Great Expectations

Great expectations

Born in a wealthy family but his family went bankrupt. He was married. He is an urban novelist. Victorian realism : Not expression of life, but impression of life. The characters consume impressions.

19th century idea=unique individual. Personality is about difference.every individual has its own value which differs from the others unpredictability

He reaches his impression as a child with the maturity of a grown man.

Great Expectations was written in a time period that was marked by drastic changes. t was also the time of Charles Darwin who, with the publication of Origin of Species. Whether Dickens actually read Darwin's book is not known (only that he owned a copy), however, the general landscape of Great Expectations seems to imply Darwinian influences. There is, first of all, the idea of 'not being fit' to survive, exemplified in Pip's dead brothers who have succumbed to the "universal struggle. . Other examples of "unfitness" are Herbert, who strikes us as pathetically helpless without Pip, Magwitch, whose criminal history prevents him from leading a normal life in England, or from living there at all. The frequent comparisons between humans and animals, as when Pip is related to a pig (22), Magwitch's eating habits are described as those of a dog (16), or Molly is characterized as a "tamed beast" (163) bear a strong connection to Darwin and the evolutionary theory as well. Somewhat opposed to individualism and the growing power humans acquired during the industrialization, this comparison evokes the idea that the value of a person is still not higher than that of an animal - unless he or she has enough money.

The prison-ship Magwitch is taken to reminds Pip of a "wicked Noah's ark" (33). This allusion to the biblical flood - which is related to baptism and also symbolic of a new beginning - will come up later on in the novel and is always associated with Magwitch: the night he returns from Australia to reveal himself to Pip as his benefactor, there is heavy rain (254). As well as the first meeting with Magwitch changes Pip's life, so does the second one: Pip is humbled by the discovery that all his wealth was provided by the convict who sacrificed his whole life for him (another biblical allusion: Magwitch suffers for Pip, as Jesus did for human kind), and he learns to see the human side in Magwitch, which in turn helps him rediscover his own compassion and morality. The third time we are confronted with flood-imagery is comparatively more impressive than the first two: here, Magwitch, Pip and the convict Compeyson suffer shipwreck (359); Compeyson dies, and Magwitch is rescued, but only to be sentenced to death (368-370). While Cunningham considers this a "genuine figure of rebirth" (Cunningham 42), arguing that Magwitch is transformed by this experience into a true Christian and a worthy "type of Christ" - exemplified in his acceptance of the death sentence as coming from the "Almighty" (Dickens 370) -, it is still ironic that Magwitch cannot escape, and that it is of no use to him to survive the shipwreck. What Cunningham understands as "rebirth" probably refers to the salvation of Magwitch's soul - he dies as a believer -, nevertheless, his death contributes to the bleak world of Great Expectations. Perhaps this will help us in understanding where Dickens' blurred picture of morality stems from: the industrial revolution, as mentioned above, had a tremendous impact on the status and the lifestyles of people, but also on their world view. Joseph W. Childers notes that the industrialization of England caused people to question traditional beliefs about, among other things, religion and science (Childers 77). Considering the practical effects of the industrial development, one of the main changes was certainly that man could suddenly manufacture so many things; with the help of machines he became powerful, and money became more and more important. In fact, I would suggest that the problem with morality in Great Expectations is directly related to the over-emphasis on wealth: money made people greedy. Of course, Pip is the perfect example: his wealth turns him into a shallow facade of a gentleman, never satisfied with what he has and ruining himself more and more as he loses touch with reality. In many ways, Dickens seems to portray materialism as a threat to spirituality and morality (Smith 174). Great Expectations is a reflection as well as a critique of this progress, condemning the fact that people began to worship money instead of God. In a way, capitalism became the new religion. Forgiveness is a major theme in the novel: Mrs. Joe asks Joe for forgiveness before she dies and is forgiven (Dickens 229), Miss Havisham asks Estella (through Pip) (325), Pip asks Joe and Biddy (387), and Estella asks Pip (391). Cunningham argues that this emphasis on a clearly Christian value supports the idea that the world of Great Expectations is structured by a Christian order (Cunningham 42); however, it is highly questionable whether these individual acts of morality affect the greater picture at all. Although morality seems to be somewhat regained at the end of the novel, society is still the same: a moral ruin, exemplified in the ruined garden. The moral regeneration of Pip and of other characters, such as Magwitch, Miss Havisham and Estella, seem insignificant against the moral indifference of nature and society. Perhaps the real question Dickens poses is this: in a society that has become increasingly amoral, how does one survive? Who does one turn to for guidance if there is no God? Where is one's place?

Great expectations combine intrigue and unexpected twists of autobiographical detail in different tones. Dickens reflects the relationship between society and man. Pip's secret benefactor is not actually Mss havisham but the convict he met in his childhood. It is nevertheless his idealization of estella and his involvement imaginatively and emotionally with the poetic influences of Satis House that made him strive to educate himself for years and that makes him jump at Jaggers offer, for if he had not known Miss Havisham and Estella the manly life of the forge and affection for Joe and Biddy would have held him back. Even Jagger cannot escape a sense of guilt for the way he earns his living for his whole mode of life and he berays this by his habit of washing his hands of his filthy clients at the end of the day , like Pontius pilate in disclaiming human responsibility thus, though jaggers need heavily scented soap to drown rather than was off the contamination of which he thus shows himself conscious. The incidents that lead up to the revelation are truly dramatic and Pip then without warning

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