Great_Expectations

Great Expectations Essay In the intricately crafted novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens explores the concept of belonging through various themes and techniques. Through analysis we can establish four sub-categories that contribute largely to Pip’s sense of belonging, being social, familial, locative and intimate belonging. Whilst we as an audience venture on the journey with Pip to finding where he belongs, we discover how characters relationships with each other and how they interact with their environment can affect Pip’s sense of belonging. The first facet of belonging that is explored in Great Expectations is social belonging, Pip finds that trying to find where he belongs in society affects his sense of belonging. In the first stage on the book Pip feels as though he doesn’t belong in the working class and is not excited about his potential future as a blacksmith. However, when he moves to London and becomes more ‘socially advanced’ he still doesn’t feel like he belongs. London is where he anticipated he would belong from the beginning, but really underneath the surface it was just a grimy dirty place. When Pip returns to the marshes of Kent he realises that this was where he belonged all along. In the first stage of the book Dickens emphasised the colloquial language that was used by the people of Kent, almost satirising them outlining their social status. Not only social belonging but also familial belonging are important in understanding Pip’s true sense of belonging. We can also see that familial belonging is evident in Great Expectations, in fact family is an ongoing issue throughout the text. Initially we sympathise with Pip because of how Mrs Joe his sister, his closest blood relative treats him, because she ‘brought him up by hand’. However Pip is comforted by Joe Gargery because he truly loves and cares for Pip. A main theme in the book is guilt, Pip suffers with this when he leaves for London and doesn’t keep in contact with Joe. Dickens uses Pip’s narrative voice to show that Pip has matured and now can reflect upon his decisions. Familial belonging is key in understanding Pip’s overall sense of belonging, locative belonging also shapes Pip’s sense of belonging. Locative belonging largely contributes to Pip’s sense of belonging throughout the text, main locations like Miss Havisham’s house, the forge and London all represent ideas and often links to who lives there and whether they belong there. For instance Miss Havisham’s represents the upper class, but really it is in decay, in particular gothic imagery is used here to express how he is feeling. Also the gothic descriptions of the forge when Pip was growing up and when he moved to London demonstrates his lack of sense of belonging. This makes understanding locative belonging key in understanding Pip’s overall sense of belonging, just like it is important to understand intimate belonging. Intimate belonging is another aspect that contributes towards Pip’s sense of belonging, the relationships Pip has with two women in particular help shape his sense of belonging. Pip encounters two different ladies throughout the time that we know him who he has a love interest in and we see both of these relationships transform. Firstly there is Estella, Pip loves her and thinks he can’t live without her but really that love is superficial and in the end he pities her. Then there is Biddy, Pip looks down on her for being common but really after the way he acted he would be lucky to have her. To show this, Dickens uses irony when Biddy is speaking to Pip and he has realised that he has made some mistakes. The way both of the two ladies interact with Pip affect how he feels he belongs, therefore it is important to understand intimate belonging to grasp Pip’s overall sense of belonging. Through analysis we can see that the four sub-categories of belonging, being social, familial, locative and intimate all contribute as a whole to understanding the concept belonging. The four aspects are all linked together to create a holistic understanding of the term belonging.