So I have talked about this grand idea that permeates throughout the entire novel. It is an idea that drives Pip's quest and is a social criticism. This idea is that wealth corrupts the goodness in a person and it cannot give someone goodness. This idea is defined through a parallel structure that constantly compares and contrasts those that have and those who do not. Initially, Pip lives his life, although bullied and abused at home, happy and doesn't fight it. However, that all changes when he goes to see Miss Havisham for the first time. On that visit he meets Estella. Estella is the one who throws him for a loop. She critiques him on his "rough hands and working boots" as well as calling him "common". This makes Pip extremely self conscious of his social position in life, so much so that he is conscious of Joe's commonness and has a conviction that "[he] had liked Joe's trade once, but once was not now." This mindset continues to permeate all aspects of Pip's life because of his admiration for Estella. He decides that he will better himself and become a gentleman just so that he can be with her. This idea is so strong that it eclipses Biddy from Pip's view. He even says " I should of been good enough for you: shouldn't I, Biddy?" but then continues to discuss his love for Estella. If I know anything about relationships, you do not discuss with someone how you could of loved them and then love someone else. But, moving on to how that plays into the criticism. Biddy understands the world much more so than Pip but we are limited to Pip's interpretation as he is our eyes and ears for the novel. Biddy knows that chasing after Estella will only crush Pip and lead him down a dangerous path. The next conversation that Biddy and Pip have it is when he asks her to improve Joe's manners and says that he would not fit in with the company he wants to have (this reflects back to when Joe comes with Pip for his last visit to Miss Havishams, dressed in his awkward Sunday suit, where he not once speaks to Miss Havisham but directs his responses to Pip. A habit that makes Pip extremly uncomfortable and ashamed). Here Biddy gets very upset with Pip and argues that Joe is actually one who is proud of his work (in the previous post on Joe's innocence) and not ashamed of who he is because he lives a good life. Again, this is just something that Pip can not understand and it marks a significant turning point for him. This turning point can be seen in Pip's conscious after he is informed of his great expectations from Mr. Jagger. Since the novel is translated through Pip's experinces, we can see this change in conscious due to the tone that alters. Previously, Pip felt small. His voice wasn't filled with authority. "'Come and Fight' What could I do but follow him? I have often asked myself the question since; but, what could I do?" He has not authority and just goes along with it. After learning from Mr. Jaggers that he has great expectations, Pip's tone changes. He gains authority. He gains entitlement. After speaking with Mr. Jaggers, Pip "caught them looking at me, though never so pleasantly, I felt offended; as if they were expressing mistrust in me." This trend continues outside of Pip as well. As with Joe who lives his life at the mercy of his wife and yet still loves her and does everything in her power to make her happy, there are polar opposites to him. Miss Havisham is a good example of this. She has a ridiculous amount of money. She has jewels on her dressing table, estate, and a massive house. Yet, she is one of the saddest and cruelest characters in the whole novel. She essentially creates Estella to become a heart breaker for men in her life all because a man broke her heart. When Pip is over, she constantly asks him what he thinks of Estella and reminds him she is better than him. All the while, Miss Havisham lives in isolation, lives in the past, and lives in her memories. This commentary is almost painfully obvious once recognized. Dickens uses Pip to reiterate it multiple times throughout the novel, all the while Pip is oblivious until the very end. Mr. Jagger is described as a beast who controls his work and the people in his life with savage control. Uncle Pumblechook is the epitome of an oily scum-bag. All of these characters throughout the story have the feel of being hungry for something. Jaggers for power, Havisham for revenge, Pumblechook for money. Yet, it is the characters of Biddy and Joe and Abel Magwitch that feel complete. They are the ones who feel full and not lacking of substance, the ones who we feel as being actual humans. I suppose that is what Dickens was trying to get at. Pip is actually the only character that is dynamic in that sense. He starts his life like Joe and Biddy, then he attempts to transform into the likes of Estella and Pumblechook, but fails and realizes that he is better off being true to himself. Thus, his ultimate quest. The reason in Pip's mind to win Estella, the road is the road to London, and the true meaning is to discover that true goodness is not obtained from money and wealth. True goodness is found inside of someone, allowing him to finally come to terms that Estella will never be for him and letting her walk into the mist in the final scene as he "saw no shadow of another parting form her."
In the end, I feel that Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a wonderful book. The language, writing style of Dickens combined with the perspective that is Pip is both an entertaining and delightful read. Charles Dickens is an excellent writer and Great Expectations is obviously his greatest work. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a longer novel for reading in free time or burning through all in one night (although highly unlikely).
One of the major points, if not the point, that you prove in your blog posts is that “wealth corrupts the goodness in a person and it cannot give someone goodness.” This is evident throughout my novel, Wuthering Heights as well. Throughout the book, the reader can’t tell which character is the “least corrupt,” because they all seem to be conceited and only thinking about how then can advance themselves. For example, in the waning pages of my book, one of the main characters of my novel, Heathcliff, forced his son to marry the legal owner of the mansion next door, so that when his son dies, he will become the owner: thus, increasing his sovereignty in the land. Because every character seems to be arrogant and pompous, you don’t know who to root for. This contrasts to your distinct viewpoint, in which you apparently know who is in the “right” and who is in the “wrong.”
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I think that one sub-point (that relates to the point above) in your writing is that one should not try to be who they are not. You illustrate this when you write about the effects of Pip receiving his great expectations from Mr. Jaggers. He turns into a different person, transforming to try to win Estella’s love, and condemning Joe’s behavior which had not irritated him before. I believe that this point is important to everyday life; students should not be someone else to become friends with people, teenagers should not be part of illicit acts to be ‘cool.’ I liked how you spoke about this everyday experience (at least for teenagers) in the context of Great Expectations - it makes your blog posts more relateable to the reader.