Measure of Contentment Essay

Down to that moment I had vainly supposed that my creditor had withdrawn or suspended proceedings until I should be quite recovered. I had never dreamed of Joe’s having paid the money; but Joe had paid it, and the receipt was in his name. What remained of me now, but to follow him to the dear old forge, and there to have out my disclosure with him, and my penitent remonstrance with him,† (Page 463) This shows how only Joe can rescue Pip and his identity; Joe represents who Pip should have become. Respect and admiration for Joe is once again won for Pip, as â€Å"I had never dreamed of Joe paying the money; but Joe had paid it, and the receipt was in his name† shows. As a result of this act of Joe’s, Pip continues to reform into someone with a better identity, an example of which is shown in the passage: â€Å"What remained of me now, but to follow him to the dear old forge, and there to have out my disclosure with him, and my penitent remonstrance with him,† as this shows how Pip is willing to be humble toward Joe, and ask for his forgiveness. By seeking after someone else’s pleasure before his own, Pip displays qualities of selflessness, Once Pip has discovered his true identity, he can begin to become someone he is happy and content with, because he cares less about his own problems and so they don’t loom as great and as terrible, and he becomes more content. A further lesson Pip must learn in his struggle to find contentment is to control his fantasies, phobias and delusions. A phobia is something psychological, that you fear and therefore try to shut out. Pip’s phobia that he won’t be able to obtain Estella controls him so much that he subconsciously creates fantasies to counter-act his phobias. A fantasy is when you dream of something irrational, or a surreal delusion of something that is exaggerated to fit your expectations of what you want that thing to be. Pip gets trapped by many fantasies in the novel, which prevent him living in reality and achieving contentment. A major fantasy in the novel is that Estella is meant for him, and that Miss Havisham is his benefactress, and this fantasy drives Pip into becoming a gentleman: â€Å"‘The beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham’s, and she’s more beautiful than anyone ever was, and I admire her dreadfully, and I want to be a gentleman on her account. ‘† (Page 125) This passage is when Pip confides in Biddy why he yearns after being a gentleman, and it shows how Pip has the fantasy that as soon as he is a gentleman, Estella will be his. Later, when he comes into his Great Expectations, he fantasises that Miss Havisham is his benefactress so that he can be fit for Estella, and the fantasy is so strong that he makes himself believe that it is true. A passage that displays this is found on Page 177, when Pip is getting acquainted with Herbert: â€Å"‘And as to the condition which you hold your advancement in life-namely that you are not to inquire or discuss to whom you owe it- you may be very sure that it will never be encroached upon, or even approached by me, or anyone belonging to me. ‘ In truth, he said this with so much delicacy, that I felt the subject done with, even though I should be under his father’s roof for years and years to come. Yet e said it with so much meaning, too, that I felt he as perfectly understood Miss Havisham to be my benefactress, as I understood the fact myself. † This passage shows how Pip has let his fantasy that Miss Havisham is his benefactress delude him, and how he will manipulate things that may not necessarily mean what Pip wants them to mean, to suit him and his fantasies. In order for Pip to progress in life and achieve contentment, he must learn to let go of these fantasies. However, it is apparent that Pip is unable to let go of his fantasies, because he is afraid of what the reality might be. For example, Pip makes himself believe that Miss Havisham is his benefactress and that Estella is intended for him, because if Miss Havisham is not his benefactor, who is, and is Estella still for him? To Pip, the answer to these questions are too daunting to recognize, so he fantasises about the answer that he wants it to be. Therefore, when Pip discovers that in reality, his benefactor is an escaped convict, he is in absolute shock and repulsion. â€Å"The abhorrence in which I held the man, the dread I had of him, the repugnance with which I shrank from him, could not have been exceeded if he had been some terrible beast. † (Page 313) Dickens’s cleverly uses language in this passage by repeating the same thing three times in different ways, as each of the parts of the passage that Pip describes Magwitch with all tell of his hatred and revulsion of him, but the build up of these things adds drama to the scene, emphasising Pip’s shock at the reality instead of his fantasy. Once Pip understands that Magwitch is his benefactor, a reformation begins in Pip, and he becomes a better, happier, more altruistic person. â€Å"Where I might go, what I might do, or when I might return were questions utterly unknown to me; nor did I vex my mind with them, for it was wholly set on Provis’s safety. I only wondered for the passing moment, as I stopped at the door and looked back, under what altered circumstances I should next see those rooms, if ever. † (Page 425) This passage depicts how Pip has controlled his phobia of lower class status, because he is willing to help Magwitch and develops a self-sacrificing love for him, because, as it says in this passage, Pip is willing to give up everything that he has ever consciously wanted, which is being an eligible gentleman, for Magwitch’s (Provis’s) safety. As a result of his self-centred fantasies, phobias and delusions, Pip becomes very selfish and self-concerned whilst he is in London, but when he begins to seek humble forgiveness from Joe and Miss Havisham because his fantasies have been ruined by reality, he becomes less selfish. Selflessness contributes to Pip’s happiness at the end of the novel, which is part of Pip learning to become like Joe, who demonstrates selflessness throughout the novel. When Pip seeks after other’s happiness before his own, he becomes more able to grow and develop into a better person: Giving of self makes you unselfish, which in turn makes you happy as you make others happy. This consequences in you being outward looking because you want to look for more opportunities to help others, creating less focus on your own faults and more contentment and satisfaction with yourself. For example, when Pip saves Miss Havisham from the fire, or lends Herbert money for his business, Pip forgets about his own needs and safety. The injury Pip gets as a result of the fire at Satis House does not prevent Pip from wanting to save Magwitch by helping him escape the law and Compeyson by fleeing the country, instead, he wishes he could do more: â€Å"I felt mortified to be of such little use in the boat,; but there were few better oarsman than my two friends. † (Page 426) This shows how instead of dwelling on his own unfortunate circumstances, and the fact that he felt â€Å"mortified†, Pip thinks in a complimentary manner about his two friends: â€Å"but there were few better oarsman than my two friends. † Pip learning how to become less self-centred and dispel his fantasies and phobias partly leads to the level his contentment at the end of the novel. An additional lesson that Pip must learn before he can achieve some level of contentment, and a fundamental lesson for anyone growing up, is learning to listen and take advice from others. There are many points in the novel where Pip is offered good advice, usually by someone of trust or worth to Pip, and he doesn’t take it. Once Pip learns to take the advice given to him by those superior to him in experience, he can begin to make better and more informed decisions, which consequences in his being happier, more satisfied and more content. The first major turning point in the novel, of Pip desiring to be and becoming a gentleman, could have been avoided if Pip had listened to this advice given to him by Biddy: â€Å"‘Biddy,’ said I, after binding her to secrecy, ‘I want to be a gentleman. ‘ ‘Oh, I wouldn’t, if I were you! ‘ she returned. ‘I don’t think it would answer. ‘ ‘Biddy’, I said with some severity, ‘I have particular reasons for wanting to be a gentleman. ‘ ‘You know best Pip, but don’t you think that you are happier as you are? ‘† (Page 124) This passage shows how Pip thinks that he knows best, as he speaks to Biddy with â€Å"severity† at not being able to understand why he wants to be a gentleman. When Biddy questions Pip, if he is not happier now, it shows that Pip is striving for contentment, although he attempts to find it in the wrong way, as Biddy cleverly picks up on: â€Å"‘Do you want to be a gentleman to spite her, or to gain her over? ‘ Biddy quietly asked, after a pause. ‘I don’t know,’ I moodily answered. ‘Because if it is to spite her,’ Biddy pursued, ‘I should think -but you know best- that might be better and more independently done by caring nothing, for her words. And if it is to gain her over- I should think- but you know best -she is not worth gaining over. ‘† (Page 125) Here, Biddy is offering Pip very good advice; that Estella really isn’t worth it. However, Pip thinks that he â€Å"knows best†, as Biddy says, and continues to follow the prospect of becoming a gentleman for Estella. If Pip had taken Biddy’s advice, he would have been able to achieve contentment in his life quicker than he does as he pursues the life of a gentleman, because he would have learned to forget Estella, become apprenticed to Joe, and lived the life of Joe, who is content with his life. However, once Pip is in London, it is a whole new world to him, one that he struggles to cope with at first because of the spectral difference between London and his â€Å"marsh country† home. As a result of this, Pip needs to be taught how to survive in London and he is now willing to learn and listen to the advice of others, which in turn helps him to achieve a degree of contentment. I believe that this is one of the most important lessons that readers today can get from Great Expectations; that in order to achieve contentment, you need to be able to listen to the advice of those that are older, more experienced and more knowledgeable that you are, because they are more likely to know how to best achieve it. The readers can learn from Pip’s ignorance not to make the same mistakes themselves. Dickens cleverly uses setting throughout the novel to depict different qualities of life, or levels of contentment. The marsh country Pip originates from represents a humble lifestyle, but those that live there, such as Joe and Biddy, and Pip at the beginning of the novel, seem to be more content with their lives than those that live in London, which represents the wealthy, extravagant lifestyle. Dickens uses this irony to show how money and wealth do not necessarily bring contentment, which is a further essential lesson that Pip must learn. Miss Havisham lives in Satis House, which comes from the Latin meaning ‘enough’ or ‘satisfaction’. This is ironic because from the outside, the house represents a life of wealth and grandeur, which people often assume to bring satisfaction, but on the inside, the residents of the house lead a bitter, frozen lifestyle, and Miss Havisham is so unsatisfied with her life that she lives it to wreak revenge on all men. These circumstances are used by Dickens to show how wreaking revenge does not equate to contentment; Pip must learn that if he is to be happy, he must not seek revenge from anyone, even those that have especially offended him. Nobody’s life works out perfectly, and Pip’s is evidently no exception. An example of a situation where Pip would need to learn to ‘forgive and forget’ is when Mrs Joe, his sister dies. On contemplation, Pip reflects: â€Å"Whatever my fortunes might have been, I could scarcely have recalled my sister with much tenderness. But I suppose there is a shock of regret which may exist without much tenderness. Under its influence (and perhaps to make up for the want of the softer feeling) I was seized by a violent indignation against the assailant from whom she had suffered so much; and I felt that on sufficient proof I could have revengefully perused Orlick, or anyone else, to the last extremity. † (Page 272) This passage discloses Pip’s thoughts as he moves from feeling bitter toward his sister: â€Å"I could scarcely recall her with much tenderness†, to seeking revenge upon the person that caused his sister anguish: â€Å"I felt that on sufficient proof I could have revengefully perused Orlick, or anyone else, to the last extremity†. It is a successful piece of writing as Dickens’s uses pairs of effective adjectives such as â€Å"shock of regret† and â€Å"violent indignation†, which creates more impact on the reader and helps them to empathise with the way Pip is feeling. This then results in the reader feeling more of a connection to Pip as he strives to achieve contentment, and so helps them to learn more from the novel. In conclusion, it believe that Dickens’ rite-of-passage novel Great Expectations is successful at presenting useful lessons to it’s readers as to how they themselves can achieve contentment, despite being written in the 19th century. These are portrayed through Pip’s own struggle to achieve contentment, many of the struggles relating to Dickens’ own life, such as the issues like overcoming debt, unrequited love, family problems and poor education. Dickens shows in the novel how these things can be overcome, and contentment and satisfaction achieved, through the realisation of moral values, the dispelling of delusions and fantasies, and learning how to respond to people around you. However, despite this, the most important lesson, that comes through the novel, in learning how to achieve contentment in life is living it. Pip says that he was happy at the forge before he went to London, but he was not content (Page 315). Therefore, this suggests that the novel recommends that the best way to gain contentment is to live your life and learn through the experience of it; otherwise you would feel unsatisfied with your experience of life.