The Inclusion of Great Expectations in the Canon of English Literature

The classic novel Great Expectations was written in 1861 by Charles Dickens. The author was born in Portsmouth, England in 1812. The novel was inspired by Dickens's childhood hardships, as he grew up in poverty. Great Expectations shows the life Pip, an orphan, whose views of life changes when he is attacked by an escaped convict while visiting his parent's graveyard at Kent. In his mission to advance his social status, Pip meets many different individuals who both support and hampers his struggle to self-improvement. As Pip upgrade socially, he realizes that his expectation his expectation of social status, and happiness widely differ from reality. Throughout his work, Dickens brings out the theme of materialism, family and wealth, love and affection, crime vs. punishment, and class struggle.  Unfortunately, Pip learns materialism in a difficult manner. Also, Dickens shows that education is the key to success in life. Dickens uses several literary devices in his novel adding to the reader's clear picture of the novel. Should Great expectations be included in the Canon of English Literature?

One of the main reasons why Great Expectations should be added to the canon of literature is because of its memorable character. It is hard to find to find an author who would create so many vivid characters, so live that we can depict them as existing and real beings, except Shakespeare. Dickens holds the knowledge of coming up with humanlike and believable book personalities, ranging from the major to minor characters. For instance, Mr. Pumblechook and Trabb's boy, the minor characters in the novel, have their own uniqueness. The memorable characters are Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella, Abel, and Magwitch among others. Mr. Jaggers is a great character whose role can be deeply felt. For instance, when Pip realizes that Magwitch has been his sponsor all along, he visits Mr. Jagger's office to verify the matter.

"Don't commit yourself," said Mr. Jaggers, "and don't commit anyone. You understand- anyone." (Dickens, 1998)

Another justifiable reason to consider Great Expectations is that it unveil essential facts about humanity and life ambitions. Every young person has a dream and fantasies about life. Most children are disillusioned about life and what the future holds. For instance, Pip has a lot of fantasies as a young boy, and he expects to fulfill all his desires when he grows up (Glavin, 2003). Pip's story shows his life full of disillusionment. Pip is disillusioned about love, money, gentility, and strives to be a gentleman. Pip had the courage to court Estella, a girl from a rich family, despite coming from a poor background. However, Pip's great expectations in life come crumbling down on him, and to his shock, life is not all he expected. That is, in chapter 39' the escaped convict reveals himself as Pip's benefactor.

Additionally, Great Expectation novel portrays the ancient British society. The interpretations of Great Expectations is a reflection of the Victorian British society in the 1860s. Many readers are attracted to Dickens' novel due to his criticism of evil in society. The occurrences that were experienced in the novel revealed the real thing that actually happens in real life. For example, child labor, debtors' prison, schools to religion among others. Also, the part where the author mentions about the graveyard of Pip's parents and siblings show that the British society in the 1860s was full of forced labor and an increased number of deaths (Colander & Guthrie, 1980). Also, through reading the novel, one can see the social and economic struggles faced by the people.  Pip believes that only money and education can make him a great person in the society. Therefore, Dickens's novel is important to students and teachers as it helps them to understand the history of the state, and know the changes that have occurred.

 

Also, Great Expectations remind learners of the importance of family love. A family is an important aspect of a person's life. People should not be so obsessed with world luxuries to a point of neglecting their people. Pip was so obsessed with material things and his love for Estella, that he forgot and refused being associated with Joe, a man who stood by him during his struggles. According to Wheeler (2014), he focuses so much on gentility to impress Estella, but despite Pip's efforts, Estella still rejects him. As a result, Pip becomes lonely and guilt, that he dreads the days Joe would come visiting. Through his disillusioned lifestyle, Pip learns that respect cannot be bought with money. Therefore, it is clear that, in life, people need family love, despite having enough money and possessions. Also, through the novel, learners learn that it is important to remember the people who helped you when you were down and assist hem where you can.

Furthermore, Great Expectations uses effective pattern and styles of communication. The novel has a lot of conversations between characters, the dialogue is not as typical as in most Victorian novels (Colander & Guthrie, 1980). There is little communication in many novels, and the main characters' attempts to converse fails.

In addition, Great Expectations teaches important of integrity and reputation to learners and teachers. Dickens portrays pride as both a positive and negative aspect. Different characters in the novel have various types of pride. Some types of pride are intrinsically motivated, while others are based on peoples' opinions. Characters who have pride based on people's opinion are worried about reputation, and not integrity (Clamon, 2012). Or instance, Mrs. Joe, Estella, and Pumblechook pride are based on what people think about them. This kind of characters always compare themselves to people around them, and degrade others in order to feel better about themselves, and boost their self-esteem. Negative pride always leads to peoples' downfall in all sectors of life, because they are not willing to agree with other peoples' opinions. Therefore learners should focus on having positive pride, and building their level of integrity.

Another important factor of Great Expectations to learners is the novel's hard vocabulary. Some scholars may argue that hard content materials only make work hard for learners, but that is not usually the case. Some learners perceive Dickens's as hard because of the complexity and length of the used sentences. The novel was written using the ancient vocabulary, which is hard for the current generation to understand, due to various changes that have occurred to language (Glavin, 2003). Such learners can hardly learn to read hard books, if learning institutions stop teaching them. As a result, mankind thinking capacity will remain stagnant, and the concept of critical and creative thinking becomes an issue to some people. Therefore, hard vocabulary should not only be in literature, but also in other subjects to challenge learners to think harder and improve their academic performances. 

Finally, some learners can relate to the bildungsroman novel. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman novel where the protagonist is introduced as young children and they grow older throughout the novel. Many learners read Dickens' novel at a young age, and some can predict their development through Pip's life (Dickens, 1998). Also, young learners are able to choose how they want to live, as they learn from Pip's mistakes in life. Young people knowingly or unknowingly emulate Pip through coping the positive deeds and avoiding the negative actions. Also, Pip's life's expectations teach young kids that it is essential to find a place where they belong, and make peace with themselves, and learn how to face challenges encountered in life. Finally, learners realize that it is possible to fulfill your dreams no matter where you come from, as long as you have the passion.

 

Conclusion

Great Expectations is novel that is extremely advantageous to learners and the novel should be included in the Canon of English literature. The book helps learners to acquire more knowledge and broaden their intellectual capacity. Also, Dickens' work teaches people the importance of integrity and family love in leading a peaceful and successful life. Although critics have been made regarding the novel, schools can benefit from the book if they change their perspectives about the book and the author. Therefore, it is important for the government to consider to add the novel Great Expectation to the Canon of literature, because it has lessons to emulate, and the past history of England.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Clamon, J. (2012). Great Expectations (MAXNotes Literature Guides). Newburyport: Research

            & Education Association.

Colander, D. C., & Guthrie, R. S. (1980). Great expectations: what the Dickens do “rational

Dickens, Charles (1998). Great Expectations. St. Paul: EMC Paradigm Publishing.

            expectations” mean? Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 3(2), 219-234.

Glavin, J. (Ed.). (2003). Dickens on Screen. Cambridge University Press.

Wheeler, M. (2014). English fiction of the Victorian period. Routledge.