Thursday, December 19, 2019

Social Status in Great Expectations - 1198 Words

Social and financial status play a big role in our environment today. The wealthy tend to get more recognition for having more money and the lower class tend to get a bad reputation of being uneducated people who have no rights as citizens. Social status in a large town relates to how well people treat a person and see them as they represent themselves throughout the community. In the book Great Expectations, Charles Dickens explains wealth and popularity in the 1800 s as a key factor of life. He allows the reader to see how important it is to be in the upper class, but he also makes the reader realize that whether being wealthy or poor that certain person is always judged in their life and sometimes being judged can ruin who they†¦show more content†¦He is finally realizing that money doesn t buy everything in this world and one day wealth can rule his life and purchase anything that his heart desires, but in the end he ll always be the boy who is broke. Miss Havisham w as a very wealthy woman. Her money was earned by the family brewery they owned. In this book, Miss Havisham has power over everyone that stands before her. Miss Havisham keeps Estella and wants to perfect her and make her into a young lady. She thinks she can because she has become a woman of money, but Estella doesn t play into her games and makes her own living with Drummle. At this point Miss Havisham begins to realize she can not control everything she wishes she could. Miss Havisham tries to control Pip and seduce him into the thoughts of being with Estella forever. She uses her power and reign as the woman in charge of his love life and allows him to believe Estella is the one for him. Although she has money, Pip finds out she black mailed him and she only could do what she did because she was a wealthy woman. On page 334 Pip says, But when I fell into the mistake I have so long remained in, at least you lead me on? Miss Havisham replied, Yes, I let you on. She all owed Pip to fall for Estella and make him believe he was chosen for her. Through all of this she realized that even withShow MoreRelatedEssay on Happiness and Social Status in Great Expectations1520 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Dickens uses his own opinions to develop the larger-than-life characters in Great Expectations. The novel is written from the point of view of the protagonist, Pip. Pip guides the reader through his life, describing the different stages from childhood to manhood. Many judgments are made regarding the other characters, and Pips views of them are constantly changing according to his place in the social hierarchy. For instance, Pip feels total admiration that, later, turns to total shameRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1375 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Talented Mr Ripley by Anthony Minghella present similar criticisms of society to a large extent. 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