How Does Dickens Present Social Class In Great Expectations
Social class - great expectations Social class is explored through the characters and settings of ‘great expectations’. Different views are shown, for how Pip sees and perceives social classes, how criminals fit into the social class and how each class is presented by Charles dickens. Dickens presents social class in great expectations as quite rigid but still changing at the same time. It seems that where you are born is where you really belong, even if you do have all the gentlemanly qualities, doesn’t mean that you are a gentleman and part of the upper classes. From great expectations, we can tell that there isn’t really a middle class but only really a working class and upper class. Dickens focuses on portraying small differences between
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we can see that people believe that you cannot buy your way into the upper class, if you weren’t born a gentleman, you cannot become one. It is not based on wealth but on family background and reputation. In Great Expectations, the upper class is not depicted as a nice environment, it all seems unkept, dirty and poorly constructed. This is apparent from Pip’s lodging at Barnard's inn, He is staying in a wealthy area but his furniture is literally falling apart. This is symbolic as the upper classes are more interested in the appearance and not so much the inner and deeper quality, same as a proper gentleman. For example, Bentley Drummle is a very high up gentleman who is educated and is very wealthy, but he is a horrible person who tricks Pip and ends up marrying Estella. When Magwitch is speaking of his time with compeyson, he mentions brewers, from which Miss Havisham got her wealth. Magwitch says, “You cannot possibly be genteel and bake, you may be genteel as never was and brew”. This suggests that even though both bread and beer are made from the same ingredients, You cannot be a baker and be a gentleman, but you can be a brewer. This is linked with the idea that people of the upper classes, only care about appearances and not about what really
we can see that people believe that you cannot buy your way into the upper class, if you weren’t born a gentleman, you cannot become one. It is not based on wealth but on family background and reputation. In Great Expectations, the upper class is not depicted as a nice environment, it all seems unkept, dirty and poorly constructed. This is apparent from Pip’s lodging at Barnard's inn, He is staying in a wealthy area but his furniture is literally falling apart. This is symbolic as the upper classes are more interested in the appearance and not so much the inner and deeper quality, same as a proper gentleman. For example, Bentley Drummle is a very high up gentleman who is educated and is very wealthy, but he is a horrible person who tricks Pip and ends up marrying Estella. When Magwitch is speaking of his time with compeyson, he mentions brewers, from which Miss Havisham got her wealth. Magwitch says, “You cannot possibly be genteel and bake, you may be genteel as never was and brew”. This suggests that even though both bread and beer are made from the same ingredients, You cannot be a baker and be a gentleman, but you can be a brewer. This is linked with the idea that people of the upper classes, only care about appearances and not about what really