Saturday, June 21, 2014

Besides the title, what are some symbols in Great Expectations?Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

In Great Expectations by Charles
Dickens, there are several
symbols:


  • Satis
    House
    is, perhaps, the most salient of these symbols. 
    Satis, a Latin word, means satisfied; of course, the irony in this
    name is that Miss Havisham, the occupant of the house is anything but satisfied, nor is
    anyone else who comes there.

  • The
    clocks arrested at twenty minutes to nine (8:40) are
    symbolic of Miss Havisham's spiritual death after having been jilted as she freezes time
    and refuses to change anything from that point.

  • Miss
    Havisham's wedding dress and
    cake are symbolic of her physical decay and spiritual
    stagnation.

  • Her wedding veil
    wraps around her like a shroud.

  • The brewery
    in decay suggests the connection of commerce and wealth as well as the
    evils Dickens perceived in the Industrial
    Age.

  • The crumbling stones and rusted
    gate
     of Satis House suggest the decadence of what Dickens considered a
    frivolous aristocracy.  That her relatives and the townspeople yet perceive the
    eccentric Miss Havisham as superior also indicates the reverence given to materialism
    which Dickens found offensive in his society.

  • The
    mists on the marshes are symbolic of danger.  It is there
    that Pip first encounters the convict, and it is also on the marshes that Pip's life is
    threatened by Orlick at the sluice house.  Whenever Pip travels to and from London he
    must pass through the mists; this suggests that his development as a gentleman may have
    negative results.

  • The prison
    ship represents what Robert Barnard in his essay "Imagery and Theme in Great
    Expectations"
    calls the transference of guilt from one character to another. 
    For instance, after his encounter with convict in Chapter One, Pip is ridden with guilt
    as he steals the food and file for Magwitch.  When he later returns to the marshes Pip
    is ridden with guilt for avoiding Joe on his visits and for his treatment of Biddy, as
    well as his feelings that "had some hand in the attack upon my
    sister."

  • The names of
    characters are also symbolic: Estella, whose name means
    star, is an unobtainable as a star for Pip, but viewed by him as
    beautiful and desirous and one to be reached
    for. Pumblechook, who is pompous and fawning before the
    wealthy, symbolizes the rising middle class who wish to rise the higher social class. 
    When Pumblechook learns that Pip has acquired money, he congratulates him and treats him
    with a new respect.  Also, Bentley Drummle, a lout,
    represents the falsity of class distinctions as this coarse and crude man is allowed
    into what is seemingly polite society.  Magwitch's name
    suggests both his wicked past and his magical provision of Pip's "great expectations." 
    Pip's servant, whose name is Avenger suggests the
    pretensions of Pip in having a servant.  Avenger does not serve Pip at all; in fact, it
    is difficult for Pip to get him to do
    anything.

  • Fire, which is
    often symbolic of cleansing, represents Miss Havisham's spiritual cleansing from her sin
    of vengeance against men as she is burnt after asking Pip his
    forgiveness.

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