Right the way through his novel Dickens explores the class system of Victorian England ranging from wretched criminals to poor peasants to the middle class and finally the very rich. The theme of social class is central to the plot and moral of the novel which is how Pip realises wealth and class is less important compared to affection and loyalty. Dickens wrote many of his novels about the poor and going to prison also surviving which depicted his life for example” Oliver!” Whose story was similar to Pip’s as he was also an orphan and went down the avenue which led to crime as he pick pocketed to get money with Artful Dodger ending up in prison. By Dickens writing these novels it was the only way the upper class knew of the hardship that the lower class and middle class faced.
Like all Dickens novel characters in Great Expectations certain features are over exaggerated to create memorable characters. Pip, who is both the protagonist and the narrator and the person whose actions make up most of this novel, As Pip is born into a working class family he was not educated as only the upper class could afford for their kids to go to school. We can tell Pip is uneducated and a child in the second paragraph “Also Georgiana, Wife of the above” we learn this because he could not interpret the tombstones as he believed his mum’s name was “Also Georgiana” and he created a picture of his mum in his head as by the style of writing on the tombstone.
When Pip visits Satis House we become conscious of the difference in class during the first time he enters the house as Miss Havisham has a certain aura about her as she has a certain amount of power and authority toward as she is part of the wealthy this makes Pip feel uncomfortable “I thought she was still talking to herself, and kept quiet” this shows the reader that he doesn’t feel it’s his place to speak in her presence as she is from a higher class and should be respected. As during that era to speak out of place at the same time as a person considered higher being to you is impertinent. The message Dickens is trying to portray here is that the working class respect the upper class and the upper class have that daunting aura about them because of their wealth and power.
Before Pip’s visit to Satis house Pip is marginalised from society by the limitations of his background. We can see this in his ignorance concerning the convict’s social class and similarities in their misfortune. We know this as Mrs Joe says “People are put in Hulks because they murder and because they rob, and forge, and do all things bad; and they always begin by asking questions”. From this quote we can learn that Dickens has made Mrs Joe stop Pip from asking questions by linking the idea of questioning to the actions of convicts. She states “they always begin by asking questions” to frighten Pip from thinking about how people end up in certain classes. Interestingly the unfairness of Pip’s treatment is linked to society’s assumption that the working class should stay ignorant. Dickens’ message here is that working class should ask more questions about their place in society if they are to better themselves.
After Pip began to visit Satis House regularly and was around people of the upper class he had aspirations to be a gentleman because it is associated with romantic qualities such as luxury and education. His attitudes change towards many regular daily activities of a working class boy. One example of this is his attitude to work, this changed as before he visited miss Havisham Pip was excited to work with Joe then he changes that and is unhappy about his life “It is the most miserable thing to be ashamed of home” this shows he is ashamed of his place in society as he now wants to be a gentleman Pip is also embarrassed about his family. Pip also forgot his manners whilst he went to Satis House as he thought he could be rude to his elders as he was rubbing shoulders with the upper class “Joe, I remonstrated” shows now he has gone to Satis house he believes he is superior of Joe so he can shout at his own guardian.
Miss Havisham is part of the upper class and lives in a large house named Satis House with Estella. Miss Havisham bring the “silver fork” element to this book as this was a story about the rich which fascinated the poor as this was how they learnt about the upper class and rich by books like this as they had no contact with each other. As Estella is part of the upper class she believes she has the clout to be disrespectful to people of the lower classes as they are not as rich “With this boy! Why he is a common labouring boy” we can understand from this that she is rude as she is undermining him in front of his face to hurt young Pip’s feelings. Dickens is trying to imply here that the upper class are disrespectful and vulgar people.
As Dickens was a working class boy he depicted the upper class which in this book is Estella and Miss Havisham as archaic, outdated and cruel people “Well, you can break his heart.” This is the first time the reader sees the nasty people they are as we discover their plot. This is what Miss Havisham trained Estella to do suck boys in and then break their hearts just like what happened to Miss Havisham herself as she is using her protégé Estella to get revenge for what happened to her. Dickens is trying to show that the upper class is people who like to inflict pain on classes below theirs in this book.
Mr Joe is part of the lower class but he is the only character in this book who is content with his life. Joe is used to demonstrate that manners and kindness are not linked with wealth and social status we establish this from the quote describing Joe “a mild, good-natured, sweet-tempered, easy going, foolish old fellow”. This is where Dickens adds a bit of humour into the book as he shows how happy Joe is even though he’s got a wife who beats him and disrespects him.
Mr Joe is part of the working class and he makes this palpable as when Joe dresses out of his working class clothes for example in a suit he seems very uncomfortable and wearing a suit is unknown for him. “he made himself so dreadfully uncomfortable” this tells us that Joe is somebody who is not dressing from his class and is awkward as he is used to wearing his work overalls. Dickens message that he is trying to portray here is that that working class men are normally not in a suit and it is very rare for this to happen that’s why Mr Joe is so uncomfortable as it is something new for him
In the opening chapters we instantly learn that Mrs Joe is aggressive and vicious as she believes in using violence at home with Mr Joe and Pip. The reader establishes find this out from the quote “She had brought me up by hand” this represents the sometimes violent and brutal nature in society also we see that she is a quite intimidating character as she uses inhumane methods to bring up her brother we determine this from the quote “and what’s worse...she’s got Tickler with her”. Dickens uses irony here as the weapon is called “tickler” but what she does it with is the complete opposite to the name of the tool.
We also gain knowledge of Mrs Joe’s shame of her position in society as she is a blacksmith’s wife and she wanted to be part of a higher class we understand this from the quote “If it weren’t for me you’d have been to the churchyard long ago, and stayed there” this implies that she believes she deserves better than Joe and Pip.
Uncle Pumblechook is Joe’s uncle and represents the very worst in middle-class Victorian England: he is affected, opinionated and hypocritical. As he is very mean to Pip but when he becomes he wealthy he gets his hands all over him. "Be grateful, boy, to them which brought you up by hand." Here Uncle Pumblechook is being rude to Pip but his attitude towards Pip completely changes “It's five-and-twenty pound, Mum," echoed that basest of swindlers, Pumblechook, rising to shake hands with her” This quote is taken after Pip brought home his earnings from Miss Havisham. This is when we tell Uncle Pumblechook loves money and that he is just a greedy individual as he was all over Pip and Mrs Joe when Pip received his earnings.
With Uncle Pumblechook Dickens is portraying that the middle class people are all in it for the money and are very fickle. Dickens even gives us a clue with the message he’s giving out about middle class people as the name Pumblechook revealed his personality as "Pumble" is very similar to "pubble", which means fat. "Chook" is a slang term used to call pigs during Dickens time so from this he’s calling middle class people fat pigs as they are greedy and in this case just want money.
Dickens also used setting to show the difference in class so the reader can see the two different social extremes. He uses the settings as symbols to represent ideas without saying it. As Satis House shares many characteristics with its owner Miss Havisham. We realise this from the quotes “few windows” and “old brick and dismal”. The quotes shows the reader the house is similar to Miss Havisham as these descriptions resemble a solitary confinement as she is deprived of the love she wants after her fiancé jilted her and it shows that she has no interface with the outside world. From this Dickens is trying to show that the upper class are so narcissistic as they only mingle with people from their class forgetting the rest of the people as their money and power alone satisfies them.
The next setting where a big chunk of the novel was located is the area in and around the marshes. The misty marshes near Pip’s childhood home in Kent were used several times to symbolise danger and uncertainty as every time he goes into the mists of the marshes something dangerous is like to happen for example when he meets Magwitch in these marshes’! Don't cut my throat, sir,” Dickens uses pathetic fallacy in the opening chapters when he is describing the marshes to depict Pip life at that time. The readers see instantly Dickens uses of pathetic fallacy from this quote “this bleak place” he is describing the marshes here and we can notice that Dickens is trying to also that Pip’s life is bleak and there’s nothing going on in it. In addition to that when he describes the marshes again with words and phrases such as: “nettles”, “dark flat wilderness”, “brambles”, “cobwebs”. All of these words and phrases combine together to implies a hostile place and feeling of Pip being trapped in this place and he has to struggle to make anything of himself. This also portrays the constant struggles of working class people and the feeling of being trapped in an unfair situation.
To conclude, the theme of class is discussed clearly throughout the novel “Great Expectations”. Dickens used characters and setting well so we could see his thoughts about social class and see what’s going on with the class system during that era. He also stated obviously how the different classes were worlds apart and this helped us to get a real life aspect to the novel.