- Ask LitCharts AI
- Discussion Question Generator
- Essay Prompt Generator
- Quiz Question Generator
- Literature Guides
- Poetry Guides
- Shakespeare Translations
- Literary Terms
Great Expectations
Charles dickens.
Great Expectations is set near the end of Industrial Revolution, a period of dramatic technological improvement in manufacturing and commerce that, among other things, created new opportunities for people who were born into "lower" or poorer classes to gain wealth and move into a "higher" and wealthier class. This new social mobility marked a distinct break from the hereditary aristocracy of the past, which enforced class consistency based solely on family lines. Great Expectations is set in this new world, and Dickens explores it by tracing Pip 's ascent through the class system, a trajectory that would not have been possible within the rigid class hierarchy of the past.
The novel ranges from the lowest classes of convicts and orphans to the poor working class of Joe and Biddy up to the wealthy Miss Havisham , whose family made its fortune through the manufacture of beer. Notably, the novel spends virtually no time focused on the traditional aristocracy, and when it does it makes those who still believe in the inheritance of class look ridiculous through the absurd character of Mrs. Pocket , whose blind faith in blood lineage has rendered her utterly useless to society.
Yet in the world of Great Expectations where the nobility and gentility that were once associated with the aristocracy are no longer seen as founded on birthright, characters continually grapple with the question of what those traits are based on. Can they be taught? Can they be bought? Pip tries both: he educates himself in order to gain "good" manners and also spends prodigiously on luxury goods, outfitting himself with the trappings of aristocracy as if to purchase aristocracy itself.
These tensions come to a head when Provis arrives in London, ignorantly confident in his power to use his wealth to buy gentility. Provis' misguided trust in money awakens Pip to his own misunderstanding. Meanwhile, Dickens constantly upends the old equation between nobility and class: most of the novel's heroes (Joe, Biddy, and Provis) are in the lower class while most of its villains ( Compeyson and Drummle ) are upper class. Ultimately, Pip comes to learn that the source of true gentility is spiritual nobility rather than either great knowledge or wealth.
Social Class ThemeTracker
Social Class Quotes in Great Expectations
"…lies is lies. Howsoever they come, they didn't ought to come, and they come from the father of lies, and work round to the same. Don't you tell no more of ‘em, Pip. That ain't the way to get out of being common, old chap…If you can't get to be uncommon through going straight, you'll never get to do it through going crooked."
…my young mind was in that disturbed and unthankful state that I thought long after I laid me down, how common Estella would consider Joe, a mere blacksmith: how thick his boots, and how coarse his hands. I thought how Joe and my sister were then sitting in the kitchen, and how Miss Havisham and Estella never sat in a kitchen, but were far above the level of such common things.
I was truly wretched, and had a strong conviction on me that I should never like Joe's trade. I had liked it once, but once was not now.
I wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common, that he might be worthier of my society and less open to Estella's reproach.
Miss Havisham and Estella and the strange house and the strange life appeared to have something to do with everything that was picturesque.
…as Joe and Biddy became more at their cheerful ease again, I became quite gloomy. Dissatisfied with my fortune, of course I could not be; but it is possible that I may have been, without quite knowing it, dissatisfied with myself.
As I passed the church, I felt…a sublime compassion for the poor creatures who were destined to go there, Sunday after Sunday, all their lives through, and to lie obscurely at last among the low green mounds. I promised myself that I would do something for them one of these days, and formed a plan in outline for bestowing a dinner of roast beef and plum pudding, a pint of ale, and a gallon of condescension upon everybody in the village.
"...it is a principle of [Matthew Pocket's] that no man who was not a true gentleman at heart, ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner. He says, no varnish can hide the grain of the wood, and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself."
…[Mrs. Pocket] had grown up highly ornamental, but perfectly helpless and useless.
"Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together, as I may say, and one man's a blacksmith, and one's a whitesmith, and one's a goldsmith, and one's a coppersmith. Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come. If there's been any fault at all to-day, it's mine. You and me is not two figures to be together in London; nor yet anywheres else but what is private, and beknown, an understood among friends. It ain't that I am proud, but that I want to be right, as you shall never see me no more in these clothes. I'm wrong in these clothes. I'm wrong out of the forge, the kitchen, or off th'meshes. You won't find half so much fault in me if you think of me in my forge dress, with my hammer in my hand, or even my pipe."
"We have no choice, you and I, but to obey our instructions. We are not free to follow our own devices, you and I."
…the wonderful difference between the servile manner in which [Mr. Pumblechook] had offered his hand in my new prosperity, saying, "May I?" and the ostentatious clemency with which he had just now exhibited the same fat five fingers.
- Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.
Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Great Expectations — Great Expectations and Pride and Prejudice: Portrayal of Social Classes’ Structure and the Role of Money
Great Expectations and Pride and Prejudice: Portrayal of Social Classes' Structure and The Role of Money
- Categories: Great Expectations Pride and Prejudice
About this sample
Words: 2647 |
14 min read
Published: Jun 29, 2018
Words: 2647 | Pages: 6 | 14 min read
Cite this Essay
To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:
Let us write you an essay from scratch
- 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
- Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours
Get high-quality help
Dr. Heisenberg
Verified writer
- Expert in: Literature
+ 120 experts online
By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email
No need to pay just yet!
Related Essays
2.5 pages / 1208 words
2.5 pages / 1035 words
2 pages / 1008 words
6 pages / 2830 words
Remember! This is just a sample.
You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.
121 writers online
Still can’t find what you need?
Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled
"We have no choice, you and I, but to obey our instructions. We are not free to follow our own devices, you and I." (265). The question of self-determination is central in Great Expectations. Dickens struggles to [...]
Victorian literature is over-populated with orphans. The Bronte sisters, Trollope, George Elliot, Thackeray and Gaskell all positioned orphans as leading characters in their novels. This trend continued into the Edwardian [...]
Jose de las Luz y Caballero once said “As the fruit ripens, so does the man mature, after many rains, suns and blows.” Throughout the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the protagonist Philip Pirrip also known as Pip, [...]
Biddy is introduced early in Great Expectations and is mentioned regularly throughout, though she is not one of the major characters. She does, however, serve as a constant reminder to Pip of what he is leaving behind and, as [...]
War, deeply intertwined with human existence, overshadows action with impasse and ideals with sterility. Although war results in the facade of victory for one side, no true winner exists, because under this triumphant semblance [...]
In George Orwell's 1984, the differences and relationships between the proles, the Outer Party, and the Inner Party reflect different aspects of human nature and the various levels of the human psyche. The most base, savage [...]
Related Topics
By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.
Where do you want us to send this sample?
By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.
Be careful. This essay is not unique
This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before
Download this Sample
Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts
Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.
Please check your inbox.
We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!
Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!
We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .
- Instructions Followed To The Letter
- Deadlines Met At Every Stage
- Unique And Plagiarism Free
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Essay on Theme of Social Class in Great Expectations One theme from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations is the great difference in social classes. Throughout the story the main character, Pip, goes from ... Great Expectations Critique Essay. Essay type: Research. Words: 1050. Pages: 4. Have you ever wonder how wealth can bring a person ...
Great Expectations is set near the end of Industrial Revolution, a period of dramatic technological improvement in manufacturing and commerce that, among other things, created new opportunities for people who were born into "lower" or poorer classes to gain wealth and move into a "higher" and wealthier class. This new social mobility marked a distinct break from the hereditary aristocracy of ...
Class Structure in Great Expectations: Dictate Your Own Fate . Abstract . In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph. The formation of class structure is often dependent upon a set of criteria that reveals divisions between individuals. The old model of class ranking within England during the nineteenth century favored a rigid
Pirrip, better known to the world as Pip. Pip is the most important character in Great Expectations: he is both the protagonist and the narrator, whose actions are core of the main plot of the novel. Social class played a vital role in the society which is depicted by Charles Dickens in Great Expectations. Social class
Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations, provides a perfect example of the hope of class mobility. The novel portrays very diverse and varied social classes which spread from a diligent, hardworking peasant (Joe) to a good-natured middle class man (Mr. Wemmick) to a rich, beautiful young girl (Estella).
The essay begins by introducing class in Great Expectations and the British Bildungsroman as well as describing Marxist theory and class in the Victorian society. It will then go on tostudy the illustration of the working class in the Victorian society focusing on Joe and Pip and the social mobility.
Essay on Social Class in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations, provides a perfect example of the hope of class mobility. The novel portrays very diverse and varied social classes which spread from a diligent, hardworking peasant (Joe) to a good-natured middle class man (Mr. Wemmick) to a rich ...
Essay on Social Class in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations, provides a perfect example of the hope of class mobility. The novel portrays very diverse and varied social classes which spread from a diligent, hardworking peasant (Joe) to a good-natured middle class man (Mr. Wemmick) to a rich ...
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Charles Dickens' Great Expectations focus on the themes of money and social class. In both novels, money plays a significant role in shaping and directing human motives and actions.
Essay on Social Class in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations, provides a perfect example of the hope of class mobility. The novel portrays very diverse and varied social classes which spread from a diligent, hardworking peasant (Joe) to a good-natured middle class man (Mr. Wemmick) to a rich ...