Points for Great Expectations

Ideas for Great Expectations
Money + Social class
Within Great Expectations, the conception of the contextual element concerning status and money is prominent, where Old Money Vs New money provides a division that separates the higher class from the lower class. Money becomes a standpoint in ‘determining’ ones belonging within the society say, for example, when we compare Pip and Bentley Drummele, we view the contrasting forms of old money (indicated as immediate and absolute according to society) and new money (the development of belonging, which according to society, is not a complete form) involving their overall sense of belonging. Pip comes from a family (or lack of thereof) which is associated with poverty and the lack of social belonging that is standardised by people such as Bentley Drummele. Pips ascent from the world of a blacksmith towards a world of a gentleman is exercised by the luxuries of money, and Magwitch’s generosity, as well as the idea of upperclass and middle class belonging, which is shown through his consideration of being the apprentice of a blacksmith, ‘Never has that cutain dropped so heavy and thick’. His belonging, as a result as become enforced upon him, both by himself and by Magwitch, which has led to his inability to gain complete acceptance and peace of his position, ‘It felt very sorrowful and strange that this first night of my bright fortunes should be the loneliest I had ever known’. Dickens use of emotive language envelopes an atmosphere of uncertainty and disturbance within Pips world as he propels himself from the ‘meshes’ of Kent to London, examining his incomplete sense of belonging, due to disturbance of the ‘Victorian Great chain of Being’.
Money can buy status, as indicative through Compeyson and Drummle, but neither character is noble. Money is not an indication of character, as wrongly perceived by Pip. Pip and Estella, parts of what make the lower class, are given status when given money. Given by Miss Havisham and Magwitch, there are catches involving behaving in a certain way with the money. Eventually, understanding the true comprehension of money and nobility, Pip goes to work with Herbert, redeeming himself through commerce and hard work, as Estella, left poor and ‘bent and broken’, becomes a softer and stronger person.Pip fails emotionally and physically to assert his place in London’s society. Money buys Estella a place in higher society but has a loveless life and an abusive marriage, living through ‘wretched years...and a long hard time’. Miss Havisham’s jewels and money have not brought Estella happiness, and eluded her for her whole life. Dickens attempts not to convey the luxuries of money, but rather the shallow fundamentalism of materialism which ultimately leads to an incapacity to gain belonging. Pip finds his belonging, not within the realms of his gentlemanly character, but rather, he reconnection to Joe as he re-enters the forge, leaving his regret and misery behind to venture to his real family, and a life of working hard. Through emotive language, Pip and joe are ‘both happy’, with the prospect of regaining Pip’s place within his world, as it is through Kent, and his hard work in Egypt which enable him to gain his exisential belonging and his identity.
We see the social division between class through the discourse between Herbert and Mr Joe. Unlike Pip, Herbert was ‘born a gentleman’, whose belonging was not significantly thrust upon him in the same way as Pip. By asking Joe ‘What do you say to coffee’ we are compelled to develop a conclusion based on how Dickens portrays the distinguishing characteristics of the upper and the lower class. In Joe’s visit to London for Pip, Herbert puts Joe in his place through recognising that he can never truly belong within the world of the gentleman. Through colour symbolism, Dickens socially comments on the inferiority concerning the lower class, by Joe, as the colour of coffee itself is reminiscent of the labour and physical hard work that he, as well as others within his class, must face and never escape. On the contrary, Herbert positions himself as well as Pip (with irony indeed) to be more superior and valued through their associations with tea, as its clear iridescence becomes a representation of the ‘purity’ embedded within the views of the higher class. Joe’s inability to have tea is a symbol of his inability to join the higher class, simply because his place lies within the forge ,’I am wrong in these clothes and out of the forge’. By first person, he regards himself as a single entity, as he reflects on his existential belonging within Kent, where unlike Pip, Joe finds that he does not need to be of a higher class in order to gain belonging. What has driven Pip to consistently live a life of misery has led Joe to stray away from it. Unlike Pip, Joe affirms his place within the Victorian era, as being ‘Joe the Blacksmith, there, at the old anvil, sticking to the old work’, where he constructs himself in absolute terms to his blue collar existence, enabling him to belong amongst other things. Totally at home in the forge, with his bare essentials of food and shelter, Joe has found the place to which he belongs to.
This is emphasised through his use of black smith jargon, ‘life is made up of ever so many partings welded together. One man’s a blacksmith and one’s a white smith and one’s a goldsmith and one’s a coppersmith’, where Joe describes the inevitability of belonging, regardless of whether one longs to belong to a particular sector or not. Joes mentality involving the development of belonging regardless of circumstance allows him to ‘perfectly’ weld in his own home. Rather than attempting to shape his own belonging, he leaves it be.
Victorian England had a distinct class system, which was divided into categories which divided the upper class with the lower class. Transitioning himself from the lower class sector to the upper class, Pip has brought along the social pressures that are associated with his change into becoming a gentleman, and as a result, employed a servant called the avenger. The avenger plays no useful role in Pip’s life, other than to portray the idealistic views of what a gentleman should do, ‘which had a more expensive and a less remunerative appearance ‘. Pip’s own expectations involves the conception that money will bring acceptance, and ultimately, belonging, which is examined through his use of the avenger. The Avenger becomes an allusion for Pip’s vengeance against the higher class, whose belonging is based off the social mandates within the era. Romanticized by social perceptions, Pip has a misconceived idea on the brad picture of belonging to the gentlemanly class, ‘I want to be a gentleman’ meaning that he has a narrow idea that it is merely based on how much money and status that is earned. He believes that, if he becomes a gentleman, he will be Estella’s equal and obvious partner. This changes gradually, as Pip gains a familiarity of the range of people in London’s gentlemanly society, he begins to realise that belonging to such a group is not what he wants anymore.
London
At the time Dickens has written Great Expectations, London was a fast-growing and changing city of two million. Dickens uses London as an indictment of the flawed perceptions concerning belonging in regards to the higher class, as its physical description suggests that financial improvement and higher social class does not necessarily constitute moral, social and existential improvement. Pip’s initial perception of London being the ‘foundation’ of his belonging is severely counteracted by what he views in reality. Through descriptive language, Pip examines London as ‘the dingiest collection of shabby buildings ever squeezed together in rank corner’. Rather than escaping from the doomed life of Kent, Pip has entered the damned life of London, which is further reinforced by Wemmick’s claim ‘ Like is the same everywhere’. This epitomises the lack of change involving his belonging, as fate has provided a standard to which he is capable to obtain belonging, rather than forcing it upon himself, which eventually lead to his misery, and his failure to emotionally develop a connection to his own identity, leaving him as a wondering, ‘souless’ entity with a lack of human spirit.
England
Moreover, England as a whole also becomes a representation of the decay which pervades the Victorian society and their entire sense of belonging, as money and class becomes corrupting. This is examined through Mrs Pocket, who reflects the ideas which radiate from the upper class, the epicentre of London, as she is portrayed to be the ‘female gentleman’, having a useless life filled with self importance and ‘dignity’. Dickens uses her as a criticism on England’s obsession with titles in their class system, as she becomes so caught up with the idea of titles and class that she spends her whole day reading a book about them. Mrs Pocket is evidently disappointed by her own lot in life, even though she does not endure the same struggles as ,say, Biddy, by having almost no household duties and a good man for a husband. Being so caught up within her class system, as her grandfather is a knight, Mrs Pocket is oblivious to what is actually going on around her, preventing her from being the ‘Victorian’ mother, which foreshadows Pips future of laziness and moral decay. Through indignant language ‘am I grand papa’s granddaughter, to be nothing in the house?’ she uses her belonging to her past as justification to her negligent ill-considered actions as a mother, which reflects her and England’s corruption through social class.
Treatment of children
In an era such as the Industrial revolution, the treatment of children differentiates from the modern era, which makes it a distinguishable component throughout the novel. The treatment of children becomes a social comment that Dickens attempts to elucidate, as the characters predicament becomes reminiscent of his own childhood miseries of working pasting labels on pots of boot blacking. By reflecting the struggle of all children who underwent suffering through labour, Dickens illustrates the enforced belonging of children towards the adult world, and how they are perceived by adults. This is examined through Pip, who is a shadow of Dickens character in his youth, where surrounded by adults, becomes criticised and scorned for something he cannot help, ‘What is detestable in a pig more detestable in a boy’. Through metaphor, Pip is likened to an entity that is worse than a pig, recollecting the distinct differences between the adult world, and the world of a child which has been forced into it. This is further emphasised through Mrs Joe’s treatment towards Pip. The repetitious ‘Brought you up by hand’, brings forth an indication on how children were physically abused, which becomes another motivation for Pip to leave the clutches of Mrs Joe and Kent into the ‘freedom’ of London. This is further emphasised through the appearance of the ‘tickler’ a wax-ended cane stick which Mrs joe uses to abuse Pip with. It appears that the era encourages such actions towards a child, due to the fact that they are shown as more vulnerable, weaker, and inferior, representing the lack of belonging children have within the era.
Time
The attachment towards a particular time, more specifically in the past and what lies there, possesses a different sense of belonging which may not even be fabricated within the decayed web of its lies. This is expressed through the character Miss Havisham, where her hold towards the past defines her belonging and identity, or rather, lack of thereof. Miss Havisham is a character who has been left at the altar by her fiancée Compeyson, and from this circumstance, attaches to it for the remainder of her life. Constantly holding on to her grief, as it becomes the only way she can deal with the harsh miseries of being unloved, she grows with the constant reminder that she has been abandoned and left behind, as it is examined by the appearance of the house. The satis (which is latin for enough, a symbol of the intellectual upper class) becomes a physical representation of the stagnant state of belonging Miss Havisham attempts to clutch on to with her bony little fingers. The transcendence of this belonging from matrimonious ( as it depicts her wedding day) to decayed is further illustrated by Dickens use of descriptive language ‘Bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white’. Pip’s initial impression of Miss Havisham draws from her appearance, classifying her as ‘pure’ and chaste, like an angel, which changes later on, as he sees her once, pure appearance changing into a ‘faded and yellow’ exterior. Her wedding dress is a symbol of the belonging which becomes diseased over time, as she finds herself in a predicament which prevents her from shifting her belonging according to her present, and rather, holding on to her past. Miss Havisham desperately wants to belong to one thing: her sad status as an aggrieved bride. This is further enhanced through descriptive language of what lies within the satis house as ‘I saw speckled legged spiders with blotch bodies running home to it... Black beetles took no notice of the agitation’, which illustrates the creation of a mental and physical prision. Her environment becomes a constant reminder of the moment she was jilted, and it is derived from that moment which costumes her with an ugly sense of belonging,
Wemmick
The contrasting forms of belonging expounds from the different perspectives that permeate through their characters. We see that Wemmcks belonging is dependent on the place he lies in. Within London, he embeds the values of London belonging which evolves around business and finance, closing himself to emotion where his mouth is likened to a ‘post box’. We see that he becomes hardened, enclosed by the London shell, as he denounces whatever emotion that characterises a human being, and ironically earns his belonging through his emotional detachment. However, in Walworth, we view the transitioning character from one who is denied emotion to one whom expressed it. Wemmck has constructed his belonging through building his house to replicate a castle, as a means of creating a retreat away from the law office. The house connotates a true home, a warm place where a contented family creates a fulfilling sense of belonging.. Wemmick’s gentleness and love towards his father is reminiscent on how Pip should behave to Joe. Through descriptive language, Pip describes its atmosphere as ‘a pretty pleasure-ground’, which differs from the chaotic and dismal places of London, Satis house, and his descriptions of his childhood places; places which Pip yearns to belong to. Dickens implements warm and positive words creates a contrast between these two worlds; One which characterises familial belonging and the other which characterises social belonging.
Estella
Estella is the adopted daughter of Miss Havisham, whom has raised her for her own motivations. Another way of ‘dealing’ with her grief, Havisham employs Estella as a pawn for her vengeance, characterising and moulding Estella in order to suit Miss Havisham’s desires. In the midst of her own self destruction, Miss Havisham uses Estella to create a belonging need in all men who see her, a need so great that they will be destroyed by what they cannot have. Thus, the lack of existential belonging which is examined through Estella has become a work of miss Havisham’s ‘art’, as Estella states ‘We are not free to follow our own devices, you and I’. In her discourse with Pip, she uses inclusive language, as Estella relates her predicament with Pip by defining her instructions for the day and how they must not deviate from them. The statement, however, is a projection of how both of their lives are controlled in general. Estella is not free ‘to follow her own devices’ not only because Miss Havisham is her adoptive mother and she should do as she says, but because Estella has been raised to actually think, feel and act exactly as Miss Havisham wishes. In raising Estella, Miss Havisham has created a puppet, an individual who indeed cannot choose her own destiny nor character because she will act the way she has been conditioned to act. Miss Havisham’s divisive actions have deprived Pip and Estella from belonging to each other. This becomes a demonstration of he ‘forced’ belonging between Miss Havisham and Estella, revealing her real intentions of using Estella as a pawn in her vengeance, as well as the lack of love Estella has grown to possess.
In the end of the novel, Her transition is illustrated through her language, ‘Be as good and considerate to me as you were, and tell me we are friends’. The once abrasive disposition which she conveys throughout the novel has altered in accordance to the miseries experienced by Miss Havisham and her marriage to Bentley Drummelle and years of suffering have forced her to see the value in Pip’s constant love and attention. Estella’s change in language from a biting tone to a softened one examines a softer, older and a much wiser character.
Estella becomes the stimulant which drives Pip’s longing to become a gentleman. After Pip’s initial encounter with Estella in the Satis house, Pip becomes insecure about his speech, manners and appearance. Estella’s scorns and disdainful comments ‘what coarse hands he has, and what thick boots’, Pip begins to revaluate his current predicament and his future. His reappraisals enable him to think differently about himself, Kent, and his social status, as Pip develops a longing to lose his ignorance whilst improving himself educationally and socially, in order to win the love of Estella. Through repetition, ‘She had said I was common, and I knew that I was common, and that I wished I was not common’, Dickens emphasises the state of Pip’s mind, and the association of his new awareness and dislike of the ‘common’ belonging that he has been born into. As a result, he embarks on a journey to acquire snobbery through his becoming a gentleman, which is further induced by the arrival of his ‘great expectations’, and his transition to London, leading him to drop his old friends (Joe, Biddy) and pursue new, although occasionally pretentious acquaintances (with the exception of Herbert).

Magwitch
Magwitch yearns to find belonging in the same manner that Pip yearns to become a gentleman, being considerate that both these characters have not been exposed to these romantic conceptions. Magwitch’s life ‘in jail and out of jail’, consisted of a childhood memory which has been befitted with misery, as he ventures a life of slight criminality through his occupations, such as his association with Compeyson, which consequently lead to his time in jail (14 years). Belonging to a criminal society is all Magwitch has ever known before he meets Pip, yet he constantly finds himself in circumstances which are against the law. This is further examined through his trip to London to visit the new ‘expected’ gentlemen that is Pip, when previously, he was given specific instructions not to enter it with the consequence of execution. Magwitch further attempts to construct his belonging through building up Pip to become a gentleman, which is examined by his use of repetition, ‘That’s a gentleman I hope’, as he attempts to create belonging within an artificial family. Similar to Miss Havisham, Pip’s belonging has been moulded to suit Magwitch. His time in New South Wales being a drover has earned his belonging, which he fails to attempt to transfer it to Pip. However, Magwitch’s endeavours of gaining belonging have not been futile in the end, as Pip offers Magwitch it through telling him that Estella is his daughter. Through emotive language, we are exposed to the final conversation which has taken place between Pip and Magwitch, As Pip Tells Magwitch that Estella is his daughter, ‘She lived and found powerful friends. She is living now. She is a lady and very beautiful. And I love her’, ultimately, giving Magwitch the sense of belonging which he has sought throughout his whole life yet never received.