...Throughout the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Dickens demonstrates several themes literary devices and motifs that articulate an overarching themes. These themes being of deceit in which situations tend to differ from their reality, and of the conception that money is not synonymous with happiness. Through the use of motifs and linguistic devices such as symbolism, Dickens illustrates the theme of deceit, in which situations are not always what they initially appear to be. For instance, Dickens uses Miss Havisham’s wedding apparel as a symbol referring to her feelings of despair and sadness for being left at the altar(Dickens 89). Another instance of symbolic use by Dickens is the stopped clocks. Though impossible, the stopped clocks represent the longing of slowed time felt by Miss Havisham due to her depressive and suicidal state in which she does not want life to go on. (Dickens 82). These symbols correspond to the motif of Satis house that represents Pip’s upper class dream. These symbols and motifs show that though Miss Havisham may be expected to be happy, she is instead the opposite, regardless of her assumed wealth and social status. Also, Dickens uses descriptive imagery in many vital scenes, including that of a surprising plot twist where Pip finds out he is related to the woman he loves. Dickens describes the scene with great weight on emotion, comparing Estella’s shame to “a dog in disgrace”(Dickens 62), conveying the notion that “things aren’t always...
Words: 673 - Pages: 3
...Great Expectations The book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a very fascinating novel. Dickens does excellent by using the elements of fiction in order to write the novel. The main focus is to cover the plot, major characters, setting, point of view, theme, and symbols used in Great Expectations. After, viewing each element the reader will have a better understanding and appreciation for the novel. The plot that Dickens selects is shaped to reveal action and give the story a particular focus that draws the reader in. Pip is a young orphan that lives with his sister and her husband in Kent. Pip at the time was around seven years old sits in a cemetery one evening looking at his parents’ tombstones. “As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them, my first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones” (p.3). Suddenly, an escaped convict comes up from behind a tombstone and grabs Pip. “O! Don’t cut my throat sir,” I pleaded in terror. “Pray don’t do it, sir” (p.4). He orders Pip to bring him food and a file for his leg irons. Pip obeys, but the fearsome convict is soon captured anyway. The convict protects Pip by claiming to have stolen the items himself. Pip is then taken by his Uncle Pumblechook to play at Satis House, the home of the wealthy Miss Havisham, who is eccentric and she wears an old wedding dress everywhere she goes and keeps all the clocks in her home stopped at the matching...
Words: 2184 - Pages: 9
...regarding personal identity as well as belonging. It is these beliefs that influence the way we observe, interpret and behave throughout our daily lives. Because of this, and the various other cultures that form our communities, perceptions regarding acceptance and understanding of numerous individuals may clash. As a result of this, feelings of belonging, or not, are developed. Through exploration of this notion and related texts, we able to comprehend acceptance in both contemporary and past generations, and how it has developed throughout history. Charles Dickens’ nineteenth century novel ‘Great Expectations’, Anne Paton’s 1998 letter ‘Why I’m Fleeing South Africa’ printed in the London Sunday Times and Shaun Tan’s 2006 graphic novel ‘The Arrival’ are all texts which demonstrate the possibilities presented by a sense of belonging to, or exclusion from, the world it represents. ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens is a novel that portrays the overwhelming strength of human desire, and the incredible journeys one takes to discover a sense of belonging. This is...
Words: 2163 - Pages: 9
...message very similar to this with his book Great Expectations. Although some people are born better off than others, Charles Dickens demonstrates through his portrayal of Miss Havisham, Magwitch, and Pip that social class should never measure one’s character, esteem, or happiness. Dickens criticizes the idea that a person’s social class displays an accurate representation of his or her character. Many of the upper class citizens in Great Expectations seem cruel and lack compassion, while the lower class act loving and kind. Wealthy Miss Havisham portrays this. The first time Pip enters Satis House, he notices her obvious lack of morals and empathy. When he meets Miss Havisham in her dressing room, Pip immediately observes, “I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow. I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes,” (Dickens 59). The original “white” color of the dress represents innocence and happiness, both characteristics of which Pip expects to find in the upper class. Instead, the dress “lost its lustre” and became “faded and yellow”. Wealth corrupted both Miss Havisham’s innocence and happiness, and this also foreshadows Pip’s life as he becomes a gentleman. The “brightness” of Miss Havisham’s “sunken eyes” acts as a symbol for her intelligence in plotting her revenge...
Words: 1024 - Pages: 5
...1. With the emphasis on Dickens’ Great Expectations and with wider reference to Kincaid’s Lucy, compare and contrast the writer’s intentions and achievements arising from their presentation of women. Throughout ‘Great expectations’ by Charles Dickens and Jamaica Kincaid’s ‘Lucy’, both authors seem to present women intentionally to relate to the idea of patriarchy (a system or society governed by men) and how independence or obedience links to their social class’s expectations. Dickens does this by upholding the Victorian ideology of gender, which in ‘Great Expectations’ addressed women as either an angel in the house- the ideal wife, obedient, devoted and submissive to their husband or alternatively, the whore. Independent with the desire for more power than their social class expectations allows, very anti-men. Being an angel in the house was expected of all women in the Victorian era, they had a limited amount of power, enough to be the ideal wife who would be generally rewarded, represented by Biddy. However those women whom abused their power and went against all expectations of social class, the whores, were physically punished by Dickens but given a chance of redemption, evidence of this is shown by Estella and Miss Havisham. Kincaid follows the same idea as Dickens to a certain degree in ‘Lucy’. She focuses on the character of Lucy and her journey to independence, constantly trying to prove her power to break free from her homeland and mother, she manages to achieve...
Words: 1917 - Pages: 8
...SPARK ARKNOTES W W W. S PA R K N O T E S . C O M Great Expectations Charles Dickens EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Justin Kestler EXECUTIVE EDITOR Ben Florman TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Tammy Hepps SERIES EDITORS Boomie Aglietti, Justin Kestler PRODUCTION Christian Lorentzen WRITERS Brian Phillips, Wendy Cheng EDITORS Ben Florman, Jennifer Burns Copyright ©2002 by SparkNotes llc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, any file sharing system, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of SparkNotes llc. sparknotes is a registered trademark of SparkNotes llc. This edition published by Spark Publishing Spark Publishing A Division of SparkNotes llc 120 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor New York, NY 10011 USA Context All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, any file sharing system, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of SparkNotes LLC. SPARK ARKNOTES W W W. S PA R K N O T E S . C O M Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, and spent the first nine years of his life living in the coastal regions of Kent, a county in southeast England. Dickens’s father, John, was a kind and likable man, but he was incompetent with...
Words: 25763 - Pages: 104
...ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2015-2016) MEG-03 British Novel Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private Teacher/Tuthors/Authors for the help and Guidance of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the Questions of the Assignments. We do not claim 100% accuracy of these sample answers as these are based on the knowledge and cabability of Private Teacher/Tutor. Sample answers may be seen as the Guide/Help Book for the reference to prepare the answers of the Question given in the assignment. As these solutions and answers are prepared by the private teacher/tutor so the chances of error or mistake cannot be denied. Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these Sample Answers/ Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before you prepare a Particular Answer and for up-to-date and exact information, data and solution. Student should must read and refer the official study material provided by the university. Answer all the questions. Q. 1. Trace the development of modern English fiction with specific reference to the major shifts in literary perspective during the nineteenth century. Ans. While Ian Watt in The Rise of the Novel (1957) suggests that the novel came into being in the early 18th century which witnessed the rise of increasingly realistic fiction, and...
Words: 3967 - Pages: 16
...Prose Study ‘Great Expectations’ How does Dickens use setting and characterization to interest and intrigue the reader? Throughout the novel, Dickens uses a range of techniques to interest and intrigue the reader. One way in which he does this is through the setting, which is the place and time in which the story takes place, also establishing the mood or atmosphere. Another method is characterization, the way the characters are portrayed, such as through their gestures and dialogue. All these devices help to arouse and sustain the reader’s curiosity and make us feel sympathy towards the character, which is especially shown in Pip’s initial encounter with Magwitch in the marshes and Pip’s first experience of visiting Miss Havisham and Estella in ‘Satis House.’ These represent different social situations, with Pip and Magwitch in the lower class, and Estella and Miss Havisham in the upper middle class. No matter which situation he is in, he still feels uncomfortable, and consequently we too feel a sense of uneasiness for him. In the Nineteenth Century, Dickens was a supporter of social reform, and therefore used his writing as a means of communicating his views to the readers. He wanted to make his Victorian readers, particularly the middle and upper classes, aware of some of the inequality in society, such as the lack of support, education and opportunity for the lower class. He was a sympathiser for the poor and the oppressed, especially...
Words: 3652 - Pages: 15
...Great Expectations By Charles Dickens Download free eBooks of classic literature, books and novels at Planet eBook. Subscribe to our free eBooks blog and email newsletter. Chapter 1 M y father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip. I give Pirrip as my father’s family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister - Mrs. Joe Gargery, who married the blacksmith. As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones. The shape of the letters on my father’s, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, ‘Also Georgiana Wife of the Above,’ I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly. To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine - who gave up trying to get a living, exceedingly early in that universal struggle - I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets, and had never taken them out in this state...
Words: 189675 - Pages: 759
...Throughout our lives we meet people who go through many changes as they advance further in society; some changes are for the better of the individual, others not so much. These changes can be caused by monetary gain, advancements in their field of work, or a group of new friends. For example, in the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Pip goes through many changes in hopes of appeasing the heart and standards of the gorgeous yet cold-hearted Estella, changes such as being eager to self-improve, becoming snobby, and being shameful of his origins. From very early in the novel you discover that Pip is ambitious to better himself. For example, after confronting Estella he wishes to become refined, “I took the opportunity of being alone/ to look at my coarse hands and my common clothes. My opinion of those accessories was not favorable. They had never troubled me before, but they troubled me now, as vulgar appendages. I determined to ask Joe why he had ever taught me to call/ jacks/ to be called knaves” (71). Here Pip is realizing that he himself, for example his clothing and knowledge, is not up to the standards of ‘high society’ and Estella, especially Estella. He is also realizing that if he wishes to have any chance of anchoring Estella’s heart he must get acquainted with finer clothing and become more knowledgeable. Then, Pip wants Biddy to teach to him every ounce of knowledge she has: “The felicitous idea occurred to me/ when I woke that the best step I could take...
Words: 1596 - Pages: 7
...Nick Vargas Great Expectations On Christmas Eve, young Pip, an orphan being raised by his sister and her husband, encounters a frightening man in the village churchyard. The man, a convict who has escaped from a prison ship, scares Pip into stealing him some food and a file to grind away his leg shackle. This was perhaps the first of Pips many dishonest acts. It gives Pip, who must steal the goods from his sister's house, his first taste of true guilt, and, secondly, Pip's kindness warms the convict's heart. The convict, however, waits many years to truly show his gratitude. | At his sister's house, Pip is a boy without expectations. Mrs. Joe beats him around and has nothing good to say about her little brother. Her husband Joe is a kind man, although he is a blacksmith without much ambition, and it's assumed that Pip will follow in his footsteps. Only when Pip gets invited unexpectedly to the house of a rich old woman in the village named Miss Havisham, does Mrs. Joe, or any of her dull acquaintances, hold out any hope for Pip's success. Indeed, Pip's visits to Miss Havisham change him. Miss Havisham is an old woman who was abandoned on her wedding day and has, as a result, given up on life. She wears a yellowed wedding gown and haunts around her decrepit house, her only companion being Estella, her adopted daughter. Estella is beautiful, and Pip develops a strong crush on her, a crush that turns into love as he grows older. But it is unrequited love,...
Words: 1263 - Pages: 6
...THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY Study Guide for Great Expectations by Charles Dickens i Meet Charles Dickens In addition to writing short stories and novels, Dickens wrote essays and journalistic pieces, and edited a weekly periodical filled with fiction, poetry, and essays. First titled Household Words, the magazine was later retitled All the Year Round. Dickens contributed to this publication several serialized novels, including Great Expectations, and writings on political and social issues. Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Landport, Portsea, England. He was the second child and eldest son of eight children. Dickens’s father, who worked as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, was a spendthrift who often mismanaged the family money. In 1822 the family moved to London and soon found itself in financial crisis. The family was forced to live in poverty, and Dickens was no longer able to go to school. One of the most traumatic periods of his life began in February 1824, when his father was sent to debtors prison. Young Dickens, only twelve years old, was forced to go to work for several months pasting labels on bottles. This experience was painful and socially humiliating to him, and images of the factory haunted him for the rest of his life. These images provided a backdrop to much of his fiction, which often focused on class issues; the plight of the poor and oppressed; and lost, suffering children. As an adult, he championed social and political causes designed...
Words: 7484 - Pages: 30
...Both texts use place/setting in imaginative ways to highlight various aspects of characters identity in relation to the various surroundings. Firstly Pip grows up on the marshes and returns there many times when he's older. The rough marshes stand in contrast to the civilized city of London. One of the convicts describes the marshes as: 'A most beastly place: mudbank, mist, swamp, and work'. But Dickens's depiction of London, however, doesn't exactly fall in line with this notion of England as all-powerful, rich, and healthy. Great Expectations takes place in 19th century England, this is a busy time for England, seeing the momentum of the Industrial Revolution. Furthemore there is great unity in this novel: it is principally about guilt and shame, and these ideas are reinforced in many ways one being through the use of place such as where Pip grows up, in the marshes, representing a dark and unwelcoming atmosphere that Pip considers embarrassing and does not wish to identify himself with the place. In comparison to Behind the Scenes at the Museum place is used to contribute to the understanding of character relationships such as the holiday to Scotland. The holiday and change of scenery for the Lennox family bring with it nothing but arguing curtesy of George showing the tension in the family relations. Furthermore on the holiday almost everyone becomes sick showing the uneasiness due to a change In place. Most of the characters in "Behind the Scenes at the Museum"...
Words: 552 - Pages: 3
...Great Expectations: The two endings. There is more to the ending of Great Expectations than one would gather from simply reading the book. The published ending of Great Expectations was in fact Dickens’ second attempt at an ending for the novel. The original ending of Great Expectations takes place two years after Pip’s conversation with Biddy in which he confides that he has “forgotten nothing” about Estella. Before the dialogue between the pair begins, Pip tells us Drummle treated Estella with “great cruelty” throughout their marriage however they are now separated due to Drummle’s death. We also discover that she has remarried to a country doctor in Shropshire. The “interview” takes place whilst Pip is “walking along Piccadilly with little Pip”; they shake hands and converse briefly of their current situations. Estella thinks Pip has moved on after assuming Joe and Biddy’s child is Pip’s and tells that she is “greatly changed”. Pip sees that for Estella “suffering had been stronger than Miss Havisham’s teaching and had given her a heart to understand” what his heart used to be. Dickens changed this originally conceived ending after a fellow novelist and friend argued the ending was too disappointing for the reader who would want a ‘happy ending’. To satisfy the reader Dickens changed the ending and it was now situated at Satis house when “the moon was coming, and the evening was not dark”. There Pip sees the silhouette of a woman and later discovers that it is Estella...
Words: 557 - Pages: 3
...Concept of Self-realization in Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Great Expectations and Lord Jim. The words self-realization is often used in literature to refer to the liberation of an individual from the sense of limitation brought about by identification with conditioned beliefs, opinions, fears, desires, and habits. The main objective of this paper is to show concept of self-realization in Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Great Expectations and Lord Jim. It has also been tried to add some new concepts regarding these novels. Necessary and related information has been collected from various books and internet. Austen's serene world, in Pride and Prejudice which harbours dynamic action, goes unnoticed by the readers who read her novels on the surface level. But the readers who fathom the depths of her creativity can realize that active forces are working, reforming and psychologically molding the characters in her novels. Tess of the D’Urbervilles is one of the most famous novels of Thomas Hardy. In this novel we see a tragic end of Tess with an ultimate realization. Great Expectations was one of Dickens’ best-known novels and was written in 1860. Great Expectations is a Bildungsroman and follows the progression of Pip from child to adult; from humble blacksmith to gentleman; from innocence to experience; from rags to riches and on his journey, Pip meets a range of interesting characters, from the comical Wemmick, to the cruel Estella....
Words: 11486 - Pages: 46
