Great Expectatons Essay, Research Paper

Estella Havisham: Most readers are appalled at the cold-hearted and cruel

ways of Estella, but any criticism directed at her is largely undeserved. She

was simply raised in a controlled environment where she was, in essence,

brainwashed by Miss Havisham. Nonetheless, her demeanor might lead one

to suspect that she was a girl with a heart of ice. Estella is scornful from the

moment she is introduced, when she remarks on Pip’s coarse hands and thick

boots. However, her beauty soon captivates Pip and she is instilled as the

focal point of his thoughts for much of the remainder of the novel. The fact

that Pip becomes infatuated with her is also not Estella’s fault. By no means is

there any evidence that she loved him. She does not flirt with him in any way.

Rather, she tortures Pip with her cruel treatment. Despite her abhorrent

quality, Estella is extremely candid; because she seems to have no need for

affection, she is able to tell things as she sees them without a thought of what

someone else may think. This is in contrast to Pip’s obsession of his every

action being approved by Miss Havisham and Estella. Estella is also quite

intelligent. She is very aware of the manner in which Miss Havisham raised

her. She tells Miss Havisham, “I am what you have made me. Take all the

praise, take all the blame; take all the success, take all the failure; in short,

take me.” (Chapter 38). Finally, by the end of the novel, Estella has changed.

Through her marriage with Bentley Drummle, she has suffered to learn some

valuable life lessons that have transformed her character. Pip remarks on the

stark reversal of the once hard Estella, “…what I had never seen before, was

the saddened softened light of the once proud eyes; what I had never felt

before, was the friendly touch of the once insensible hand.” (Chapter 59). Joe

Gargery: Joe is the only one of Dickens’ characters who stands opposed to

and apart from the main current of action. He stays away from London, for

the most part, and only intervenes when needed. He is always present in Pip’s

mind, and tends to remind both Pip and the reader of those values in Pip that

were crushed during the evolution of his expectations. Joe is an honest and

industrious fellow, although he sometimes comes across as foolish to other

characters in the novel. He is also a generous and forgiving man, which is

illustrated by his reaction to having some food taken from his house by the

convict. Joe tells the convict that he was welcome to it, since it kept the

convict from starving. Joe is also the only character in the novel with no real

property. All that he counts as his own are his tools; all else, in Joe’s mind,

belongs to Mrs. Joe. His freedom from material goods and the desire for

them sets him apart from the “gentlemen” like Pumblechook in the novel. Joe

was a child of an abusive family; his father was a drunkard and beat Joe and

his mother. The epitaph that Joe composes for his father reveals the extent of

his forgiving nature. The same epitaph, “Whatsum-er the failings on his part,

Remember, reader, he were that good in his hart,” applies to Pip, as well, as

he finishes his adventures. Joe is far more significant than the virtuous and

kindly blacksmith he appears to be. Dickens refers to him as “holy”, and the

cottage has an air of “sanctity” for Pip. Joe is opposed to all false values, and

does not present his view in bombastic speeches, but rather within himself

and in his convictions. Joe also rejects the importance of property, pretty

speech, and manners. Joe is also a very honorable and dignified man, which

is sensed immediately by Miss Havisham. His understanding of peopleand his

sensitivity allows him to sense intuitively whether he is wanted by Pip or is

merely making him uncomfortable. The fire of Joe’s forge is the light of the

innate goodness of man, and a light of hope amidst the false lights of the

world that Dickens presents in Great Expectations. Phillip Pirip (Pip): An

understanding of Pip is essential to an understanding of Great Expectations.

He is both the central character and narrarator of Great Expectations. The

entire story is told through the eyes of an adult Pip, even though Pip is a small

child during parts of it. In his early years, Pip was strongly influenced by his

guardians, Joe Gargery and his wife, Mrs. Joe. Joe instills a sense of honesty,

industry, and friendliness in Pip, while Mrs. Joe does a great deal to

contribute to his desires and ambitions through her constant emphasis on

pomp and property. Pip is generally good-natured and thoughtful, and very

imaginative. His false values, which are bolstered by his love of Estella,

decrease the amount of respect that he has for Joe. His alienation from Joe

and Joe’s values builds through the second part of the novel, as Pip becomes

selfish, greedy, and foolish. During the period when his expectations are

intact, his only morally positive act was to secretly help Herbert Pocket into a

good position. Upon discovering that Magwitch is his benefactor, a new

phase begins in Pip’s moral evolution. At first, Pip no longer feels the same

human compassion for Magwitch that he did the first time he saw him out on

the marshes. Gradually, Pip changes his perception of Magwitch, unlearning

what he has learned. Pip becomes concerned with the man, and not the

expectations that he could provide. When Jaggers presents the thought that

there may be a way for Pip to get his hands on Magwitch’s property, the idea

sounds hollow and utterly empty to Pip. Pip learns about Estella’s parentage

through Magwitch, and that his aspirations were falsely based. When Pip is

arrested for his debts and becomes too ill to go to prison, Joe tends to him.

Thus, the positive values which Joe had shown Pip as a child are reinforced.

After the ruination of Pip’s expectations, the only good he experiences comes

directly from the only good he did for others while his expectations where

intact. From the beginning to the end of the novel, Pip loses and then

rediscovers the importance of human relationships and virtue over wealth and

position. Miss Havisham: Miss Havisham was once a beautiful and desirable

woman; however, by the time she is first encountered in the novel, she is far

from being such. She was the victim of a clever scheme to cheat her out of

wealth in which Compeyson, Magwitch’s mortal enemy, was involved. After

being cheated, she is hurt deeply by being betrayed by a loved one, and

pushed into insanity. She devotes her life to wreaking vengeance upon men

for the way she was wronged. Estella becomes the vehicle of Miss

Havisham’s revenge, and Miss Havisham attempts to mold her into a being of

pure malevolence. Only in the end of the novel, after the death of Miss

Havisham, does Estella’s heart change from the block of ice it had become.

Pip becomes the victim of Miss Havisham’s machination. She fosters his

notion that she is his benefactor, and attempts to expand the relationship

between Pip and Estella so that Pip will be more deeply hurt when Estella

rejects him. Never at one moment does she stop to consider Pip or his

feelings. Her warping of Estella was quite inconsiderate as well, and brought

a great deal of suffering to the both of them. Miss Havisham is not an evil

woman, however. She treats Pip with some kindness when she first meets

him, and recognizes Joe as a good man of principle. Miss Havisham also

repents her actions compeltely towards the end of the novel. Her repentance

comes too late, however, as she has no more life to start anew. The warped

nature of her surroundings and herself is a horrifying testament to her

powerful passions and forceful will. Abel Magwitch: Magwitch first appears

in Great Expectations as a vicious and threatening convict, which does not

beget much sympathy for him. As time goes by, Magwitch becomes more

likable. One of the first signs of Magwitch’s decent nature is his confession

regarding the food he stole from the blacksmith’s house. His good nature is

again manifested when the stranger with the file gives Pip two one- pound

notes. Magwitch is very similar to Joe in his coarse, common nature. He has

become rich through his labors, however, and seeks to use his money to

make Pip into a gentleman. Magwitch is also very similar to Miss Havisham in

his molding of Pip; his motives are dissimilar, however. Magwitch is

motivated by gratitude, which Pip lacks. He desires only to be proud of Pip

and his accomplishments. Magwitch resents Compeyson, as well as the

authorities, but with good cause. For a good time, Magwitch seems to be a

larger than life character, much like Miss Havisham. His hard life shaped him

into a hard man, but that facade fades towards the end of the novel.

Magwitch, although a broken man, reveals the love and gentleness of his

nature while on his deathbed. Mrs. Joe (Georgiana) Gargery: Mrs. Joe

(Georgiana) Gargery is the wife of Joe Gargery and the sister of Pip (although

nearly 20 years his senior). She is an appearance centered woman who is

hell-bent on making Pip pay for living and forcing her to take care of him. She

is constantly complaining about how ungrateful Pip is for her raising of him by

hand , and she beats him frequently with a stick called Tickler . Mrs. Gargery

always wears a heavy apron with pins and needles stuck into it, which have a

tendency to end up in Joe and Pip’s digestive tracts. This apron is almost like

a symbolic armor against any kind of tenderness or compassion. She is the

one who has Pip shipped off to Mrs. Havisham’s house and sets him down

the road to self-destruction. Mrs. Gargery is partially paralyzed after she is

attacked by Orlick for what he deemed an attempt on her part to get him

fired. Ironically, it appears that only after this attack does she truly see the

world in its proper perspectives. She calls Orlick in and seems to forgive him

(or maybe she was trying to tell Joe who attacked her) and before she dies,

she says three words implying that she wishes Joe to forgive Pip. It is quite

possible that she has seen what wealth has done to Pip and realizes her

mistake. Mrs. Joe is the initiating factor in Pip’s moral decline and it is very

probable that Charles Dickens was attempting to speak about the problems

he saw with the beating of children, and the aspirations that some parents

place on their children ( r foster children) to become more than they are.

Wemmick: Wemmick is the clerk and closest assistant to Mr. Jaggers. He

has two lives: one at the office and one at home. At the office, he is stern,

cold and described as having a wooden face with chiseled features.

Wemmick is a yes man for Mr. Jaggers at the office, imitating him in almost

every way, including the dispersions that he constantly casts at his customers.

Wemmick becomes acquaintances with Pip through their dealings with Mr.

Jaggers. When Wemmick invites Pip over to his home, he sees another side

of Wemmick that is never seen at the office. Wemmick visibly softens as they

near his house and becomes quite amiable. In addition, Wemmick has a

home made to seem like a castle, complete with a moat, drawbridge, and

cannon that Wemmick fires every night before he goes to sleep. This very

idealized home scene is in direct contrast with Wemmick’s office life and

accentuates Dickens’s implications about reality vs. appearances. While

Wemmick is a good man, he is very false and is forced to put on a mask of

indifference in order to survive all of the horrible, seedy acts and people that

he must deal with on a daily basis. Without this defense, he would probably

go crazy. Wemmick proves to be Pip’s most loyal friend (along with Herbert)

and aids him in many legal and criminal matters. Wemmick helps Pip to avoid

being discovered as Provis’s abetter and allows him to secretly support the

advancement of Herbert’s future, the one charitable act that he performs with

his money. Wemmick has an aged father who is hard of hearing and a

romantic interest that he finally marries in Ms. Skiffins. Wemmick, when at his

home, is a good example of what a true gentleman is, however, his character

is somewhat adulterated by his change of character when at the office.

Compeyson: Compeyson is the business partner of Arthur, Mrs. Havisham’s

brother. Together they plotted to steal away her fortune through a false love

affair. After Compeyson had made a fortune in this manner, he got involved in

counterfeiting, and recruited Abel Magwitch as his dupe. When they were

caught, it was brought out that Compeyson had funneled all of the funds

through Magwitch and pinned him as the fall guy. As a result of this, and the

fact that Compeyson had no previous record and appeared to be a better

gentleman, Magwitch was given a long exile, while Compeyson got off rather

lightly. When Magwitch escaped from the hulks and onto the marshes,

Compeyson followed him to affect his own escape. When Pip told Magwitch

that a man with a bruised face was also on the marshes, Abel Magwitch went

after Compeyson. Later, the British Troops found Magwitch in a ditch

beating up Compeyson and proclaiming that he had prevented Compeyson

from escaping. After many years, Compeyson heard rumor of Magwitch

returning and began to shadow him and Pip. After he discovered all that he

needed to know, he attempted to arrest Magwitch on accusations of

returning to England against an order of Exile. However, Magwitch attacked

Compeyson again and ended up drowning the man. Compeyson was the

perfect image of what Dickens saw as wrong about the existing stereotype of

a gentleman. Compeyson was well groomed and economically successful.

However, he was corrupt to the core and was the very antithesis of what a

true gentleman was. This contrast between appearances and reality is a

prominent theme throughout the story. Bentley Drummle: Bentley is Pip’s rival

for Estella’s affections. He is introduced early as Pip’s roommate at the

Pocket residence, but it is only mentioned that Pip is not very fond of

Bentley. He is smug and very ill at ease in nature. Bentley is proud and of high

social position. His character fits in perfectly with the nonsensical gentleman’s

club, Finches of the Grove. Because of his disagreeable qualities, Pip can not

understand why both Jaggers and Estella favor Bentley. Jaggers affectionately

refers to him as “Spider.” When Bentley toasts Estella, Pip is furious and

becomes even angrier when Estella acknowledges Bentley as a possible

husband. Eventually, Bentley does marry Estella. He abuses Estella terribly

and his brutal treatment of her plays a major role in humanizing Estella. He is

eventually killed by a horse which he was abusing at the time. Orlick: Orlick

is Pip’s lifelong enemy. He is a big, strong bully with a bad temper who

despises Pip. Orlick has lived a difficult life and seems to blame Pip for

everything that has gone wrong in his life. He says to Pip, “You was always in

old Orlick’s way since ever you was a child.” (Chapter 53) He claims that Pip

was favored by Mrs. Joe and that he was bullied by her. Therefore, Orlick

reasons, it was really Pip’s fault that he assaulted Mrs. Joe. Orlick also

resents Pip having gotten him fired from his job at the Satis House. Orlick

further accuses Pip of coming between him and Biddy. Orlick uses all of

these accusations against Pip to justify his murder of Pip. In fact, Orlick’s

scene with Pip tied up is the only sequence in the book in which Orlick has a

major impact. It is during this strenuous time that the reader can clearly see

Pip’s sudden unselfishness. While Orlick stalks Pip before his seemingly

eminent death, Pip can only think of his loved ones. In Great Expectations

Orlick plays the role of the disgruntled bully. He lives a criminal life and ends

up working for another villain, Compeyson. His hot temper results in the

death of Mrs. Joe, and almost the death of Pip. Mr. Pumblechook: Of all the

distasteful characters in Great Expectations Pumblechook is definitely the

most deplorable. Pumblechook remains static throughout the novel as a

pompous and obsequious sycophant. During Pip’s childhood, Pumblechook

derides Pip as an ungrateful child who will never amount to anything. He puts

the utmost value on material possessions and thus has no true friends. He

attempts to shadow his ignorance with his “sophisticated” conversations in

which he has completely no idea of what he is talking about. In

Pumblechook, Dickens created a monster that he believed represented the

abhorrent middle class of England. The only thing that changes in

Pumblechook is his treatment of Pip. This treatment only further stresses

Pumblecook’s perogative of placing wealth and the upper class on a pedestal.

As a result of Pip’s sudden inheritance, Pumblechook abruptly changes his

attitude towards Pip and instead of insulting and condemning Pip, he

endlessly praises Pip for his new lifestyle. He actually relates to Pip as his

equal. Pumblechook, in stride with his character, continually credits himself

for Pip’s status and even publicly wraps himself in self-pity on the account of

Pip not recognizing him as such. When Pip loses all of his possessions, he

suddenly, though certainly not surpi singly, falls out of Pumblechook’s favor.

Pumblechook moans at Pip’s aloof attitude towards him. The reader can only

cringe at Pumblechook’s unbelievably pompous demeanor because it is quite

obvious that he had no hand in Pip’s good fortune. He merely exposed Pip to

the snobbish and cold world of Miss Havisham and Estella. Molly: Molly was

raised in a situation much akin to that of Abel Magwitch. Both of them were

lower-class people who had few to no advantages. They were married and

had a child. Soon afterward, when the child was about three years old,

another woman began to take a shine to Abel, and Molly killed the woman in

a fit of jealousy. Mr. Jaggers took the case of defending Molly before he was

well known, and got her acquitted. He was able to do this by dressing Molly

up to appear smaller than she actually was and explaining tampering with

physical evidence. The influence of this success, which apparently made him

famous and started his career, can be seen in his dealings with Mike in

chapter 20. In her attempt to get revenge upon Abel for having let another

woman get close to him, she gave her child to Mr. Jaggers and let Abel think

that she had killed the child. Mr. Jaggers gave the little girl to Mrs. Havisham

in order to give the child a chance to escape the fate of her parents. Molly

stayed with Mr. Jaggers and served as his maid and servant from the time

that she was acquitted until the end of the book. Molly seems to be a very

quiet and reserved woman since the case and whenever she begins to show

her wild side again, Mr. Jagger reminds her of the debt that she owes him.

She seems to be the evil side of Abel. While Magwitch is dirty, poor and a

criminal but good at heart and a borderline gentleman; Molly is a cold, hard

woman with little regard for life and apparently a viscous, vengeful temper.

Stage I Summary As the novel opens, Pip is wandering amongst his parents’

tombstones in the churchyard. Here, Pip meets an escaped convict. Pip

brings the man nourishment and a file to free himself of the iron chain of

bondage. Pip returns home to his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, and his

brother-in-law and best friend, Joe Gargery. Pip does not tell either of them

about the convict. The next day, policemen arrive at the Gargery house, and

Pip and Joe assist them in their search for the two convicts; the convict Pip

helped, and another man (Note: that while Pip and Joe do assist in the

search, Pip does not reveal any knowledge of either convict). A few weeks

later, Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s house. He discovers that she is an old,

rich, and eccentric lady that seeks revenge on mankind. She has an adopted

daughter, Estella, with whom Pip becomes infatuated. While there, Pip has a

fight with a “pale young gentleman”. Also at Miss Havisham’s, Pip begins to

feel ashamed of himself and seeks a richer and more “uncommon” status.

After visiting with Miss Havisham for several months, Pip is apprenticed to

Joe, who runs the forge. One night Pip recieves a surprise visit from a Mr.

Jaggers, a lawyer in London. He tells Pip of “great expectations” from a

secret benefactor. Pip is very excited and looks forward to the journey of

becoming a “gentleman”. He leaves Joe and Biddy, a friend of Pip’s who is in

love with him, and starts off for London. he leaves thinking that Miss

Havisham is his benefactor, and that he is being groomed into a gentleman, so

that someday he may marry Estella. Stage II Summary Stage two begins

directly afier Pip leaves the forge upon learning of his great expectations

(chapter 20). It documents his life in London, his progress towards becoming

a “gentleman” and his discovery of the true identity of his benefactor (chapter

39). Many of the main characters in the novel are introduced in this stage. It

is while in London that Pip meets Herbert, Wemmick, Compeyson, Mr.

Pocket, Bently Drummle, Clara, and Molly. In addition, this stage reveals to

us much more about Mr. Jaggers. In Chapter twenty-one, Pip is taken to Mr.

Jaggers office and makes the acquaintance of Wemmick and is greatly

disturbed by the condition of the office of Mr. Jaggers. As the chapter closes,

he meets Herbert Pocket and discovers that his new roommate is the “pale

young gentleman” that he beat up in the boxing match at Ms. Havisham’s

house. in chapter twenty-two, Herbert nicknames Pip “Handel” and they

exchange pleasantries. Here, Pip learns from Herbert the history behind Ms.

Havisham’s actions and is introduced to the rest of Herbert Pocket’s family.

The entire of Chapter twenty-three was spent in the Pocket household having

dinner. During the course of this chapter it became apparent that Mrs. Pocket

is very concerned with appearances while Mr. Pocket is more involved with

the truth of situations. Also, it becomes apparent that Flopson and Sophia,

the two maids, are much more involved as parents to the young Pockets than

are their parents. Chapter twenty-four outlines the first withdrawal that Pip

makes from Mr. Jaggers office and displays the resolution that Mr. Jaggers

has in avoiding making any suggestions at all, in order to avoid lawsuits

against him. Also, Pip sees the fear that Mr. Jaggers instills in every

participant of a hearing, due to his fierce oratorical powers. Chapter

twenty-five fightly covers Pip’s life at tutoring with Mr. Pocket, but the

majority of the chapter is about Wemmick’s home. It is in this chapter that

Pip meets “the Aged P.” and discovers that Wemmick’s home and his home

disposition are vastly different from his work and his attitude at home.

Wemmick’s house is actually a castle-type building, complete with a tower,

moat and drawbridge. As chapter twenty-six opens, Pip discovers Mr.

Jaggers washing his hands with scented soap and is invited to dinner by his

guardian. At this dinner, Pip’s acquaintances, Bently Drummle and Startop,

got into a discussion with him over strength, and they began to show off for

one another (and probably Mr. Jaggers). Mr. Jaggers put an end to it by

showing them ail Molly1s wrists (Molly was Mr. Jaggers servant), but he

apparently takes a liking to Drummle as he makes a point of asking Pip about

him. A letter to Pip from Joe (through Biddy) opens chapter twenty-seven,

and the rest of the chapter discusses Joe’s subsequent visit. Pip flnds out that

Mr. Wopsle has become an actor in a local theater and also that Estella has

returned from Paris and would be glad to see him. As Joe leaves, something

in him startles Pip and makes him see the value in his simplicity, if only for a

moment. In chapter twenty-eight, Pip, with much reluctance, decides that he

must go back to his home town. However, he is able to convince himself that

it would be impracticale and rude to stay at Joe’s house, so he must stay at

the Blue Boar. The stage-coach that he takes back home is simultaneously

carting prisoners to the hulks, and one of them is the one that gave him two

one-pound notes. the convict and one of his friends discuss this within earshot

of Pip and greatly rattle him. When he finally arrives at the Blue Boar,

however, he discovers that Mr. Pumblechook has established himself as

“Pip’s earliest benefactor and the founder of his fortunes”. In chapter thirty,

we learn of Pip’s aspirations to becoming Estella’s knight in shining armour,

who would restore Satis house to its former glory. He discovers, upon his

arrival at Ms. Havisharn’s home, that Orlick is empoyed as a porter there,

and he discovers that Estella no longer treats him contemptuously, but simply

lures him on. In this chapter also, Pip learns of Ms. Havisham’s great need for

him to love Estella and he once again thinks with regret about Joe, but only

for a moment. In chapter thirty, Pip has Orlick fired from his new post as

porter at Ms. Havisharn’s house and was harassed by Trabb’s boy for his

pompous behavior. In addition, Herbert attempts to convince Pip of the

wisdom of estranging himself from Estella, but Pip declares this to be

impossible and Herbert reveals that he is secretly engaged to Clara. Chapter

thirty-one finds Pip and Herbert going to the theater to see Mr. Wopsle

perform. Wopsle didn’t perform well, and was harassed by the crowd. Mr.

Wopsle has also changed his name (like Pip did) to Mr. Waldengarver. Pip

finishes the chapter in misery over Estella and the lack of any accomplishment

that is truly his own. As chapter thirty-two unfolds, we find that Pip receives a

letter from Estella telling him that he is to meet her at the station the next day.

While waiting for Estella, he meets Wemmick and accepts his invitation to

visit the jail. He finds that Wemmick is very popular at the jail and is the

go-between for almost all of Jaggers’ clients. Chapter thirty-three begins with

Estella arriving at the station, where te informs him that she is continuing on to

Richmond, but is to have some tea here with Pip, in the meantime. Estella

reveals to Pip that the entire Pocket family, save Matthew, is jealous beyond

belief ofhim, and he also discovers that Ms. Havisham has finally sent Estella

out into the world to d her damage to it. Chapter thirty-four is dedicated

entirely to the recounting of Pip and Herbert’s financial affairs. They both

spent quite large amounts of money for very litt