Great Expectations structure characters

 Introduction

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), Britain's most famous Victorian novelist, is the most important classical writer only second to Shakespeare in the history of English literature. Furthermore he is one of the most outstanding representatives under the class of critical realism. He composed quite a good number of claasical woks, making a unique contribution to the development of the realistic novel from the United Kingdom and the European.

  Great Expectations is Dickens’s one of the most representative works of the late period, of which the structure and language are called the most perfect among all his great works.. "This novel describes a young man’s uncertain pursuit of the" Great Expectations ", and finally the disillusionment of it. As the novel vividly depicts the life of money and the pursuit of high society, the original naïve and kind hero Pepys gradually becomes vain, ungrateful in a series of tragedies and eventually returns to the beauty of human nature. In this novel, in a unique way, he describes the universally significant theme of the growth of young people in the 19th century’s literature, and deeply criticizes the corrosion of human nature by the evil and greed, capitalism and money,. At the same time the novel also creates many lifelike characters who jointly forges the success of this masterpiece.

Summary

The story was told by the protagonist Pip. Pip was a poor child who was brought up by his older sister Mrs. Joe. He lived with his sister and his sister’s husband Joe, a blacksmith, who was his best friend. Pip and Joe always be scolded by Mrs. Joe. He is a common child but he enjoyed his happy life with Joe. And it would be more prefer if his sister didn’t always told how she brought Pip up. But Pip’ life had change when he met a stranger who escaped from the prison. Pip had to steal a file, some bread, some cheese, a big meat pie and some brandy to that convict. Pip was frightened that his sister would discover that he had stolen from her. But he was so lucky that the soldiers caught the convict who admitted he had stolen the food from the Joe’s house. Pip helped Joe in the forge for most of the day and learned in an evening school. One night, about a year after the escaped convicts had been caught, Pip was writing a letter to Joe to practice his writing and they was talking the childhood of the poor Joe who had a lazy drunk father. Joe was so ridiculous that he had invented that his father has a good heart and form the start. Then Mrs. Joe and Uncle Pumblechook came back with good news that Miss. Havisham with a huge heritage gave Pip a chance to visit her. Pip was sent to Uncle Pumblechook with tear after he had been washed from toe to toe in his sister’ violent manner. Pip arrived the large house and was guided by a young pretty proud girl Estella. He was left in the dark room and he found there was an old bride in the ancient and dying room. Pip had been ordered to play in the room alone after he talked with Miss. Havisham for a while. Then Estella came. The old scandalous woman Miss. Havisham ordered Estella break Pip’s heart by borrowing a jewel. Estella played with Pip and laugh at Pip’s coarse hands and the thick boots. She treated Pip as a dog, which made Pip sad. Pip was hurt and wished he could be different. Pip lied to his sister and uncle for fun but he talked the fact to honest Joe. Pip did his best to change him for Estella and him given two pound notes as well as the coin from a stranger. Pip met an important man Mr. Jaggers in his life and fight with a pale young gentleman Herbert Pocket who would be his good friend when he visited Miss. Havisham at the second time. Then Pip became Joe’s apprentice after Miss. Havisham gave them 25 pounds and talked them don’t expect more. In a year, Pip worked in the forge but he missed Estella and he persuaded Joe to give him a leave which brought about the war between Orlick and his sister. And Orlick left Joe’s forge. Pip visited Miss. Havisham and knew that Estella was abroad. On his way home, he knew there was something bad happen in his home. His sister has been attacked. Pip worked with Joe for 4 years, and everything is common until Jaggers appeared. Jaggers talked them that Pip would be very rich when he was older and must remove from his home and educate as a gentleman who expects to inherit a fortune. Pip left his home and was ungrateful to Joe. Pip became pound. He thought Biddy was jealous of him. He didn’t want Joe, his deer good friend, because of his imperfect manner. Then Pip arrived London and met Herbert again. He knew what Miss. Havisham had suffered and something about Estella. Joe visited Pip carefully and brought him good news that Estella would be glad to bee Pip. Estella talked Pip that she wouldn’t love everyone except herself, which hurt Pip again. Pip helped Herbert by using his great expectations. But soon he knew the truth that the fortune he would inherit was belong to the convict he had helped, as the convict Abel Magwitch visited him. Pip planed Magwitch’s future and heard his part. Pip visited Miss. Havisham and Estella again. He begged Miss. Havisham for Herbert’s expectation and unburdened his love to Estella. Pip hoped Estella would have her happiness but Estella decided to marry Drummle who wouldn’t love her. Then Pip found someone was searched for Magwitch who escaped and understood all between Magwitch, Estella, Havisham, and Compeyson who circumvented Magwitch and hurt Havisham. Miss. Havisham realized how Pip has suffered, therefore, she decided to help Herbert and begged for Pip’s forgive. Pip experienced Orlick’s attack and Magwitch’s death. So many thing made him began understood the truth of the life. He decided to go back to the village to thank Joe for all his help and asked Biddy to marry him. However, Biddy had married Joe as he came. Pip left the forge, started a new life, working as a clerk for Herbert’s company, and lived in India for many years. In the end he became a partner in the company by hardworking and honest. He had a real great expectation. Eleven years later, Pip came back to saw Joe and Biddy again. They had the happiness. Pip met Estella who had suffered so much, had realized Pip’s love, and change her pride. They felt so different between each other. They became friends.

The perfect structure

The typical structure of Dickens’s works is a pluralistic whole, with characters, clues, plot and other various elements to form a unified whole.

   In Great Expectations, there are many characters, and the images the main characters are well highlighted. Pip, Joe sister, Qiaoge Qi Li, Premier, Hao Wei-Xian, Ace winking ofmoss Na, Jaggers, Herbert, Mageweiqi and other activities of the main characters throughout the text of the roads formed the main line: Pip's growth process; Pip source of the mystery of the property; Pip and Ace moss Na love; Ace moss Na mystery of life experience; Miss Hao Weixian a strange experience; Pip and Herbert friendship; Mageweiqi the bizarre experience; Jaggers activities and Pip, Qiaoge Qi Li, and the feelings of these clues Beattie organically intertwined. As the plot unfolds, the mystery has been revealed one by one, when everything is presented to the readers in the twinkling of an eye, we can deeply feel the fine layout of and rigorous structure of the novel.

3.The perfect depiction of the characters

Dickens portrays his characters to the life. They look quite different, vivid and moving.

In Great Expectations, the characters’ specific characteristics are reflected as follows:

One aspect is to determine the nature of people. As outlined in the novel, Miss Hao Weixiang should belong to the typical bad woman. She is spoiled since her childhood. After being cheated by the groom in the wedding day she never leaves home. Since then, "to revenge the world's men" seems to be all her life, and she herself also becomes a sheer old monster. Another aspect is to clarify all the people. In Dickens's novels, each character represents a certain group of people, reflecting the commonality of them. Take the image of Jaggers, he is in London to fully reflect the image of lawyers in society in London. The third aspect is to explore the connotation of people’s nature. Dickens is very good at mining the implied human factors, and through them to reflect the general tendency of human nature and the laws of certain things. Joe sister, who’s attacked by the gangsters becomes paralyzed in bed, becomes to be a person of a mild temperament. Even when  attached to dying, she also takes Joe and asks his forgiveness;

Charles takes a great effort to shape up and down the cultivation of the character of the hero. One who is a positive protagonist in the works is respectable. Even if there are certain shortcoming for the moment, he is always take great efforts to continue to perform good deeds and moral self-perfection. Before seeing how the plot and artistic skill are, just the beauty of the hero's personality is enough to touch us deeply and attractour hearts.

4   Comment

The novel told the story in the first person Pip. Through the experience of Pip, the writer waned to tell us the following principle: You would have your great expectation if you were hard-working.

Pip wanted to have a great expectation after he met Estella. He was different from those who don’t try to have a great expectation. However, he dreamed that he would have a great expectation with the help of Miss. Havisham who was rich. He hoped there was someone would give him a huge fortune and make him become a rich man with a great expectation. He didn’t think that he would have a great expectation by himself. He believed that he wouldn’t reach Estella’s level in a short time and Estella wouldn’t love even accept him until Miss. Havisham order her. Many people wanted to be given a great expectation or a huge fortune from other such as a rich man who likes you or a rich relation. However, in fact of the matter, you were successful if you were hard-working and honest. And it’s the real expectation belong to you if you got it by yourself.

The writer also pointed some absurd phenomena of many people. Pip looked down on his best friend Joe because he didn’t a perfect manner like a gentleman. He forgot Joe’s kindness which used to make him feel encouraged. He felt he was different from poor Joe, Joe made him shame. In the times, most of people look up to the rich man who may give him a good expectation. They live for money without love. They love money more than friendship and kindness. They believed that a gentleman especially a rich man was more kind and perfect. So Compeyson who cheated Miss. Havisham and murdered the partners was light sentenced. The society was unfair. Pip understood the truth that Joe was the real friend who would not leave him, and the real friend was more important than money. We shouldn’t accept someone because he is a gentleman or look down on someone who doesn’t have a perfect manner. We should know someone really and treat them fairly.

Pip was a kind child who helped the convict and wanted to be a hard-working man like kind Joe. But he became proud after he knew he would have a great expectation. He left his deer friends Joe and Biddy. He did something wrong. But he was a kind man also. As he knew the fact, he understood the truth. He forgave Miss. Havisham who used to hurt him and saved her; he helped the convict and begged for his friend; he declined the money from Miss. Havisham and worked hard to got his own great expectation; he hoped Estella have happiness though she hurt him badly. He was not a fatuous man who don’t have dream.

Estella was a heroine in the novel. She was pathetic. She left her parents and became a tool which Miss. Havisham used to hurt man. She didn’t believe love and was ruthless. She became a poor woman without love and was hurt by another cruel man, her husband. The writer punished her bloodiness by her husband for years, but he gave a change to her to got happiness with Pip at last because she was trained to be a cruel girl and she had change a lot. She understood love and she was not proud any more. She became a real woman who knows how to love and give.

Both Pip and Estella were lost themselves in that times, but they realized the truth of life at last and would got their happiness at last we could know. That is what the writer wanted to show us. Love, honest, and hard-working are more important. You would have a great expectation if you keep them and don’t lost yourself.

Conclusion

   Dickens's works have always maintained the loyalty to the general population and the pessimistic attitudes towards the capitalist society. He is a bourgeois writer, a humanist, as well as reformist. He does not support the revolution, in that revolution seems too cruel, and in that revolution is a just personal revenge. He advocates the use of betterment and the power of moral influence. In particular, he advocates to take the little people of sincere warmth to improve society and make the evil conscious of what they should be.. He advocates universal love and sincerity, and hates hypocrisy and the evil monk. He portrayed a positive image of all working women who are of gentle graciousness of the beautiful kind. On the contrary, the woman characters of violence, revengefulness, snobbishness are often punished by the fate and finally restore the human nature  before the "good" touching and harsh realities of life.

Dickens has attained very high literary achievement, whose impact on the world’s literature is immense. His works have been introduced into China in the early 20th century and were widely accepted by readers. The concept of humanitarianism , the spirit of social criticism, and the superb artistic skills, have an great impact on modern Chinese fiction.

   Dickens is the UK's most popular novelist. Even one century after his death, he is still worthy of this honorable title.

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