How does Charles Dickens create interesting characters and through them raise, interesting themes?

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Charles Dickens “Great Expectations” Coursework

How does Charles Dickens create interesting characters and through them raise, interesting themes?

Introduction
In my essay my essay I am going to be exploring what techniques Charles Dickens uses to create characters and themes raised through them. The three main characters I will be focussing on in my essay will be: Pip, Miss’s Havisham and Estella. I will be exploring how these three characters are used my Dickens for the development of interesting themes throughout the book.

Dickens has created Pip as the key character in great expectations. Pip is the narrative voice in the novel telling he’s life story. Pip originally started of being a nice kind hearted young boy as seen at the start of the novel in which he helps the convict “Magwitch” by giving him some food and the file. Dickens has also shown Pip as being rather gullible also, this is shown by Dickens in a variety of ways for example when Pip believes that a horrible man will tear his liver out whilst he sleeps unless he does as he has been told. Pips gullibility is used by Dickens to raise the key theme in the novel “Pips love and obsession for Estella”. Pip is immediately sucked in by the charms of Estella from the moment he meets her at Miss Havishams house. This is Pips changing point in he’s life “when he meets Estella”. Because Pip has fallen for Estella it really hurt Pip when Estella referred to him as ‘common’ he decides from this negative comment from Estella that he is disgruntled with the life he leads and felt being a blacksmith is not good enough for him as is not going to impress Estella. Pips life becomes devoted to Estella and wishes to become a gentleman in order to impress Estella. This is when Pip discovers he has inherited a large some of money from a mystery benefactor who is to be remained omnibus. Pip assumes this mystery benefactor is Miss’s Havisham. This is because Miss Havisham tricks a lures gullible Pip into thinking this just as she likes to keep every one in suspense as to who she will be leaving who her money and belongings to when she dies (q). Pip becomes extremely discourteous and snobbish when he inherits this large some of money from this mystery benefactor and forgets and looks down and is embarrassed of he’s old good quality friends like Joe for example when Joe comes to visit Pip in London he states “If I could of kept him away by paying money, I certainly would have paid money”. This implies that the quantity of embarrassment of Joes presents was extremely high to Pip because Joe has little money and also means that Pips life has become very money orientated. This shows Pip is not a true gentleman at all even though he has established table manners, obtains a lot of money now and lives in London. Dickens uses this to create the theme of irony, it is ironic because the only true gentleman through the novel is Joe, Pip talks to him like he is not a gentleman because he thinks he haves to have a lot of money and live in London to be a true gentleman this shows how Pip has changed greatly since he has inherited the money. Dickens also uses this to create the theme of self-knowledge because although Pip is given money and becomes wealthy and is taught table manners and how to speak in a formal style he loses the true values of being a true gentleman in the process. It is only through Joe he humbly realises the worthlessness of his previous behaviour and the emptiness of his ambitions. As Joe stays a blacksmith at the forge he has remained a kind hearted honest man throughout where as Pip has become extremely snobby and horrible. This is when Pip helps Herbert Pocket into a business career and later on realises this is the only gentleman like thing he has done since he moved to London(q). After 11 years of devoting he’s life to Estella his chance meeting with Estella had a happy out come after all, as Dickens created a romantic kiss at the end of the film.

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 Dickens perceives/creates Miss Havisham as an old, spiteful, bitter, manipulative woman. Miss’s Havisham hates all men due to the expense of one man standing her up on there wedding day which left Miss Havisham with a broken heart. Miss Havisham was unable to recover from this incident and found it incredibly hard to move on from that day and remained in the wedding dress she was stood up in ever since and remained surrounded in decaying food which had been left from her wedding day, Pip states “she was dressed in rich materials- satins and lace and silks- all ...

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