远大前程人物分析

The Analysis of Main Characters Pip, the protagonist of Great Expectation, is an orphan and he lives a humble existence with his hot-tempered sister and her strong but gentle husband, a blacksmith named Joe Gargery. In such a living condition, we can easily imagine that how poor life little Pip lives. Besides, he can’t be a healthy boy both in mind ad in body. From this book, we can infer that there are three most important periods which affect Pip’s characters apparently in his life. First period: he is a boy and then he becomes apprenticed to Joe when he grows up. Second period: he is sent to accept the gentlemen education and what he does there. Third period: his benefactor appears and his great expectation is shattered. It is in those three periods that his characters change greatly. I would like to analyze them one period by one period. In the first period, he has kind of good qualities, such as endurance, sympathy, and ambition. For his endurance, there are some good examples. Finishing reading he the whole book, we can clearly know that Pip is a poor orphan. And nobody cares his feelings except Joe, therefore, he adapts himself to others’ blame and obey their order as if these are his duties. For example, when he is threatened by Magwitch, a prisoner, and he is forced to get some food and a file from his sister’s house, no doubt, he does it as what the prisoner demands and keeps it a secret after that. Perhaps, he guess that if he tells it to his sister and Joe, they will not believe in him and they will not be able to protect him from being hurt by that horrible man. Another example, when he is brought to Miss Havisham’s splendid house, seeing the gloomy and big house, and Miss Havisham’s pale faces, even more, Estella’s laughing and indifference, he faces these bravely. And after he comes back, he pretends to have a good time them when his sister asked him. Still does he visit them once a week on Saturday without an exception. In addition, he helps Magwitch, he gets more food as much as possible for him although he is unwilling to steal food and that file. At the end of the story, after he knows the truth that Miss Havisham always takes advantage of him to revenge what she suffers those years by a man named Compeyson, he doesn’t abandon her. On the contrary, he visits her
like before out of sympathy. What’s more, he has a great ambition of being a gentleman. After he meets Estella, and from then on, he becomes eager to acquire more knowledge. From the book, we know he leans from a kind-hearted girl Betty in order to have more chances to get access to her. Although he fails to win her love, he never forgets this ambition. In the second period, and it is a period of great changes of his life. At this time, he is an adult, and really some great changes occurs on him. He is no longer the one like before. To some extent, he becomes in disciplined and selfish in such a fine condition, which he himself is not aware of. He begins to use money casually and generously, which leads to his great debts beyond his ability to pay back, while he can’t help using that up quickly. His character is his selfishness. After he reaches London, he starts a new lifestyle, and he can’t wait to become one member of the upper class. And because of this, he soon forgets his sister, Joe and other ralatives ad friends. Especially, when Joe writes a letter and tells him that he will come to visit him, but Pip rejects with a good excuse, which hurts Joe a lot. Despite this bad character, he also has a good one, and that is his loyalty and kindness to his best friend. As we know, during this luxurious life in London, he meets a young man who is his playmate Herbert. Then he develop friendship with him, and he always helps him with money and other things as long as he can. In the last period, that is his repentance after knowing his wrong doing before. He thanks for Magwitch for his kindness and makes every effort to help him escape. Later, when Magwitch is sentenced to death, he doesn’t abandon him, oppositely, he takes good care of him during that hard time, until Magwitch passed away. What he does properly shows us that he doesn’t totally lose his way. Recovering from his illness, he begins his new career with his friend Hebert though his great expectation is shattered. In a way, such an action indicates that he own a strong will in his inner side, which can’t be defeated easily. During the process of his growth, this is the very character I appreciate. As the story itself shows that he is an orphan brought up by his sister, maybe it is just a dream for him and his family. However, he doesn’t bend to the fate, and finally he becomes a real gentleman as Magwicth hopes. For a man, that kind of pursuit is a big challenge. I
wonder if you pay attention to his pursuit of love when you read this story. In my point of view, he really loves Estella. Although she laughs at and makes jokes on him, even regardless of his proposal she marries another man upon whom he looks down for his poor quality, and he never stop his pursuit of her—his true love.
After finishing reading this story, we can definitely make a conclusion that Estella is a role full of irony. Although she is adopted by a rich woman Miss Havisham, and she acquires the best lady education, she can’t change the fact that she belongs to the lowest class for her father’s sake. Also what education she gets serves as a tool to break men’s hearts as Miss Havisham planed. Even as a child, she looks down upon others who seems to be poor and ignorant, because she thinks that she is brought up by Miss Havisham, so she is superior to them. Therefore, others should bend to her as if they are her tool if she is not happy or she feels lonely. However, as far as I am concerned, actually she is the poorest one. Even though she lives a rather rich life, she doesn’t understand that Miss Havisham considers her as her tool to break men’s hearts. Naturally, in that kind of gloomy environment, gradually she becomes cold, indifference, and arrogant. For example, she is cold to Pip all the time. I can’t say that she doesn’t understand Pip’s love, but as it is, she still can’t accept him because of her arrogance and coldness. For her, maybe she thinks that love should be based on fine wealth and high social status. And she would not like to marry to a man without these two. Another example, when Miss Havisham refuses her requirement of marring to a rich man, she doesn’t care about what Miss Havisham’s feelings and quarrels with her and leaves her resolutely. This example shows us her indifference to people, especially the one who once brought her up. However, she is not a total tool as Miss Havisham hopes. Especially, after she suffers a lot during her unlucky marriage. As she tells Pip in the end of this story, “ now, when suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope- into a better shape. ” from these words, we can infer that she changes a lot and becomes more mature and wilder than before. Perhaps experiences is the best lecture than we have ever had before.
Joe is the very person that I really like. He is a blacksmith in a small village, however, he has more good qualities than those who have high social status. Such as Miss Havisham, and Jaggers who is Miss Havisham’s lawyer. Joe is king-hearted, generous, loyal, and honest. At the very beginning of this story, we find that he is the only person who cares Pip so much. I just can’t imagine if there is no Joe, how miserable life poor Pip will suffer. As we get, his wife is a hot-tempered woman, and she is the host of this family. Whatever she does to him, Joe never lose his temper and never scold her. After she lose her ability to live after that accident, he looks after her patiently without any complains. In the world, we know, he is the only person that is willing to do anything for Pip. Even though Pip hurts him again and again, he forgets him and still cares him like before. These kinds of good qualities also have an effect o Pip during the process of his growth. Another character of his I also like very much, and that is his sense of satisfaction. Although his wife is hot-tempered and not beautiful at all in Pip’s word, Joe always tells Pip that his wife is very beautiful and diligent. Another example, as a blacksmith, he doesn’t feel shameful as Pip thinks, and he never intend to change his job, and he remains this kind of lifestyle. And these examples indicate that he is satisfied with his wife, his job, and this kid of satisfaction seems to bring him what he wants. Other people may not as happy as he is although they have enough wealth.
I don’t intend to refer to his commitment when he was young, for “no one is perfect”. The most important thing is that he knows how to make up. When he is caught by policemen and deports at the very beginning of the story, he tries to make money as much as possible to requite Pip for his favor. It is he that left all his money to Pip ad makes him a gentleman. From this, we clearly understand Magwitch more, except his commitment, he is grateful to those who have helped him when he is in trouble. As a prisoner, he is different from the others because he has a great goal. and he plans to make a real gentleman different from Compeyson, who is a so-called gentleman. In order to prove that he himself is better than Compeyson, he makes Pip a gentleman no matter how hard life he will face. Fortunately, he realizes his dream.。