Orlick Revenge Quotes

Revenge is the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. Revenge is not only used as a justification for an action, but it also motivates people to show who they really are. In the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens hides the true personality of Orlick until revenge invigorates him to commit ruthless actions and show his jealous and deleterious personality.
Orlick is a ruthless character in Great Expectations and commits merciless and rash actions which reveal the type of person he really is. An ideal example of this is when, “Orlick plunged at the furnace, drew out a red-hot bar, made at me with it as if he were going to run it through my body, whisked it round my head” (Dickens 106).

Orlick is very angered that Pip had come between him and Biddy and wants to take revenge on him for it. “‘You did that, and that would be enough, without more. How dared you come betwixt me and a young woman I liked?’” (Dickens 394). Orlick tries to hide his envy for Pip throughout the novel, but he reveals his jealousy of Pip when he yells at him for coming between him and Biddy. Orlick wants to take revenge on Pip for taking Biddy away from him, but this action also reveals his character and the flaws of his personality. His jealous personality also helps him justify the actions that he is taking against Pip because he feels like he deserves more than what Pip has. In the literary criticism, Novels for Students, Napierkowski describes how Orlick feels toward Pip. “Orlick also bears a grudge against Pip for having Joe's favor and a benefactor” (Napierkowski 96). She talks about how Joe likes Pip more than Orlick and how much more money Pip has than him. Revenge drives Orlick to act on his jealousy, which ultimately helps characterize Orlick to the reader. Orlick is clearly envious of Pip, and through this envy, Dickens reveals the malicious nature of