Great Expectations 4 Essay, Research Paper

Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations in the 19th century. His main character, Pip, recieves money from a benefactor, but does not find out who it is until the end. The question Dickens may have tried to get across was, “do you believe money makes you happy?” Well, it depends on who you ask. It can be answered many different ways. In this story, it is answered with the saying “wealth is no substitute for happiness.” There are many characters in this novel to prove that statement true. Herbert is a character in the story that is content on living with a very limited money supply. Pip is another character in the story who at first, was a pauper, but in the end became to acquire money from a benefactor and ends up living his life happily. Miss Havisham is a lady who had to have luxury and riches to make her happy. Herbert, Pip, and Miss Havisham are related to this statement, “wealth is no substitute for happiness.”

In this novel, Herbert is portrayed to us as being rather plain and simple. When we first are introduced to Mr. Herbert Pocket in Chapter 16, he is rather down to earth. His living quarters don’t consist of anything expensive and luxurious. For example, (pg. 732) Herbert says “this is my little bedroom, rather musty, the furniture is hired for the occasion.” He is just a man managing to get along and be happy with what he has. Mr. Pocket, over time, teaches Pip how to become a gentleman. With both Herbert and Pip living in the same household, things get quite expensive. For example, with Pip’s lavish habits it began to lead on to other expenses Herbert could not afford. One day, Pip and Herbert were going over their affairs and comparing debts. Pip felt bad, because he had caused some of the debts. He offered to pay for the expenses he had made, but Herbert was too proud a man to ever let him do that. Just by those few examples, it truly shows that even if you don’t have money, you can still be happy and have a good attitude towards life.

As the story begins, we read about Pip living with his sister and her husband, Joe. They didn’t live an expensive lifestyle, but managed to get along with what they had. Joe was a blacksmith, and Pip was a boy who all the neighbors could call on if they needed help with something. They earned their money the best way they knew how and were happy as could be. Then, came the day when Mr. Jaggers, a lawyer, came by Pip s house. Mr. Jaggers explains to Pip s family that an unknown man has great expectations for Pip. By Mr. Jaggers instructions, Pip moved to London and began to learn to live like a gentleman. He spent his money on stuff and one time eventually got himself into debt. However, no matter what, he always continued to stay happy and have a good attitude on life.

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 her fianc , and pushed into insanity. When she was younger, she used to think riches and luxury would make her happy. As she became older and more experienced, she was still very unhappy. As a result of the terrible scheme, she is insecure and her heart is broken. However, she still has a lot of money, but money can not buy her happiness or keep her heart from being broken.

If you are having trouble understanding the statement wealth is no substitute for happiness , then you should read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In his novel, he explains how money can not buy you happiness. Herbert is a plain, but yet simple man in the story. He doesn t have much money, but he is still content with his lifestyle. Take Pip for example, he was a pauper before, then a gentleman. He didn t let money get to his head, because of that, he still managed to stay happy. Last but not least, there is Miss Havisham. She is a dear old lady who had once had her heart broken in a terrible scheme. She had lots of money, but yet, she couldn t buy back her happiness. In her case, money did not let her succeed to be happy.