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    A New Perspective 2

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    Kelly Nicole Kuhn
    This document analyzes Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations. It summarizes the book's three stages that show the main character Pip's transformation in his views on social class and what brings happiness. In stage one, Pip is a grateful orphan but is corrupted by the wealthy Estella to see others as lower class. Stage two shows how money turns Pip vain and ungrateful. Stage three finds Pip realizing the importance of family, work, and being a good person over social status and money. The document concludes by agreeing with a critic that Great Expectations is too long and could convey its themes more concisely.

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    A New Perspective 2

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    Kelly Nicole Kuhn
    32 views3 pages
    This document analyzes Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations. It summarizes the book's three stages that show the main character Pip's transformation in his views on social class and what brings happiness. In stage one, Pip is a grateful orphan but is corrupted by the wealthy Estella to see others as lower class. Stage two shows how money turns Pip vain and ungrateful. Stage three finds Pip realizing the importance of family, work, and being a good person over social status and money. The document concludes by agreeing with a critic that Great Expectations is too long and could convey its themes more concisely.

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    This document analyzes Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations. It summarizes the book's three stages that show the main character Pip's transformation in his views on social class and what brings happiness. In stage one, Pip is a grateful orphan but is corrupted by the wealthy Estella to see others as lower class. Stage two shows how money turns Pip vain and ungrateful. Stage three finds Pip realizing the importance of family, work, and being a good person over social status and money. The document concludes by agreeing with a critic that Great Expectations is too long and could convey its themes more concisely.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    32 views3 pages

    A New Perspective 2

    Uploaded by

    Kelly Nicole Kuhn
    This document analyzes Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations. It summarizes the book's three stages that show the main character Pip's transformation in his views on social class and what brings happiness. In stage one, Pip is a grateful orphan but is corrupted by the wealthy Estella to see others as lower class. Stage two shows how money turns Pip vain and ungrateful. Stage three finds Pip realizing the importance of family, work, and being a good person over social status and money. The document concludes by agreeing with a critic that Great Expectations is too long and could convey its themes more concisely.

    Copyright:

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    Kelly Kuhn

    Mrs. Morehouse

    English Honors

    6 May 2009

    A New Perspective

    In Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, Pip is a poor laboring boy whose

    gloomy fate of a life dressed in rags is changed by the aid of a mysterious benefactor.

    Dickens divides his novel into three stages to show Pip’s transformation in attitude

    towards social class. Pip changes from a grateful child who admires Joe’s trade as a

    blacksmith and wishes to partake in it, to an ingrate who is ashamed to have anything to

    do with Joe, a lowly tradesman. However, in the third section of the book, Pip evolves

    from a boy who feels money and high social status is the answer to happiness, to

    realizing being a good person is more important in life than having high social status.

    Dickens uses Stage 1 of Great Expectations to introduce innocent and grateful

    Pip. Pip’s innocence is shown when understands the term his sister uses “brought up by

    hand”(Pg.8) to mean that she spanks him. Dickens uses this detail to display Pip’s

    simplicity. In addition, Younger Pip is excited about becoming apprenticed to Joe and

    says, “When I was old enough, I was to be apprenticed to Joe… I could assume that

    dignity… ” (Pg.43). Pip’s enthusiasm expresses his gratitude because he his thankful for

    what he is given. The importance of this quote is to show Pip is satisfied with his low

    social status. However, after meeting Estella who makes fun of his thick hands, Pip

    explains, “I had never thought of being so ashamed of my hands before; but I began to

    consider them a very indifferent pair”(Pg.60). Pip believes that because Estella’s family
    has more money than his, that it makes her better than him. The irony is that Estella

    makes fun of Pip for being low born, but later in the book it is discovered that Estella is

    worse born than Pip, for she is the daughter of Abel Magwitch, a convict. Stage one

    presents Pip’s inner goodness, gradually being corrupted by Estella’s idea that anyone

    with less money than she is beneath her.

    Dickens demonstrates through Stage two the sinister effects money has on people,

    specifically Pip. When Pip finds out Joe is coming to visit him, he instead of welcoming

    Joe, doesn’t want him to come because gaining the acceptance of his rich friends is more

    important than seeing his loving friend Joe. Pip confesses that his feelings for Joe’s

    expected arrival were those, “Not with pleasure… If I could have kept him away pay

    paying money, I certainly would have paid the money” (Pg.218). This reveals that Pip

    has lost all sense of loyalty to Joe. The old penniless Pip loved and admired Joe, but the

    new Pip is vain and would pay money to keep his friend away! In addition, Pip proves his

    arrogance when Mawitch reveals to Pip that he is Pip’s secret benefactor. Pip should be

    grateful to the man who has been extraordinary kind in sponsoring him, but instead Pip is

    ungrateful and grudgingly lets Magwitch spend the night, looking upon his unwanted

    guest as a “dreadful burden” (Pg.324). Pip sees Estella following his becoming a

    gentleman, and after putting his lips out to kiss her she says, “Will you never take

    warning?” (Pg.268). Estella tells Pip to take warning and yet he chooses to believe Estella

    and him are destined to marry. This shows the extent Pip must lie to shield himself from

    the harsh reality that he has been wasting his time because Estella could never love him.

    Stage two illustrates how money has evil effects, corrupting Pip’s once loyal and gracious

    character.
    In stage three, Pip finally realizes the error of his ways, and completes his

    transformation to an honorable man. Pip’s progression can be seen in his softening

    attitude towards Magwitch, Pip worries, “ …I was full of fears for the rash man who was

    in hiding…but I thought with dread that it was flowing towards Magwitch…”(Pg.381).

    The fact that he is concerned with Magwitch’s safety shows his maturity. Another

    example of Pip’s improved behavior is when Joe comes to visit sickly Pip who cries,” O

    strike me Joe. Tell me of my ingratitude. Don’t be good to me”(Pg.463). This

    demonstrates Pip’s regret for his casting off of Joe. His regret proves that he understands

    the treatment of loved ones should be his top priority. Furthermore, when discussing the

    past with Estella, Pip says, “ I work pretty hard for a sufficient living, and therefore – Yes

    I do well” (Pg.484). This is Pip’s final act in proving that he has greatly changed. He

    values hard work and a respectable living. As a result, Dickens shows in three stages

    Pip’s transformation from a young boy who is proud to be the future apprentice to a

    blacksmith, to a vain snob who cares only about the acceptance of those with high social

    class, to a matured man who shows understanding for what is important in life. This

    transformation voices the universal theme that money doesn’t equal happiness.

    I agree with critic Samuel Hammond who notes how Dickens’s books are

    “needlessly long”. Samuel articulates how boring the novel is, he says, “There should be

    a warning on this book in big red letters: May cause catatonic state!” I believe, like

    Samuel, that Great Expectations is unnecessarily long, and that Dickens can get his

    theme across to the reader in fewer pages, if only he would get to the point and avoid

    bogging the story down with tedious details that make the story hard to follow.

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