TheBob
01-18-2006, 05:49 PM
(Williams, 10)
higher class now. Mrs. Pocket is another character with exaggerated notions of class. Instead of paying attention to the needs of her six children, she spends countless hours imagining distant relations she might have to royalty. Joe really realizes that he is losing Pip when he visits him at Bernards Inn. He has a much more understanding attitude about these differences, expressed in his quote referring "blacksmiths, whitesmiths and coppersmiths" than Pip (Expectations, 260.) Everything changes for Pip when he learns the class status of his benefactor. Suddenly, he is not of gentlewoman's stock, but of prison hoard. Magwitch is a victim of rigid class makeup, a kind-hearted man who was never able to rise out of the status into which he was born. Compeyson, on the other hand, was born into a better class and therefore, even though he's a crueler man, gets better treatment. Pip believes he can return to the marshes after Magwitch's death and resume life there as if he had never left for London. The fact is that Pip has lived a different life and trying to go back to the marshes to live would ultimately end in failure. Eventually, Pip gets along in the world through his own hard work. His new expectations of being lifted out of his class by means of money are replaced eventually with a more humble ethic of honest work.
Some readers have said that Dickens was not condemning money, only money that doesn't come from hard work. Pip is weakest when his money is grabbing him and he cannot get away. Joe allows money from Miss Havisham to make Pip an apprentice, but not from Jaggers to let Pip be a gentleman. Joe, who has earned his money by hard work, can pay off Pip’s debts.
(Williams, 11)
Another theme highlighted by Dickens is Pip’s great expectations. The title of the book is ironic, for all that Pip hopes for turns to dust. When Pumblechook and Mrs. Joe hear that Miss Havisham wants Pip to visit, they hope that he will rise up through someone else’s wealth. Just one day at Miss Havisham's has completely changed Pip's outlook for his own life (Expectations, 77.) When Pip is dismissed by Miss Havisham and slated to begin his blacksmithing apprenticeship, his expectations are very low about being happy and wealthy as a blacksmith. When Pip receives news of his inheritance, he immediately notices a corresponding separation developing between himself and those people he most loves. Greater expectations, Pip sees that all the materialistic items he has is not enough and that he needs his family and friends. In order to clear his head, Pip goes to London. Pip's first glimpses of London--the grimy streets around Jaggers' office and the dismal Barnard's Inn-- dissatisfy him (Expectations, 143.) It's his first indication that his expectations may not be happening as he planned them to be. When Pip finds out the truth of his benefactor--that he's a convict not a rich old lady--his expectations suddenly seem erased. Therefore it's not just money but also the foundation of money, in which his expectations rely. If Pip had never received his benefactor’s money he would have never gone anywhere, he had no other job training. After Pip gets over his initial revulsion about Magwitch, he feels great affection for him. Pip has learned that the good of a person is in their actions, not their class status. His hopes for great gentlemanly prominence now dashed, Pip expects to return to the village of his youth and be
(Williams, 12)
happy living the simple life there. This expectation is really just as dreamy and idealized as his beliefs about becoming rich and gentlemanly. When Pip realizes he can't go back to life on the marshes, he is finally forced to broaden some simple and realistic expectations. He works hard, and finds uncomplicated satisfaction and happiness in his life (Expectations, 243.)
All in all, the most important theme for this novel besides social status and Pip’s expectations is the sense of identity achieved by the character. Pip, as an orphan, does not have sturdy family ties to give him a sense of his own identity. Pip's tremendous guilt about stealing food from Mrs. Joe and lying to Joe show that he sees his identity as fixed in his behavior. If he does awful things, he can't feel like a good and worthy person. When the convict returns to the marshes, revealing his identity to Pip by spinning a file in his drink, readers get the first hint that in this novel people are not always who they seem; if a character disappears mysteriously, he or she may well revisit, disguised, later (Expectations, 27.) The mystery in the novel continues when Pip's benefactor does not disclose his or her identity. Shallow people, like Pumblechook, accept that a mere change in financial status is enough to make Pip a new person, admirable of a different sort of attention. Wemmick's identity changes tremendously, based on his environment. In Jaggers' office, he is in "professional" mode, and wears an vacant, "post office" look. At home, with the Aged P, he is calm and kind. The occasional glimmers of recognition that Pip feels in Estella recommend that she may have a past linked to some other character. Mr. Pocket, who is such a
higher class now. Mrs. Pocket is another character with exaggerated notions of class. Instead of paying attention to the needs of her six children, she spends countless hours imagining distant relations she might have to royalty. Joe really realizes that he is losing Pip when he visits him at Bernards Inn. He has a much more understanding attitude about these differences, expressed in his quote referring "blacksmiths, whitesmiths and coppersmiths" than Pip (Expectations, 260.) Everything changes for Pip when he learns the class status of his benefactor. Suddenly, he is not of gentlewoman's stock, but of prison hoard. Magwitch is a victim of rigid class makeup, a kind-hearted man who was never able to rise out of the status into which he was born. Compeyson, on the other hand, was born into a better class and therefore, even though he's a crueler man, gets better treatment. Pip believes he can return to the marshes after Magwitch's death and resume life there as if he had never left for London. The fact is that Pip has lived a different life and trying to go back to the marshes to live would ultimately end in failure. Eventually, Pip gets along in the world through his own hard work. His new expectations of being lifted out of his class by means of money are replaced eventually with a more humble ethic of honest work.
Some readers have said that Dickens was not condemning money, only money that doesn't come from hard work. Pip is weakest when his money is grabbing him and he cannot get away. Joe allows money from Miss Havisham to make Pip an apprentice, but not from Jaggers to let Pip be a gentleman. Joe, who has earned his money by hard work, can pay off Pip’s debts.
(Williams, 11)
Another theme highlighted by Dickens is Pip’s great expectations. The title of the book is ironic, for all that Pip hopes for turns to dust. When Pumblechook and Mrs. Joe hear that Miss Havisham wants Pip to visit, they hope that he will rise up through someone else’s wealth. Just one day at Miss Havisham's has completely changed Pip's outlook for his own life (Expectations, 77.) When Pip is dismissed by Miss Havisham and slated to begin his blacksmithing apprenticeship, his expectations are very low about being happy and wealthy as a blacksmith. When Pip receives news of his inheritance, he immediately notices a corresponding separation developing between himself and those people he most loves. Greater expectations, Pip sees that all the materialistic items he has is not enough and that he needs his family and friends. In order to clear his head, Pip goes to London. Pip's first glimpses of London--the grimy streets around Jaggers' office and the dismal Barnard's Inn-- dissatisfy him (Expectations, 143.) It's his first indication that his expectations may not be happening as he planned them to be. When Pip finds out the truth of his benefactor--that he's a convict not a rich old lady--his expectations suddenly seem erased. Therefore it's not just money but also the foundation of money, in which his expectations rely. If Pip had never received his benefactor’s money he would have never gone anywhere, he had no other job training. After Pip gets over his initial revulsion about Magwitch, he feels great affection for him. Pip has learned that the good of a person is in their actions, not their class status. His hopes for great gentlemanly prominence now dashed, Pip expects to return to the village of his youth and be
(Williams, 12)
happy living the simple life there. This expectation is really just as dreamy and idealized as his beliefs about becoming rich and gentlemanly. When Pip realizes he can't go back to life on the marshes, he is finally forced to broaden some simple and realistic expectations. He works hard, and finds uncomplicated satisfaction and happiness in his life (Expectations, 243.)
All in all, the most important theme for this novel besides social status and Pip’s expectations is the sense of identity achieved by the character. Pip, as an orphan, does not have sturdy family ties to give him a sense of his own identity. Pip's tremendous guilt about stealing food from Mrs. Joe and lying to Joe show that he sees his identity as fixed in his behavior. If he does awful things, he can't feel like a good and worthy person. When the convict returns to the marshes, revealing his identity to Pip by spinning a file in his drink, readers get the first hint that in this novel people are not always who they seem; if a character disappears mysteriously, he or she may well revisit, disguised, later (Expectations, 27.) The mystery in the novel continues when Pip's benefactor does not disclose his or her identity. Shallow people, like Pumblechook, accept that a mere change in financial status is enough to make Pip a new person, admirable of a different sort of attention. Wemmick's identity changes tremendously, based on his environment. In Jaggers' office, he is in "professional" mode, and wears an vacant, "post office" look. At home, with the Aged P, he is calm and kind. The occasional glimmers of recognition that Pip feels in Estella recommend that she may have a past linked to some other character. Mr. Pocket, who is such a