Great Expectations Essay

Great Expectations is the story of distortion expectations cause to judgment. Pip was by genius more inclined towards the stable and moral nature of Joe. It took a long journey of emotional state with most genuinely interesting interludes to make him realize that the becharm of Mrs. Havisham was a passing cloud turn the influence of Joe was the bellwether that defined the values he can identify his emotional state with. It is an established fact that Dickens uses very obvious doubles and symmetry-building coincidences in his novels. But in this context, it can be argued that Dickens has created deuce antithetical characters that define the dilemmas of Pip.Joe and Mrs. Havisham can be considered antithetical in almost all respects. In g discontinueer, in temperament, in the ways that they handle the hand dealt by fate and the way they go ab expose spreading their lifes philosophies. They are diametrically opposite and this causes the under-current of the Yo-Yo effect experience d by Pip through out his life. In the end it turns out that Joes influence on Pips character is stronger and that enables the newfangled man to acquire and maintain equanimity in the face of severe odds.It is important to understand the motivations of the two primary characters that have influenced Pips perception of the world around him. In his initial eld he was Je was his best friend. In spite of his lowly put in life of a blacksmith and the misadventure f beng tied to a shrewish wife, (Pips sister), Joe could retain a sense of contentment with his life and he instilled the pleasures of small gestures of Joy in human life and the value of h hotshotst, and dedicated effort towards ones vocation.Where as Mrs. Havisham is stuck in a time warp and insists on having all the clocks the Satis House, her mansion stuck at twenty minutes past nine, the same time she learnt that she had been unceremoniously dumped on the day of her wedding. She clings to the fading wedding dress more t o remind herself of the injustice her bride groom inflicted on her. throw out she adopts Estelle, only to groom her to break mens hearts and grow insensitive to the possibility of dependable and faithful love.This is a basic difference in the characters of the two primary influences on childlike Pip. To the young mind of Pip, the melancholy haunting of the Satis house and the perennial mourning of Mrs. Havisham carry more romantic collecting than the robust and lively philosophy of his brother-in-law. slice Joe advocates the cheer of accepting the cards dealt by destiny, Mrs. Havisham chooses to make her reverse the constant chant of her life and the driving motivation.In the first stage of expectations, Pip is enamored with Estelle and he sees acquisition of a higher standard in life surrounding the existing class trunk and the presence of money power to be a prerequisite to happiness. He goes on to forget his station in life until a rude reminder comes in the form of Mrs. H avishams instructions that he should be taking up apprenticeship with Joe. This rude jolt leads Pip to unreasonably resent the kind hearted Joe and his birth low living standard.He then discovers that he has been left a sizable fortune and leaves to capital of the United Kingdom to be groomed to become a gentleman. It is here that he meets people like Brentley Drummle, who remain stolid in spite of the inherited wealth and apparent grooming and culture. This stage in the expectations for Pip is mark by the absence of Joe but it is the influence of Joes grooming that he is constantly plagued by fault when he learns that his benefactor is the same convict who had induced him to steal form his own house when he was a kid.The reference points for the values to be followed in life, in the case of Pip are steeped in the common justice notions of Joe. Towards the end of the novel, however, Mrs. Havisham recognizes her folly and confesses to Pip that in her hunger for revenge, she infli cted the same pain as she had experienced on Pip by making Estelle be aloof to him and ultimately marry Drummle. It is becoming to note that the confession comes at a time when Pip is highly disturbed by his aspiration of a higher standard in life and the attached disappointments ad uncertainties he experiences in its quest.If he is able to exculpate Mrs. Havisham and even make a heroic effort to save her from fire, it is the rustic goodness instilled in him by Joe, not through long lectures but by example of a blue-fruited life, led with contentment in the service of others. The reconciliation at the end of the novel, the second and the most best-selling(predicate) ending (the characteristic happy ending of Dickens). Mrs. Havisham lives all her life by the terms of remorse, revenge and recrimination.While Joe leads his life in an uncomplicated way to enable people around him to blossom on their own. This during the other(a) years of Pip helps form the moral core that makes P ip a heroic character. It is important to pecker that the two characters or the two major influences are majorly contradictory. Mrs. Havisham mourns while Joe makes peace with his world. Ms. Havisham wants revenge, while Joe would rather forgive and forget. Mrs.Havisham is ready to sacrifice another life to further her dearly held wishes of retribution on male species, while Joe still retains faith in his ability to love even after having a shrewish wife in whose care he leaves no stone unturned. After her death and without undue haste he remarries Biddy reaffirming his faith in human goodness. Pips actions and his motivations of kindness towards the convict, Mrs. Havisham, and later towards Estelle in the end of the novel speak more about the positive and warm influence of Joe Grager, his brother-in-law, than the scheming or consume influence of Mrs. Havisham