Great Expectations Analysis - 1614 Words

Great Expectations was written by Charles Dickens during the Victorian period and follows the life of Pip, our protagonist, as he works his way up the social hierarchy of the Victorian society. It was first published as series from 1860 to 1861. It is written as a bildungsroman: a genre of writing which pursues the life of a character from their childhood to their adult life. This novel has been hugely influenced by the author’s own life; who also worked his way up the social ladder. The story is written in a retrospective narrator: older Pip is looking back to his childhood and telling the story. Charles Dickens uses characters to represent different classes. The lower working class is shown by Joe. Joe’s character is based on Dickens’†¦show more content†¦This shows how the working classes’ attitudes changed towards the higher classes. They showed respect to them while the upper classes treated them as nothing more than their inferiors. This is quite ironic because the upper classes are taught that manners are the fundamental step to be a lady or a gentleman however they do not feel the need to show these manners to lower classes. Mr. Pumblechook is one of the characters who is exaggerated to show class. He is a middleclass corn merchant and Joe’s uncle. He is a very rude and lazy man who expects the working class to do all the work and his only form of work is to ‘look across the street at the saddler.’ He is also very sycophantic - in the beginning he is picking on the young Pip comparing him to the pork they were eating for dinner; later, when he learns about Pip’s benefactor he is very polite to Pip. This shows how he changes his character to gain what he wants. He is portrayed as a covetous person and even though he is better off than most other people he is united with them in his desire to go up the step in the social ladder. In the Victorian society, the amount of education received was determined by their social class. Pip, being from a working class background had received no or very little education. Pip wanted to get educated in order to impress Estella. Also, Joe was ill iterate because of his working class background and Pip, who didn’t want to end up a blacksmith, realised heShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Great Expectations 1026 Words   |  5 Pagesnovel, Great Expectations, Pip’s brother-in-law, Joe, is considered to be one of the most dependable and loyal characters to Pip, despite having adverse personalities. For example, where Pip is known to be zealous and eager to move forward with things at almost any cost, Joe is more of a steady, content man who would much rather stay in the comfortable quarters living of his own home. As a result, Joe is one of the most bona fide and pleasant characters to the reader in â€Å"Great Expectations†. As PipRead More Analysis of Great Expectations1266 Words   |  6 Pagessettings of Great Expectations are Pip’s homes, one home that he lives in during his childhood in Kent, England, and the other that he lives in when he is grown in London, England. Social status was a big deal in the mid-nineteenth century. The rich were highly respected and liked by all, and the poor were treated unkindly and were sometimes made fun of. The rich could have any job that they liked, but the poor would almost always take over the job that their father had. The narrator of Great ExpectationsRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Great Expectations1449 Words   |  6 Pagesperforms a number of functions, and among these are helping us to understand the world, and helping us to understand the human condition. What is taken from a work of fiction is, however, dependant on who is reading it at the time. In the case of Great Expectations there are a number of themes running through the text including betterment through education, what it is to be a gentleman, respectability and crime, parental /family ties, and industry and idleness. Many of the original readers of the workRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Great Expectations 1461 Words   |  6 PagesHorton’s statement about revenge accurately portrays how serious the effect of taking revenge can be. Only something as powerful as the desire for revenge can influence a story’s plot and the characters’ actions as much as it does in the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Philip Pirrip Gargery or Pip, the central character in the story, is just a common blacksmith’s son, but when he is introduced to new people and new things, his life drastically changes. He falls in love with a beautifulRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Great Expectations1475 Words   |  6 Pages Great Expectations written by Charles Dickens was about the path of life for one fellow, his name was Pip. Pip grew up in a small rural village but soon his life would pull him into the busy streets of London. Dickens would use this young child with a rocky family background to share hardships, love, sadness, and realization in order to add familiarity to his readers, making him a relatable character. Dickens wrote this book to be able to give insight into the social reforms that were slowly startingRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Great Expectations1600 Words   |  7 PagesDicken’s Great Expectations follows and examines the life of a fictional character, Pip, who lives in and falls victim to a world that despises the common man. Ever since his parents’ death, his overbearing sister and conceited uncle instilled ideas that he was worthless as a poor youth. He initially sought refuge with his sister’s affectionate husband, Joe, until the beautiful Estella made him truly feel an extreme inferiority for the first time, in which he began to see Joe and his work as inferiorRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Great Expectations1308 Words   |  6 PagesIn the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, a young man named Pip sets out on a journey to become a gentleman, even though he comes from a poor family. As he moves to the big city and starts living more and more like a gentleman he star ts leaving his past behind him. To even become a gentleman he had to leave his best friend behind, his home behind and his former job. Throughout his journey to become part of high society he meets several wealthy people who both Pip and the reader aren’t veryRead MoreGreat Expectations - Literary Analysis1674 Words   |  7 PagesAn Evaluation of Pip, and His Great Expectations In the year 1860, author Charles Dicken’s began his thirteenth novel, Great Expectations. The work is a coming-of-age novel, which tells the life story of an orphan boy named Pip, who much like Dickens’ in his earlier years is unhappy with his current life. A number of Charles Dickens’ personal life events are mirrored in the novel, leaving Great Expectations to be one of his most autobiographical works. Young Pip, the protagonistRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Great Expectations 1438 Words   |  6 PagesLetter Essay, Great Expectations By Leona Markose One of the books I have recently read is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It introduces the reader a rather unique approach into the subject of social class. Throughout the book, Pip, the main character is faced with many challenges that shape him into who he is. We first meet Pip on Christmas eve around the 1800s. While outRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Great Expectations1443 Words   |  6 Pages Charles Dickens is a well-known author famous for his skillful and distinctive writing style. One of the novels in which Dickens best demonstrates his masterful style is Great Expectations. In this book, many literary elements are employed to develop a cleverly blended story. To create a unique effect, comedy, tragedy, and garish features are mixed together throughout. The wide array of writing patterns used by Dickens can be found over the course of the entire book and exemplified in many different