Great Expectations

Expectation motivates us to strive for successful future; however, we will pay for what we have done sooner or later. Pip, an orphan who was about six years old, lived with his sister and brother-in-law, Joe, a blacksmith. It was the day on Christmas Eve that Pip encountered an escaped convict while visiting his parents’ graves. This fortuitous meeting induced a succession of unanticipated events afterward. When Pip was an apprentice at Joe’s forge, one day he received a large sum of money from an anonymous benefactor and was requested to leave for London to learn social manners and become a gentleman. All the things gave Pip a great expectation. Unfortunately, they were not so good as Pip imagined. As everything Pip used to believe finally burst, he realized that it could not go back to the start.

For a long time, people have discussed what makes Charles Dickens’ works so extraordinary and thought-provoking. I think the paramount factors are that he not only conveyed the true meaning of life, but portrayed the real humanity completely in his works. That’s why Dickens’ novels still have a strong influence on the present day. Through Pip’s narration of his three stages of life, we can see typical Dickens theme emerge- life and humanity, particularly the description of the difference between the upper class and lower class. And the most obvious part is that social class does not demonstrate a person’s character or conscience. Almost all the upper class and educated characters in the novel are unethical. They use one another or others from the lower classes and destroy those people when they have obtained what they want.

Take Miss Havisham as an example. She was once jilted by her beloved fiancé who was only out to swindle her wealth. This pain urged her to avenge on what Compeyson had done to her. She taught her adopted daughter, Estella, to manipulate men and created her to be a heart breaker as vicarious revenge. Miss Havisham's revenge was so successful that it made Estella unable to love anyone anymore.

Although Dickens depicted the humanity’s ugly side so well, there was still something beautiful under it – love and forgiveness. Joe is a perfect example of this point. From the beginning of the novel, Joe showed his mercy and opened for a poor orphan. He sacrificed his own happiness for caring Pip and his sister. When Pip was in school, Joe made every effort to encourage him in learning school lessons and instruct him the importance of moral values. Even when Pip was humiliated to be in his company, he loved Pip generously as usual. He told Pip that he wouldn't visit him again in London since he did not want him to feel embarrassed. In the end, Joe not only nursed Pip back to health, also paid back Pip’s debt. Accepting these best intentions from Joe, Pip realized that he had made a huge mistake. Therefore, Pip asked Joe for forgiveness, and Joe replied to him with his gentle words which he always used, “Ever the best of friends, ain't us? Pip”

What Pip experienced in life reflects a man’s ups and downs. Perhaps, to Pip, everything came too unexpectedly to control it. Wealth and fame let him corrupt. Thus, he indulged himself in the attractive but unrealistic world. When the truth revealed, only regret remained. Through Pip in Great Expectations, we see a man’s lost and struggle and remorse. On the journey of life, our ambitions facilitate us to purse promising future. Sometimes we lose ourselves and forget our original intentions because of unsatisfied desire, just like Pip. Consequently, we fall into desperation and struggle with endless regret. As a high school student, I am on the road to pursue my dream. The things which I learn from Pip’s mistake are that no matter how far I will get or how high I will fly, don’t hurt those people who really love you and always “remember who you are.”