Jane Austen's Great Expectations

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Jane Austen's Great Expectations Great Expectations is a story about the impact that money can have on people's lives. Money can change anybody and Pip was no exception. When Pip is poor he truly wants to be a gentleman, he has "great expectations" for himself. He loses friends, family and parts of himself all to be a true gentleman and forgets about the true values of life. Eventually he realises that letting money rule your life can have harmful effects. There are many themes that run through this novel. One important theme is class and status. During the Victorian times, class played a huge part in society and throughout the novel the strict class system is conveyed. An example of where this is shown is when Pip is embarrassed that his benefactor was Magwitch, a convict. This shows that someone who is high up in society does not want anything to do with someone in the lower class. Another theme is about things that make a perfect Victorian gentleman. A Victorian gentleman would have had to have the following qualities. He would have to be mannerable, well dressed, educated, wealthy, have a nice house, have servants and come from a good background. Another theme is crime and punishment. Punishment in the Victorian times was very harsh. We see this when we hear about Magwitch. When we see him on the marshes, he is in a very bad condition. We also see that at the end of the story Magwitch is going to be hanged for returning to Britain from Australia. Small crimes were seen as huge matters a thief could receive seven years transportation to Australia. Children that were "at the risk" of becoming involved in criminal activity could be... ... middle of paper ... ... a snob and so our feelings about Pip change. However, at the end we regain our respect towards Pip when he realises the true meaning of a gentleman. At the start, Pip is nice to Magwitch because he is scared of him but towards the end, Pip respects Magwitch for helping him. Through Magwitch, Dickens gives us the message that criminals can be reformed and deserves a second chance. Dickens also gets the message across that money can change a person but we should not forget who we really are and who our true friends and family are. Pip realises this throughout the course of the novel. He goes back to live with Joe and lives happily ever after. He realises that a gentleman is not someone with wealth, education and social status but is someone who is caring and knows the true values of life, someone like Joe or Magwitch.

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