Great Expectations

Moral extremes: good and evil

It is rather hard to talk about morality in Great Expectations since it is
generally Pip who divides people into good and evil, mainly according to
their social status. For instance, Magwitch remains the evil character due to
the fact that he is a convict, a low-life with no education and with a
dangerous background. In reality, Magwitch is a kind-hearted person, Pips
benefactor, despite the fact that his appearance proves the exact contrary. We
could even oppose him to Compeyson, the true evil character of the novel,
the reputed villain, who seems to get away with the things he does just
because of his social status. Authorities and people such as Pip tend to be
quite judgemental towards those from low social classes, and they generally
side with those from the upper class, regarding the latter as superior due to
their education and financial power. But if we are to talk about evil
characters we cannot let out Orlick, Joes frightening helper, who ends up
killing Mrs Joe and getting away with it, too. He is dark and dangerous and
his appearance and behavior prove this.
There are also other characters which are pretty difficult to put in a certain
category. For instance, we can say with certainty that Pip and Joe are good
from a moral point of view, but can we say the same thing about Mr
Jaggers? It is true that he does illegal things and that he helps criminals in
order to obtain important sums of money, but he is more than kind to Pip,
and he even has a weird habit which proves the fact that in some way he is
aware of his wrong doings, which he probably regrets. He has this habit of
carefully washing his hands after dealing with his clients, almost as if he
wants to get rid of the moral uncleanliness that this interaction brings him.
The fact that he decides to take care of Molly and her daughter because it
is he who puts her in the care of Miss Havisham - is also a sign of his kind
heart.
It is also very difficult to say whether Miss Havisham is good or evil. At first
she is described as a weird old lady who seems to take pleasure in mocking
those around her, her friends and relatives who come to see her with a sole
goal in mind, which is to get their hands on her fortune. But in the end we
feel pity towards her, especially when we find out how much he had suffered
due to betrayal coming from the part of those dear to her.
The Role of Guilt

The feeling of guilt is mainly associated with the main character, Pip, as he
recounts throughout the novel things and events that he feels ashamed of or
in which he wished he had acted otherwise. Starting from his early
childhood, Pip feels quite devastated at the idea that he has done wrong in
helping the escaped prisoner, and even more when he believes that the latter
is the one who has killed his sister. Earlier on, Pip feels guilty towards Joe
because he is ashamed of the person who lacks education and cannot be
introduced to his gentleman friends. Joe acknowledges this situation and
tries to remain distant, but Pip soon realizes that he had been profoundly
mistaken and attempts to fix things. Therefore, this guilt has an important
role in Pips moral development. When experiencing this feeling, Pip attains
a certain maturity from a psychological point of view, he succeeds to see
things more clearly and to gain a whole new perspective on life. He becomes
aware of the things that are really important, such as being surrounded by
those who really care about us, those who are there for us when we most
need them, just like Joe had been there to take care of him during his illness
and to pay his debts.
Pip experiences a feeling of guilt towards his benefactor, Magwitch, whom
he despises at first due to the fact the he is an escaped convict, the exact
opposite of his ideal in life. However, he ends up feeling pity for the poor
old man who had suffered all his life, mainly due to the prejudices towards
people like him, and he even tries to help him escape. Through this feeling
of guilt, Pip arrives to the true idea of what being a gentleman really means,
it is not money that matters, not even a high position on the social ladder, but
what is in your heart. That is a true gentlemans greatest possession.
Injustice
In this novel we can take about injustice from a social point of view. Those
who come from lower classes or from a poor environment are automatically
regarded as lesser persons, inferior to those coming from the upper class.
Magwitch gets a heavier punishment than his partner in crime, Compeyson,
mainly because the latter is the image of the gentleman, therefore authorities
feel entitled to go easier on him. We can see that social standards determine
the way the characters stand before the law. In the end, it is Magwitch who
gets his revenge and does the things that the law had failed to do for so many
years. We could say that characters are in a way tormented by the lack o
justice that they have to endure, and by the fact that they are wrongly

accused, and also by having no one to appeal to, not having the law on their
side.
Mr Jaggers also represents a symbol of injustice as he sides with criminals in
order to obtain money. Even murderers are scared of him because the fact
that he should be a representative of law, he does things for his own sake and
to his own advantage.