Ms. Flom
Honors English 9, Period 7
21 March 2014
Essential Question Essay At some point in our lives, we all have had long-term dreams that we may have wanted to come true. At the time, we probably clinged on to those dreams – never wanting to let go. Those dreams were what we lived for. We may have wanted to be an actor, or an astronaut. A painter, or a pilot. Pip has always had his mind set to being a blacksmith, but later realized that he has changed his mind about it. The theme of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is that what you may desire the most in life may not be best for you. Ever since Pip was a little boy, he has always longed to follow Joe’s footsteps to become a blacksmith himself. After visiting Satis House, Pip’s “eyes were opened”. He recalls this incredulous moment of realization saying,
“…I had believed in the forge as the glowing road to manhood and independence. Within a single year, all this was changed. Now, it was all coarse and common, and I would not have had Miss Havisham and Estella see it on any account” (Dickens 87).
Pip now seems to be ashamed of the place he had called home for so many years. He dislikes the idea of being “common.” He dislikes Joe’s “common” trade. He seems to now dislike everything that is “common.” He wants to become a gentleman as a way to escape the common social class. Pip has never had his mind set to being anything else but a blacksmith, and once Miss Havisham fills his head with ideas about how he could excel from his social-class-defined capabilities to be destined for greatness, Pip rethinks if he still wants to become a blacksmith. He then decides that he wants to allow Ms. Havisham to lead his life from that point on.
Works Cited
Dickens, C. (1861). Great Expectations. London: Chapman & Hall.
Landow, G. P. (2011, November 10). Great Expectations: An Overview. Retrieved from The Victorian Web: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/
Cited: Dickens, C. (1861). Great Expectations. London: Chapman & Hall. Landow, G. P. (2011, November 10). Great Expectations: An Overview. Retrieved from The Victorian Web: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/
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