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Characterization in Dickens (1) It is not a secret that Charles Dickens is now being referred to as one of Britains greatest writers. This can be partially explained by the fact that he pioneered the method of literary realism, which is the reason why his books provide readers with the insight on the realities of Victorian era. Despite the fact that plots of Dickens masterpieces often incorporate fantastic elements, the actual portrayal of characters in his books is distinguished with utter realism. The validity of this statement becomes especially obvious when we analyze the semantic properties of one of his greatest novels Great Expectations.
In this novel, author was able to give readers an opportunity to observe the full specter of characters motivations to act in one way or another, under specific set of circumstances. Author analyses Victorian society with the mean of exposing its inconsistencies, where social satire is being utilized as literary tool. We can say that Great Expectations is a story of peoples sense of idealism being unable to adjust to the realities of industrialized world. In this paper, we will examine the methods of characters literary portrayal, to which author had resorted, during the course of working on this particular novel. (2) Despite the fact that Great Expectations is now being often referred to as classical Victorian novel, at the time when it was being published, literary critics used to describe it as truly innovative, in its essence. This is because; author was able to portray the psychological traits of many novels characters as such that do not correlate with their social status. For example, despite Pip being a commoner, it is his existential idealism that define his life-choices.
This is because Pip appears to be a romantic individual, in true sense of this word. Even at the beginning of the novel, narrator talks about its own childhood as being affected by numerous mystical occurrences, the true meaning of which he was able to realize later in his life. Pip thinks of expressions of nature as such that convey a certain semantic message. The reason why Kent's marshes are being continuously mentioned in Great Expectation, is because Pip draws inspiration out of being able to associate these marshes with his future great destiny. It is because of Pips perceptional sensitivity that he is able to decipher hidden messages that are being conveyed to him by variety of physical objects that he associates with his childhood: The mist was heavier yet when I got out upon the marshes, so that instead of my running at everything, everything seemed to run at me. This was very disagreeable to a guilty mind.
The gates and dykes and banks came bursting at me through the mist, as if they cried as plainly as could be, A boy with Somebody-else's pork pie! Stop him! (Dickens, Ch. 3). By describing Pip being an idealist, who is willing to sacrifice, in order to be able to achieve his dreams, Dickens undermines the very premise, upon which social hierarchy in capitalist societies is based. At the same time, he does not refer to the notion of social hierarchy, as being wicked in its essence. According to Dickens, it is qualities of ones character, which should correspond to his ability to gain social prominence.
Therefore, Dickens social criticism does not derive out of his conviction that Victorian society was not egalitarian, but out of his subconscious understanding of the fact that peoples division on social strata does not correspond to their biological worth. It cannot escape readers attention that, with exception of Estella, characters in Great Expectations do not seem to change, as a result of being subjected to different circumstances. For example, we can find many similarities between Pip as a kid and Pip as adult, because his inner essence, as idealistic individual, always remained the same. The reason he and Herbert became friends, is that that they were equally romantic and good-natured, despite the fact that they belonged to different social classes.
On the other hand, the characters of Orlick and Drummle, also appear as being capable to enjoy a lasting friendship, but only because of being equally despicable: As Drummle leaned down from the saddle and lighted his cigar and laughed, with a jerk of his head towards the coffee-room windows, the slouching shoulders and ragged hair of this man, whose back was towards me, reminded me of Orlick (Dickens, Ch. 43). This points out at another method of characterization that is being utilized in Dickens novel, namely characters replication. It cannot escape the attention of an attentive reader that the most important characters in Great Expectations, have their doubles. For example, there are two convicts, Magwitch and Compeyson, who appear to be equally incapable of fitting into society.
There are also two secret benefactors, Magwitch and Pip himself, who helps Herbert to enter merchant business, at the end of a novel. In addition, there are two handicapped individuals, who were able to affect Pips life to a comparable extent Mrs. Joe and Miss Havisham. We can also draw a certain parallel between Estella and Biddy. The reason why Dickens had incorporated doubles in his novel is to emphasize that peoples behavior does not closely relate to their affiliation with a particular social strata. This also helps readers to understand the essence of the relationship between different characters.
For example, after having read about how Pip used to feel towards Estella, it makes it easier for us to come to conclusion, in regards to what had happened between Miss Havisham and Compeyson. As we have mentioned earlier, it is authors attention to the accurate description of the elements of environment that makes even the novels most eccentric characters to appear as being absolutely realistic. Here is how Pip describes his first encounter with Miss Havisham: She was dressed in rich materials - satins, and lace, and silks - all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow.
I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes (Dickens, Ch. 8). Dickens talent, as writer, corresponds to his ability to describe the items of personal affect in great details, without the literary quality of his novels being significantly lowered, as result. In fact, it often happens, throughout the reading of Great Expectations, that we are able to anticipate how every particular character will act, simply because author provides us with the insight on characters psyche, by revealing the existential context, associated with these characters. For example, readers get to be reassured that Mrs. Joe is incapable of causing harm to anybody, despite her threats to use tickler on Joe Gallery, because she is perfectly aware of what constitutes the main virtue of a housewife: Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and some people do the same by their religion (Dickens, Ch. 4). Individual who strives for cleanliness cannot be referred to someone who is being spiritually corrupted. This is the reason why, despite the fact that Mrs. Joe appears to be a person who often looses her temper and who act in unpredictable manner, her behavior does not strike as being particularly odd. At the same time, the first time we get to read about Miss Havisham, we are being reaffirmed that she clearly has some of her marbles missing, even though that she is quite capable of carrying on an intelligent conversation.
Thus, it will not be an exaggeration to say that Dickens was also a very good psychologist, because he knew how make readers to perceive his characters in a way he wanted them to be perceived. Miss Havisham's high social status prevents her from coming to terms with reality. Some of her sayings indicate the fact that she considers entertainment as something that has value in itself: I want diversion, and I have done with men and women. Play I sometimes have sick fancies, she went on, and I have a sick fancy that I want to see some play. There there! with an impatient movement of the fingers of her right hand; play, play, play! (Dickens, Ch. 8).
In its turn, this gives us a right to talk about her as being affected by spiritual decadency. Therefore, we can say that the way Dickens depicts characters in Great Expectations has a utilitarian purpose of teaching readers a moral lesson. Even though that some of novels narrative aspects appear as being voluntaristic, by the time we finish reading Dickens masterpiece, we get to realize that plots inconsistencies, found in Great Expectations, actually serve the purpose of increasing characters realism. Apparently, since the time when Dickens novel was written, people did not change that much. Even today, there is a lot of so-called cat ladies can be found, throughout America, who live in the world of fantasy, who prefer to socialize with their pets rather then with people and who look with utter suspicion at just about anyone who happened to walk by their houses. In order for us to get a psychological portrait of such women, we simply need to read Dickens description of Miss Havisham.
Literary critics often talk about Great Expectations as having a significantly lower value, comparing to Dickens other works. This is because many novels characters seem to be preoccupied with pursuing their personal agenda, as their foremost priority, without contemplating about artificial essence of social injustice, they get to experience on every-day basis. However, if we take a closer look at novels characters, it will appear that the existential inadequateness, on their part, is often being socially motivated. The character of Magwitch comes as a good example. He is a criminal who acts like a criminal. At the same time, he is a person of very high moral standards, who has fallen victim to circumstances and who cannot be judged by the people who had never walked in his shoes.
It is only at the end of the novel that we learn this. Dickens goal was to encourage readers to grow increasingly suspicious of Magwitch, so that the realization of his true nature would instill them with the sense of guilt. In its turn, this makes novel more dramatic. After Magwitch reveals the circumstances of his upbringing, our attitude towards him changes diametrically: Ive been done everything to, pretty well - except hanged. I've been locked up, as much as a silver tea-kettle. I've been carted here and carted there, and put out of this town and put out of that town, and stuck in the stocks, and whipped and worried and drove.
I've no more notion where I was born, than you have - if so much. I first become aware of myself, down in Essex, a thieving turnips for my living (Dickens, Ch. 42). Thus, we can only agree with Timothy Sexton, who in his article Charles Dickens and Great Expectations: Characterization as Social Critique suggests that Dickens uses characterization to instill readers with his understanding of the essence of socio-political dynamics in Victorian England: Dickens used characterization as means to advance certain social ideas. What Dickens is interested in by the story he tells in Great Expectations isn't the psychological drive behind Pip's life, but rather the grand panorama which envelops not only Pip, but indeed all the characters (Sexton, 2007).
It is not by pure accident that the last names of many novels characters actually do correspond to their existential mode. For example, what can better provide readers with foretaste of Miss Havisham's wacky lifestyle then her last name? At the same time, it would be wrong to describe all novels characters as being one-dimensional. Apparently, Dickens understood perfectly well that social circumstances affect peoples behavior just as much as their genetic predisposition.
For example, the first time we are being introduced to the character of Wemmick, he appears to be the person of limited intelligence, who is incapable of opening his mind to new ideas. While holding his little speech in the office, he fails to appeal to listeners, because they subconsciously feel that does not even believe in his own words. However, once Wemmick finds himself being present at peoples informal gathering, we get to see him from entirely different perspective. Within the circle of his close friends, Wemmick reveals his true essence as very effective speaker, who knows how to appeal to peoples psychological anxieties, in order to make them to agree with his point of view. Despite the fact that Dickens is often being referred to as someone who strived to promote a classic Socialist agenda, because of his realistic style of writing, this could not be further from the truth.
Author knew that it is not the money that corrupt people but their psychological inadequacy, which derives out such peoples biological deficiency. Money can only benefit truly noble individuals, because they will never be willing to become moneys servants. Pip never stops being idealistic and chivalrous individual, even after being turned into a gentleman. In fact, Pip has never been concerned about becoming rich, as some critics suggest. He viewed material riches as the mean of social advancement and not as something, which has value in itself.
Similarly, Orlick never stops being an utterly despicable character, simply because he is not capable of keeping his anomalistic urges under control. Therefore, Orlick could never become a gentlemen, no matter how much money he could have inherited. In his article that we have mentioned earlier, Timothy Sexton makes a very good point, while suggesting that: Dickens uses characterization to express his theme that it isn't money that corrupts a person, but rather that by allowing one's moral dispensations to become corrupted by the acquisition of wealth one loses their God-given sense of virtue (Sexton, 2007). We can say that it is exactly that characters in Great Expectations range from one-dimensional to three and even more dimensional, which increases novels realism, as whole, because such state of affairs actually corresponds to objective reality. With advent of multiculturalism in Western countries, more and more citizens are beginning to understand that some people can only formally be referred to as humans, because, despite their human-like appearance, they are actually being closer to animals.
In Great Expectations, Dickens seems to have come to the same conclusion, although he did it rather intuitively. Nevertheless, it does not deprive such conclusion of its validity. Thus, we can say that the way Dickens manages to portray characters in Great Expectations is best described as versatile. According to author, the objective value of every particular individual corresponds to his ability of choosing in favor of socially responsible lifestyle.
This is why, novels characters that had failed, in social context of this word, are being portrayed in somewhat sketchy manner. At the same time, this cannot be said about the characters that author considered as being socially virtuous, such as Pip, Joe or Herbert. Author viewed the value of ones life as relative category, which explains particularities of his methods of characterization. This is the reason why Great Expectations intellectual appeal is going to increase, as time goes by, because in the future, this particular Dickens novel will not only be representing a literary but also political and philosophical value. Bibliography: Dickens, Charles Great Expectations. 2005. Project Guttenberg. 26 Jun. 2008, web Sexton, Timothy Charles Dickens and Great Expectations: Characterization as Social Critique. 20 Jul. 2007.
Associated Content. 26 Jun. 2008. web Vanfasse, Nathalie Grotesque but not impossible: Dickens Novels and mid-Victorian Realism. 2004. Universite de Provence. 26 Jun. 2008. web Note: I did not use anything in particular from Grotesque but not impossible. I just find reading this article being helpful, when it comes to understanding the essence of Victorian literature; this why listed it in bibliography.
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Research essay sample on Characters In Great Miss Havisham
