Great Expectations: Wealth as an Agent of Isolation

Great Expectations: Wealth as an Agent of Isolation In Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, Dickens conveys the idea that wealth leads to isolation. The novel begins when Pip, a young orphan, encounters an escaped convict in a cemetery. Despite Pip’s efforts to help this terrifying personage, the convict is still captured and transported to Australia. Pip is then introduced into the wealthy yet decaying home of Miss Havisham where he meets Estella, a little …

…station by a mysterious benefactor, Dickens warns his reader to reconsider the origin of isolation and of true wealth. Pip’s “great expectations” cause him great pain before he finally comes to the realization that true wealth is that of human virtue, generosity, dignity, and compassion. Only after suffering and loneliness have softened Pip and Estella’s hearts to possess these traits, can they be together in innocent union and consummate harmony. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**