How and in what ways does Dickens portray childhood and class in the novel, Great Expectations.

Childhood and class are two aspects that have drastically changed since the Victorian times and are very much different from what they were decades ago. They were two important factors in the Victorian times where Dickenss own experience gave him an overview of English life at many social levels, which was at such a time when class distinctions were so sharp that real familiarity with life at more than one level was very hard to retain. It is in fact true that Dickens suffered his share of criticism for concerning himself with low life. At the age of twenty, he had experienced the rigours of dire poverty and of child labour under the most squalid and repressive conditions, who had roamed the London streets and seen Marshal life from the inside. Because of these events in Dickenss life, he is able to portray a naturalistic view on childhood and class. This is clearly shown in the way he describes the marshlands with vivid description, for example In the midst of all bleakness and you can see he managed to see past class division because of the story line itself shows how Pip came from a poor family and moved to a wealthy and high status in the class system. It is this transference from the poor to the rich that Dickens is able to describe the effects it had on Pip, how his thoughts and views changed, hence on the whole showing us how class was seen within that time. Dickens had experienced both the poor and rich side, which gave him the necessary insight to review on the harsh treatment of children and how class divided the society and dictated in the way they behaved. Right at the very beginning, Dickens introduces Pip by the explanation of his name, nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. This relates to the whole idea on how children were considered as inferior, and the very name that Dickens gives to Pip is similar in that way. It is short and even the meaning of it appears to be small. It is quite a contradiction to the word Great in the title of the book. His name is his marker of individuality as its shown to be self-created, rather than bestowed by his parents. He is thus severed from any process of continuity between generations, which corresponds to the title, Great Expectations. It is an individual path leading to something grander. It introduces Pips character as a child, which will provide a contrast as to how he would be later in the story, that way we can notice how class destroyed the innocence that he held as a child. In the very first chapter, we get an outlook on what childhood is like for Pip. We immediately begin to sympathise with him as it begins with a mournful atmosphere for example, the foggy marshes spreading drearily by the seaward Thanes and throughout the chapter there is a constant reference to the cold and dreariness for example, bleak place, and when the rains were heavy. We find out that Pip is an orphan, however this was common in Victorian times, and Dickens expresses this by giving the impression that although he is a lonely boy, we can tell that he does not feel sorry for himself. Instead, the way he tries to imagine what his parents are like, simply by the shape and inscription of their tombstones projects an endearing act. He imagines that his brothers and sisters are all sitting neatly with their hands in their pockets is a vast contradiction as to what they would have really looked like, their backs with their hands in trouser-pockets We notice this, which provides dark humour but also allows us to empathise with Pip at the loss of his family.

Pips terrifying encounter with the convict, and the humour that it holds immediately involves the readers. An atmosphere of dark and sinister by the description of the graveyard, and the convict is created, which is also a contrast from the delicacy and innocence of Pip. He feels threatened by the landscape and sees the sea as a savage lair from which the wind comes to attack him. The threat takes human form due to the convict. The terror and helplessness of childhood are captured by Pips identifying himself as the small bundle of shivers growling afraid. Pip feels immense guilt when he does what the convict asks him to do. He steals the food from Mrs Joes cupboard along with a bottle of brandy, returns to the convict as promised and hands it over to him. Pip has a strong sense of whats right and whats wrong here, as Dickens uses Pips vivid and lively imagination to portray how guilty and nervous he feels by stealing from Mrs Joe. It was common tradition that everyone would go to Church on Sundays, meaning both lower and upper classes would be there. Joe feels awkward in his Sunday clothes, he feels out of place and would much rather prefer to be in his clothes. The question is why couldnt he simply do that? This illustrates the absurdity of social pretentious and how due to class system, one cannot be themselves but act as someone else just to suit other peoples appearances and mannerisms (most likely to the upper-class preferences). This is an example that Dickens demonstrates on how class system dictates their actions in everyday life, creating several codes of conduct such as the way people should dress at certain places- like the Church. Dickens once again plays upon Pips guilty feelings, and describes the clothes similar to one that make him look like a criminal, tailors had orders to make them like a kind of Reformatory. Pip also mentions how Mrs Joe had some general idea that he was a young offender, it suggests that children are treated like offenders and criminals, and provides a reason to why Mrs Joe always punishes him by hitting him Later, at the forge there is large Christmas dinner attended by the Hubbles, Wopsle, and the pompous Uncle Pumblechook. Whenever they had nothing to say, they would divert it to Pip. It is clear that Pip becomes the victim of the conversation when Uncle Pumblechook and Wopsle talk about the corruption of youth. The manner that they talk to Pip is cruel, humiliating and are constantly reprimanding him even though he has done nothing to upset them physically. They blame him as if it is his fault for the mistakes of the overall children population. We wonder why doesnt Pip say anything- the answer is because he could not. When Pip is describing the characters by the way they talk and from their actions, he describes them in a negative manner- it is clear he does not like them very much, and we see this. The adults around the table are being unfair, rude, deliberately picking on him, and he cant say anything to defend himself. This is another aspect of childhood we see where we realise they have very little rights. Pip has to endure it all and accept it as if it truly was his fault for the mistakes they accuse him of making, a fearful catalogue of all the illness I had been guilty of, the word guilty is once again recurred relating back to how children were treated like young offenders. The way Pip describes Mr Wopsle, Roman nose and a large shining bald forehead, had a deep voice which he was uncommonly proud of on page 27, describes him as a person who enjoys the sound of his voice, suggesting he is a very loquacious person. The Roman nose, meaning it is very long, pointed and regal looking and we get this

image of a frustrated Pip who wants nothing more than to pull it until he howled and readers can feel for Pip because of the way Mr Wopsle seems to go on and on. When Pip is compared to a pig, it is ironic because it is Uncle Pumblechook the one eating like a pig and is in fact saying how much he enjoys pork. They compare Pip to pork, showing how he should be grateful that he is human and not just plain meat if he were an animal, which are second to human beings. They say that he would have been disposed of for No upbringing up by hand. Not a bit of it! In attempt to make Pip feel better when the others are being spiteful to him, Joe adds more gravy to his plate to the point where Pip becomes afraid to take it, this is comical to the readers and Dickens does this to make readers realise how much of the adults around the table are being horrible to him. The excess gravy represents the number of times Joe is supposedly comforting Pip for every time they says something mean towards Pip. Pip not only has to put up with all their nasty comments, but he is feeling worried, guilty and stressed about his crime. The quote awaited my fate on page twenty-eight tells us that he knows and understands his fate, hes treating the situation very seriously as the word fate seems to relate to the judgement day on whether you go to hell or heaven. He seems to accept his punishment and in a way telling us, Im going to hell for this. On pages 32 to 33, poor Joe is slaving away in repairing the handcuffs; where as Uncle Pumblechook and the sergeant are merrily getting drunk, even Mrs Joe forgets about the pie and bottle of brandy. There is a sharp contrast between the convivial warmth of the forge and the misery of the convicts in the cold marshes. Pip thinks about this and feels sorry for the convicts. Here, he was with a good meal with laughter echoing in a warm ace with shelter where as they were out there in the cold. It shows that Pip is very conscientious and caring, something that we see changes slightly as the story goes further. We see Joes humanity when he recognises Pips convict as a poor miserable fellow-creatur. Joe has also been subjected to similar treatment -beaten and imprisoned. Joe also knows how it feels to be helpless and dominated, because hes been dealt like Pip- like a child rather than a husband and a man. He is treated like a boy. Therefore, from this we can see that Joe is also a compassionate person, even though he does not know the convict, and knows that he is a convict, he still hopes for escape because he knows they will be sentenced to death and takes pity on that. This whole scenario of Pip feeling he can relate to the convict suggests how children were once again regarded similarly to criminals. The overall impression of Pips childhood is he has had a lonely and difficult one. Mrs Joe, who is meant to be his guardian, is ironically acting completely the opposite of one. She physically beats him instead of protecting him. His sister, related by blood cares absolutely nothing of him. On the other hand, this kind of treatment was common in those times yet Dickens deliberately exaggerates Mrs Joes actions in order to make readers realise it was not right and that it was wrong and painful, especially for the reason for the beating up. Such petty mistakes made by Pip in Mrs Joes eyes were punished, which was almost ludicrous such as the time he came back from the marshes when he met the convict. Pips major influence on his life is Joe. However, he does not look up to Joe, but more or less looks at him as an equal, in which he states so in the novel. With this, we notice he has no one to look up to or to guide him into his adulthood. We can

sympathise with Pip when we see the monotony of his life and the wretchedness of his education. Pip attends the ridiculous evening school kept by Wopsles great-aunt. When he attempts to write a letter in which he describe going through the alphabet as if it had been a bramble bush. The letter he wrote took him an hour or two, which is an extremely long time to construct a small letter, illustrates how very little education was given to the lower class. Pip is also surprised that Joe cannot read, through that Joe then describes his own childhood. Pip learns that Joe went through a lot, and it is remarkable that he still remains a kind, compassionate good man, and can see past peoples faults. Although his wife is awful and cruel, Joe cannot bring himself to become what his father became, and make Mrs Joe end up like his mother. The way he handled the abuse by his father, and still loved him is what Pip admires Joe about. The huge heart that Joe has when he told Pip about inviting him too to the forge when he offered to Pips sister to keep company Pip felt so warm and surprised by Joes giving nature that he broke out crying. Joe respected his father despite what he did, the manner and tone excluded bitterness, which makes Pip respect him and allows readers to empathise with Joe and agree with Pip in admiring him. He does not condone what his father did, but more or less accepts it. Here we now realise that Pip is not the only one with a harsh childhood, but that even Joe had a terrible experience as a child. It makes the readers realise that childhood in Victorian times were treated harshly and with cruelty. We also notice that class affects childhood, due to education. They are all linked. To receive education, one must have money to afford it. Therefore, an upper class child would naturally have enough money to receive an education. They would be treated with more respect and politeness, hence resulting the childhood to be a more pleasant experience. It is in chapter eight, that Pip views on things begin to change and Dickens uses romance as the key to unlocking the reality of the class system in society and through Pip, he illustrates the effect of class system on peoples character and behaviour. When Pip is invited to Miss Havishams place to play, he meets Estella. A beautiful but conceited girl, who enjoys confusing Pip and leading him on, for example making Pip cry but then taunts him by allowing him to kiss her, then next minute shes pushing him out of the gate. Estella is the ideal stereotypical image and character of a high-class rich girl. Pip is a huge contrast towards Estella; he is a common labouring boy. Because of Estella, who is so aware of the class system, it makes Pip aware of it as well. It is interesting and humorous to find that Pip would fall in love with someone the very opposite of what he represents and is. The two characters clash in personality and in class status, which automatically makes anything romantically between them impossible and futile from the start. Despite the fact they are of similar age, Dickens depicts how different they are by describing their mannerism, actions and the way the talk. The difference in their way of speaking for example, knaves and Jacks and Estella always seems to point out his faults, such as his clothes, the constant reference to him as boy makes him feel beneath her and small- which is exactly what Estella wants. The irony is that he shouldnt see himself any lower, because in our eyes it is Estella who is simply being rude to him- it presents a perverse feeling in Pip since it doesnt appear to prevent him from liking her.

Pip begins to realise his status within society and is not pleased. He continues to go to Miss Havishams place, and Estella continues to torment him- she does this because it makes her feel powerful and have control over him. His faults make him feel cautious, and he begins to believe that they are his weakness. The embarrassing interview between Joe and Miss Havisham reduces the respect that Pip had for Joe, although the readers will be able to understand Joes feeling of awkwardness. It is obvious that Joe feels ill at ease at the Havishams. The first thing we notice about Joes unusual behaviour is the way he carefully holds his hat when he walks through the long passage. The quote on page 98, he was still weighing his hat with the greatest care, shows that his mannerism are out of character, he is not being himself and seems to hold his hat as if hanging onto the only thing he is familiar to for some sort of balance. The comment that Pip makes, looking so unlike himself, emphasise that Joe is being out of character and is uncomfortable with his surroundings. Joes reaction to Miss Havishams simple question, You are the husband of the sister of this boy? is so melodramatic. In the novel, Joes reaction is described as, extraordinary bird, standing as he did, speechlessmouth hanging open. Such a response is so dramatic and is used by Dickens to point out that due to class difference one cannot easily talk to another person so comfortably. It is also indicates to us that people in different classes did not often mingle or even talk to people it of their class group, which can explain Joes shocked response. Pip feels deeply humiliated and mortified when Joe addresses him instead of Miss Havisham and Pip, as stated, found that it was very aggravating and admits that I know I was ashamed of him- on page 99. The reaction of Estella adds more embarrassment for him, since he is attracted to her, therefore he will hold more value to her opinions, this also included with the people who he associated with such as Joe. The mirth he could see in her eyes illustrates that she sees him as ridicule, her eyes laughed mischievously. Pip feels he wants to disassociate himself from the people he lives, but readers can see he is doing this for the wrong reasons. He does not want to be a gentleman for self-esteem, for a better life, for self-satisfaction or for more money- but simply to impress Estella, in order to be in the same level as her so that she would notice him. Biddy provides the exemplary solution to his problem, Because, if it is to spite herI should thinkmight be better and more independently done by caring nothing for her words. And if it is to gain her over...she was not worth gaining over. However, Pips only excuse to ignore this is the fact that he admires her dreadfully. He no longer sees the forge as the glowing road to manhood and independence (page 104) and Pip knows he will not be happy as Joes apprentice. The way Dickens repeats the word bind to suggest that Pip is tied to a life he despises. We begin to see that Pip is seeing the complete opposite side of his initial views. The repetition at the start of chapter fourteen, I had believed Dickens deliberately used the past tense to emphasise how different Pip is seeing things. Before, Pip admired Joe for his way of handling his traumatic childhood and yet continued to be a wonderful giving person, and now Pip is filled with shame of Joe simply because he knows about the class system and how its looked upon. He used to look forward to working in the forge but Pip feels that the forge is no longer an exciting adventure place, he now accepts it as duty, a burden rather than entertainment, weight upon my daily remembrance. He compares it to Estellas standard- after being with her, he feels that everything around him is beneath him and feels his work as labouring and

low life. Since Estella looks down on him, he feels underneath her, a low-life, and starts to feel ashamed and embarrassed of his upbringing, It is most miserable thing of feel ashamed of home. Dickens writes how Pip compares his perspective with the windy marshflat and low, he dimly views the path set before him in the marsh. He sees himself like this in the future, and does not want to be like that. Its dawned on him that life doesnt have to be like this, he wants to be something more- in order to make Estella happy or to impress her, he desires to become a gentleman. It is clear that being a gentleman means, for Pip, a romantic escape from his humble routine of working at the forge. The word gentlemen is constantly recurred in the novel and hence is one of the major themes of the novel and is clearly the highest status in the class system for a man. Pip can now afford to have the tutoring of becoming a gentleman however falls into the snobbish habit of associating social status with moral superiority. He speaks of raising Joe to a higher sphere to Biddy, and he uses the virtuous and superior tone in chapter nineteen to Biddy when reprimanding her for being envious and grudging. We are slowly seeing the changes in Pip as soon as he has inherited his Great Expectations. He assumes becoming rich has made him into a better man and should therefore, be admired for it, though ironically it had done the opposite. People are treated differently due to status. One of the major point that demonstrates this, is in chapter 19, where Uncle Pumblechook is exaggeratingly polite to Pip, and tries to remind him of the good old times which is the complete opposite to from what we have read of Pips childhood experience with Uncle Pumblechook. The vast contrast of Uncle Pumblechooks behaviour towards Pip is made blatant by Dickens by using repetition in his speech. Back when Pip was a child, he would always use the phrase be grateful, boy, to them which brought you up by hand and now that Pip has become wealthy, he repeats several time, May I, may I and well deserved. Readers can clearly see the attitude change in Punblechook, it also increases Pips conceit and it shows how quick Pip forgot how cruel Pumblechook was when he was young. It reminds us that he still gullible and not really, that adapted or settled in his new class status- he is easily influenced with the rich surroundings and the people he has met. However, money isnt everything to be of high class or the road to becoming a gentleman. Dickens brings the point across to us and Pip by introducing Herbert Pocket who has very little money, but it unquestionably a gentleman. He is in a social sense because he has received an upper-class education; but already the moral aspect is involved. Herbert teaches Pip elegant table manners, but he reminds us that manners are meaningless unless they derive from sound moral principles. Pip is not totally corrupt or insensitive despite the way he behaves during Joes visit to London, he still has the decency to recognise the blacksmiths simple dignity and to be seized with remorse, and it is unfortunate that it was too late. We see that he has good instincts, which are constantly frustrated by the power of social pretensions. In fact, Pips false idea of gentility has become a prison that forces him into futile social gestures such as joining the Finches Club (page 269). Pips arrival in London raises some doubt about the real benefits of gentility. There is irony, an incongruity between expectation and event, in the fact that Pips new wealth leads him to away from the broad prospect of sea and sky into the narrow streets of the city and from the comforting warmth of the forge to the squalor of Barnards Inn.

The contrast appears to have become less favourable. When Magwitch returns, the social pretension is destroyed along with Pips snobby attitude. Magwitch repeats the word gentleman with an obsessive determination (page 317), and everything he says undermines Pips false ideas of gentility. Pips wealth, far from raising him to a higher sphere, associates him with a despised convict, I shuddered at the thought that for anything I knew, his hand might be stained with blood. The independence that the wealth was supposed to bring turns out that Pip was depending on Magwitchs hard earned money and to be a sham when Magwitch boasts that he now owns a gentleman, The blood horses of them colonists might fling up the dustI says to myself, Im making a better gentlemen nor ever youll be!All on you owns stock and land; which on you owns a brought-up London gentleman? It is here where wealth is seen as a crude instrument towards power, Magwitchs way of taking revenge on the judge and the colonist. Pip doesnt seem to acknowledge the amount of hard work Magwitch had to do in order to fulfil his wish in Pip being a gentleman. For example, instead of Pip thanking Magwitch for everything, in the novel it says, Throughout, I had seemed to myself to attend more to the wind and the rain that to him; even nowthose were loud and his was silent. Although, soon Pip realises the hard cold truth of reality, I began to fully to know how wrecked I was, and how the ship in which I had sailed was gone to pieces. Miss Havishams intentions towards me, I only suffered in the Satis House as a convenience, a sting of greedy relationsthat I had deserted Joe. Therefore, this sudden turn of event where Magwitch returns gives liberation for Pip- he is released from the prison of false gentility, which can allow his better instincts to feel free to operate. We remember it was Joe, who first recognised Magwitch as the poor miserable fellow-creatur. Pips service to Magwitch was more to do with moral. Magwitch fails to escape, however he dies with tranquil dignity when he dies knowing that Pip has not deserted him. In return, Pip learns from Magwitch that genuine love and selfsacrifice can exist even in an outcast from society. Just because Magwitch was a convict, from a lower class he was still a person who gave up so much for Pip in order for him to live luxuriously, he still was a person who had a family, and still treats Pip as a son. Dickens shows this to the readers that class was just something that covered peoples true mask. Finally, there remains Pips recognition of Joe as this gentle Christian man (page 458). This phrase is a perfect description for Joe because it asserts the superiority of moral gentility while admitting the inevitability of social distinctions, by keeping in their own class. Joe cannot be called a gentleman because he will never be one or accepted in social sense. Dickens forces us to distinguish between social and the moral. Being a gentleman is less important than being a gentle man.