浅析《远大前程》中主人公的性格与命运 前言：查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)(1812年一1870年)，是19世纪最著名的英国小说家之一。他的父亲因债务问题入狱，为补贴家用，狄更斯只有去当鞋童工。但是他不想放弃成为作家这个梦想。于是，他努力学习文化知识，先从记者做起，之后成为了小说家。(查尔斯·狄更斯的生活经历在《远大前程》这部小说中有类似的体现。)狄更斯的大部分作品都是描写在英国的维多利亚时期的底层人民过着苦难生活，亦反映了当时伦敦上层社会奢靡的生活习气。《远大前程》是狄更斯创作后期的最主要的作品之一，他在这一时期还创作了最著名的《双城记》等优秀作品。

《远大前程》描述的是一个名叫皮普的孤儿幻想破灭的悲剧。皮普本来是一个善良、纯朴、拥有理想的乡村青年。可是，当他遇到埃斯黛拉后，心中虚荣的种子开始萌芽，他立志步入上流社会，成为一名所谓的绅士，就是为了与埃斯黛拉相互般配。突然有一天，他将得到一位匿名人士的一大笔财产资助，自己的人生即将彻底改变， 怀揣多年的远大理想也终于就要实现了。 在来到伦敦之后，他追求奢华的生活，挥金如土，结果债务累累。几个月未见的姐夫——乔前来探望，他竟然产生了嫌弃之情，枉费姐夫从小对他的一片关心。就在此时，那个资助者为了见见自己“培养的绅士”，悄悄来到伦敦，但作为逃犯的身份被揭穿了。皮普知道后，感到非常震惊、 甚至心生厌恶。可是，随着逃犯的去世，他的理想生活成为了幻影。后来，失去了这一切的皮普生了一场大病，好心的乔不但悉心照顾，还替他还清了债务。最终，还是回到了乔身边，感觉从未离开过。 他终于领悟到所谓的远大前程就是吹弹可破的泡沫，对他来说，牢不可破的是拥有真诚的朋友和平凡的生活。小说从三个个阶段清晰展现了皮普的成长，由善良纯朴到爱慕虚荣，甚至贪恋浮华的生活，经历磨难后回归自我。最终逃不过命运的轮回，回到原本朴实的生活中。通过对皮普成长历程的描写，来展现主人公性格的发展。同时，也揭露了英国在维多利亚时期，资产阶级生活中，金钱关系给人类带来的种种罪恶。

一、对不同时期皮普的性格分析

1、童年时期的皮普（关键词：忍辱负重、善良纯真、好问）

主人公皮普从小失去父母，狄更斯在小说的开始用第一人称介绍到：“至于我，从来没有见到过父亲和母亲，也没有看到过他们两位的照片（其实在他们的时代还不知道什么是照片呢）。”并且，皮普是由姐姐带大的，而他的姐夫是个铁匠，在以前那个时代里，这种家庭背景的孩子没有机会接受良好的教育，因此童年的皮普只有一个奋斗目标，就是成为一名铁匠，如同姐夫一样。其实，姐夫乔是家里唯一一个可以交心的人，因为与善良温和的乔相比，姐姐乔·葛奇里夫人正好相反，她是一位脾气暴躁的女人。文中描述到：“我的姐姐乔·葛奇里夫人比我要年长二十多岁。她一直说我是由她一手带大的，因此在左邻右舍享有很大名气，倍受夸奖。从小我就想了解这里的‘一手’究竟是什么含义。我所知道的她的手，是结实笨重而又冷酷严厉的，因为她特别喜欢把她的巴掌打在她丈夫的

身上，当然也喜欢打在我的身上。我想乔·葛奇里和我就是这样由她一手带大的吧。” 从这里可以看出，平日里，掌握家里大权的姐姐以粗暴的方式对待姐夫乔与皮普，他们二人算是相依为命。

童年的皮普非常好问，求知欲强。“‘你这小鬼真讨厌，’我姐姐从针线活上抬起面孔，对我皱起眉头，说，‘没完没了地问。问多必失，问题问多了难免要受骗。’” 问到姐姐不耐烦，还是继续问。只要他想知道，便会打破沙锅问到底。

皮普是个善良纯真的孩子。他在墓地看望从未谋面的父母及兄弟时，遇上一名逃犯。本来可以告知姐姐姐夫或警察，但是他选择帮助这名逃犯，冒着被姐姐狠揍一顿的危险，不仅偷取面包，还将家中的肉食、酒食偷去给逃犯。文中对偷食物与锉刀时，皮普心理活动的描写明显展现了他的纯真：“对于怀有犯罪感的我来说，这种情形是令人讨厌的。看那一扇扇闸门、一道道水坝和河岸都突然地冲破了濛濛雾气出现在我面前，仿佛都在清清楚楚、直截了当地喊叫着：‘有一个孩子偷了人家的猪肉馅饼！捉住他！’牛儿也忽然在我面前显现出来，睁着它们的大眼睛，鼻孔中喷出团团白气，似乎也在对我说：‘喂，你这个小贼！’一头颈项上长着一圈白毛的黑牛用一双圆眼死死地盯住我，好像一名牧师，试图唤起我良心上的自责。然后，它又转动起那只愚钝粗鲁的大头，那个架势肯定是在责备我。我走过去时不禁用带着哽咽的声音对它说：‘牛先生，我完全是身不由己！我偷猪肉馅饼不是为了自己！’它听了我的解释才低下了头，从鼻孔中喷射出一圈雾气，抬起后腿踢了一下，又一甩它的尾巴，向别处走去。”幼年的皮普既善良质朴，又非常天真可爱，这正是与改变后的他的明显对照。

2、遇到哈薇什后的皮普（关键词：消极、虚荣）

哈薇什小姐的出现，彻底改变了皮普的命运。在这里查尔斯·狄更斯运用他的哲学思想之环境对人类思想的影响——不同的环境可以造就不同的人。当然，内因才是决定一个人发展的关键因素。正是皮普的善良、纯真造就了他之后的命运。在婚礼前被抛弃的被哈薇什小姐，心存复仇之情已久，便让自己美丽的养女艾斯黛拉主动接近皮普，在他对她心动之后，又不断让他难堪。就这样，皮普如同一只马戏团里的猴子，被她们耍的团团转。由于对艾斯黛拉的爱慕，加上她的嘲笑，皮普渐渐对出生粗俗、笨头笨脑的自己心生厌恶，文中说到：“我现在对这些东西很是瞧不起了,这些东西过去没有烦恼过我,现在却使我烦恼了。它们确是些粗俗不堪的东西。”最终，皮普还是渐渐地露出了虚荣的尾巴：“我决定回家去问问乔,为什么他总是告诉我那些牌叫做贾克,而实际上应该是奈夫。我想,如果当年乔的教养高一些,我也不至于落到这地步。”这只是命运改变的开始。

在往后的日子里，与哈薇什小姐计划地一样，皮普越来越喜欢艾斯黛拉。甚至，产生了为了她而成为一位上流社会的人的想法，皮普说到：“‘毕蒂’，我先叫她保守秘密，然后才说道，‘我想做一个上流社会的人。’”“我非常认真地对她说：‘毕蒂，我想成为一个上流社会的人是有特别理由的。’”“这话是郝维仙小姐家一位美丽的年轻小姐说的。她生得比我见到过的任何姑娘都漂亮，我是太崇拜她了。我之所以要做一个上流社会的人就是为了她。”从这一刻开始，爱慕与虚荣之情在心中作怪，即使如此，他还是保持着纯真善良的品性。同时，皮普的新人生旅程也即将开始。

3、去往伦敦后的皮普（关键词：庸俗浮华、爱慕虚荣）

贾格斯律师出现后，皮普的生活发生翻天覆地的变化，内心的欲望变为现实。

告别姐夫和比蒂到达伦敦后，皮普获得一笔可观的财产，并且接受了绅士培训课程的学习。忽然之间过上“上层社会”生活的皮普，无法自我约束，花钱如流水。并且，再次遇见艾斯黛拉之后，为了取得芳心，不惜挥金进入她的社会圈子。也就在这期间，皮普的性格发生了较大的变化。进入“上层社会”，不但没有学会“高学识”，反而学会了富人子弟过着的奢靡生活。“我慢慢地习惯了继承遗产的事实,也于不知不觉之中开始注意遗产对我个人的影响,以及对我周围人们的影响。”“我们在花钱方面从不计算,有多少花多少。”“ 我贪图安逸享乐,由小乐而到大乐,这是必经之路,最后弄得一身债务。”因此，我们可以说，是皮普自身的问题，才会断送前程。

来伦敦后，皮普一点没有想念家乡的意思，连封家信都没写过。直到姐夫乔前来探望，他竟然露出一副不以为然的架势，并且不再像以前那般亲密，不停地用客套用语称呼对方。姐夫乔用家乡礼仪对待他时，竟嫌弃厌恶，想尽快离开这个令人作呕的乡下人。不难看出，皮普完全不是以前那个善良纯真的少年了。他已经被社会这个大染缸改变，变成了一位庸俗浮华、爱慕虚荣的“所谓的绅士”。

4、获悉真相后的皮普（关键词：耻辱感、本性回归）

“我对这个人的厌恶，对这个人的恐惧，只想赶忙躲开这个人的反感，即使他是一头凶猛的野兽，也至多不过如此了。”这是皮普知道真相后的反应。皮普内心的耻辱感、痛苦感无法言喻，一直以为自己得到的一切是从哈薇什小姐那里，经过努力得来的。原来自己这么多财富的来源，竟是来自一位自己曾经在教堂墓地里救下的犯人。这段日子奢华的生活，竟是一位逃犯努力打拼而创造出来的。而且这名逃犯正被通缉，皮普得到的是“不义之财”。最终，由于这笔不义之财，还是没躲过牢狱之灾。所有的一切都已化为乌有，美好的幻影终于破灭。直到在善良的姐夫乔的帮助下，皮普走出困境，最后还是过着俭朴的乡村生活。

二、其他人物对皮普的影响

1、乔的影响

《远大前程》中的皮普自幼失去父母，只有一个善良温和的铁匠姐夫乔可以去依靠。在皮普姐姐和舅舅的欺凌下，是乔尽给予保护。 姐夫乔过着“泥菩萨过江”的生活，即使如此，他还是给予了皮普如同生父般的关心，这种无微不至的关怀让皮普慢慢地学会了关心他人。在姐夫乔善良温和、平易近人的性格的影响下，皮普也拥有并保持着可贵的纯真善良（从皮普对待逃犯的事件中可以看出这一点），而姐姐对皮普的最大影响就是——形成了忍辱负重的性格（这也造成了与哈薇什小姐相遇后，皮普被哈薇什小姐与艾斯黛拉玩弄于鼓掌之间）。

当然，人无完人。乔作为一个乡村铁匠出身，没有受到良好的教育，所以也不能带给皮普较高水平的教育。无法满足皮普的求知欲，加上后来哈薇什小姐与艾斯黛拉对皮普的嘲笑讥讽，皮普内心的欲望越发强烈。终于，有机会去往伦敦接受绅士教育，姐夫乔也全力支持。只要对皮普的未来有帮助，姐夫乔便会尽力支持。即使，在皮普被上层社会的生活蒙蔽了双眼之后，乔依然站在皮普这边。并且，当皮普入狱、欠债时，姐夫乔也尽心尽力帮他还清债务。乔的所作所为也正是皮普本性回归最重要的因素之一。

2、麦格韦契的影响

马格韦契是个逃犯，他与皮普的初次见面是在皮普童年时期，皮普帮助他脱离饥寒交迫的境地。再一次相遇——一直以为自己的一切来自哈薇什小姐的皮普在伦敦过上奢侈的生活后，某天夜里，马格韦契来访才终于真相大白。后来，皮

普才知道这么多年马格韦契逃亡国外，辛勤劳作，赚取一大笔钱后，请求贾格思律师以匿名身份将财产赠给皮普，他的目的是就是要皮普进入上层社会成为“上等人”。然而就是，这些财产将皮普内心的欲望放大，造成皮普性格的转变。奢靡的上等社会的生活将皮普善良的性格吞噬殆尽，使皮普变成高傲、漠视亲友的人。即使这不是马格韦契愿意看到的，但是事实就是如此。虽然说是马格维契一手造成了如此的皮普，但是最终敲醒皮普的人也是他。皮普因为知道自己拥有的一切竟然与一位逃犯有关，而感到震惊甚至耻辱。之后，也由于马格维契被捕，皮普还是回归到之前的生活。

3、哈薇什小姐与艾斯黛拉对皮普的影响

哈薇什小姐出身高贵，却有个悲剧的人生。她在结婚前夜被抛弃，而且还被所谓的“未婚夫”骗走大量财产。已经彻底绝望的她，将自己套在庄园里，这么多年来足不出户。内心的绝望与愤怒，加上对男人的憎恨，全都转化为报复心理，而皮普恰巧成为复仇的对象。作为养女，美丽高贵的艾斯黛拉也成为了心理扭曲的哈薇什小姐手中的棋子——用来套取男人欢心后便立刻抛弃。

艾斯黛拉从小接受良好的教育，并且拥有美丽的外表，可内心却冷酷无情，以此来玩弄男人的感情，达到报复的目的。郝维仙小姐对单纯的皮普说道：“你爱她吧，爱她吧，爱她吧!如果她喜欢你，爱她；如果她伤害你，也爱她；即使她把你的心撕成碎片，还是要爱她——慢慢随着年龄的增长，你会更坚强，心碎也会更痛苦—— 你要爱她，爱她，爱她!”皮普越陷越深，就算知道艾斯黛拉在玩弄感情，他依然不会放弃对她的追求。

对艾斯黛拉的爱慕，使皮普原本想成为一名铁匠的理想变成成为一名绅士的幻想。他开始背离了善良的本性，并且为他所处的环境而羞愧。可谁知真会有天上掉馅饼的好事，皮普继承了一大笔财产，瞬间变身高富帅。以为这财产是来自哈薇什小姐的皮普，此时一定认为哈薇什会将艾斯黛拉嫁给自己，这使那份爱慕被放大，成了吃人的欲望，人也变得傲慢自大。他开始瞧不起以前陪在自己身边的亲友，连姐夫乔来访都非常不屑。但最终皮普还是知道财产的真相，再加上艾斯黛拉嫁给了别人，马格维契被抓，皮普的幻想破灭了。

四、结语

环境对人类思想的影响是查尔斯·狄更斯的哲学思想之一。他认为：不同的环境可以造就成不同的人。随着时间流逝，不同的环境影响着皮普的性格。皮普性格的变化，可以说是环境所致。但是，内因才是决定一个人发展的关键因素。每个人在发展过程中都会受到周围各种环境因素的影响，这些因素促使人物的性格发展，使人的性格朝着好的或坏的方向发展。然而是好是坏，还是得由自己本身决定。正是由于皮普的忍辱负重、善良天真，使得哈薇什小姐有可乘之机，皮普陷入艾斯黛拉的爱情陷阱，最终导致这一结果。若皮普是个倔强之人，当初便不会任其摆布，早早就离开庄园，也就不会发生这些事情。

当然，任何事情都有一个轮回。尽管进入上层社会之后，变得势利、冷漠，对人对事都持有自私自利、金钱至上的观念，皮普还是意识到这所有的一切只是不切实际的幻想，终于回归本性，生活回到原点。

人生即使如此，“拈花有意风中去，微笑无语须菩提。念念有生灭四相，弹指刹间几轮回。”

第二篇：简析远大前程主人公皮普性格发展

1. Introduction

Charles Dickens is one of the greatest British realistic novelists. Through his numerous works，he exposed the readers to different aspects of the times he lived in and explored the unfairness and hypocrisy of the capitalist society. Meanwhile，he strongly expressed his humanity ,especially, his deep concern and sympathy towards the poor.

Pip, the hero in Great Expectations, whoes life has been through several changes. Thus he suffers a lot from his bitter life. Each crucial change is a huge moutain for him to claim or to yield, forging a new Pip. The one who is into a beautiful girl, the love drives him to chase after knowledge and fame; the one who gains a big fortune for a gentleman cultivition in London; the one whoes dreams fall into fallacy, realizing his guilty and starts repentance. Every stage Pip‘s character is under subtle change that is related to the things happened around him.

In this field, many chinese and foreign scholars have done millions of researches and studies.

Domestic research: as for Great Expectations and its author, Chinese scholars have made tireless research and commentary, producing a large number of documents. In 1980, Fan Cun Zhong said in preface of his British Literature Collection published in Beijing foreign literature ―from the perspective of language in this work , Dickens is overwhelming, the book is a model to learn English‖ ( Fan Cun Zhong, 1980: 87 ). In 1986, it has mentioned that Great Expectations is a great work of high modern research and with enlightenment to the lost generation (Niu Yong Mao, 1986). Charles Dickens’ Novel Appreciation published in 1985, has done special reaserches and discussions about Great Expectations, which has reached a flawless research phase.

Foreign research: as for foreign scholars, British scholar Wheeler Michael mentioned that ―splitting self‖ is the characteristic of all Dickens‘ late works in his book (Wheeler Michael, 1985), published by London longman press in 1985. Dickens realized and used the relationship between environment and the characters, shaped a unique world. Dickens and - 1 -

Reality published in 1978 by Cambridge university press said: ―Dickens is the best writer of good at reflecting facts‖ (Roman John, 1978: 63). Another book Dickens and the Politics of Family did deep research of the work and its author, which has done a great contributions to the reference of academic research.

This thesis carefully analyzes the relationship between social circumstances and the development of Pip‘s character in Dickens‘s Great Expectations to achieve a better understanding of this novel as well as Charles Dickens‘s great power in the criticism of society．

The paper includes five chapters. Chapter One is a brief introduction of the thesis. Chapter Two talks about the life and career of Charles Dickens as well as the background of Great Expectations. Chapter Three discusses the development of Pip‘s character. Chapter Four focuses on the analysis of social circumstances and the development of Pip‘s character. The last chapter is conclusion, further concludes the relationship between one‘s character development and his surroundings.

This article attempts to analyzes relationship between the character development and social environment of the hero, Pip in Charles‘ later work, in order to achieve a better understanding of Great Expectations, and more clearly feel the power of critical realism in Dickens works (Luo Jing Guo, 1985).

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2. Great Expectations and its Author

2.1 Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens. John Dickens was a clerk in the Naval Pay Office. He had a poor head for finances, and in 1824 found himself imprisoned for debt. His wife and children, with the exception of Charles, who was put to work at Warren's Blacking Factory, joined him in the Marshalsea Prison. When the family finances got better, his father was released, the twelve-year-old Dickens, already scarred psychologically by the experience, was further wounded by his mother's insistence that he continue to work at the factory (Waters Catherine, 1977). His father, however, rescued him from that fate, and between 1824 and 1827 Dickens was a day pupil at a school in London. At fifteen, he found employment as an office boy at an attorney's, while he studied shorthand at night. His brief stint at the Blacking Factory haunted him all of his life — he spoke of it only to his wife and to his closest friend, John Forster — but the dark secret became a source both of creative energy and of the preoccupation with the themes of alienation and betrayal which would emerge, most notably, in David Copperfield and in Great Expectations (Roman John, 1978).

Dickens's novels combine brutality with fairy-tale fantasy: sharp, realistic, detail romance, farce, the ordinary with the strange. They range through the comic, tender, dramatic, sentimental, grotesque, eccentric, violent, romantic, and morally earnest. Though Dickens was aware of what his readers wanted and was determined to make as much money as he could with his writing, he believed novels had a moral purpose–to arouse innate moral sentiments and to encourage virtuous behavior in readers. It was his moral purpose that led the London Times to call Dickens "the greatest instructor of the Nineteenth Century" (wheeler Micheal, 1985) in his obituary.

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2.2 The Background of Great Expectations

When Dickens started his thirteenth novel, Great Expectations, in 1860, he was already a national hero. He started from humble beginnings, working as a child in a shoe polish factory while his family was in debtor's prison, to become the quintessential Victorian gentleman. He was involved in all aspects of English life: writing, acting, producing, going on book tours, publishing magazines, and, as always, active in social welfare and criticism (Collions Philip, 1971).

Amidst all this, however, Dickens' private life had entered a dark period. Dickens had just separated from his wife two years earlier, there were rumors of an affair with a young actress in the newspapers, and he was spending more and more time at his home in Chatham.

Dickens himself had risen to achieve greater expectations than any clerk's boy could expect, but he had not found happiness. The idea that one must search beyond material wealth and social standings and look within themselves for happiness becomes the major theme in Great Expectations.

Though not considered as autobiographical as David Copperfield which he had published some ten years earlier, the character of Pip represented a Dickens who had learned some hard lessons from his later life. Throughout the novel are the concepts of fraternal and romantic love, how society thwarts them, how a man fight for them (Zhu Hong, 1985).

For financial reasons, Dickens had to shorten the novel, making it one of his tighter and better written stories. It was published in serial form, as were all of his novels, and the reader can still see the rhythm of suspense and resolution in every couple of chapters that kept all of England waiting for the next issue.

All in all, Great Expectations is considered the best balanced of all Dickens' novels, though a controversy still persists over the ending. Dickens had originally written an ending where Pip and Estella never get back together. Many critics, including George Bernard Shaw, believe that this rather depressing ending was more consistent with the overall theme and tone of the novel, which began, continued, and perhaps should have finished with a serious, - 4 -

unhappy note ( Niu Yong Mao, 1986).

Nevertheless, Dickens published the ending: Estella and Pip walk out of the Saits House garden together. It was, perhaps, an ending that Dickens would have like to have had for his own life.

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3．Analysis of Pip’s Character Development

Throughout the novel, Pip's character undergoes a contrasting change from a weak and scared little boy to a powerful and confident young man. When he meets Estella he yearns to become rich to gain her acceptance, but at last he finds out that power and wealth could not bring happiness.

3.1 The Stage of Innocence

The beginning of the story provides us a great opportunity to have a peek of Pip's character quite deeply. Dickens described that Pip has no recollection of his family, he gave us a picture of pip‘s parents‘ tomb, from where we know a suggestive young boy with a vivid imagination.

The convict threats Pip to bring him with some food and a file otherwise he will rip pip‘s heart and liver out when Pip meets the convict in the graveyard. Being frightened, poor little Pip spends the rest of that day on planning how to get what the vicious man needed from his strict sister. Struggled in heart till the next dawn, he finally stolen them for the convict on time. Here we can see a naive boy who knows nothing about the mixed world, if he is a grown-up he can easily get rid of the man and not bring him any thing or just cheat him and run away , but he does not, he keeps his promise, this clearly shows Pip‘s innocent inside world.

Throughout the book, Pip was raised by Mrs. Joe, his sister, she plays the role of a mother. She is very strict and always claims that she brought Pip up "by hand" and often beats Pip with a tickler roughly when he did something wrong even a inappreciable one, while Pip took it as natural as breathing. Joe the blacksmith on the other hand, is a direct contrast to Mrs. Joe, being a very amiable, passive fellow who not only serves as Pip's father figure but as a best friend that Pip can confide in. He often tries to protect Pip when he is scolded or beaten by his sister. This special relationship with Joe plays a major role in Pip‘s childhood with kindness and passivity.

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3.2 The Stage of Sins

The sins started in Pips life, with his first visit to Satis house where he meets Estella. And with subtle encouragement from Miss Havisham, Pip begins to fall in love with her. When they play cards, Estella mocks him by calling him the ―Knaves‖, ―Jacks‖, which made Pip feels ashamed and embarrassed. This is a turning point for Pip of his life, one important line marked the beginning of Pip‘s desire to take first steps to change. From that on, and throughout most of the story, Pip strives to change his common ways of life. I think Pip is changing for the worse side, although he has a desire to do better with his life, it is a selfish way that aid him in his futile attempt to win Estella's heart.

When Pip begins his first attempt of being "uncommon", he persuades Biddy to tutor him. This shows that Pip's character is continuing to change and that he wants to gain higher status. The only influence could be is Satis house and its occupants. Pip‘s thirst for knowledge is a good thing, but he is only trying to make himself equal to those who treated him with disdain. This is a common theme throughout the novel as the story unfurls.

When Pip receives a big anonymous fortune and heads for London for better education to become a gentleman to win Estella, there he uses the money at will. After Pip has settled in London, he receives a letter from Joe saying that he was coming to visit. Pip regards Joe's visit as "some disturbance" he fears that Bentley Drummle, would meet Joe and will look down upon him. This is ironic because he would not mind at all if Herbert or Herbert's father, Mathew Pocket father were to meet Joe, and he respected both of them. Under the influence of Bentley Drummle it seems that Pip does not wish to associate himself with his lower class background, which is becoming a common theme in this story.

3.3 The Stage of Redemption

Pip meets an old face in London, Herbert, his roommate, who becomes pip‘s sincere friend and helps him to become more gentlemanly. An example of this is Herbert corrects - 7 -

Pip‘s table manners. Herbert's influences on Pip are all very beneficial and teach him esteem and politeness.

The death of Mrs. Joe Gargery brings Pip back to the marshes for the funeral and there he spends several days with Joe and Biddy. The moment he sets his foot on the marshes, he begins to feel guilty about what he has done. This is another turning point of Pip's character.

Pip is visited by Magwitch at his 23rd year, while ironically, he finds out that Magwitch is his benefactor not Miss Havisham, which means there is no arrangement for him to marry Estella. At first Pip feels ashamed that his aspiration to social distinction is funded by a low class criminal, this shows his contempt character again. Later Pip decides to accept the convict and harbour him while he hides from Compeyson and the police. He also takes a moral step, to stop using the convict's money. These actions show Pip‘s great decency to kindness in his character. As the story continues, his affection for Magwitch grows not out of selfishness, but out of compassion.

As the plan to smuggle Magwitch away goes into action, we can clearly see the contrast between the present Pip, and the Pip of the past, an uneasy, hesitant child, now a confident adult guiding Magwitch the way to his freedom.

The nasty encounter with Orlick leaves Pip‘s in a life-threatening situation, but he remains bold any way. When Orlick explains that it is Pip's fault led to the death of Mrs. Joe, he replies, with a rush of guilt running in his heart. Again we are seeing humility in Pips character and I think that the change comes from the influence of Joe. Joe's character is so strong and honest that it remained with Pip throughout the story. When Pip neglected Joe, the influence died, but as he thinks more and more of him, Joe's influence reappears.

Walking in the garden, Pip witnesses a horrible fire and Miss Havisham is in danger. Without thinking twice, he rushes to rescue her, and burn his hands and arms badly. Pips acts nobly to save her life instead of hating Miss Havisham.

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4．Influences of Pip’s Character

It is well acknowledged that the outer influences one‘s character development which contains the people and social conditions play an important role as inner influences, so dose Pip, a little innocent boy grows into a fame-loving young man. Why does he have these changes? who make him into another man ?

4.1 People Who Influence Pip’s Character

We human are living in group, interact with all kinds of people in our daily life. We are taking their influences silently and invisibly. Some are good, some are bad, so does Pip.

4.1.1 Joe

Pip‘s brother-in-law, Joe the blacksmith whose father is an alcoholic, prevents Joe from going to school. To help support his family, he has to go to work when he is a little boy. Though been little educated, Joe is a thorough gentleman stands out as a loving figure in Pip‘s life. Based on love and trust, Joe and Pip share a relationship just like father and son, or brothers. They play games and participate in friendly competitions among themselves, in order to enliven the atmosphere of their home. However, as Pip gets conspicuously vacuous about fame from his fortune, Joe becomes less and less a part of Pip‘s life.

Joe hopes Pip to become his apprentice. Ironically he just wants to be what he is, while Miss Havisham insists on paying for Pip as an apprentice. This is a surprise to Joe, he is a man to sacrifice for those he cares about, and never wants such a bonus, because his apprentice Pip only out of love. Miss Havisham‘s act devaluates Joe‘s greatly, thus has a big contrast, one love, one power.

Joe loves learning, while he does not learn much. He feels happy when he watch Pip writing and reading, even cries when Pip writes a letter to him Pip tries to teach Joe all what he learns, and Joe, despite thinking himself ―awful dull‖, is proud of his learning.

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We can learn Joe‘s philosophy about life, when he tells Pip that if he wants to be extraordinary, he has to be ordinary first. He tells Pip that even the king has to learn the basics first. In essence, everyone puts their pants in one leg at a time. When his sister knocks him with sticks, Joe often prevents Pip from being beat. Unlike Pip, Joe cares nothing for money, he is brave to fight a man like Orlick, but he also cries at the drop of a hat. Pip says of him, "I have often thought him since, like the steam-hammer that I can crush a man or pat an egg-shell, in his combination of strength with gentleness" (Charles Dickens, 1980: 264). Joe is embodied with toughness and softness, abrasiveness and gentility.

Joe has a powerful awareness and comprehension of his position and role in society. During his visit of London he calls Pip "sir" instead of "Pip". Joe knows that Pip is beyond his reach, and never visits Pip ever again.

Actually, Joe, an unschooled poor guy is the gentleman that pip dreaming to be, even the gentleman of English society.

4.1.2 Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham, a mad, vengeful, a wealthy old lady, who lives in a rotting mansion and wears an old, smelly wedding dress, which she never takes off in her rest of life. She is a poor role in the novel. Miss Havisham‘s life is dominated by an evil man who named Compeyson, leaves her on their wedding day. From that moment on, Miss Havisham turns all the clocks in her house at twenty minutes to nine, the moment when Compeyson dumps her, and she wears only one shoe, because when she is informed of his betrayal, she had not yet put on the other shoe. With such kind of manic, obsessive cruelty, Miss Havisham adopts Estella and raises her as a gun to fire any men. Miss Havisham is an example of single-minded vengeance pursued destructively: both Miss Havisham and the people in her life suffer painfully because of her quest for revenge. Miss Havisham is completely unable to see that her actions are hurtful to Pip and Estella. She is redeemed at the end of the novel when she realizes that she has broken Pip‘s heart in the same manner as her own; rather than achieving any kind of personal revenge, she has only caused more pain. Miss Havisham‘s begging for forgiveness reinforces the theme - 10 -

that bad behavior can be redeemed by contrition and sympathy.

4.1.3 Estella

She is a girl, who is doomed by birth. Raised from the age of three by Miss Havisham as a soulless and heartless tool to torture men and break their hearts. The first appearance of Estella in the novel is in chapter 8, when Pip pays his first visit to Miss Havisham's house. Pip thinks she is pretty but she is proud. Miss Havisham obliges Estella to play cards with Pip. The card game in Great Expectations is in relation to the battle of sexes. Having learned a lesson form her heart-killing marriage, Miss Havisham cultivates Estella to torture men and in the card game Miss Havisham wants to see a victory of a woman over a man. Estella wins but the most important thing here is that Estella does not want to play with Pip because she thinks he is common. This shows the pride and the superiority of Estella, and it's also important because, through this time, Pip wants to be educated to be the same level with Estella. This is a turning point for Pip, because from his deep heart he has the original class concept and he wanted to be the upper one, which is a crucial reason for his later character development. Unlike the warm, winsome, kind heroine of a traditional love story, Estella is cold, cynical, and manipulative. Though she represents Pip‘s first longed-for ideal of life among the upper classes, Estella is actually even lower-born than Pip. As Pip learns near the end of the novel, she is the daughter of Magwitch, the coarse convict, and thus springs from the very lowest level of society

Ironically, life among the upper classes does not represent salvation for Estella. Instead, she is victimized twice by her adopter. Rather than being raised by Magwitch, her real father, a man of great inner nobility, she is raised by Miss Havisham, who destroys her ability to express emotion and interact normally in her social life. And rather than marrying the kindhearted commoner Pip, Estella marries the cruel nobleman Drummle, who treats her harshly and makes her life miserable for many years. In this way, Dickens uses Estella‘s life to reinforce the idea that one‘s happiness and well-being are not deeply connected to one‘s social position: had Estella been poor, she might have been substantially better off.

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In her life despite the cold behavior and the damaging influences, Dickens nevertheless ensures that Estella is still a sympathetic character. By giving the reader a sense of her inner struggle to discover and act on her own feelings rather than on the imposed motives of her upbringing, Dickens gives the reader a glimpse of Estella‘s inner life, which helps to explain what Pip might love about her. Estella does not seem able to stop herself from hurting Pip, but she also seems not to want to hurt him; she repeatedly warns him that she has ―no heart‖ and seems to urge him as strongly as she can to find happiness by leaving her behind. Finally, through her long, painful marriage to Drummle, Estella learns, she can rely on and trust her inner feelings. In the final scene of the novel, all this takes place in a very peculiar setting: at night, with the stars shining and in a ruined house. It's a very clear pathetic fallacy which comes to represent what they have become with the passing of time. They both have not fulfilled their own expectations. The great lesson Estella learns is that goodness does not come from a high social rank, it comes from inner nature.

Estella is an example of how a woman, with good inner principles, has been a human failure because of the bad education she has received. she has become her own woman for the first time in the book.

4.1.4 Hebert

Hebert is a relative of Miss Havisham‘s, and as a little boy he was ―on the look out of good fortune‖.

Pip has never seen anyone then and has never seen anyone since，who more strongly expresses to Pip in every look and tone，a natural incapacity to do anything secret or mean. He is only a pale gentleman and has a certain conquered languor about him in the midst of his spirit and briskness that does not seem indicative of natural strength．Herbert is not rich，but he could bear his poverty．It is evident that he has nothing around him but the simplest necessaries.

It is not beneficial to anyone concerning the influence of Pip ‘s position on others, to Herbert above all. Corrupted the simplicity of Herbert‘s life, Pip‘s lavish habits leads - 12 -

Herbert‘s easy nature into an expensive one that he couldn‘t afford．Herbert is often in anxieties and regrets, which often causes Pip a twinge to think that he has done Herbert evil devices in crowding Herbert‘s sparely-furnished chambers with incongruous upholstery work, and placing the canary—breasted avenger at his disposal.

Herbert is faithful．Pip said：―If we all did what we need to do．As faithfully as Herbert did，we might live in a Republic of the Virtues‖ (Charles Dickens, 1980: 156). When Magwitch‘s sudden arrival makes Pip want to escape，Herbert reminds Pip that: ― he comes here at the peril of his life，for the realization of his fixed idea．In the moment of realization，after a11 his toil and waiting，you cut the ground from under his feet，destroy his idea, and made his gains worthless to him．Do you see anything that he might do? And you have，and are bound to have，that tenderness for the life he has risked on your account，that you must save him，if possible，from throwing it away．Then you must get him out of England before you stir a finger to extricate yourself, in Heaven‘s name，and we‘ll see it out together, dear old boy‖ (Charles Dickens, 1980: 187)．

At this climax，Herbert makes Pip realize it is so blessed to have a friend. Herbert‘s sympathy and encouragement to Pip is so sincere that Pip feels confident to help his patron---Magwitch，even though there‘re dangers and difficulties．We have a very famous Chinese saying that：??One takes on the color of his company‖．Pip and Herbert lives together and learn from each other．Pip learns from Herbert more positive attitudes towards the world．Herbert treats Pip so sincerely that Pip find real friendship in him．Later, Pip helps Herbert get a position in Clarriker (a young merchant) house. When he sees Herbert is so glad to have this position, Pip cries in good earnest when he go to bed to think about his expectations has done some good to somebody．He also helps Herbert get some fortune from Miss Havisham.

4.1.5 Magwitch

Magwitch, as a clue in this novel, leaves an unforgettable first impression to Pip as well as the readers．Originate in his sincerity, his most striking feature only does him a little favor, - 13 -

while he feels grateful for it during his life．His affection towards Pip is just like a father．During his exile，he asks another man，to bring Pip his hard—earned two one-pound notes，which made Pip suspicious of the cause．His turning Pip into a gentleman‘s idea brings Pip drastic change and immense pain．His coming back makes Pip almost scared to death. His being arrested and sentenced arouse Pip great pain and sympathy．Pip‘s feeling towards him undergoes several changes．At first, Pip is frightened because Magwitch threatened him, Then，Pip has pity for Magwitch．He thinks that Magwitch is lost or dead，When Magwitch suddenly comes back，Pip has repugnance，and wants to abandon him．Later, with the persuasion of his friend，Pip has sympathy to Magwitch．This sympathy at last develops into sincere respect．This was just the main idea of this book．Magwitch has a strong faith to repay Pip，He promises．―If I get liberty and money，I‘ll make that boy a gentleman.‖ (Charles Dickens, 1980: 305 )When he comes back and meets Pip in the chamber, he says：―You acted nobly，my boy．Noble Pip! And I have never forgotten it‖. (Charles Dickens, 1980: 420) It is interesting enough that Magwitch regards Pip as his patron when Pip mistakes Miss Havisham but not Magwitch for his real benefactor , Magwitch，a poor one employed by the rich, is not content with this. When he earns money in the new world，he sends the money back to Jaggers and uses it to cultivate Pip into a London gentleman．This is Magwitch‘s rebellious spirit．He wants to get justice from a good gentleman he trains. Magwitch strongly believed that his daughter has died, therefore, the kind Pip in his eye is almost his son.

In Pip‘s eye，Magwitch is a dreadful visitor, while in Magwitch‘s eye，Pip is a real and complete gentleman．The sharp contrast makes Pip feel sorry．He should not treat his benefactor in such all indifferent way；he should not abhor him；he should not shrink from him with the strongest repugnance. He should show the love to him, in the way Wemmick treated his old father；he should protect him as Wemmick makes his father happy；he should be grateful for the convict because his small kindness does not deserve the sincerity from Magwitch．

Pip is not a filial son compared to Wemmick, while too mean compared with Magwitch．Compared with Joe, Pip is not forgiving．Thus the sudden coming back of Magwitch indicates the returning of Pip‘s good nature．Without this incident，Pip would never understand himself．Magwitch gives Pip a kind of generous love．This，to the lonely orphan， - 14 -

is too precious．Magwitch is like a candle，for he lightened Pip‘s future．Magwitch is like a book，for he educated Pip．Pip‘s later unselfish protection for Magwitch is the best proof of Pip‘s gaining good nature back．

4.2 Social Circumstance

After reading the novel, I find several social faotors are influencing Pip‘s character indirectly and overwhelmingly. They are the education conditions and the injustice of law.

4.2.1 The Terrible Conditions of Education

If Pip has received some formal education, he should have known the world better and might have avoided his sufferings．

In his family, the rough rude sister never gives Pip chances to satisfy her brother‘s curiosity for knowledge．Joe is a good man, but he is almost an illiterate．Joe spurs Pip to learn, but could help the boy nothing more. When Pip attends a night class，he sadly find it is not a school, where has no textbooks and no teacher in the real sense．What is used to instruct those so-called students is a ―ragged book with alphabet，some figures，tables，and a little spelling‖．What the students do at such class are eatting apples，putting straw down one another‘s back，passing their ragged book from hand to hand and reading after Biddy‘s ―three defaced Bibles‖．Only Biddy could give the so-called students meager instruction．It is because the love for Estella that Pip wants to study hard．Pip wants to learn and become somebody welcome．When Pip later becomes a London gentleman，he learns from Mr. Pocket．At this time，the purpose of receiving education is only to decorate the gentleman‘s status. Thus throughout Pip‘s receiving education, He learns only a little from his teachers. His real teachers are his sufferings．Pip‘s process of being taught is mainly the process of his teaching himself. He is thirsty for knowledge but his teachers never satisfies his intellectual need or tell him the math of life．From the beginning to the end of the book, Pip is better educated by his sufferings．Originally, he wants education because of his love for Estella．There are great gaps between Pip and Estella, Pip wants to narrow these gaps by - 15 -

learning more．While his learning would not bridge those gaps，his real textbook would not be the textbook itself, but life.

4.2.2 The Injustice of Law

In the capitalist society, the law and the courts were there for protecting the benefits of the bourgeoisie and under the administration of such laws and courts，there was much injustice of law．Magwitch‘s sufferings are a case in some point．Because Magwitch is born poor and has no one to rely on, which led him a homeless childhood where he has nothing to eat．He steals something to eat and therefore becomes a thief．Theft is guilty while Magwitch is forced to do so，He has to make a choice between to be or not to be，that is really a good question．In order to survive，he has to keep breaking the law．―In jail and out of jail，in jail and out of jail，in jail and out of jail‖，that is pretty his life When Magwitch is introduced to Compeyson, he has expected to have a change in life，to have enough to eat．To his disappointment, he becomes a black slave to Compeyson．Magwitch is a criminal，but Compeyson leads him into crime．Compeyson is a wicked man in the business of swindling， handwriting-forging，stolen bank-note passing and such-like. With such man‘s company, Magwitch could only suffer more．Magwitch is trapped in Compeyson‘ s net, he is always in debt to Compeyson；always under Compeyson‘s thumb；always working；always getting into danger．Compeyson is younger than Magwitch but he has got craft，and he has got learning．He overmatches Magwitch five hundred times and has no mercy. At last, ―Compeyson and Magwitch are both committed for felony-on a charge of putting stolen notes in circulation--and there are other charges behind‖，(Charles Dickens 1980: 423) the injustice of law works on Magwitch．Because they has difference in their looks，in their bringing-ups，in their lawyers，Compeyson is recommended to mercy on account of good character and bad company．He is only sentenced to seven years of imprisonment．Magwitch, who lacks the superficial gentility of Compeyson，gets fourteen years , even though in fact Compeyson is the principal and Magwitch is only an accessory. The injustice of law can also be drawn from the Molly‘s case of envy，which makes Jaggers famous，When Molly is a handsome young - 16 -

woman, she kills her enemy in love by choking the victim．Under the assistance of Mr. Jaggers，Molly is acquitted．Actually, her crime is definite，but Jaggers rests his case on the improbabilities of Molly having been able to do it. Mr. Jaggers also made false evidence to protect her．Molly is tamed as soon as she is acquired and she has been in Mr. Jaggers‘ service ever since. It is the injustice of law that makes Magwitch convinced to be a gentleman could enjoy easy life and a lot of privileges. That is why Magwitch determines to turn Pip into a gentleman．It is also the injustice of law that makes Estella become the adopted daughter of Miss Havisham.

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5. Conclusion

Throughout Charles‘ world-famous work Great Expectations, we can learn plenty of meaningful things. Ambition and self-improvement take three forms in Great Expectations—moral, social, and educational; these motivate Pip‘s performance throughout the novel. At the same time, social environment plays an unreplaceable role in Pip‘s character development.

Firstly, Pip desires moral self-improvement. He is extremely hard on himself when he acts immorally and feels powerful guilt that spurs him to act better in the future. Pip is a kind-hearted boy, when the convict Magwitch threats Pip to bring some food and a file to him. Pip fully accomplishes his mission. When he lives in London accepting gentleman education, and does not come back to see them for a long time until his sister‘s death. From that day on, he realizes he has isolated Joe and Biddy. With awful feelings deep down his heart, Pip decides to visit them more often.

In the second place, Pip longs for social self-improvement. In love with Estella, he is so ashamed with his background that he is thirst for knowledge to keep himself in the same class with Estella. Later under the encouragement of Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook, he entertains fantasies of becoming a gentleman, which is a colorful bubble and will break any way .The working out of this fantasy forms the basic plot of the novel; it provides Dickens the opportunity to gently satirize the class system of his era and to make a point about its capricious nature. Significantly, Pip‘s life as a gentleman is no more satisfying—and certainly no more moral—than his previous life as a blacksmith‘s apprentice.

At last, Pip is eager for educational improvement, which is deeply connected to his social ambition and longing to marry Estella: a full education is a requirement of being a gentleman. As long as he is an ignorant country boy, he has no hope of social advancement. Pip understands this fact as a child, when he learns to read at Mr. Wopsle‘s aunt‘s school, and as a young man, when he takes lessons from Matthew Pocket. Ultimately, through the examples of Joe, Biddy, and Magwitch, Pip learns that social and educational improvement are irrelevant - 18 -

to one‘s real worth and that conscience and affection are to be valued above erudition and social standing.

As for social environment in the novel, it influences Pip all his growing up. His parents died early, and his is brought up by his sister ―by hand‖, who is an illiterate and serious woman with a tight temper. She often beats Pip with a stick, which is as ordinary as meals of a day in Pip‘s eye. Joe actually is a gentleman whom Pip is longing for, but he could not realize it. Joe acts as a father figure in Pip‘s life, and helps Pip a lot. Estella is a poor figure is this novel, a sacrifice for love, a tool of Miss Havisham to torture man, such cultivation directly lead to Pip‘s tragedy.

After all the failures of their expectations, the novel comes to its significant end. Estella who divorces her husband finally expresses her real emotions, she gets together with Pip. Pip finds all he has running after are like clouds drifted wind, the real gentleman is just beside him, Joe, the great expectation Pip has gained is not social position or money, but one should behave himself, do what he should do.

Through my whole analysis, the theme of this paper comes out clearly: Pip‘s character deeply influenced by the environment around him, which including people and social factors, In our daily life, we must be mind sober in mind, right in behavior, not be misled by one-time happiness to push ourselves into endless abyss.

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Acknowledgements

In the course of writing this thesis, I have profited greatly from the assistance and wisdom of some people. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all.

First and foremost, my deepest gratitude and respect goes to my tutor, Miss RenBeiBei. It is for her constant encouragement, critical instructions, her great care and precious advice and suggestions that this thesis appears in the present form Thank her very much.

Then, I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to all other teachers who gave me comprehensive knowledge during the past four academic years. I have benefited so much from their courses and constant encouragement. Their studies gave me some reference.

Finally,. my appreciation goes to my dearest parents, throughout the writing of this thesis, they have been there always giving me continuous support, encouragement and understanding. This spiritual power gives me powerful energy. Millions of thanks to them!

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Chelsen House Publishers, 1987

Collions, Philip. Dickens: the Critical Heritage. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971 Dickens, Charles. Great Expectaions. London: Pan Books Ltd, 1980

Roman, John. Dickens and Reality. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978

Waters, Catherine. Dickens and the Politics of Family. New York: Cambridge University

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