Category: Great Expectations

Great Expectations analysis

Uncle Pumblechook is Pip’s sloppy and messy uncle. He will shamelessly take credit for Pip’s rise in social status throughout the rest of the novel, even though he has nothing to do with it.

“Uncle Pumblechook: a large hard-breathing middle-aged slow man, with a mouth like a fish, dull staring eyes, and sandy hair standing upright on his head, so that he looked as if he had just been all but choked, and had that moment come to.” (Dickens, 24).

Uncle Pumblechook is very pompous and arrogant. Although he was very much a road hog, Pumblechook thought highly of his driving skills and did not give much attention to others ‘ feelings.

‘Mr. Pumblechook was very positive and drove his own chaise cart – over everybody.’ (Dickens, 43)

It happens that Mr. Jagger’s characteristic is that he can see the right side of those who would otherwise be unlikely to be respected, for example, as he speaks to Pip at his house after the Drummle party.

‘But I like the fellow, Pip; he is one of the true sort. Why if I were a fortune Teller’ (Dickens, 230)

Mr. Jaggers likes strength. He sees the potential in power, such as his hands. It shows the evolution in his appreciation for his achievements and his amazement at some people’s power.

‘There’s power here,’ said Mr. Jaggers, coolly tracing out the sinews with his forefinger. ‘Very few men have the power of wrist that this woman has. It’s remarkable what mere force of grip there is in these hands. I have had occasion to notice many hands; but I never saw stronger in that respect, man’s or woman’s, than these.” (Dickens, 225)

We see that Wemmick has certain features in Great Expectations. Some of these are helpful, realistic, cautious and caring. These character traits are revealed in certain phrases throughout the novel.

‘… said Wemmick, contemplating the old man, with his hard face softened; ‘there’s a nod for you;’ giving him a tremendous one; ‘there’s another for you; ‘giving him a still more tremendous one; ‘you like that, don’t you?…’ (Dickens, 220). This reveals that Wemmick is very caring towards the Aged Parent.

Throughout Great Expectations Dickens used the first person point of view. It lets us see it from Pip’s viewpoint, and respond to the incidents he mentions more readily. In these cases, there is often much tension and this specific storytelling strategy is successful throughout conveying such emotion.

For example, when Pip describes leaving for London, he admits that his desire to depart without Joe “originated in my sense of the contrast there would be between me and Joe.” (Dickens, 144) Pip says that “If I had cried before, I should have had Joe with me then.”

Charles Dickens portrays Miss Havisham as an immensely wealthy yet gloomy lady who lives in a large and desolate robber-barricaded house and leads a life of solitude. She is described as having very white hair and being an old woman.

“She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table. Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half-packed trunks, were scattered about. She had not quite finished dressing for she had but one shoe on – the other was on the table near her hand. . .” (Dickens, 55).

Estella is not at all pleased. Pip uses every opportunity he has to try and impress her, but nothing works. She brushes aside what he says, and makes them look like nothing. This shows how uncaring Miss Havisham trained her to be. It also reveals that she feels she’s cleverer than Pip as she calls nonsense of his terms.

‘I live quite pleasantly there: at least-‘ It appeared to me that I was losing a chance. ‘At least?’ repeated Estella. ‘As pleasantly as I could anywhere, away from you.’ ‘You silly boy,’ said Estella, quite composedly, ‘how can you talk such nonsense?” (page 282/283)

This passage was of extreme importance for the development of Miss Havisham in the novel. This was chosen from the end of the novel where Miss Havisham started to regret how she had transformed Estella into a cold-heated person, who could have been affectionate and thoughtful. Not only did she lament exploiting Estella’s feelings, but she felt remorseful to trick Pip into believing that he would wed Estella soon and get all the money from Miss Havisham as she walked away.

‘ ‘What have I done! What have I done!’ She wrung her hands, and crushed her white hair, and returned to this cry over and over again. ‘What have I done!” (Dickens 423).

Miss Havisham is deprived and heartbroken too, but she uses the word ‘ broken! ‘ And so gloriously. It shows that despite her sorrow, Miss Havisham is somewhat aware of the situation in which she is, and what she has been through.

“‘Broken!’ She uttered the word with an eager look, and with strong emphasis, and with a weird smile that had kind of a boast in it.” (Dickens, 60)

‘Joe’ is quite a simple name. So, in relation to that, Joe is an easy, pleasant, and moral character in Great Expectations. In the book, Joe doesn’t change at all. He ends the book demonstrating his good nature and kindness when he was pleased that the prisoner had not died after being allegedly stolen by the convict.

“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. Decisions among such must come, and be met as they come” (Dickens 237-238). Joe comes to the realization that he and Pip can no longer be friends or even seen together due to Pip’s new reputation.

Estella, on the other hand, is a very dynamic character; she goes from being a girl with an ice heart to being a sensitive woman, though the change in her takes place late in the book. Estella is very meagre and insulting to Pip at the beginning of the book. This is not her own intent, and that is why she will turn into a better person.

‘My earnestness awoke a wonder in her that seemed as if it would have been touched with compassion, if she could have rendered me at all intelligible to her own mind'(Dickens, 385). This quote from the novel shows that she is beginning to change. She is just beginning to break away from what Miss Havisham is forcing her to be.

Man vs. Man: This conflict happens in light of the fact that Pip was visiting his folks in the cemetery park and happened to do as such at an inappropriate time. Another circumstance is when Pip battles Matthew Pocket in the nursery, finishing the fight with a triumph for himself. Pip battles his inward clash of his appearance when Estella reveals to him everything that she sees isn’t right with him. He battles this since he begins to let himself know and accept that these things are valid. He pummels himself over this intellectually until he settles his issue and finds a sense of contentment. Additionally, when Pip has become 23 he battles himself on whether he needs to wed Estella, despite the fact that he needs to, he thinks about whether he truly needs to any longer. He thinks for quite a while over this subject and so far, has not thought of an end yet. Pip and Orlick become engaged in a man versus man strife. Envy has developed in Orlick for everything that Pip has ever had and wanted since Pip was a young man working with Joe in the manufacture. Orlick catches Pip and is going to endeavor to kill him when all the unexpected Trabb’s kid ran in with Herbert and Startup. Before Orlick attempted to execute his unfortunate casualty he additionally admitted to endeavoring to kill his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, however she unfortunately lived after a fierce hit to the rear of her head.

An example of Pip first realizing what is reasonably right and wrong is ‘ There was something so natural and winning in Clara’s resigned way of looking at these stores in detail, as Herbert pointed them out,- and something so confiding, loving, and innocent, in her modest manner of yielding herself to Herbert’s embracing arms- and something so gentle in her, so much needing protection on Mill Pond Bank, by Chinks’s Basin, and the Old Green Copper Rope-Walk, with Old Barley growing in the beam- that I would not have undone the engagement between her and Herbert, for all the money in the pocket-book I had never opened.’ (Dickens, 399).

The novel’s opening chapter is one of the most famous in all of literature: a raw December evening (Christmas Eve, to be exact) in a church graveyard. The church is surrounded by shadowy marshlands, and it is about a mile from the blacksmith’s shop where Pip lives with his sister and her husband. Pip’s village, located in the county of Kent, is near the town of Rochester, England, close to the mouth of the Thames river. Satis House is another huge spot inside the nation setting of the novel. This is the old, disintegrating bequest where Miss Havisham is experienced her days as an all-out whimsical.

‘Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things, seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening.’ (Dickens,1)

I would change the setting of the Satis house to something entirely different, instead of a gloomy mansion with dark rooms and rotting food, it would be a small intimate family home. The impact of this would change the mood of Pip entirely since the home represents his hopes, such as his longing for Estella. The Satis house negatively affects Pip’s whole life, in that it exposed him to love, however it was an unobtainable one which haunts Pip. By changing the homes dynamic, it would lighten Pip’s mood and things wouldn’t be so grim.

‘It was paved and clean, but grass was growing in every crevice. The brewery buildings had a little lane of communication with it, and the wooden gates of that lane stood open, and all the brewery beyond, stood open, away to the high enclosing wall; and all was empty and disused.’ (Dickens 53)

My favorite part was the story ending when Pip finally finds happiness. My favorite character is Pip, because he is trustworthy, capable and loyal. I admired him as well, because he always has the strength to face all the challenges that he has. I was very pleased as I finished reading the book because in the end Pip’s life changes for the better.

“I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her” (Dickens516).

Miss Havisham reveals her carelessness for other people’s feelings and sentiments. Evidently, she uses Estella to break Pip’s heart, and makes this clear to Pip. She doesn’t know what she’s doing is wrong, and cruel. I don’t like this part because Pip has been through so much in his life and now when he’s trying to be happy Miss Havisham is playing with his heart.

”Love her, love her, love her! How does she use you?’ Before I could answer (if I could have answered so difficult a question at all), she repeated, ‘Love her, love her, lover her! If she favors you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces – and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper – love her, love her, love her!’” (Dickens, 254).

I can recommend this book to those who like to read classic literature in old-style English after reading Great Expectations, after my encounter. To younger people the book might be a little frustrating, but I wouldn’t say that only adults will like the novel. The story gives such great detail, and you almost feel as if you are in the 1860’s when the book was written. As the novel progresses, more of the plot starts to change, so it can get complicated too. But don’t worry, it will all make sense in the end! Charles Dickens crafted such a beautiful tale; it was hard to put down the novel. I will recommend this book to someone who is willing to read a story of love that brings out all the feelings, and a story that will hold you happy until the end.

Works Cited

1. Dickens, Charles (1812-1870), and Latif Doss. Great Expectations. Pearson Education Limited, 2008.
2. Coastalsherlockians, Author. “The Satis House: A Symbol of Confinement.” Prince Building Irregulars, 1 Mar. 2015, princebuildingirregulars.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/the-satis-house-a-symbol-of-confinement/.
3. “Characters in Great Expectations with Analysis.” Literary Devices, 26 Nov. 2019, literarydevices.net/great-expectations-characters/.

Introduction

Character development is oftentimes character driven. Charles Dickens demonstrates this through a story of a young, innocent orphan boy named Philip Pirrup, otherwise known as Pip. Pip goes on various adventures through the novel and meets incredible characters such as Abel Magwitch and Estella (his tasteful love interest). Along the way, their social status and personal views impact his growing personality, change his perspectives, and demonstrably influence his actions. In Charles Dickens Great Expectations, Pip becomes a selfish, ungrateful protagonist once he is exposed to the wealth and influence of Estella and Miss Havisham; however with help of Joe and Magwitch, Pip is able to redeem himself, revealing the powerful nature of unconditional love.

Subtopic 1:

Pip at the outset is content with his place in society; however, once he meets Mrs. Havisham and Estella, his perception of himself and those around him alters and his station changes for the worse.

“I thought how Joe and my sister were then sitting in a kitchen, and how Miss Havisham and Estella never sat in a kitchen, but were far above the level of such common thing. I feel asleep recalling what I “used to do”when i was at Miss Havisham’s as though I had been there weeks or months…”(Dickens 72). This notion of sitting in the kitchen is low-class and less respectable. Servants and maids do work in the kitchen while higher class officials wait for their food to be presented to them in a dining room or place of choice. Pip is considered “common” and after this visit, sees his own family life in a new light.

“The next meal was described without emphasis. We are told that Magwitch wipes his knife on his leg, but by now, Pip is too concerned to hear the convict’s history to have room for shame and revulsion…contains no comment on manners or response” (Lindsay 135)

This shows how Pip grows up in the kitchen, then comes to acknowledge that Magwitch is being impolite, but almost reverts back to his roots and chooses not to care. It is also a coincidence because Estella is Magwitch’s daughter and he is an escaped convict.

Subtopic 1.2

“I took the opportunity of being alone in the courtyard, to look at my coarse hands and my common boots. … They had never troubled me before, but they troubled me now, as vulgar appendages” (Dickens 64). Pip is judging himself by his hands and boots that give away that he is in a lower class. If Estella, Miss Havisham’s ward, had not pointed out a difference in his clothing and behavior, Pip would have never judged himself.

“Miss Havisham is ‘positively dreadful’ in her attention to Estella and her attitude to Pip… ‘searching’ of Pip all direct attention beneath the surface of the scene” (Bradbury 88).

Pip was not made aware of these differences until someone pointed out the disparity in social classes. This affects the way that Pip presents himself toward Estella and Miss Havisham because they are socially ranked higher, he wants them to think of him as something more because Pip thinks he is something more.

Subtopic 1.3

“What I dreaded was that in some unlucky hour, I, being at my grimiest and commonness, would lift my eyes and see Estella looking in one of the wooden windows of the forge. I was haunted by the fear that she would, sooner or later, find me out with a black face and hands, doing the coarsest part of my work, and would exult over me and despise me” (Dickens 102). Due to Estella and Miss Havisham, Pip believes that his dreams of being a blacksmith is low-class and not “genteel,” even though it is an important job in this society, it is “dirty.”

“…One with the curse of Miss Havisham, which, by its working out, symbolizes the contradictions in a capitalist society” (Tredell 102).

In Britain at this time, status and occupation determined social class. We learn about how Miss Havisham came up and how people who do manual labor are thought of being inferior despite filling a valuable and important societal role. Your job determines how you will be looked upon and treated by others. This influences Pip to change his mind for his love.

Subtopic 2:

Once Pip inherits the wealth, he becomes ungrateful, snobby, and selfish.

“These people hated me with the hatred of cupidity and disappointment. As a matter of course, they fawned upon me in my prosperity with the basest meanness”(Dickens 184).

“Yet this is the great world…he continues to deteriorate, growing more genteel, but also more selfish” (Gillie 160)

Having all of this new inheritance, a change in social status and a love interest all comes into play and begins to affect his personality– he becomes less like his down-to-earth, spunky self, into greedy and selfish ways because he always wants more and needs to be the best.

Subtopic 2.2

“I had got on so fast of late, that I had even started a boy in boots—top boots—in bondage and slavery to whom I might have been said to pass my days” (Dickens 160). Pip sees a reflection in himself and finds it ironic that the servant boy that he hired is unskilled, but still has to be dressed properly. I believe that he saw himself; the little boy that had just been exposed to this lifestyle is forced to be like a gentleman.

“‘The novel dramatizes the loss of innocence,’writes Julian Monyhan, ‘and does not glibly present the hope of redemptory second birth for either its guilty hero or the guilty society which shaped him” (Mesiel 126).

Here is a hidden self-reflection from our character. Charles Dickens used this irony to relate to Pip.

Subtopic 3:

Pip is saved from his own self destruction and funds to find redemption through unconditional love.

“I wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common, that he might be worthier in my society and less open to Estella’s reproach” (Dickens 103). Miss Havisham has provided Pip with resources and opportunities that make him much more educated than how he was previously. His relationship with Joe and his apprenticeship under him has changed because he believes that Joe is uneducated, but realizes that his character and nobility is so much higher than others in the high parts of society, which make him seem more respectable.

“Joe shows true inner dignity; Pip only has a sense of the importance of appearances, of the ostensible evidence gentri hood. He is if not quite a hollow sham, on the way to becoming one, when truth about the basis not only of his vanity but of Estella’s pride is shockingly revealed to him. She, it turns out, Is the daughter of a murderer and that same convict, Abel Magwitch, whom Pip as a little boy on the marshes long ago helped to escape” (Gille 161).

These two situations can be compared because Pip is both in a situation where he can see how people are equal. Pip has experience with the upper class and can see how they behave and relates that to how Joe acts. He is in favor of Joe and his personality and doesn’t seem to care about social class>

Subtopic 3.2

“We spent as much money as we could, and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us” (Dickens 243). Pip reflects on his decisions with money as he is older and more wise now and realizes how irresponsible he was. They were never taught the values that come with wealth and as he aged, he realized that he had made a mistake and is wiser now.

“Upon the return of Magwitch, Pip is forced to wake up and recognize that life, after all, was not a fairy tale. He learns that his own wealth comes from a criminal, that even the magical figures of Satis House, Miss Havisham and Estella have criminal connections, and, as we have seen, that his callous treatment of Joe Gargery was essentially criminal.(Moynahan 110).

This misuse of the money and glory makes him reflect on his treatment of who he used to adore. Pip worked at Joe’s apprenticeship and wanted to be a blacksmith, but once Estella raised his expectations, he gave up on Joe. But Estella is also Magiwitch’s daughter! So even though Estell, this woman he has adored so much was related to criminal, she was as low as him, and just about the lower than Joe the blacksmith. His decisons were saught to be stupid.

Conclusion:

Pip grows throughout the story to learn an important life lesson on changing who you are for other people. External influences, particularly from other characters, had impacted Pip’s way of thinking throughout his life, but he grew to understand the importance of a self-arrived perspective. Pip experienced misfortune before learning that love always wins and it comes from deep down; not your social status, wealth, or job.

What do you think Great Expectations is attempting to suggest about class and mobility in Victorian Britain?

Abstract:

Charles Dickens Great Expectations is a novel written in episodes to make readers feel empathy and to know what they really want from it. In this paper, I am going to describe how Dickens suggested class and mobility from the perspective of the main character, Pip, analysing his personality and his evolution along the story taking into account the main issues and characteristics of Victorian Society. At the end of the paper, we can assert that Pip hates the person in what he became and, finally, tries to solve every mistake he did.

KEYWORDS: Dickens, Great Expectations, class, mobility, values, status.

Great Expectation is a novel by Charles Dickens in which the criticism of an industrial and Victorian society after feudalism, and its class division, is one of the main theme. A part from this, another theme is the story of the main character, Pip, who is an orphan boy that wants to achieve his goals scaling the social status from the very bottom of it. As I said, Pip is an orphan boy that comes from a working class broken family because he and his sister are the only survivors of that family, as he says in his first appearance in the novel “As I never saw my father nor my mother, and never saw any likeliness of either of them… my first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tomb stones” (3). Also, he is alone because his sister does not take good care of him. As it is written during the Victorian period, Dickens made a point talking about social status or class, which was supposed to be kind of abolished after feudalism, and the possible movements people could made. However, as Karl Marx said in The Communist Manifesto:

“the modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonism… but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of old ones” (62)

Meaning that, after feudalism, social classes were supposed to be abolished, but with the new system and the growth of industrialisation, people created new classes and to be part of them it was required a high economic or personal sacrifice.

Having said that, and taking into account that the highest class you had, the more benefits you earn, let’s talk about Pip and his evolution along the story. After introducing himself and let us know he is an orphan, while he is in a graveyard, he met a chained man, called Magwitch, who was asking Pip for food. The day after, Pip brought him food and some drink and he realised he was a prisoner who escaped from law, because he would be sent to Australia to work. After this, we could see Pip’s humanity despite he is putting in danger his relation with his sister by giving Magwitch food. Finally, Magwitch is caught by soldiers and to protect Pip from them and his sister, he said he stole the food from Pip’s house, “’So’, said the convict, turning his eyes on Joe in a moody manner, and without the least glance at me, ‘so you’re the blacksmith, are you? Then I’m sorry to say, I’ve eat tour pie’” (45) returning in this way the favour to Pip in spite of he was sent to Australia. This act changed Pip’s perspective in live.

Furthermore, Pip had his first deeper touch with social classes when he met Miss Havisham who payed Pip’s sister in order to Pip play with her niece Stella. When he was at Satis House, Pip suffered a lot of mistreats for not being part of the elite of the society, from part of Miss Havisham and Stella, who acted as well as her aunt, treating Pip as if he was inferior being distant. These mistreats are a clear example of class differences because they treat Pip badly just because he comes from a different class backround.

And then I told Joe that I felt very miserable, and that I hadn’t been able to explain myself to Mrs Joe and Pumblechook who were so rude to me, and that there had been a beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham’s who was dreadfully proud, and that she had said I was common, and that I knew I was common, and that I wished I was not common, and that the lies had come of it somehow, though I didn’t know how. (81)

In this passage, Pip is telling us that he finally felt miserable after all the disdain he suffered because they told him, he was common just for not belonging a rich family. After this moment, Pip realised he did not want to be poor anymore, he wanted to scale in society and obtain Stella’s love and approval.

Moreover, Pip talked to Joe in order to scale in society and Joe told him he had to start from the bottom, with hard work and a lot of sacrifice, he could scale a little bit. Time after, Pip received a visit from a lawyer which told him that an anonymous person gave him a large amount of money. Pip spent this money going to London to become a gentleman and, therefore, reach his social class goal. As he thought it was a cup of luck and a gift from a rich family, Pip, surrounded by all the luxuries he hadn’t had during his infancy, became not only gentleman, but also a selfish and unmoral person thinking that money can buy and solve anything. Due to this, Joe went to London to visit him.

I received this letter by the post on Monday morning, and therefore its appointment was for next day. Let me confess exactly with what feelings I looked forward to Joe’s coming.

Not with pleasure, though I was bound to him by so many ties; no; with considerable disturbance, some mortification, and a keen sense of incongruity. If I could have kept him away by paying money, I certainly would have paid money. (251)

This passage shows us the nature Pip gained while becoming a gentleman, reaching to the point of do not want to see Joe and not to be seen with him because it could embrace him in front of the other people. So, he also wished he could pay no to be seen with him nor visited by him.

Finally, after believing he was gifted by some rich family, he realises and discovers the truth. The money he spent in becoming a gentleman was sent from Magwitch from Australia because he saved money while working as a farmer. This fact destroyed Pip’s moral and he realised he was not behaving well, money and luxury had turned in him kind of a monster, losing his entire identity and personality. Due to this, Pip, aware of what he did, started a journey to Egypt as a mid-class man in order to purge himself as a penitence.

To sum up, as in history, money and power made people lose their identity in order to achieve their ambitions. Dickens, in this novel, undresses the truth of becoming a selfish and arrogant gentleman and so, according to Think Thought Taught’s author, challenges the notion of social mobility between classes depending on the individual, but with troubles and limitations for gender or upbringing. Therefore, the aim of the author is to tell that no matter what race or social status we belong to, people are humans, and as humans, we are all equal and it is a big mistake to consider one more than the other. Newel explains this in his article: “Only through his move between classes and back again is Pip capable of awakening to the reality of life: class is merely a divisive social construct.”

Bibliography

1. Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. London: Penguin English Library, 2012. Print.
2. Engels, Friedrich and Karl Marx. The Communist Manifesto. Ed. L.M. Findlay. Toronto: Broadview Press Ltd., 2004. Print.
3. Kuzmowycz, Tatiana. “Moving Up the Social Ladder: The Bottom Rung vs The Top Rung”. The Victorian web, http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/kuzmowycz3.html (Accessed 28 December 2018)
4. Lee, Elizabeth. “Social and Gender Mobility”. The Victorian web, http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/mobility.html (Accessed 29 December 2018)
5. Newell, C. H. “Marxism and Charles Dickens: Money and Class Mobility in Great Expectations”. Father Son Holy Gore, https://fathersonholygore.com/marxism-charles-dickens-class-mobility-in-great-expectations/ (Accessed 29 December 2018)
6. Does Charles Dickens Challenge the Notion of Social Mobility in Great Expectations in the Victorian Era?, Think Thoughts Taught,
7. https://thinkthoughtstaught.wordpress.com/2017/11/10/does-charles-dickens-challenge-the-notion-of-social-mobility-in-great-expectations-2/ (Accessed 29 December 2018)

“One man’s a blacksmith, and one’s a whitesmith, and one’s a goldsmith, and one’s a coppersmith. Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come” (Dickens 224).

Throughout history, people have experienced discrimination or prejudice based on their social class and societies have created ideas, attitudes, policies, and practices for the benefit of the wealthy at the expense of the poor. Specifically, in the Victorian Era, social class determined someone’s behavior, where the upper class was viewed as noble and the poor were seen as unprincipled. In Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, a working class boy called Pip is satisfied with his life until he visits Satis House, where he encounters and experiences class prejudice and desires to become a gentleman. When he goes to London with his newfound wealth, Pip does not find fulfillment as a member of the snobby upper class, but rather feels diminished of his self-identity. Written during the Victorian era, characterized by snobbish classism and ideas of social Darwinism, Dickens uses the recurring theme of class division to remark upon the negative effects of classism and to condemn the belief that goodness of character is defined by one’s social class.

Victorian society revolved around rigid social class structures. Upward social mobility was extremely difficult, and the upper class treated the lower class with contempt. The significance of social class in Victorian England engendered ideas of classism and social Darwinism which affected the values of society.

The upper class highly valued the severe social divisions of the Victorian era, reasoning that they were entitled to their position of superiority due to inherent virtuousness. During the Victorian era, men and women of higher class had a patronizing attitude towards the working class. Janet Sacks, the author of “Victorian Childhood,” asserts, “[t]he Victorians were tremendously snobbish […] It was deemed of the upmost importance to maintain one’s social status or improve it, and this principle was instilled into children from an early age” (Sacks 23). During the Victorian era, Queen Victoria was seen as the ideal model of civility, and British society became driven by propriety. Parents aspired and arranged for their children to marry into a higher-standing or wealthier family in order to move up the social ladder. People in all levels of society complied to the rigid social hierarchy, with the lower classes inadvertently deferring to those of the upper class, while those at the top assumed a position of superiority. Moreover, the upper class believed that they were entitled to their prestigious standing. Two experts in 19th century society, Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer, state that, “[…] members at the top of society, either by virtue of hard work or birth, were the best-adapted citizens” (Schlager and Lauer). In Victorian England, this was a popular belief, especially among the higher-ranking members of society. They valued their position dearly, and social Darwinists manipulated Darwin’s evolutionary theory to justify their eminence. Victorians also placed an emphasis on one’s character, reasoning that goodness of character equates to higher social standing. Additionally, the wealthy treated the lower class with condescension. BBC portrays how the upper class perceived the poor, remarking that a working class citizen: “[…] is not an ordinary person, but one who is constitutionally a pauper, a pauper in his blood and bones. He is made of inferior material, and therefore cannot be improved up to the level of the ordinary person” (BBC Bitesize). Upper class citizens presumed that the poor were inherently inferior to them. The lower class was capable of working, but no matter the amount they labored to try to improve their social standing, the aristocrats believed that since they were born poor, they deserved to be poor. Their attitude was extremely harsh, as many wealthy Victorians viewed that the working class did not live in hardship due to unfortunate circumstances, but rather that they lacked the innate capability to live with noble-minded morals. The upper class, therefore, justified that they were inherently superior in intellect and goodness of character, and maintained the classist ideology of the Victorian era.

During the Victorian era, popular ideology such as social Darwinism and self-help were used to rationalize that social standing was attributed to one’s character. Victorian philosophers used Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory to justify social class divisions. William A Darity Jr., the editor of International encyclopedia of the social sciences, asserts that, “Social Darwinism sees a direct corollary between struggle in the biological world and struggle in the social world, with winners moving upward to success and losers eliminated: losing organisms fail to reproduce, losing firms go bust, losing people starve” (Darity). Major changes occurred in 19th century Britain, such as urbanization, technological innovations, and industrialization. The idea that the naturally superior people succeed became increasingly relevant in Britain’s capitalist economy. Herbert Spencer, a philosopher, argued that only the strong survive, and assisting the weak, such as ameliorating the lives of the poor, was erroneous. This engendered a laissez-faire policy, that competition would make the economy flourish. However, some of the wealthy manipulated this idea, using it to validate their position and to condone the horrid working and living conditions that the poor experienced. Additionally, the idea that someone could improve their condition and social standing through their own effort became increasingly widespread throughout all the social classes. Samuel Smiles, a political and social reformer of the Victorian era, wrote that “[t]he spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the true source of national vigour and strength” (Smiles 1). During the Victorian era, hard work was one of the virtues of the middle class. Smiles believed that poverty existed due to a lack of personal responsibility, and that industriousness was the solution. While unintended, the idea of self-help created an egocentric society, where all members of society sought to improve their own station through whatever means necessary. Coalesced with Darwin’s evolutionary theory, many affluent Victorians misattributed their wealth to an innate strength of character. Furthermore, the wealthy believed they were morally superior due to their social rank. Samuel Smiles, the author of the popular book “Self-help”, remarks that “[r]iches and rank have no necessary connection with genuine gentlemanly qualities. The poor man may be a true gentleman,—in spirit and in daily life” (Smiles). While the Victorian upper class firmly believed that only the wealthy could be gentlemen, there was a growing belief that being a gentleman was not derived from social class or wealth, but rather one’s inner character. However, the upper class generally used social Darwinism to contend that they were prosperous because of inherent “gentlemanly qualities”, and that the poor lived in poverty because they lacked these qualities. Nevertheless, there was a growing belief among the working class that anyone could be successful through hard work, but that morality was of paramount significance. They believed that virtue was not limited to only the citizens in the upper class, but all were equally competent in attaining virtuous qualities. Thus, Victorian society employed the concepts of self-help and social Darwinism, expressing that social standing and prosperity was attributable to one’s morality.

The classist values of Victorian England were brought about ideas like social Darwinism and the significance of class divisions. These ideas adversely affected people from all social classes, particularly towards one’s goodness of character. In the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens uses animal imagery and characterization to show class divisions in Victorian England, conveying that social class does not define one’s character.

Dickens utilizes animal imagery, through Pumblechook, Miss Havisham’s relatives, and Drummle, to satirize Victorian beliefs that higher social status denotes superior innate characteristics. When Pumblechook comes over for Christmas Dinner, Pip describes him as a “large hard-breathing, middle-aged slow man with a mouth like a fish, dull staring eyes, and sandy hair standing upright on his head” (Dickens 24). Using animal imagery to describe Pumblechook as “a fish” suggests his slimy and suspicious nature. Dickens uses a simile to show that he has “a mouth like a fish”, which indicates him being a loudmouth. By describing him as “slow” and with “dull staring eyes”, it conveys that he is vacuous and dimwitted, as fish are commonly thought of as having small brains and limited memory. While Pumblechook is a member of the middle class, using imagery to relate him to a fish shows his shallowness, as he values monetary gain above virtue and acts in an obsequious way towards anyone above him in social rank. Additionally, after Pip’s first visit to Satis House, he overhears Miss Havisham’s relatives conversing. Pip observes that “they somehow conveyed to me that they were all toadies and humbugs” (Dickens 80). Through this amphibious and insectival imagery of Miss Havisham’s relatives as “toadies and humbugs”, they demonstrate the corruption of the upper classes. “Toadies”, or toads, are ugly, slimy creatures that are often associated with witchcraft and evil, demonstrating the filthy nature of the wealthy. By describing them as “humbugs”, it further emphasizes their repugnant character and creates a nauseating image. They are dehumanized through this description, showing the deterioration and decomposition of the aristocracy. While the uppe class regards the lower classes as inferior, it is truly the wealthy who are dishonorable and greedy in conduct. Charles Dickens satirizes Miss Havisham’s relatives to expose the hypocrisy and corruption present among the ranks of the upper class. Moreover, when Drummle starts to take an interest in Estella, Pip notices him following her, and dislikes this. He remarks that “[t]he Spider, as Mr. Jaggers had called him, was used to lying in wait, however, and had the patience of his tribe. Added to that, he had a blockhead confidence in his money and in his family greatness […] So, the Spider, doggedly watching Estella, outwatched many brighter insects, and would often uncoil himself and drop at the right nick of time” (Dickens 310). Jaggers originally calls Drummle a “spider” and Pip similarly uses this imagery to show his contempt for Drummle. By describing him as “lying in wait”, Pip demonstrates Drummle’s behavior of habitually creeping around and stalking Estella. The usage of the verb “lying” elicits the imagery that spiders are repulsive and dangerous creature. In contrast to Drummle “the spider”, the other gentlemen in the Finches of the Grove are referred to as “many brighter insects”, suggesting Drummle’s baseness and stupidity, even among the ignorant. Spiders are also inhuman creatures, demonstrating how despite his high social standing, his character is below that of a human. So, while the description of “spider” represents his animalistic and unscrupulous nature, it also shows Estella’s vulnerable position to him. Drummle would “uncoil himself” and “drop”, demonstrating that through his actions, he denotes a position of dropping down and being low in terms of humanity and virtue. This imagery intends to show Drummle’s true qualities, and that even though he has all the outward characteristics of a gentleman, he does not have the inner qualities of one. Therefore, Dickens implements animal imagery to exhibit a character’s inner morality, criticizing the belief that the members of the wealthy upper class were inherently superior.

Dickens denounces the classism present in Victorian society, emphasizing the noble disposition of the lower class through the characterization of Joe, Magwitch, and Biddy. When Joe goes to London to visit Pip, they have an uncomfortable reunion due to their different social positions. Joe remarks to Pip that “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, and must be met as they come. If there’s been any fault at all to-day, it’s mine” (Dickens 224). Joe does not place any blame on Pip for the uncomfortable situation, but rather says that “it’s mine”. This shows his forgiving and loyal nature, as he does not hold Pip culpable, but rather the natural “diwisions” of life. His diction by saying “diwisions” reflects his working class status and shows the contrast between him and Pip, as Pip speaks like a member of the upper class. Joe states that “one man’s a blacksmith, and one’s a whitesmith”, using blacksmith imagery to describe how their divisions work, comparing himself to a “blacksmith”, and Pip to a “goldsmith”. Through this metaphor, Joe accepts that the differences in their social classes have divided them, yet he still has dignity by attributing the disparity not on Pip, but rather on the ambitious nature of humans. Furthermore, after Pip converses with Biddy about his love for Estella, he reflects that “I was clear that Biddy was immeasurably better than Estella, and that the plain honest working life to which I was born had nothing in it to be ashamed of, but offered me sufficient means of self-respect and happiness” (Dickens 132). Even though Estella belongs to the upper class, Pip proclaims that Biddy is “immeasurably better than Estella”. This hyperbole shows Biddy’s gentle character is morally superior to Estella’s cruel attitude. The fact that Biddy is “better” is not due to her status as a member of the working class, rather the fact that she has an honest and upright character. He also describes their social class to have a “plain honest working life”, showing that while common people may not live an extravagant or luxurious lifestyle, it is still more virtuous than living as a wealthy, but dishonest person. Through Biddy’s goodness of character, Pip realizes that his low class still provided him with “self-respect and happiness”, as these inner virtues are of greater significance than external qualities such as one’s social standing. Moreover, when the convict returns to visit Pip, Magwitch reveals to him that he is his benefactor, leaving Pip shocked. Magwitch announces, “Look’ee here, Pip. I’m your second father. You’re my son—more to me nor any son. I’ve put away money, only for you to spend. When I was a hired-out shepherd in a solitary hut, not seeing no faces but faces of sheep till I half-forgot wot men’s and women’s faces wos like, I see yourn” (Dickens 320). Magwitch’s diction, saying words like “yourn”, “wos”, and “wot” denotes his low social status. Through the discovery that a convict is his benefactor, Pip’s idealized view of a gentleman’s character and social status is obliterated compelling him to acknowledge that the only reason he is a part of the upper class is due to the gratitude of a criminal, who is considered the lowest of all the classes. Magwitch, who refers to himself as Pip’s “second father”, also calls Pip “my son”, showing the tenderness of his heart and revealing that he cares more about “[his] son”, who is not even his biological child, than many upper class parents. He mentions his loneliness as a shepherd, yet how in his darkest times, “I see yourn”, depicting how Pip is his purpose in life. This reveals that while Magwitch seems like a threatening reprobate externally, he has inner dignity and nobility. Magwitch has remained grateful and loyal to Pip, illustrating how his outward guise does not reflect his noble-minded disposition. Thus, Dickens utilizes characterization through diction to contend that members of the lower class have a sense of righteousness that is absent in some of the upper class characters, showing that a low social status does not entail a lack of dignity and morality.

Written during the Victorian era, which is characterized by snobbish classism and ideas of social Darwinism, Dickens uses the recurring theme of class division to remark upon the negative effects of classism and to condemn the belief that goodness of character is defined by one’s social class. During the Victorian era, the upper class used popular ideology such as social Darwinism and self-help to rationalize that social standing was attributed to one’s inherent character, perpetuating the classist ideology of the Victorian era. Charles Dickens utilizes animal imagery and characterization to denounce classism in Victorian England and beliefs that wealth and high social class denotes a noble disposition and superior innate characteristics. Through popular Victorian beliefs and Great Expectations, Dickens demonstrates that fulfillment and happiness cannot be found through superficial means, such as wealth, but rather through genuine and steadfast relationships.