Nick Sieb
English
November 18, 2008
Great Expectations
You are all alone, a young man in the big cruel world, yet suddenly you come upon a huge fortune and everything changes. The money and power go straight to your head, and you find yourself doing things you would never have done; you would find yourself becoming what you once hated so much. For Pip ignorance is his tragic flaw, his downfall, and the cause of all of his misery. Ignorance is within every single human being, so overwhelming, so powerful. It as silent as the night; before you know it, it swoops down and takes you over. Pip in the novel Great Expectations suffers from this flaw, yet when he realizes what is happening the damage is already done.
After he gets rich, Pip completely forgets where he comes from, and starts treating his friends and family like dirt. Bribing his friends to like him, wasting money even though he has no idea how long it took to make the money; he becomes exactly what he hated when he was lower class. He believes that money is all powerful and those who have it are entitled to just about anything they want; he even believes that these things can come at the expense of others. His whole life turns into one big mess, and he does not have the tools to clean it up; in fact he does not even desire to. Pip even realizes it and reflecting on it he says “In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.” After realizing he has sealed his fate with his ignorant choices he tries to make amends, but he has lost so much.
Besides being ignorant to where you came from, you can be ignorant to other people, because you believe you are the one that is suffering the worst. Ms. Havisham’s ignorance stems from the fact that she refuses to get over what people have done to her. Her senses of passion, love, and remorse are completely gone. What is left is a life without fulfillment, with no joy, and with no reason to live. As she is suffering from major burns she realizes “…suffering has been stronger than all other teachers, 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.” It proves that ignorance can take a once sweet, caring young woman, and melt away all the goodness, and leave you with a blackened heart. She realizes her mistakes, and tries to make up and get some closure, but it is too late for her; she is doomed to a lonely life.
The only thing worse thing, is seeing how others act and not making any effort to become better than that person; to stand up for what you know is right, and what you believe in. Estella realizes that Ms. Havisham has no love, or passion for her, yet she does not make any attempt to not let all these terrible things rub off on her. Her guardians treated her like dirt, and so she thinks that is how it should be. “So, throughout life, our worst weaknesses, and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise.” phrased Dickens. What she doesn’t understand is everyone can change, and with enough effort anyone can be a kind loving person. All traces of caring are gone and she leads people on, even when she recognizes she should not be. Seeing what you have become, and not wanting to change it, is like throwing your life away, and not caring. Estella was like a beautiful flower; wilting, and wilting, and finally turning into the dirt it had once sprouted from.
Although Mr. Jaggers comes off as ignorant and weird, he is better than the more ignorant characters. Mr. Jaggers makes sure he tells it how it is, and does what he thinks is right. He doesn’t keep many secrets from anyone, and makes sure he does everything is a business-like fashion. Wemmick is also a very business-like person, yet he tries to hide the fun, caring side of him. He is too feeble to stand up, and refuse to do the things he thinks is wrong; instead he justifies it as saying “Home is one thing, and work is another”. It is not respectable to hide the real you, and what you stand for. If you have an opinion you need to let it be heard, and do what you know to be right, not what others tell you is right. You should not just go with the flow, you can be the flow. You should never give up hope, because you will fail everything you don’t try.
Unlike all these ignorant people Joe is the ideal, for what you should be like. He knows that he is a lower class person, but he does not try to hide it, or fight it, he owns it. Pip sometimes tries to force him to be something he is not, but he only agrees out of love for Pip. The real way to find fulfillment in life, is to like where you are, and what you do. Joe has a pure heart, and he follows it, doing what he thinks is right. It proves that even a humble blacksmith can still enjoy life; no matter how rich or how poor you are; it’s your attitude that determines what kind of a person you are; and what kind of life you will have. You only have one life, and If you do not enjoy it, you will have wasted everything you have. And you will never get it back.
In the end, Pip and Estella both learn that what they did was wrong. Both of them made mistakes, and let themselves become monsters. They are undoubtedly ashamed of what they have become, but they cannot undo what has already been done, they cannot fix all the people’s hearts they have broken, however they know they cannot be together, and must go their separate ways. Pip was too blind to realize that the girl he wanted was right in front of him the whole time, but she was too good for him; an ignorant person like that does not deserve a sweet loving girl. Joe ends up with Biddy, and they will live a blissful life, and I am sure they will be happy with what they have; but Pip is probably so blind and ignorant he does not even care. Dickens phrases “Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. Ignorance can take over your life and destroy it before you know it, and when you look back it will be too late.
