Society Refers To Certain Childhoods As “Dickensian,” As

Society refers to certain childhoods as â€Å"Dickensian,† as growing up in underprivileged and hopeless civilizations. In Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations, depicts a bildungsroman named Pip who experiences the hopeless and uncertain life that he is born upon. Pip is faced with hardships due to his punitive childhood. Starting as an orphan and later becoming a gentleman, Pip was able to overcome his childhood obstacles to become a dynamic character in the novel. In the opening chapters of Great Expectations, Dickens portrays the harsh lifestyle and economic struggle of Pip seen as an orphan growing up with his sister and her husband. The early stages of Pips life are seen with no stable family or no close friends. Having no mother or†¦show more content†¦As a child growing up with no family structure, Pip learns from what he sees and the social structure around him. From the early stages of his life, he sees the social classes of both Mrs. Joe compared to Miss Havisham who are polar opposites. Pip can see that the lavish life that Miss Havisham and her daughter Estella has is something Pip sets his eyes on. As seen in chapter nine of Great Expectations, Pip realizes that Estella may consider Pip as poor and unworthy. Pip explains, â€Å"I thought long after I laid me down, how common Estella would consider Joe, a blacksmith†¦but were far above the level of such common doings,† illustrating how Pip feels that Joe and his family are not up to Estella’s standards (Dickens 72). Pip feels out of place and looks down on his family’s upbringing. Even though Joe is a close friend of Pip, Pip sees that Mr. Joe is reflecting poorly on the life that Pip is living. Children often see other friend’s lives and are jealous of their upbringing making them ashamed of how their family lives. Society and social class can corrupt children’s minds and in this example, Pip is being torn between a lavish life and a humiliating life. Pip is ashamed of his social class and wants to live through Miss Havisham and Estella. Pip recognizes that having this money that is bestowed upon him, Pip could finally be able to prove to Estella that he is the worthy gentleman. What Pip does not understand is that the money is playing tricks with his mindShow MoreRelated Child Characters in Great Expectations Essay1718 Words   |  7 Pagesthe 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 aRead MoreTime Burton ´s Gothic Fantasy: Representing the Victorian Culture through Animation and Parody2590 Words   |  11 PagesFilm adaptations based on particular works such as Dickens’s Great Expectations are not the only means through which we get a glimpse of Victorian culture and society. Animated films such as Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005) represent the Victorian era through humor and exaggeration and reveal Burton’s awareness of 19th century English society. In his study Gothic Fantasy: The Films of Tim Burton, Edwin Page argues that Burton’s films are not realistic in nature, but like fairy tales they communicate