Literary Analysis

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

1.       The novel takes place in England during the mid-19^th century. The main character and narrator of the novel is Pip. He is an orphan who is raised by his abusive older sister (Mrs. Joe) who believes in rising Pip “by hand” and her husband and dear friend to Pip, Joe. Joe is a blacksmith. Pip is captured at the begging of the novel by an escaped convict who orders him to steal food for him. The convict named Magwitch is later captured along with his former accomplice and he tells the soldiers that he stole the food not Pip in order to protect Pip for his kindness.  Shortly after the incident Pip is summoned to a large mansion owned by the wealthy Miss Havishman and she asks him to “play for her”.  She is an old woman who never takes off her wedding dress and keeps all here clocks at the same time. Pip meets a beautiful young girl there named Estella. She confuses him by being nice and cold at random occasions for no reason. Pip realizes his ranking in the social hierarchy and is ashamed of it. Estella patronizes him for this and he makes up his mind to become a “learned man” get a fortune and win over Estella. This dream is dashed away soon as Miss Havishman tells him she is done with his services and sets him up to work for Joe and become a black smith. Pip works in the forge unhappily and still tries to get an education through his friend Biddy. During this time Pip meets Orlick and they don’t get along. One day Pip’s sister is viscously attacked and becomes mute. Pip reads his sister’s signs and believes it was Orlick. Soon after a lawyer named Jaggers meets with Pip to tell him he has received a large fortune and needs to go to London to become a gentlemen. Pip believes Miss Havishman has given him the money and she wants him to marry Estella. Pip is taught how to become a gentle man by Herbert Pocket and is tutored by his father. Joe’s sister dies a few years after his departure and he returns to morn. Several years after her death Pip meets an old familiar man. The convict and it was he who gave him the fortune because of the kindness Pip had shown the convict.  Pip feels morally obligated to help Magwitch escape from London.  As they become closer Pip learns about his accomplice, Compeyson.  It was he who left Miss Havishman at the alter and since that day she has dedicated her life to destroying men’s hearts. She raised Estella to do this and Estella is actually Magwitche’s daughter. Pip returns to the mansion and there Havishman ask for his forgiveness for the way she treated him during his stay there. Her dress catches on fire later that day and she is almost killed. She is wounded extremely and spends the rest of her life repenting and seeking Pip’s forgiveness. Estella has married another man in the meantime and her marriage with him is abusive and unloving. When the time comes to help Magwitch get away they are caught by the police (thanks to Compeyson) and Magwitch drowns Compeyson and is sentenced to death. Before the encounter Orlick almost kills Pip but is saved by his friend Herbert. Pip loses his fortune and reestablishes his relationship with Joe after Joe comes to take care of Pip’s illness. He decides to return home to marry Biddy but finds out Joe and her were already married and Biddy had taught Joe how to read and wright. He goes back to Herbert to me a merchant and finally returns back to the mansion several years later to see Estella there alone. Her husband has died and she is in a state of regret and depression. The book ends with them holding hands and leaving, what happened next is up to us.

2.       The novel is very complex with more than just one theme. The main theme however is about value in life. We can spend our whole life chasing after riches but in the end it all means nothing if we’ve lost our relationships with people.  Eventually we realize that people’s reputation means nothing if they don’t have good character. That’s what is really valued in life. We will all die eventually and if all we have is money and social ranking in the end, why did we live in the first place?

3.       Dickens’ has a very dramatic and dark tone. At the begging of the novel for example where Pip steals the food from his sister the whole action builds tension and we can feel the fear Pip has of his sister. An adult would not be as scared in this situation but when you see it through the eyes of a child the action is truly terrifying. Another dramatic and dark scene is when Miss Havishman shows Pip where she will be buried. The whole atmosphere of the room is scary and Miss Havishman’s narration and choice of words makes the whole experience more dramatic.  The darkest part in the novel takes place when Miss Havishman is almost burned alive. The whole scene is artistically dramatic and dark.

4.       Orlick is Pip’s main antagonist. He almost kills him at the end of the novel and wounded his sister badly. He is evil and hurts people for the fun of it. He is not a hard worker like Pip and he doesn’t care for people besides himself. Pip also gets him fired as Miss Havishman’s patron which provokes him to get revenge on Pip.

Joe is big foil to Pip. Unlike Pip, Joe doesn’t really care about his reputation. He just wants to help people. Even when the convict tells Joe that he “I’ve eat your pie” referring to the food Pip stole  Joe doesn’t respond with bitterness but instead said he’s glad because he wouldn’t want anyone to starve convict or not. He doesn’t live in his past regretting his actions. He never mentioned his harsh childhood until Pip asked him about and even then he didn’t talk about it as if it was very bad. He never holds what he has sacrificed for Pip against him. He goes throughout life without a real plan. He just helps people here and there and overall he is a very humble person.  Even after Pip had rejected him as an unlearned man Joe still comes to London to take care of Pip when he got badly ill.  After a whole life time Pip finally understands Joe and realizes that’s who he wants to be.

Dialogue happens throughout the book and shows the difference between social classes. As Pip was playing cards with Estella she makes a big deal out of the way Pip named certain cards. Even this small of a difference in speech impacts Pip dramatically. As Pip learns to become gentlemen he has to learn to speak differently which he learns through conversations with Herbert.  Conversations Pip had with Joe at home also showed their use of native vernacular compared to speech used in Miss Havishman’s mansion.

Gothic settings are also used in the novel. At the beginning of the book already Pip is placed in a graveyard which is surrounded by marshes. Miss Hacishman’s special rooms are gloomy, dark, and even her wedding gown is torn and depressing. At the end of the novel as well Pip finds Estella in the mansion’s garden but its old now and broken. This dark and gothic setting continues throughout the novel.

Irony is a common element throughout the novel. Joe seemed so weak and uneducated compared to Pip’s adult life yet he is able to live a successful and happy life while Pip struggles to find his place in the world.  Even though Magwitch only knew Pip for a few hours he spent the rest of his life trying to make Pip a gentlemen while Miss Havishman who had several months with Pip only wants to torture him and set him up to be nothing more than a black smith. The most ironic outcome in the whole book was Estella and Pip. Two people from different worlds and one who’s soul raising was to destroy the other.