Great Expectations

By exploring the social and historical issues in ‘Great Expectations’, what are the major themes and ideas and how are the attitudes and values conveyed through the text.

This essay is going to look at the social and historical issues Dickens raises in ‘Great Expectations’. It will explore the time in which the book was set and the issues that surrounded life in these times. It will also look at the major themes and ideas within the text and how the attitudes and values are conveyed through the text.

‘Great Expectations’ is set in early Victorian times, when Britain was changing dramatically. New laws and jobs were being brought into Britain, and life was hard. One of the major social issues in ‘Great Expectations’ is that of the divide between the different classes. There was a major line between the rich and the poor. In the time that the book was set the upper class had very good manners and a good education and many people who were travelling from the country to London struggled as education was not readily available. This is a major theme that runs through the book as the main character, Pip, has a dream to become successful and live in London, and it is there he feels that all his dreams will be made. Dickens uses a wide range of characters to convey the different classes, from Magwitch who is a convict, seen as the lowest of the low, then to Joe and Biddy who would be classed as ‘country folk’, to Pumblechook a middleclass man who believes himself to be upper class, and finally to Miss Havisham who is very rich, yet unhappy. Dickens uses the character of Pip to present the different attitudes and values of social class, as Pip is determined to move to London and better himself.

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The main theme and idea within the book is that of self discovery and ambition and this theme mainly revolves around and comes through the character of Pip. Pip believes that he will be able to better himself and make something of himself if he moves to London. He believes that if he is able to read and write he will be able to earn a lot of money and live a life of luxury. When Pip first goes to ‘Satis House’, it is there he knows that he must become wealthy to be able to live in the same way and to obtain the love of a girl such as Estella. When Pip learns he is to be sent to London he immediately assumes that this is where he will be ’bought up as a gentleman’ and be able to achieve his ‘great expectations’. As the book continues and Pip begins to lose his money and reputation Dickens portrays one of the most important messages of the book; that having money and living a life of luxury does not achieve happiness and a path to success. Pip soon learns that had he stayed in the village, he would have been much happier.

This links to another theme in the book of being a gentleman. In the time that the book was written, a gentleman was someone who was wealthy and who had a good education, which is what Pip immediately associates with London. Pip soon learns that having affection, loyalty and friendships is much more important when to come to being a gentleman. Drummel is a very important character to convey this message that Dickens was trying to get across. He is the complete opposite to Pips character, and it is when Pip meets Mr Drummel that he begins to realise that Joe is more of a gentleman than he. Drummel has inherited wealth whereas Joe works hard for a living and treats people with respect.’ I was looking up to Joe in my heart’ gives the impression that here Pip began to feel more than just love for Joe but also respect and admiration. Pip learns from Joe that wealth is not fundamental to being a gentleman.

Another social and historical issue in ‘Great Expectations’ is that of the crime and punishment at the time in which the book was set. In Victorian times the justice system was hard and many people were sentenced to death. All prisoners were made to live in terrible living conditions and were often overcrowded, though some convicts were transported abroad to try and prevent this from happening. Dickens himself did not believe that the justice system was satisfactory and he presents this through his text. The first chapter of the book introduces the reader straight away to crime when Pip meets the convict on the moors. The image of crime and punishment is seen throughout the book, through the image of Joe making handcuffs and the gallows at the prison. Jaggers is a very important image of Victorian crime and punishment, showing that lawyers were untrustworthy and if you paid the right amount they could prevent harsh punishment. Dickens cleverly makes the character of Jaggers obsessed with washing his hands, creating the image of lawyers being dirty and ‘as guilty as the criminals he protects’. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosegreatexpect/3prose_greatexpect_themerev_print.shtml)

In conclusion, the main themes throughout ‘Great Expectations’ are crime and punishment, ambition and self-improvement, social class and the meaning of being a gentleman. Dickens’s uses these themes to convey different messages within the book and his opinions on how Britain was run in the time the book was set. The main theme of self improvement links with being a gentleman, and the main character and narrator of the book learns a valuable lesson along the way.

References and Bibliography

Dickens. (1861) Great Expectations, Hertfordshire, Wordsworth Editions Limited

English Literature, Themes Accessed 15th February 2009 from the World Wide Web :( http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosegreatexpect/3prose_greatexpect_themerev_print.shtml)

Great Expectations, Accessed 19th February 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/greatex/