How Charles Dickens Portrays Class in Great Expectations...

The novel, Great Expectations is deemed to be one of the greatest English classic novels of the literary heritage. Charles Dickens, the author of Great Expectations is thought to be one of historys finest writers and has contributed to English literature in many ways. Great Expectations is Dickens thirteenth novel and is based loosely on his own experiences. He did this with many of his novels, including his partly auto-biographical piece, David Copperfield (with Dickenss own negligent mother and father being closely depicted in his character, Davids parents). All the Year Round was a magazine that Charles Dickens had founded. In late 1860, the sales of the magazine were dropping, and so Dickens began publishing†¦show more content†¦In the Victorian times, there was a lack of social mobility, meaning that it was difficult to move from one class to the next. There were three classes which were determined by parentage. The aristocracy were those with wealth and power. The middle-class were managers, who if they were exceedingly successful, could become rich but it was hard to adapt to the habits and behaviour of the aristocracy. Unfortunately for those who were working class (undertaking manual labour), it was almost a fruitless struggle to try. Pips life shows how one individual has moved from the working class to becoming a gentleman. This essay will be concentrating on the way Dickens portrays class in Great Expectations. The story is a fictional autobiography of Pip who narrates the story of his life when he is an adult. Because of this, there are two Pips - Pip the narrator, who tells us the story many years after the events and Pip the child, who acts out the events as they are taking place. We know this, as Pip the narrator often uses adult vocabulary to speak of his childhood. He uses words such as interlocutor to describe the convict - it is not the type of word a young child would use. Pip reflects on the way he viewed the small graves for his brothers in chapter one, unreasonably, which show that he realises now that at the time it was absurd for him to have thought that his brothers were buried on theirShow MoreRelatedCharles Dickens Great Expectations1335 Words   |  6 Pagesfamily was to help provide the money .Since the men were more superior than the women, they received more rights like the right to vote. In the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens uses the characters in the book to portray the gender roles, social classes and the changing of classes in the Victorian era. In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens shows the gender roles of men as living within different social spaces. Unlike most women, the men had the social existence that was free to roam atRead MoreGreat Expectations and a Christmas Carol: a True Gentleman Essay1430 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations and A Christmas Carol: A True Gentleman According to Dictionary.com, a gentleman is a civilized, educated, sensitive, or well-mannered man. However, by Victorian definition, a gentleman was, perhaps most importantly, a rich man. â€Å"Charles Dickens†¦was an author of relatively humble origins who desired passionately to be recognized as a gentleman, and insisted, in consequence, upon the essential dignity of his occupation† (Victorian Web). In Great Expectations he portrays Pip, aRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1347 Words   |  6 Pagesrich getting richer. Despite this, social mobility is alive and well, and has been for centuries. In his novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens voices the concerns of many that lived in Victorian England during the 19th century by promoting such a desire to live life in a more prosperous social class. One of the most fundamental and reoccurring themes in the novel is that of social class. Throughout the novel, the reader examines the protagonist, known as Pi p, as he transforms from a poor workingRead MoreThe Great Gatsby and Great Expectations: A Comparison Essay examples972 Words   |  4 Pagesthe common man always believes that the wealthy live happier lives. But two landmark authors portray a different story. Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and F. Scot Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, both show that in order to be truly happy, one must reject superficial things, such as one’s position in the caste system of society, and pursue one’s true desires. When given the choice between upper class and common, a well-rounded individual will choose a common life. At the start of the novel, theRead MoreThe Elements of Fortune and Contentment Dissected in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens688 Words   |  3 Pagessomeone is rich or poor. In the novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens uses the element of fortune and social class to show the dynamic of how wealth doesn’t guarantee contentment. Joe Gargery, Pips brother-in-law and a benevolent blacksmith , is very satisfied with his status as a member of the lower class. He believes that he’s â€Å"wrong out of the forge† (224) and well off working in what he senses is his rightful place. In an unqualified, typical lower class setting Joe is contented and able toRead MoreCharles Dickens was one of the Brightest and Most Influential Writers of His Time1325 Words   |  5 Pages The British writer Charles Dickens was one of the brightest and most influential people of his time. His many writings, including Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol, have been efficacious in many lives and have created a legacy of classics that will be read forever. Dickens, who was born in Portsmouth, England, was raised in a poor family, in which he had to work instead of attending school. Although not being able to go to school was detrimental to Charles, it gave him a chance to begin hisRead MorePersonal Growth And Development Of Romanticism In Great Expectations By Charles Dickens969 Words   |  4 Pagesreaders to enjoy a book. Charles Dickens, a famous writer, wrote in a special kind of writing known as Dickensian. This kind of writing combines grotesque, sentimentality and humor all together. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens illustrates the personal growth and development of Pip. Dickens uses Dickensian to let the readers understand and see the book in an alternate light. A use of Dickensian is shown when Pip is describing Miss Havisham. On page 56 of Great Expectations it says, â€Å"But I saw allRead MoreEssay on Stages of Pip Growing Up in the Novel Great Expectations1000 Words   |  4 PagesGreat Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens that thoroughly captures the adventures of growing up. The book details the life of a boy through his many stages of life, until he is finally a grown man, wizened by his previous encounters. Dickens’ emotions in this book are very sincere, because he had a similar experience when his family went to debtor’s prison. Pip starts as a young boy, unaware of social class, who then becomes a snob, overcome by the power of money, and finally grows intoRead MoreEssay on Pips Development Through Character Interactions1304 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, the character, personality, and social beliefs of Pip undergo complete transformations as he interacts with an ever-changing pool of characters presented in the book. Pip’s moral values remain more or less constant at the beginning and the end; however, it is evident that in the time between, the years of his maturation and coming of adulthood, he is fledgling to find his place in society. Although Pip is influenced by many characters throughout the novelRead MoreGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens Great Expectations is a novel, which represents class society amongst the rich, the poor and the criminal in Victorian England. Using the life of the main character in the novel, Pip; Charles Dickens challenges issues like youth treatment, injustices in the legal system and the discriminations between the classes. As the novel progresses, various events happen to Pip, which makes him more aware of the reality he is living