How Does Dickens Present The Evil In The Great Gatsby

Hiding in the Unknown
In the abyss of 1837 Victorian London, Charles Dickens recently fabricated the novel, Oliver Twist and it immediately began to spread Dickens’ ideas of social problems in society. Born parentless and immediately manipulated by two criminals, Oliver Twist follows Dawkins and Fagin into the criminal world. In particular, Dawkins and Fagin constantly go after and abuse Oliver. Later on, Monks, Oliver’s older half-brother, tries deceiving him and taking their family inheritance. This graphic and dark exposé of the criminal elements in London clearly served as an eye-opener for Dickens’ audience. Even twenty years later Dickens still exposes unhealthy social conditions in Great Expectations. It is as if in Great Expectations,

Dickens inferred the question, what would be the issues if Oliver had a benefactor, like Mr. Brownlow, at the beginning of his life? Even though Pip receives his “great expectations” early in the novel, there are still social issues present in the 1800s Victorian London that Dickens’ explores including problems associated with crime, education and the wealthy.
The most common misconceived stereotype about crime is that it only occurs in the lower class. Throughout Great Expectations, Dickens reveals to the audience that crime permeates all social classes. The stereotypical criminal that people in Victorian London would imagine is the hated Orlick. For the pain and suffering Orlick experienced, he aggressively took it out on Mrs. Joe by coming “upon her from behind, … [He] giv’ it her! [He] left her for dead” (Dickens 396). Like a common criminal, Orlick cold-bloodedly murdered Mrs. Joe as an act of revenge, but failed in killing Pip as Herbert and Trabb’s boy saves him. Unlike the impoverished Orlick, Compeyson possesses wealth and still criminally manipulates others for money. Compeyson, the man who swindled Miss Havisham “in that systematic way, that he got great sums of money from her” (Dickens 168). Compeyson’s exploitation of Miss Havisham proves that in Victorian England, criminals also targeted the upper class. Finally, the most unexpected criminal of them all is the wealthy and powerful Mr. Jaggers, the white-collar criminal of Great Expectations. Although Mr. Jaggers acts like an effective lawyer, he indisputably bullies the judge and influences the system towards his side. Even Jaggers’ clients know of his strength in the court when “one of the women” praises Jaggers about “... what more could you have” than Mr. Jaggers? (Dickens 154). As a highly respected lawyer, Mr. Jaggers still engages in criminal activity for personal gain. Through the examples of Orlick, Compeyson, and Mr. Jaggers, Dickens demonstrates that crime proliferates throughout society regardless of the social class.
Another prominent belief Dickens’ challenges is that education leads to success in life.

Within Great Expectations, Dickens defines success as achieving happiness and satisfaction. In addition, Dickens promotes being a ‘gentle Christian man’ holds more importance than being intelligent. A man like Herbert, who possesses all the gentlemanly characteristics; teaches Pip that being generous and respectful will bring him success as a gentleman. But in the end, Biddy represents the ideal medium between being educated and being a good person; Biddy achieves success when she exclaims to Pip that “it’s my wedding day,’ cried Biddy, in a burst of happiness, ‘and I am married to Joe” (Dickens 445). The fact that the bright and thoughtful Biddy marries an illiterate but caring Joe, creating their happiness, demonstrates to Pip that success in life derives from achieving that satisfaction, and not gaining wealth or rising in social class. Using Biddy and Joe’s marriage and happiness, Dickens not only teaches Pip, but also the audience that education doesn’t necessarily lead to success; but achieving happiness and satisfaction defines success. Although Biddy teaches Pip throughout his lifetime, the most underlooked models for Pip in being that “gentle Christian man” is the illiterate Joe and Magwitch. Both of them teach Pip that generosity and caring for others symbolize the best morals. In Joe and Magwitch's’ encounter at the very beginning, Joe confirms to Magwitch that “[Pip and Joe]

wouldn’t have you starved to death for it, poor miserable fellow-creatur.- Would us, Pip?” (Dickens 37). Joe sympathetically relates to Magwitch when calling him his “fellow-creatur”. Most importantly, when Joe questions Pip about not letting Magwitch starve to death, he is already teaching Pip the excellent morals that makes one a gentle “Christian” man like Joe. After Pip leaves for London and Joe cannot teach him anymore, Magwitch demonstrates his valuable morals for Pip when he donates all of his hard earned money to Pip. In addition to his generosity, Pip can also learn from Magwitch that hard-work can bring a man to new heights such as when Magwitch develops from a convict released in Australia into a prosperous farmer. In the end, as Pip learns from multiple sources like Herbert, Biddy, Joe and Magwitch, Pip understands that achieving success in life begins from developing good morals and achieving happiness and not education and wealth.
In the 1800s, Victorian society mostly believed that happiness and wealth surrounded the upper class.

In Great Expectations, the upper class possessed unimaginable wealth compared to the lower class; however, they were not happy though instead, they remained full of sadness and regret. Clearly as Pip walks into the Satis House, he observes that Miss Havisham “was dressed in rich materials”; in addition to that, Pip realizes Miss Havisham’s soul has disappeared for ages when Pip sees the “view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow” (Dickens 54). Although Miss Havisham clearly has the wealth as described in the Satis House, the aura of sadness and misery demonstrates to the readers that her fortune eventually caused her current despondency. In contrast to Miss Havisham, who experienced a heartbreak, Mr. Pocket, a married man, experiences frustration with his wife who only cares about her upper class social status. His frustration proceeds to the comic extent where “Mr. Pocket got his hands in his hair again, and this time really did lift himself some inches out of his chair” (Dickens 180). The exaggeration of Mr. Pocket lifting himself up by his hair promotes the negatives that are evidently associated with the wealthy class. While developing as a gentleman, Pip became confused about how he should treat Joe, who he feels ashamed of because of Joe’s illiteracy and lower class status. But when Joe leaves him, Pip

experiences the true suffering of loneliness. Throughout Great Expectations, Dickens has Pip undergo the unsavory effects of wealth for the purpose of justifying to the readers that wealth only represents a figure and cannot bring happiness like people mistakenly believe it does.
In the 1800s Victorian London, there was nothing specified as a social commentary. However, as readers comprehend Dickens’ Great Expectations, they can infer Great Expectations was Dickens’ form of social commentary for the purpose of addressing crime, education and wealth. Each character in Great Expectations represents a person who has encountered one or more of these problems. And through this fictitious novel, Dickens reveals the truth about the misconceptions in life to the middle class who can spread his ideas not only throughout society but also time. As Dickens created one of the most influential novels in Victorian England, he also provided this generation with a new and truthful view of life. Dickens teaches Pip and the audience that although life will always bear many flaws pushing through it and achieving happiness will lead to true success.