Revenge in the Great Expectations Essay

Revenge is a primary theme in the novel Great Expectation by Charles Dickens. In this novel, some(prenominal) characters go out of their way to extract penalise, pencil lead them to misfortunes such as end and im prisonment. Dickens makes it very clear that zero point positive can follow from revenge with his characters and the bequeaths that come from their revenge. These acts surf from petty re movement filled with passion, to long and drag out engagement laced with malice, to biographylong vendettas driven by hatred.Revenge comes in galore(postnominal) formsand for Orlick, his was the sort of petty resentment filled with passion, rather than st 1 frozen hatred. In the novel, Orlick acts as the main antagonist he is described as tardy, as dash explained he wasnever in hurry, and always slouching. (102), and hostile, by telling dissipate that the Devil lived in a black niche of the forgeand it was necessary to make a fire once in seven years with a live boy and I e fficiency consider myself fuel. (102). Orlick was also abusive due to his outburst at Mrs Gargery when she bugger off her opinion on the fact that Joe was letting both Pip and Orlick make believe a half-holiday by saying Id hold you, if you was my wife. Id hold you under the pump and choke it out of you. notwithstanding beingness mere words, from that moment on Orlick held a grudge on both Pip and Mrs Gargery. Orlick resented Mrs Gargery for her attitude towards him. And he resented Pip for having everything Orlick wanted at the forge, Pip was favoured and Orlick was bullied and beat.In Orlicks eyes Pip was always in Old Orlicks way since ever you was a child. (388) This tempts him into extracting revenge, by assaulting Mrs Gargery, he stillifies his actions by telling Pip that it was done through you, (389) Orlick blames Pip for his misfortunes, and hates Pip to the extent that he attempted to murder him. Orlick says Im a going to keep your sustenance (388) this is an altog etheregoryand has two meanings one literal, and one figurative. Orlick liter all in all(prenominal)y wants to disengage Pips life, and kill him, depositing of his body so no one would ever know of his crime. However on the other(a) hand, Orlick figuratively wants Pips lifehis resentment of Pip comes from his jealousy. Orlick wishes to restrain Pips life, to be favoured, to be the likes ofd, to be a gentlemans gentleman. alone when his plans of killing Pip fails, and Orlick resortsto breaking into Pumblechooks house, and robs and beats him, he is at last caught and imprisonedthis reveals the result of obtaining revenge, and how it will lead only to misfortunes. Nothing slap-up can come from revenge as sh sustain by Orlicks ultimate destination prison. Like Orlick, Magwitch wishes to extract his revenge as wellwhich is a long dragged out strife between him and Compeyson. Magwitch loathes Compeyson for setting him up as a scrape goat in their trial.Because Compeyson looked lik e a gentleman he had a more lenient punishment than Magwitchwho faced most of the blame for both of their crimes. Due to this, Magwitch has sworn to smash that face of his (Compeysons), and I swore Lord smash mine To do it. (322) Magwitch was willing to give up anything, and everything to get his revenge on Compeyson. He wanted Compeyson to face his ire and feel his have a bun in the ovening Magwitch was willing to give up his demote of emancipation in doing so. He couldve got clear of these death-cold flats likewiseif I hadnt make discovery that he was here. (34) In the beginning of the novel, Pip meets the escaped doomlater introduced as Magwitch, who had filed d birth his leg iron to the point where he couldve broken it off, and flee from the marshesbut when he had heard Compeyson had escaped as well, he gave up his freedom, to search for Compeyson.The guards, along with Pip and Joe later put Compeyson and Magwitch in a ditchfighting each other. Magwitch gave up his chance to flee, and forsake his freedom in the name of revenge and was dragged tolerate to the prison alongside Compeyson. Which begs the question, what is the result of chasing revenge? Magwitch was then sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his lifewhere upon if he ever escaped again, hed face the death sentence. Magwitch is sent off to New South Wales, where he worked several jobsand make a handsome amount of money all of which he sent to Pip through Jaggers anonymously. It isnt until later in the novel does Magwitch sneaks back to England as an escaped convict, under an alias and he reveals to Pip that he is Pips benefactor. Pips discovery makes him very discontentment but later realizes the only way to get Magwitch out of his life is to help him escape England, on a boat.However again on his journey to fredoom Magwitch is faced with the same dilemma, when their steam boat is intercepted by some other boat and Compeyson is on it. Magwitch is forced to choose between freedom and revenge and he again chooses the latter, tackling Compeyson, they both sink into the wateronly Magwitch comes up. Asexpected, Magwitch is sentenced to deathimmediately, only his sentence is delayed when he is stricken by illness. At this point, Magwitchs death is ascertained, either he was going to go wrong of illness or he was going to die at his sentence. This was the result of Magwitchs actions by choosing revenge over all elsenot just once, but twice. These results help emphasis that revenge is nothing more than a gateway to misfortunes, and in Magwitchs case that gate way is to death. break loose Havisham faces a lifelong vendetta driven by her hatred of all mankind. This vendetta of her, twists her personality in cruel, sadistic and vicious ways.Out of all the characters in this novel, overtop Havisham is less active in her campaign of revengebut she holds the longest and most pure revenge. put d experience Havisham achieves her revenge through her adoptive daughter Estell a. Estella is never given the opportunity to forge her own ideas and personalityinstead she is objectified into a young and delightful tool, used whole for avenging daughter Havishams broken heart. There are many instances of leave out Havishams cruel and sardonic personality revealed through the words she says and her actions and responses to Pip. In the beginning of the novel, she has asked Estella to play with Pip, but she refuses to play with such a cat valium boyin return Miss Havisham says Well, you can break his heart. (54) She says it in a way that makes the human heart seem almost like a toy that can be easily broken and would be irrelevant if it did so. This demonstrates Miss Havishams view on men, and how they should have their police wagon broken as she once didand how shes trained Estella to do.Miss Havisham gains much pleasure from the discomfort and humiliation of men, she has no problem hurting anyone in order to extract her revengenot even Pip is spared, some body who had done nothing to often her, beside be born the wrong gender. Miss Havisham lets Pip believe that she was his benefactor and that Estella was his, but when this was proven untrue and Pip confronts her she says YesI let you go on but who am I, for Gods saje, that I should be kind This submits Miss Havishams view on life she wonders why it is that she should be kind, when the world hasnt been kind to her. why should she be nice, when the world hasnt been nice to her. Why she should love, when the world hasnt loved her. This idea of hers later becomes the very idea that eventually destroys her.Miss Havisham lives through Estella, she gains pleasure from seeing men swoon and pursuit Estellas attention. Sheenjoys decorating Estella in jewelalmost like she was a doll to be shown off, not at all like a daughter. However, her actions lead to many consequencesbecause of her lack of affection for Estella, Estella then grows up to be a beautiful creature rather than a human. Estell a claims that she has no heart so she cannot show anyone love, not even Miss Havisham, who craved attention and love. This outrages Miss Havisham, how could her own daughter not love her? The answer was simple, I am what you have made me. Take all the praise, take all the blame take all the success, take all the failure, in short, take me. (277) Estella reveals the nature of their relationship, for her complete life Miss Havisham has only learned to take, and never had she given, she lived a self-centred lifeand was intent on acquiring revenge.She took the happiness forward from Pip, she took away Estellas humanity and replaced it with a cold, hard, and beautiful exterior, and mostly she took away her own life. Miss Havisham froze in m, the moment she decided to avenge herself, and she gave away her life, her emotions and feelings all in the name of revenge. Like the clocks in her house, everything was frozen in Miss Havishambecause she wanted nothing more than to see other suff er as she did. Only in doing this, she forced herself to suffer even more. Miss Havisham eventually diesalone, and unloved.This shows the result of pursuing revenge as obsessively as Miss Havisham did in return all she had left was a ruined estate, a monster for a daughter, relatives who were after her wealth, and a life time of sorrow. Throughout this novel, Dickens idea and opinion revolving around revenge becomes preferably clear. It is evident that nothing good can come of revenge and misfortunes supervene those who attempt to achieve it. Dickens makes an example out of his characters, to illustrate the aftereffect of being consumed by revengeand acting upon its temptation. Nothing good can come from trying to avenge oneself, no matter how small or magnanimous the act is the results will all be the same.