An Examination of Dickens

1

An examination of Dickens' Great Expectations reveals Dickens' views of life. Dickens was a brilliant man. Although he grew up in poverty, he truly understood the behaviors of humans. Great Expectations is an autobiographical novel. Dickens was born in 1812 in England. His father was a clerk and was always in debt. Dickens family was in debtor's prison his whole life. He worked in a shoe polish warehouse to help raise money to get his family out of debt. He visited his family on Sundays in the prison. During his career he wrote fifty-two novels. At the age of twenty four Dickens was a journalist and a court clerk. His first novel was Sketches by Voz. He wrote this novel at the age of twenty four. Also at the age of twenty four he was married. His wife was Katherine Hogarth. She was the daughter of a newspaper owner Dickens wrote for. Together they had ten children. Dickens was the first mystery writer. Dickens and his wife were separated because he was a better writer than father. He died at age fifty four. When he died he had not yet finished the novel The Mystery of Edwin Brood. Throughout his novel Great Expectations he reveals these views of life. He makes it apparent that just because someone is wealthy, they are no better or happier than anyone else. He also realized that sometimes life plays tricks on humans causing appearance to misrepresent reality. There is nothing that could fool Dickens, not even evil. He knew exactly how evil worked and was able to develop characters that portrayed true evil. Dickens understood what true love is also. He knew that is was not just mushy gushy but that it is so much more.

Although many people feel that wealth will bring true happiness, Dickens was wise and knew that it does not. Miss Havisham is a perfect example of that. Miss Havisham had everything a woman could ever desire. She had a large home, exquisite jewels, and if she did not

2

have something she wanted, she had the money to buy it. The main component of life Miss Havisham was missing was happiness. Instead of using her wealth for the better of mankind, she just constantly wallowed in her sorrows and was never truly happy. Also very unhappy was Pip. Pip was very unsatisfied with who he was after he first visited Miss Havisham. Estella made him feel inferior. Before he saw Miss Havisham's home and talked to Estella, he never thought he was lacking anything. After meeting them, all he wanted was to be a gentleman. He thought that would bring him true happiness as he says on page 135 in Great Expectations. "I am not at all happy as I am. I am disgusted with my calling and with my life. I have never taken to either since I was bound." This is what Pip confided in Biddy, who understood that true happiness comes from within and not from money. Biddy understood that the Lord should be the source of your joy. It just took Pip longer to realize that. Pip thought that happiness would come only when he had become a gentleman. Jane Curran explains why this is wrong to think. She wrote, Happiness...We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we're frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We'll certainly be happy when they're out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best for admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. At last it dawned upon me that

3

these obstacles were my life." This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with...and remember that time waits for no one. So stop waiting...Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Unlike Pip, Magwitch understood this. Magwitch realized all along that being wealthy would not bring him happiness. Although Magwitch seemed rough around the edges, he had a true understanding of happiness. He put all his money towards helping Pip. Seeing Pip happy brought him happiness. Magwitch lived in the Hulks for quite some time so he knew that he could live on the bare minimum. As said in E.D.G.E. on day 185, "Satisfaction comes though relationship. And love. And eternal life.

These are the things that really matter in the world." Magwitch knew that having a relationship with Pip would bring him joy. In Proverbs 16:8 it says:

Better a little with righteousness, than much gain with injustice.

Magwitch gained all his money because his old boss died. He did not have to work for the money. Giving the money to Pip gave Magwitch the satisfaction of knowing that if only once in his life, he had done something right. Therefore, Dickens is able to express that sometimes we as people are deceived. Appearance will misrepresent reality and cause us to believe that wealth will bring us happiness.

Dickens knew that things are not always as they seem. Sometimes appearance misrepresents reality and causes us to be led astray. Many characters throughout Great Expectations felt as if whatever is on the outside is what matters. In First Samuel 16:7 it says:

,4

But the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature because...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance.

Not many characters understood this though a few did. Even though this was not apparent to all of the characters it is something that should apply to all of them. Estella is one of the main characters he used to describe this theme. Estella had an outward appearance that just made her shine. Although she was rude to Pip, he described her to Miss Havisham by saying "I think she is very pretty" (Dickens, 63). It did not take Pip long though to realize that Estella was very cold-hearted. She was only out to seek revenge on the male sex for Miss Havisham. Estella's outward appearance was very deceiving at first to Pip, and even though she was so cold,