rank required men to sustain an image of propriety and respectability in public. These obligations often created a longing to divert from the personality facades they had to keep, and from the ideal behavior and polite manners that were expected of bourgeois society men. Some would fulfill their wishes by leading a secret double life that allowed them to temporarily escape from societal responsibilities and restrictions. In more private settings, men would partake in sinful pleasures, such as alcohol or drug abuse, and they were free to behave more loosely than they could under the rigid public persona they were forced to hold in order to protect their reputations.
Theatres, musicals, proms concerts and films entertained the growing population. The upper classes led such a lavish life of luxury that the Edwardian era is now infamous for its elegance, ostentation, extravagance and sexual license. However despite the illusions of these secure times this epoch was full of hypocrisy, prejudice and exploitation. There was a huge divide between the upper and lower classes and the difference between the affluent lifestyle the wealthy lived compared to the downtrodden existence of the poor was remarkable.
An Analysis on the lives of the Upper, Middle, and Lower classes during the Industrial Revolution
With this in mind, some perspective on the society of that time is vital. During this time the industrial revolution is taking place, a massive movement away from small farms, businesses operated out of homes, small shops on the corner, and so on. Instead, machines are mass-producing products in giant factories, with underpaid workers. No longer do people need to have individual skills. Now, it is only necessary that they can keep the machines going, and do small, repetitive work. The lower working class can no longer live a normal life following their own pursuits, but are lowered to working inhumane hours in these factories. This widens the gap between the upper and lower class-called bourgeois and proletariat-until they are essentially two different worlds. The bourgeois, a tiny portion of the population, has the majority of the wealth while the proletariat, t...
The highest social class in Victorian England was the Nobility or Gentry class. The members of this class were those who inherited their land, titles, and wealth . Popular opinion at the time asserted that the noble class women led lives of lavish luxury and wedded bliss. "Ladies were ladies in those days; they did not do things themselves, they told others what to do and how to do it."
Throughout the Victorian Era, the standard of occupations were distinctly divided based on class. These social classes that divided the caliber of work in occupations were: the upper class, middle or working class and the lower class. Occupations that required skilled labor and unskilled labor each employed people in separate classes. Men and women within each class had different jobs in accordance with the type of work in their social class. (Victorian Web.)
The problem with society during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was the equality of all persons was few and far between. The bourgeoisie was in control of all the power and the proletariats were basically under their control. It was as if the bourgeoisie “originated out of the old medieval peasant class, in opposition to the medieval titled aristocracy.” [ii] They had taken over everything; the oppressed class lived by their rules and ways of life. Their way of life was not a happy one; family was based upon money instead of love. “Capital developed in the same proportion as the class of laborers developed.” ii Life then seemed simple for those living the life of the bourgeoisie, b...
In Victorian times, one who came from a wealthy and respectable family was considered to be a gentleman. This is clear in numerous characters in the novel, who are immediately perceived to be gentlemen as they boast a large amount of money and dress in the finest clothes. One example, Compeyson, uses this to get a reduced sentence in court, as Magwitch says ‘one, the younger, well brought up, who will be spoke to as such’. This highlights the importance of social class in the Victorian era and it is clear to see here that the justice system is very much more favourable to the higher social ranks, deciding how they would get treated and addressed, and that the punishment is not dependent on the crime, rather the individual at trial’s background and upbringing. Dickens has shown that the Victorian concept of a gentleman is all about wealth and social ranking, not the characteristics we see in a gentleman today.
Social class played a major role in the society depicted in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Social class determined the manner in which a person was treated and their access to education. Yet, social class did not define the character of the individual.
...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.
The lifestyles of this wealthy class, called the nouveau riche and who emerged in 1783, were considered lavish. Though they weren’t apart of the English aristocracy, they were able to live comfortable lives like them. This new class was able to emerge because of the influx of immigration into the rapidly forming cities; people were in search of employment. As these people arrived to the newly formed cities, factory owners obtaianed a larger labor force that would work for them. Nevertheless, they would continue to pay workers fixed wages and make large profits (Manolopoulou and Eagleton 3). Despite this change of social stratification in England, the society remained patriarchal. For marriage to occur, a woman had to either bring land into marriage or pay a dowry. In addition, any land or property inherited by women had to be passed on to her husband. Furthermore, patriarchal forces were reinforced since women were still restricted to the same low-status, low-paid, and low-skilled jobs they always had. A reason for this continuity was the decrease of employment opportunities given to women during the industrial revolution (Chalus and Barker 82). The dominance of men at the end of this time period was still
In the novel Hard Times by Charles Dickens, there is a clear separation between the rich upper class, and The Hands, the poverty stricken lower class. There was a clear contrast between the rich and poor during the Industrial Revolution, which is captured in the novel by Dickens. The Industrial Revolution was a monumental advancement in English society, which resulted in higher quality and quantities of food, lower death rate, and a higher birth rate. During this time the Scientific Revolution also took place, leading to the Agricultural Revolution. There was new technology developed that helped to increase food production, and ultimately profit.
Industrialization is the process in which a society transforms itself from an agricultural society, farming, to a society based on manufacturing goods and services, using machinery. The Industrial Revolution acquired a colossal impact on societies, making forceful changes in the lives of individuals, and changing the social classes drastically, but not all classes benefited equally. Those who were lucky enough to be business owners or had the opportunity to obtain a better profession, were able to enjoy leisure time and comfort in many ways. Those who were uneducated and were limited to unskilled labor work, remained at the bottom of the economic ladder. Furthermore, the two classes that benefited from the Industrial Revolution were the “upper” and “middle” class, leaving the “lower” class to be the only one who suffers. In other words, the rich got richer, the middle class grew, and the poor remained poor. The deeper the Industrial Revolution grew, the more powerful the “upper” and “middle” class became. To remain at the top of the social ladder, the upper class had to continue being the wealthiest and most powerful.
Class distinction is one of Jane Austen’s themes in the novel, and the differentiation related to it is evidently depicted. Reading the novel from the first chapter, I realize that the author clearly illustrates that class is what matters most in many of the incidences displayed by the characters. Unless an individual is of a given class, the idea that he or she has money is not valued, since only birth in a certain background is what is of value. When a person openly values money over class, such a person is frowned upon. In general terms, the Novel shows a social world extremely stratified and full of pretension and class struggle.