Great Expectations Essay, Research Paper

One of the essentials for human fulfillment is a mastery within and outside of oneself. This mastery is that of a secure emotional state. Many believe in order to fulfill this mastery, one must search for his/her true love. Some may experience the pain of the search; some may experience the joy of discovery. In the book “Great Expectations,” Pip experiences this pain as he searches for Estella and this joy as he reunites with his best friend Joe. As Pip undergone his journey in life, he came to understand that the true inspiration for love is found upon the beauty within a person.

In order for one to truly love somebody, one must understand what true love is. The dictionary defines love as a “strong affection or liking for someone or something.”(Encarta 1) However, it goes much deeper than that. Love transcends passion or reason. It is a “surge of emotion and feeling from the depths of your body and soul to make you exuberant or sad, strong or weak, bold or trembling.”(Sclossberg 1) It is being able to put out your whole life for the well being of somebody else. “Love drives you to share or sacrifice everything you are?or ever hope to be.”(Sclossberg 1) True love is unconditional. It is an unexplainable phenomenon. This love, this supreme happiness, is to a very large extent an illusion in itself.

When one is truly in love, he/she vows a commitment to live for that person. He/she should be willing to do anything for the happiness of the one they love. In order to do this, one must recognize and understand the character of their lover. “He alone is in a position to recognize the hidden treasures of the one he loves.”(Lepp 31) One must be able to unlock the secrets inside their lover and share them together. “He can recognize not only what the beloved is, but also what that beloved has the potentialities to become.”(Lepp 31) One should know their lover within and without, knowing who he/she really is and how he/she really feels. In the book “Great Expectations,” Joe expresses this unconditional love for his best friend Pip. Even though Pip had abandoned him earlier, Joe still came in his time of need. “I ain’t a going,”(Dickens) said Joe when Pip was very ill. Joe understood what Pip was going through and that he needed him right away. Such love is true love, never abandoning those you care about and always being there for them.

The many illusions of love inhibit others to understand its true meaning. Throughout our life, we are searching for love. However, love presents us with many illusions and creates many barriers. This may confuse us, making us think we love somebody when we really do not. “The illusion of being in love is a common phenomenon among young people. “They no sooner experience a slight sexual attraction, accompanied by a perceptible emotion, that they consider themselves to have been blessed with this ‘grand amour.’”(Lepp 117) Throughout most of Pip’s life, he is confused about his true love. However, he does nothing but experience passionate love, this “is nothing more than very intense liking.”(Murstein 85) Pip was mislead in to believing he loved Estella, only he loved her for what she was on the outside, not the inside. “I think she is very pretty.”(Dickens) He was not really in love, but rather infatuated with being in love. Love misguides us by creating these illusions. While some may overcome them, others never will.

Love, whether passionate or true, brings upon one many different emotions. However, it is happiness that everyone expects to receive from love. “Some individuals actually find it, although to many others love seems to bring unhappiness.”(Lepp 121) This is not a true sign of love. When two people are in love, both are willing to be there for one another and are happy to do it as well. However, throughout Pip’s life, he was not happy. He experienced the pain in his search for love and it left him alone. He “experienced a sense of melancholy when he heard the news.”(Dickens) This infatuation of his brought upon great happiness unto Pip’s life as he realized Estella would be married to someone else. “Do you feel it? It’s my heart, and it’s broken.”(Dickens)

As others live out their lives, they tend to grow within themselves. Pip did the same as his life passed by. His understanding of love seemed to evolve. When he first met Estella, he was infatuated with her. This pushed him to want to become a “gentleman.”(Dickens) Even though this meant abandoning Joe and his sister, he still did it in his search for Estella. Soon, he would be “going to London.”(Dickens) However, as he grew older, he realized that this life was not giving him happiness. This is when he sought out his best friend Joe. He went back to the village where he was truly happy. “Joe’s restoring touch was back on my shoulder.”(Dickens) This was where he belonged. These are the people whom he truly loved and the people who truly loved him.

Love is an unexplainable phenomenon and it may bring upon happiness or sadness, but it is for us to decide. It is us who are obligated to understand it as only we know it. Love is different for all of us, which makes it so special. “Love is created within. Find it?Share it?”(Sclossberg 1)