Child Characters in Great Expectations Essay - 1718 Words

Child Characters in Great Expectations The first part of Dickens novel, Great Expectations, is an account of the childhood of, Pip, the main character of the novel. In these beginning chapters Dickens paints an extremely vivid picture of childhood. The reader is able to enter Pips mind and see the world through the eyes of a child. This is possible because Dickens understood the thoughts and feelings of children and applied this to Pips every thought and action when he wrote the novel. Dickens had an obvious gift for creating child characters in his works. The word pip itself refers to a seed from a plant. Seeds need to be nurtured if they are to grow and flourish. In order to understand both Dickens†¦show more content†¦Pip is one of the characters who fits that description. He is healthy enough physically but he is severely crippled emotionally. In Parents and Children in Great Expectations, Vereen Bell explains Pips affliction: Like any little boy Pip would like to be loved and pampered....In the absence of parents there are plenty of people who tell Pip what to do, to bully him, in a self-satisfied, self-enhancing way, but there is no one to shield him or guide him, or give him the special kind of love that he seeks. (23) Pip is an orphan. Orphans were another one of Dickens favorite subjects. What could be more crippling emotionally than to come into life without the crucial support of a mother and, or that of a father? The opening chapter of the novel shows just how alone Pip is, as he sits on the gravestones of his father, mother, and brothers in the churchyard: At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of his parish, and also Georgina wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that...infant children of the aforesaid also were dead and buried...and that the low leaden line beyond, was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea; and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry was Pip. (24, ch.1) Pip seems asShow MoreRelatedEssay on Charles Dickens Great Expectations1135 Words   |  5 Pages Great Expectations’ main character, Phillip Pirrip- generally known as Pip- had a rough upbringing as a child. His sister, Mrs. Joe had â€Å"brought him up by hand†, after their parents and five brothers had all been laid to rest many years ago. Another character, Herbert Pocket experienced a bizarre childhood, though in a different manner. Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations develops through the novel following Pip, a young â€Å"common boy† who grew up in the countryside. As he matured so did his loveRead More How Dickens Creates Sympathy for the Characters in Great Expectations1212 Words   |  5 PagesHow Dickens Creates Sympathy for the Characters in Great Expectations Published initially as a weekly contribution in a local newspaper, Dickens’ Great Expectations developed to be a great success. Great Expectations was a story for all classes, both rich and poor appreciated his efforts. Great Expectations is the tale of Phillip Pirrip who has no family except an older sister, he feels insecure in the world around him. Having no parents to give him a sense of identity, he wanders in theRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations964 Words   |  4 PagesTITLE Throughout Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, minor characters help in the development of Pip and his psychological state. The novel journeys with Pip as he grows from a poor, young boy to an adult in the upper class. Difficult situations, suspense, and dynamic characters fill the novel. Julian Moynahan, a professor emeritus of literature at Rutgers University, analyzed Dickens’ novel and produced excellent parallels between a select few of the characters in her work â€Å"Parallels Between PipRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1574 Words   |  7 Pagesboth the middle and working class, therefore, most of his pieces of literature include characters from both of those social classes and how they view Victorian England society. His haunting childhood experience also allowed him to incorporate the themes of alienation and betrayal in Great Expectations (Cody). Throughout Great Expectations, Dickens explores the specific social classes by categorizing charact ers of different social standings with certain personalities and lifestyles. The working classRead MoreEssay on Great Expectations: A Character-Driven Novel1334 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations: A Character-Driven Novel The novel, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens is heavily a character-driven novel due to the fact that the sequence of events in the novel are causes and effects of the actions of the characters as well as the interactions between them. The novel mainly depicts the growth and development of an orphan named Pip, who is greatly influenced by the other characters and became a gentleman and a bachelor in the end of the novel through his encounters withRead MoreEssay Summary and Analysis of Dickens Great Expectations548 Words   |  3 PagesGreat Expectations is a comprehensive novel written by Charles Dickens and shows a moral development of a child. Pip, the main character in the story, is a young orphaned child that lives with his sister and her husband, Joe. He is raised and spends his childhood in the area with Joe, his acquaintance. On a special day, Uncle Pumblechook takes Pip to go play at Miss Havisham’s house. Miss Havisham is very eccentric as she keeps all the cloc ks in her house kept at the same time and still wears herRead MoreGreat Expectations Character Analysis - Pip767 Words   |  4 PagesQuestion 4.) Although literary critics have tended to praise the unique and litereray characterization many authors have employed the sterotype characters successfully. Select a novel or play and analyze how a conventional or stereotype character function to achieve the authors purposes. In current times, it is evident that a writer will use characters that stick out from the norm in some way. They may have a stereotypical background, but the characters story has some type of content that willRead MoreEssay on Great Expectations by Charles Dickens745 Words   |  3 PagesGreat Expectations is a novel written by Charles Dickens that illustrates a strong relationship between parents and children. Dickens himself had a very tough life, his father was imprisoned and he had to work starting at a very young age. The title â€Å"Great Expectations† fits him well as Dickens always wanted to go far in life and break out of the working class. The novel is set in Victorian England, where major social changes were taking place within the country. Many children would work up to sixteenRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations And Oliver Twist1057 Words   |  5 Pagesthem and can embrace strangers as family. Charitable strangers can also teach children to act with be nevolence and give them an honorable role model to follow. These acts of kindness can drastically change the character of the poor child. In Charles Dickens’ two novels, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, Dickens challenges the conventional idea of parentage and suggests that through generosity anyone can become a guardian and have a major impact on the emerging identity of children. Therefore,Read MoreFeminist Criticism Of Great Expectations1190 Words   |  5 PagesFeminist Criticism of Great Expectations The correct portrayal of women in literature is highly significant as women have been marginalized throughout history. Although Charles Dickens wrote powerful and dominant female characters in his novel Great Expectations, Dickens’ portrayal of female strength is unsympathetic considering the period when he wrote this novel. During the Victorian Era, women never had dominance in situations and had less rights than men. In this case, Dickens alienated the