What it Means to be a Gentleman in Dickens Great...

What it Means to be a Gentleman in Dickens Great Expectations Throughout the novel of Great Expectations, Dickens is interested in what it means to be a gentleman. He tries to show us by telling us a story about a young boy Pip in which he grows up trying to become a gentleman, through Joe who is Pip’s brother in law who is a poor but a decent, hardworking man and also Magwitch the convict, who changes through the story but Pip especially changes. Great Expectations was narrated by Pip which he talks about his childhood and he growing up. This is called Bildungstoman. There was only really one reason why Pip wanted to become a gentleman, and that was to impress Estella, the girl he loved†¦show more content†¦Dickens uses this word because I think it has something to do with Pip becoming a gentleman. I think that the word Expectation means something that someone or something has to live up to or they know what they have to do. It’s like a duty to fulfil. When Pip was young, he was expected to be Joe’s apprentice and work in the Blacksmith all his life but because his desire to win Estella, he wants to become a gentleman so he has new expectations but he is preoccupied of finding Estella. When Pip was a child, he was quite poor and lived with his sister who was married to Joe Gargery who is a blacksmith. His parents had died and so did his other young brother and sisters when they were very young who were beside their tombs aswell. This told me how poor people die earlier in life because they cannot afford medical care and live hygienically. But when he was asked to visit Ms. Havisham, it all changed there. He found out that some people have better lives than him because they are richer. I think this may have influenced him, making him want to be that aswell. These people were high in societies who were educated, so he thought that if he was to become a gentleman, he would be in a high society enabling him to marry Estella. Pip only had 1 sister and lived with her alongside Joe Gargery. His best was Biddy, his childhood friend. We never saw PipShow MoreRelatedGreat Expectations and a Christmas Carol: a True Gentleman Essay1430 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations and A Christmas Carol: A True Gentleman According to Dictionary.com, a gentleman is a civilized, educated, sensitive, or well-mannered man. However, by Victorian definition, a gentleman was, perhaps most importantly, a rich man. â€Å"Charles Dickens†¦was an author of relatively humble origins who desired passionately to be recognized as a gentleman, and insisted, in consequence, upon the essential dignity of his occupation† (Victorian Web). In Great Expectations he portrays Pip, aRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1320 Words   |  6 PagesWhat It Means to be a True Gentleman In the 19th century England, the country was divided into two classes: the rich and the poor; the rich had the luxury to live prosperous lives and not have to lift a finger to do so, while the poor had dreamed to be in their shoes as they worked constantly to make a living off of the little income they received. This essay will include the work of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, and the novel tells the story of Pip, a young orphan boy who lives with hisRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1113 Words   |  5 Pagesadventures that the male characters go on. This seems to be relevant in a lot of movies and books like the story Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In Great Expectations there are multiple female characters like Estella, Biddy, and Miss Havisham who all play a large part in the main character, Pip’s life. One of the first that we meet the character Estella in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is when Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s to play with her. The two kids play the game beggar my neighbor when EstellaRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1103 Words   |  5 PagesDickens’s Great Expectations is a bildungsroman that shows the youth, corruption and redemption of a young man named Pip. The boy begins as an innocent child until he comes into contact with a young lady, Estella, and some sudden wealth. As a young man, he strives to be a gentleman and live up to his great expectations, as well as to woo Estella. Finally, Pip becomes a gentleman after accepting his mistakes and coming to terms with his surrounding company. Overall, Pip undergoes great changes fromRead MoreGreat Expectations : Morality Vs. Mobility1363 Words   |  6 PagesMatthew Goriachkovsky Ms. Lyons AP English Literature 8 December 2014 Great Expectations: Morality Vs. Mobility Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, represents the morality and ambition of self improvement in Victorian England. Dickens’s early life, which was during the Victorian era, has hidden connections with Pip’s situations and struggles. This paper will explore and be supported by the concepts of two literary criticisms, Himmet Umunà §Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s, â€Å"Class Mobility in Victorian England and the SocialRead MoreDickens Great Expectations1378 Words   |  6 PagesDickens Great Expectations In this essay, I will compare the presentation of Pip as a young boy with that of Pip as an adult in Great Expectations. This novel is about a young orphan boy Pip who is given great expectations, when an unknown benefactor gives him money to become a gentleman. In the process he travels to London, deserting the people who care for him. This is a typical Victorian novel in that it has sentimental deathbed scenes such as Magwhichs whichRead MoreMagwitch Character Analysis1683 Words   |  7 Pagesdetect what they were saying. Furrowing his brows, he stared at the boy with a frown. â€Å"Once more!† Magwitch almost shouted at him, the boy’s pale face turning even more colorless. â€Å"Give it mouth!† Nervously, he responded, â€Å"Pip. Pip, sir.† Letting his sharpened, black teeth show slightly in a maniacal smile, Magwitch had thought to himself, ‘My, my, don’t they ever teach young boys not to talk to strangers?’ The character Magwitch makes several appearances similar to this one in Charles Dickens’ GreatRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1017 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiencer is somewhere else absorbing knowledge of a different setting.This abstract adventure is seized by author Charles Dickens in Great Expectations. Great Expectations is historical fiction giving readers comprehension of the Victorian Era.Upon the reading, readers begin to catch on the intended purpose and its significance. A person who lived during the Victorian Era was Charles Dickens himself.He grew up during a time where differences in social class were to an extreme degree.Dickens went throughRead MoreSocial Class in Great Expectations932 Words   |  4 Pages In Great Expectations, Pip changed his social class immensely. Pip did not understand how a poor family could be happy. Pip thought that social class was everything in life. He also thought that money was very important. In reality, it turns out that money and social rank do not matter in life. What really matters is being connected and having relationships with family and friends. Pip finds that out the hard way. In Great Expectations, Pip is exposed to many different social classes, he actsRead MorePips Desire to be a Gentleman Essay1205 Words   |  5 PagesGreat Expectations - Why was Pips desire to be a gentleman bound up with winning the love of Estella? In the book Great Expectations Pip has a great desire to become a gentleman. During the times during which the book was set, in the 1800s, a gentleman was someone who was rich, well-spoken and had a good number of contacts in important places. They were the envy of the poor, because the gentlemen looked down upon them, believing themselves to be better. In the book I believe that Charles