Great Expectations Thematic Essay

Thematic Essay
Temptation and self-indulgence can obscure one’s priorities in life, leading to irremediable consequences. In the story, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, such consequences affect the characters- some less and some more. One victim is the protagonist, Pip. Tempted by his greed, Pip embarks on a journey to pursue his goal to become a gentleman in order to win over his love- Estella. However, he must sacrifice almost everything in able to accomplish his selfish goal. Provoked by the overwhelming influence of Miss Havisham and Estella, he chooses to leave his loving family to pursue a delusional dream that simply does not exist. As Pip learns his trade in London, he encounters many different people and begins to mature by
learning a lesson that seemingly encompasses his whole community. Pip’s lesson, the theme, is that love and conscious is more important than social class and wealth. Through Pip’s declines and ascents in life, the author enforces the importance of applying the story’s theme to one’s life. After “accomplishing” his ambitions to become a gentleman, Pip was “always more or less miserable, and most of his acquaintances were in the same condition. There was a gay fiction among them that they were constantly enjoying themselves, and a skeleton truth that they never did” (Dickens, ). Evidently, Pip’s happiness was no longer genuine but a delusion. This inability to feel happy is because Pip chose to sacrifice his family for a pursuit of a girl. By doing so, Pip rids himself of the only sustainable happiness that one can have, love, and chooses something far less sustainable, money. Furthermore, Pip is unable to feel satisfied with any of his accomplishments in wealth because of the constant guilty conscious of leaving Joe behind. In order to cope with the guilt, Pip naturally resorts to spending more money to replace his guilt. However, he only worsens his situation by becoming less satisfied with the more he obtains while simultaneously plunging himself into debt. As guilt, dissatisfaction, and debt accumulate, Pip becomes even more depressed, now having no motivation or love to help him. However, the theme is portrayed positively in Pip when he finds genuine happiness by showing loyalty and love for Herbert by secretly funding Herbert’s passions. Even though Pip was losing money, he was able to maintain happiness. Through Pip’s growth as a person, it is evident that the theme goes hand in hand with him. The author conveys the most dire consequences through Compeyson and Arthur’s criminal lives. After stealing Miss Havisham’s money, the two criminals “fell into deeper shame and degradation-if there can be deeper- and ruin” (Dickens, 170). This is a result of those who sacrificed their moral conscious and love for money. In Compeyson’s case, he is burdened by the guilt and shame of stealing from a naive and helpless woman. Due to this, his loss of dignity and virtue would cause his every action to be vexed by the constant reminder of guilt rather than the genuine pride of deserving his money. Furthermore, Compeyson attempts to delude himself into believing that he is indeed a gentleman by his wealth rather than his manner. However, his failure to distinguish the two makes him and Arthur notorious and hated. With hate rather than love, Compeyson shows no remorse that could potentially change his ways. As he makes more enemies, one becomes his ultimate death and downfall. In Arthur’s case, he dies young, haunted by Miss Havisham’s face. This proves that no matter how wealthy he was, Arthur was still tortured by the guilt of stealing from his sister. As a result, his wealth would not be a source of happiness, rather a source of reminder of shame that would haunt him until his early death. Arthur and Compeyson’s downfall emphasized the importance of prioritizing love and conscious rather than money. On the other hand, the author shows the benefits of following the theme by using Joe’s life.
Despite being “common” and poor, Joe is still able to be “proud of himself… and is quite happy with who he is” (Dickens, ). This happiness is because he prioritizes love and conscious before wealth and social status. By prioritizing love, Joe is able to be content despite being poor and having an abusive wife. This is because he sees the bigger aspect of life and is able to expand upon the love he has for his trade and family in order to be satisfied with his life. Without the complications and stress of having to rise in society and become wealthy, Joe is able to maintain an innocent and pure conscious of the world, allowing him to become a manifestation of all good. Due to his personality, Joe is able to rise in society because of the personality and reputation rather than the wealth. Like Pip, many lose their dignity in pursuit of wealth, but because Joe is not prone to self greed due to his personality, he is able to maintain his dignity. With a healthy conscious, Joe is able to expand on himself and see the good in others, helping them to become the man he is- ridding him of enemies. Although Joe is a poor man, he is still able to be the happiest man in the book due to his ability to follow the
theme. The theme of Great Expectations is that one’s love and conscious is more important than their wealth and social status. In the story, the theme is illustrated through Pip’s journey to realization as he learns the mistake he made of leaving his family. In a darker light, the theme is portrayed through the downfall of Arthur and Compeyson due to their inability to find remorse and understand the lesson before it is too late. However, the theme is shown in a lighter perspective through Joe, who is able to maintain a happy life despite being poor because of his innate understanding of the theme. One should understand the true necessities of life instead of falling into their downfalls due to self-indulgence and temptation.