We would search for monsters only in dark places: in closets, under beds, and in woods where trees could not be lit. Our imagination would wander as we pictured creatures that looked like hairy monsters with a cat-like appearance and angry fangs. The pupils of these creatures were never enlarged, so they did not show the good behind every evil. The monsters that we imagine are dark, scary, dangerous, and manipulative. What if these monsters are just us? What if these monsters, which we have always imagined as dark and scary, were actually replicas of us? Charles Dickens’s novel Great Expectations, which is one of its recurring themes, explores this idea that monsters are made by people. They don’t form naturally. The evil potential that is present in nearly every situation can lead to a monster-like character. These include large, angry, determined, or dark. These qualities can be human, but are not seen as negative when they are used positively. The novel explores the idea of wealth driven ambition through Pip. Dickens shows readers how Pip learns from his mistakes and grows older. He explains that ambition, while inherently good, can be harmful depending on what drives a person’s ambition.
Ambitions of people vary depending on the goals they pursue. Success can have different meanings for each person. As shown in Great Expectations’ Chapter 9, the differences between Joe’s goal and Pip’s purpose are evident. Pip returns from Mrs. Havisham and Pumblechook’s house after Pip has played there in the hope of Pip gaining social status. Pip is surprised by how different his life is from Mrs. Havisham. Joe tells Pip that honesty is the key to success and advises him to remain within his social class. Pip is overcome by the luxury of Mrs. Havisham and falls into a deep sleep, remembering the things he did there. It’s as if this was a memory that he has had for months or weeks, not just hours. Within the first chapters, we see that Pip had the same desire and aspirations of his sister Pumblechook and Mrs. Joe. Dickens shows in this chapter that choosing between an intangible but morally right goal and one with more monetary and social value is not easy. Joe presents this option to Pip. Pip may not realize it, but at first it seems that something monetary, tangible, and intangible is more valuable. Pip was driven by ambition, but his desire to be better in terms wealth and character overtook his will to achieve.
Pip narrates his own story to show that in his quest for wealth, he has sacrificed morality, generosity and goodness. Pip spends a lot of time at the Satis House playing with Estella. He begins to love her selfish, rude personality. Pip loves Estella and is eager to spend as much time with her as possible. But readers wonder whether Pip truly “loves” her or just admires her for the status she holds. Pip had a “great expectation” that he would marry Estella and rise in the class because he assumed Mrs. Havisham gave him a lot of money. Pip, however, finds out his benefactor wasn’t Mrs. Havisham. Rather, it was Magwitch, a convict whom he saved years ago. Magwitch showed up to Pip’s place when he visited London. Pip, when he had been young, helped Magwitch because he felt good about himself and didn’t expect anything back. Pip’s lack of wealth-related moral drive seemed to gradually fade away after he left London and the Satis House. He also stopped visiting his relatives, to the point that they no longer expected him. Pip became more and more uncomfortable with Joe as his social standing increased. Joe told Pip that, during one of their meetings, “Life consists of a series welded-together parts, if I may use the term, where one is a silversmith, another a goldsmith and still others a coppersmith.” Diwisions will arise and need to be handled as they happen” (746). Joe said that Pip’s ambition drove him to the point where even Joe’s love couldn’t cover up his awkwardness or differences with him. It is possible to call someone “monstrous” if their ambition is so strong it overshadows other qualities. Monsters are notorious for being greedy and taking away. It is possible to have humane yet monsterous characteristics. We can choose whether or not we act on our greed. Pip’s ambition was the winner in this novel.
Dickens showed us through Pip that we all have monsters within us. It’s up to us what brings them out. Each day, we fight against one thing and the other. This battle shapes us and creates monsters, such as jealousy or love. It’s this perfect balance that keeps monsters down, while also keeping us happy. The reader learns that acceptance is just as powerful as jealousy, but that jealousy can be the monster who overrules. It’s the same for hatred, ambition and all other characteristics we possess. The only way to defeat the monsters within us is by choosing wisely and thinking carefully before speaking and acting.