Morality—improvement in Great Expectations

LvLing++Wang+Xiaoge

【Abstract】Great Expectations chiefly describes Pips hard pursuit to his false expectations. In this process， Pips moral concept and life value gradually grow mature. Meanwhile Dickens shows us various ugly phenomena of Victorian times through the eyes of Pip. This paper presents Pips notion about “status”. From no notion about upper class to great desire of being a gentleman to his realization of his gentry dream to the collapse of his dream， Pip understand social class is not the real standard of judging a person.

【Key words】morality-improvement； Social Class； Gentry

Introduction

In Victorian times， great social changes were sweeping all England. The industrial revolution had transformed the social landscape， enabling people to capitalize quickly and largely. Although social status was no longer entirely dependent on heredity， the gap between classes was wider than before. London had become quite different from the nations rural areas. Every young man lived in this time， includes the hero of the novel Pip， was influenced unconsciously by the stream of industrial revolution. When Pip lives in rural area， he knows nothing about social class， but after his visit to London， he realizes it and tries his best to climb the “class ladder”. Of course， in our days， we can see clearly that the rise of social class is at the cost of the decline of ones morality， but the process of perceiving it is no doubt very hard and tough. In Great Expectations， Pip experiences from a rag to a gentleman and then to a rag again， he realizes social class is irrelevant to ones happiness and eventually he gains the true life values.

1. Pips Notion about Social Class

When Pip is a child， he has no notion about social class. Later， through the communications with Uncle Pumblechook and Miss Estella， he gradually realizes the existence of “social class” and begins to make great efforts to push into the upper class.

In the opening part of the novel， readers can see that Pip is a kindhearted and polite boy with sincerity to religious and law. “When I was old enough， I was to be apprenticed to Joe， and until I could assume that dignity I was not to be what Mrs. Joe called pompeyed or pampered （Dickens， 2004： 39）.” This is Pips dream and aim to live in this world. It seems that Pip would be very distinguished and happy when he rolls up his shirtsleeves and goes into the forge to be Joes apprentice. In Pips eyes， the forge is the glowing road to manhood and independence. He has no notion at all about social class because the people lived around him is the same—they all are the poor.

In the first part， little Pip is a sympathy boy. Although he is threatened by Magwitch at the beginning of the novel， Pip pities his desolation and helps him all the same， because in his mind， the prisoner has no difference with the common people. Miss Havisham， a noble woman in public eyes， is mysterious， super and lives in upper class， but when Pip sees Miss Havishams living， he pities her very much and he never thinks that he is in the lower class and has no qualification to pity her. So when Mrs. Joe asked information about Miss Havisham， Pip says nothing about it. If he describes the truth he believes he will be “coarse and treacherous （Dickens， 2004： 60）.” Readers can see clearly that in Pips sisters family Pip is always treated as the ridiculous guy by Mrs. Joe and uncle Pumblechook.

When Pip is laughed at for his coarse hands， thick boots and his call of knaves into jacks by Estella， Pip begins to seriously think about himself. Estellas contempt is so strong that it becomes infectious， and Pip catches it .Pip never thinks of being ashamed of his hands before； but he begins to consider them a very indifferent pair now. He deeply revolves that he is a common laboring-boy； that his hands are coarse， that his boots are thick； that he has fallen into a despicable habit of calling knaves jacks. Pip sys that： “I was much more ignorant than I had considered myself last night and generally that I was in a low-lived bad way （Dickens， 2004： 55）.” Consciously， Pip seems understand the existence of “status” in the world. Till then， he knows that Estella is different from Biddy， Joe and himself， but he loves Estella， so he told Biddy， “I want to be a gentleman” and he tries his best to realize this dream， for example， whatever he acquired， he tries to impart to Joe in order to make Joe less ignorant and common； he sets aside the greater part of his pocket money for knowledge investment.

Through the whole process of Pips changes about social class notion， readers can clearly see that it is Estella who makes Pip realize the notion of social class， and encourages Pip push into the upper class. The love to Estella is the reason why Pip wants to be a gentleman. Pips gentry dream bases on a false expectations.

2. Pips Dream of Gentry

Although Pip does many to improve his status， he finds that those are useless to reach the upper class where Estella stood. At the moment when he wants to be a gentleman， a sudden chance dropped upon the head of Pip--an unknown person would like to offer him a great deal of money in order to give him the best education and make him to be a gentleman. From that moment， Pip owns his “great expectations”. He begins to live in a gentleman way in London and he finds everything around him is changed—not only simply in terms of money and social class but also the friends he made and his characteristics.

On the first night of Pips bright fortunes， he fells very sorrowful and strange. “It should be the loneliest I had ever known， （Dickens， 2004： 134）.” Pip says. The author seems to indicate that “the great expectations” maybe are not so great like Pip thought before. In Pips mind， London is an expected gracious place which gathered numerous gentlemen， but when he arrives in London， what he saw are an ugly， crooked， narrow and dirty city where the plaza is filled with filth， fat， and blood； where the coach in the street is like a straw yard and a rag-shop there even the horses nose bags are kept inside. These are the surroundings in which Pip lived and studied. It is absolutely different from the natural and harmonious hometown where Pip lived in. However， for being a gentleman， Pip deserts his hometown. Among this new environment， Pip meets many new upper-class friends， such as Jaggers—a sophisticated， mysterious， autocratic and powerful man； Mr. and Mrs. Camilla—a jealous， avaricious， contemptuous couple. Moreover， after gained money， Pip strengthens his relationship with Miss Havisham—a mad， vengeful and wealthy dowager who lived in a rotting mansion. Her sole purpose to live is to revenge upon all the men in the world. For being a gentleman， Pip makes above so-called “decent” friends， at the same time， he abandons his sincere friends Joe and Biddy because he fells ashamed for their poverty.

Pip is deeply influenced by his so-called decent friends and becomes ingratitude， selfish， conceited and hypocritical and he begins to despise prisoners. Joe is Pips best friend， but at the moment of leaving his hometown， Pip doesnt invite Joe to see him off for being afraid that his “decent friends” will scorn him for Joes vulgarity. Even when Joe goes to London to visit him， he said， “If I could have kept him away by paying money， I certainly would have paid money （Dickens， 2004： 201）.” When he knows the aim of Joes coming is to tell him the message of Estella， he suddenly fells he should have given Joe more enthusiasms. Before Joe arriving at London， Pip prepares his sitting room and breakfast table to assume their most splendid appearance and employs a servant in order to satisfy his great vanity. Under the influences of his decent friends， Pip raises lavish habits and contracted a quantity of debts. Pip and his friends spend as much money as they can， get as little as people can make up their minds to give them. They are always more or less miserable， and most of their acquaintances are in the same condition. That is Pip and his friends life. One day， Pip meets a few convicts in a stagecoach. In his eyes， these convicts are lower animals with coarse mangy outer surface and a most disagreeable and degraded spectacle. He already forgets that he has helped a convict during his childhood. At that moment he has pitied the convict very much but now he detests the convicts. Of course， he never thinks that it is a detested convict who offered him the decent life.

3. Conculsion

From having no notion about social class to the sprout of gentry dream to the realization of the dream， Pip experiences a lot， gains a lot and also loses a lot. Although Pip fortunately jostles into the upper-class society and successfully improves his status， he is not happy， even is more painful than before because he is always tortured by his conscious. It also provides Dickens the opportunity to gently satire the class system of his era and to make a point about its capricious nature. These are all from his false expectation of being a gentleman. After experienced self-improvement in social class， Pip becomes more mature and indistinctly fells that there is no relationship between high status and gentrys identity.

References：

[1]Dickens，C.2004.Great Expectations.珠海：珠海出版社.

[2]Drabble，M.1998.The Oxford Companion to English Literature.London：Oxford University Press.

[3]http：//Victorian，lang.Nagoya-u.ac.jp.

[4]查爾斯·狄更斯.羅志野譯.孤星血淚[M].南京：譯林出版社，2001.

作者簡介：呂玲（1982.10-），女，山東萊蕪人，青島黃海學院，副教授，碩士，研究方向：英語翻譯。