In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens places great emphasis on the ideas and attitudes of work. He gives examples of various kinds of work through each different character. On one extreme the idea of "gentlemanly" work is depicted through the character of the lawyer, Jaggers. On the opposite end of the spectrum there is Joe Gargery in his role as the village blacksmith, the "non-gentlemanly" depiction of work. In a novel that is built around the main character longing to become a gentleman, Dickens uses the theme or motif of "work" in order to display the ambivalence of the social attitudes to the idea of work in the nineteenth century. The village blacksmith is not ideally the job one would want to posses, while the occupation of a lawyer would allow for one to gain the reputation of a gentleman. Through the role of Joe Gargery, Dickens subverts the social norms that the work of a gentleman is more respected, and presents Joe and the role of a blacksmith as not only a respectable citizen, but the type of person Pip should become.
Dickens leaves it up the reader to decide what type of worker should be more respectable, the gentleman or non-gentleman. He draws on the role of the blacksmith not only because that was the central trade of a village, but because of the feelings, attitudes, and views of and towards this person. Dickens's Joe Gargery, like his profession, is presented in the stereotypical fashion of the nineteenth century as an unintelligent laborer. But at the same time, Joe represents a kind, nurturing, father figure to Pip. It is through Joe that Dickens expresses his own ideas and the way he viewed the upper and middle classes, and the working man. Ivor Brown states that "There are ...
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...this reason why Dickens presents the working man as the most reliable character in the novel. Being free from the necessity of labor forever is detrimental to not only society but oneself. Dickens does not go out on a limb when he expresses the importance of work in the novel. What he does do, however, is take the supposedly respectable occupation or position of a gentleman and make it undesirable through a boy's longing to achieve status through his great expectations.
Works Cited
Brown, Ivor. Dickens in His Time. London: Nelson, 1963.
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Janice Carlisle. New York: Bedford, 1996.
Sell, Kathleen, "The Narrator's Shame: Masculine Identity in Great Expectations." Dickens Studies Annual 26 (1998): 203-206.
Webber, Ronald. The Village Blacksmith. South Brunswick: Great Albion Books, 1971.
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The novel, Great Expectations, deals with the concepts of a ‘true gentleman’; where the Victorian idea, which is based upon birth, wealth, social status and apparel, contrasts to Dickens’ portrayal of a gentleman who is a person of kindness, humility and generosity. Dickens upbringing and early life allows him to understand the position of the poor due to their humble upbringing, which keeps them in the lower social class. His didactic message, what it is to be a true gentleman, is reinforced by the bildungsroman style of the novel.
Romantic literature was on the one hand concerned with tragedy and on the other it also dwelled on sympathy. It was the aim of most romantic writers and poets to engage in development of characters that would attract sympathy and pity. However in this novel, while it may be sympathy, pity or self-injury that served as one of the motivating forces behind creation of the character of Werther, it also appears that psychological exploration of the mental state of a person caught in this unfortunate situation was the main aim. Werther's character is seriously delusional. He deceives himself regularly making himself believe that Lotte, the woman he had fallen in love with, was also in love with him. He appears to study her every move, her every eye contact and then goes on to decode it in his own way that further aids in self-deception. Werther keeps finding different reasons for making himself believe that Lotte loved him or he was an inimitable being with a rather unique fate. For example he uses Lotte's sympathetic attitude towards him as justification for engaging in deeper self-pity, delusion and self-injury.
Many characters were treated differently because of their social class in Great Expectations. Seeing the contrast between how the poor and the rich were treated will give a clearer understanding of how much social class mattered. In chapter 27 when Joe comes to see Pip, he treats Joe in a different manner than before because Joe was now in a lower social class. His feelings about Joe's arrival were "Not with pleasure... I had the sharpest sensitiveness as to his being seen by Drummle." (p. 203). He was afraid that Drummle will look down on him because of Joe's lower class. Not only does Pip treat Joe differently, Joe also treats Pip differently because of their difference in social class. He begins to call Pip "sir" which bothered him because "sir" was the title given to people of higher class. Pip felt that they were still good friends and that they should treat each other as equals. Joe soon leaves and explains his early parting, "Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together, as I may say, and one man's a blacksmith, and one's a whitesmith, and one's a goldsmith, and one's a coppersmith. Diwisions among such must come...." (p. 209). He creates this metaphor than he is a common blacksmith and Pip is a goldsmith. This difference in social class had brought upon their separation. Other characters that were also judged by their social class were Magwitch and Compeyson. They were both on trial for the same crime but Compeyson got off easier than Magwitch because of his higher social class. Magwitch describes Compeyson's defense speech, ."..here you has afore you, side by side, two persons as your eyes can separate wide; one, the younger, well brought up... one; the elder, ill brought up... which is the worst one?" (p. 325). The decision of the trial was solely based upon social class appearance.
...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.
Charles Dickens utilizes his life for inspiration for the protagonist Pip in his novel Great Expectations. They both struggle with their social standing. Dickens loved plays and theatre and therefore incorporated them into Pip’s life. Dickens died happy in the middle class and Pip died happy in the middle class. The connection Dickens makes with his life to Pip’s life is undeniable. If readers understand Dickens and his upbringing then readers can understand how and why he created Pip’s upbringing. Charles Dickens’ life, full of highs and lows, mirrors that of Pip’s life. Their lives began the same and ended the same. To understand the difficulty of Dickens’ childhood is to understand why his writing focuses on the English social structure. Dickens’ life revolved around social standing. He was born in the lower class but wasn’t miserable. After his father fell into tremendous debt he was forced into work at a young age. He had to work his way to a higher social standing. Because of Dicken’s constant fighting of class the English social structure is buried beneath the surface in nearly all of his writings. In Great Expectations Pip’s life mirrors Dickens’ in the start of low class and the rise to a comfortable life. Fortunately for Dickens, he does not fall again as Pip does. However, Pip and Dickens both end up in a stable social standing.
Charles Dickens is well known for his distinctive writing style. Few authors before or since are as adept at bringing a character to life for the reader as he was. His novels are populated with characters who seem real to his readers, perhaps even reminding them of someone they know. What readers may not know, however, is that Dickens often based some of his most famous characters, those both beloved or reviled, on people in his own life. It is possible to see the important people, places, and events of Dickens' life thinly disguised in his fiction. Stylistically, evidence of this can be seen in Great Expectations. For instance, semblances of his mother, father, past loves, and even Dickens himself are visible in the novel. However, Dickens' past influenced not only character and plot devices in Great Expectations, but also the very syntax he used to create his fiction. Parallels can be seen between his musings on his personal life and his portrayal of people and places in Great Expectations.
In Victorian England, people are assigned to a class, depending on their education, social status, or income. In his novels, Charles Dickens comments about the abuses in Victorian England, such as economics and social class. “Throughout the life of Pip, he is constantly exposed to characters that vary greatly in both characters and social class.” (Zhou). Joe Gargery is a member of a working class, having no education and works as a blacksmith. Joe Gargery had pride being in the working class. Joe Gargery is the idea of the working class. Uncle Pumblechook represents the worst in middle class. Uncle Pumblechook is opinionated and hypocritical in Great ...
“Charles Dickens: Great Expectations.” (2 Feb, 2006): 2. Online. World Wide Web. 2 Feb, 2006. Available http://www.uned.es/dpto-filologias-extranjeras/cursos/LenguaIglesaIII/TextosYComentarios/dickens.htm.