Great Expectations Essay
Great Expectations Essay
Once upon a time, a king named Creon ruled his kingdom. Creon contains no heart, no love, no sympathy for anyone but himself. Harbored only by power, Creon did not heed any warning that his priest gave to him in hope of changing his ways. Creon held so much darkness, that he condemned his own niece to death. Blind with his power, he never realized what his actions had done. In the end, Creons son and wife perished, along with his destructive path. Creon had got what he deserved. Similarly, in the novel Great Expectations, characters who overcome injustices in life, and those who refuse to overcome, ultimately must accept responsibility for their actions. Miss Havisham and her consequential demise provides a prominent example of someone getting what they deserve. Miss Havisham lived with hurtful events throughout her life, and trained her adopted daughter to lock up her heart. Pip tried to convince Miss Havisham that what she did to Estella will cause only harm. Miss Havisham did not give any notice to Pip, and continued to corrupt Estella in her cold ways. When Estella left and married Bentley Drummle, Pip paid a visit to Miss Havisham. Her state modeled only sorrow and guilt as she recited her apology over and over to Pip. A long and dreary conversation passed between the two, and as Pip leaves, he narrates, In the same moment I saw her running at me, shrieking,
with a whirl of fire blazing all around her, and soaring at least as many feet above her head as she was high (426). Miss Havisham lights into a soaring mass of flames, and Pip ends up putting the fire out. Her engulfment serves as a cleansing agent for all that she has done. With the pain she caused others, the fire models as the pain striking back at her. Fire causes agony to anyone that comes in contact with it, and it became Miss Havishams fatal consequence. Miss Havisham made numerous mistakes, and with those mistakes, comes consequences. She may have realized her wrongdoings, and even apologized, but she could not escape the cruel path of karma. As Miss Havisham lays on her death bed, Pip describes her appearance, she still had something of her old ghastly bridal appearance (427). Her similar appearance of her past proves that the fire struck her as a consequence for who she had been and what she had done. Miss Havisham never changed her ways, or stopped herself from her evil acts, so in the end she got what she deserved. She had to accept responsibility for her actions, and deal with her consequences. Various other characters in the novel also exemplify the act of having to accept responsibility for their actions and deal with the consequences that follow. Pips obsession and arrogance serves as another example of a character who must accept responsibility and struggle with consequences of his actions. When Pip laid eyes on Estella, he immediately fell in love with her. Estella did not have the same
attraction for Pip. Still, Pip chased after her, even though he knew she was cold at heart. Pip even tells himself, And still I stood looking at the house, thinking how happy I should be if I lived with her, and knowing that I never was happy with her, but always miserable (287). With his knowledge of her cruelty and lack of care, Pip still trailed after her. The careless act of loving her and not letting her go turned into a big mistake for Pip. He immediately faced the harsh consequence of a broken heart. Pip hurt himself because of his own blindness and stupidity. If he acted on his knowledge about her, then pain would have avoided Pip. No matter how much Pip tried to make Estella his, it would never come true. Pip knew that the fault only belonged to him. He accepted responsibility for his blind obsession, and struggled to deal with the consequence of his broken heart. Pip always thought of Estella, even after she left and married. He had to try and live each day knowing that the hope of being with Estella shattered. Pip also held much arrogance in his wealth, which caused yet another dark fate to walk into Pips life. When Pip went to develop as a gentleman, Joe came to visit. The visit did not go very well. Pip flushed full of embarrassment of Joe, and acted rudely towards him. Pips education exceeded Joes, and the feeling of superiority made Pip act in such a way to an old friend. Joe responded nicely to Pip, he would never hurt him. After his visit, Pip faced an internal consequence. The feeling of guilt washed over Pip, realizing how he had treated him. As Joe left
him, Pip remembers, As soon as I could recover myself sufficiently, I hurried out after him and looked for him in the neighbouring streets, but he was gone (237). Pip realized his mistake almost immediately after he had committed it, which shows he accepted responsibility for his actions. His emotion and feeling of guilt served as his consequence, and in the end, he too got what he deserved. With Pips blind obsession and superior behavior, he had to face his immediate consequences. Consistent examples of a character having to accept responsibility for mistakes and face karma for them exist in Dickenss book. Mrs. Joe also must take responsibility for her actions. Mrs. Joe abuses her husband and her brother throughout their lives. In the novel, Pip described, My sister, Mrs. Joe, throwing the door wide open, and finding an obstruction behind it, immediately divined the cause, and applied Tickler to its further investigation (7). The Tickler struck Pip only because of Mrs. Joe and her abusive ways. Fairness never existed in their small family, and Mrs. Joe never received any similar pain back at her. At least, not until later in the story. Mrs. Joe should have expected her fate, with the pain she caused to Pip and Joe. Pip walks in on the scene and narrates, lying without sense or movement on the bare boards where she had been knocked down by a tremendous blow to the head (126). Mrs. Joes evil actions only caused her painful consequence. After the incident, Mrs. Joe accepted the responsibility of her old behaviors, and changed, but not without
the painful even causing her to change. In conclusion, the characters of Charles Dickens novel must face their responsibilities and deal with the consequences of their own mistakes.