论文总字数：32115字

摘 要

《远大前程》是一部成长小说，展现了主人公皮普的成长过程，生动地揭示了他对上等人生活的渴望以及幻想破灭后本性的回归，分析影响皮普性格发展的各种因素。他的性格与其生活经历密切相关，一方面，性格影响着他的生活，另一方面，他在生活中逐渐走向成熟，经历了道德煎熬与精神反思，皮普重获新生，和他心爱的人奔向新生活。小说将个人的生活与社会批判结合起来,资本主义渗透到社会的各个角落，资本家大肆地剥削着贫苦的人民，人民生活困苦不堪。皮普经历了不同的人生阶段，回到了农村，他对人生，世界有了新的认识。

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关键字：《远大前程》；成长小说；成长；性格；资本主义

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………….…………………………...…1

2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………...1

3. Bildungsroman………………………………………………………....2

3.1 Definition of Bildungsroman………………………………………………..2

3.2 Bildungsroman and Great Expectations……………………...……………..3

4. Process of Pip’s Growth…………………………………………………4

4.1 Pip’s Life in Country…………………………………………….………. …4

4.2 Pip’s Life in London………………………………………………..……….6

5. Cultural Significance of Pip’s Growth…………………………..…………8

5.1 Capitalism and Culture……………………………………………………..11

5.2 Pip’s Self-discovery and Introspection………………………………….…11

6. Conclusion….................................................................................................12

Works Cited…………………………………………………………...14

1. Introduction

Charles Dickens is one of the most famous realist novelists in the Victorian Britain in the 19th century. Great Expectations is his representative work. This novel is a Bildungsroman novel which has educational significance published in the later years of Dickens. The novel describes the Victorian society, and reveals the ugly of the so-called upper class for money and status, at the same time; it praises the laboring people at the bottom of the England society. This novel describes the character, Pip’s growth history, and shows Pip’s personality changes with the change of the surrounding environment.

The novel is a book that has educational significance, the book around the theme that a young man who pursues his dream and which is disillusioned. This novel profoundly reveals the snobbery of concomitant with the money and status which plays a bad role in a person"s growth process. (Zhu Wan, 2003: 1) The hero Pip desires to live a life of gentleman, and he goes after fame and money. This novel describes the character, Pip’s growth history, and shows Pip’s personality changes with the change of the surrounding environment.

2. Literature Review

At present, there are many scholars both at home and abroad studying the character of Pip, the hero of the Great Expectations, and most of the scholars analyze Pip’s characters from the most basic four stages of Pip’s growth – “pure--depravity --reflection--mature”, for example, in Lishirong’s work,” the growth subject of "great expectations" reveals the Pip"s growth process in the Great Expectations. Through describing the process of the disillusionment of Pip’s Great Expectations, reveals the cost and the true spirit of life. The author demonstrates that the humanity plays a huge role in the process of Pip’s growth from Pip’s four stages. (Li Shirong, 2007:2.) Li Shirong is Similar to Xu Yufeng. In his work "Learn to Compromise to Mature - the Analysis of the hero, Pip’s growth process in Great Expectations, around Pip’s four different stages of growth, Xuyufeng analyzes the process of Pip’s growth from naive to vanity, and finally return to the nature, and demonstrates that Pip have learnt to be mature in compromise. This paper will analyze Pip’s character from his five important stages in life, and there is a corresponding person influencing Pip"s character in each stage. (Xu Yufeng, 2005:3)

My paper will in-depth analyze the process of Pip’s growth from his three different stages of life, that is: country- city- country. And then I will analyze what the bildungsroman is, including the definition, theme, narration, and time span of bildungsroman. Finally, I will discuss the relationship between Pip’s life and capitalism.

3. Bildungrosman

3.1 Definition of Bildungsroman

Bildungsroman is a German word borrowed into English, and as its source indicates, it first flourished in Germany. “Biladungs” in German means “formation” or “ education”, and “roman”, “novel”--- hence “Biladungsroman” meaning “the novel of formation or education”. In German literary history, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, since its publication in between 1794 and 1796, has been established as the prototype of the biladungsroman. (Xu Dejin, 2008:2) Since, this new artistic form had been obviously developed by such writers as Charles Dickens and Samuel Butler in the Victorian England, and James Joyce in the modernist period of Britain. The term “bildungsroman”, which was not in common usage until late in the nineteenth century, began to defy any accurate or unified definition. Though it is impossible to give an accurate definition of the term “biladungsroman”, it also kicks out two important characteristics of the bildungsroman--- the autobiographical feature and the special time span involved in the story telling of the central characters.

In terms of theme, the bildungsroman has the identity- formation as its central motif. In the very process of seeking self-identity, the hero as an individual is naturally subjected to the test of conflicting with society. The result is predictable: he is either assimilated into the suffocating society or becomes an exile due to his refusing to swim with the mainstream society. In either case, the central hero eventually finds his proper location in society. In terms of narration, the bildungsroman usually adopts the first person narration to narrate. Yet, it also takes the third person narration. In terms of time span, the bildungsroman usually confines itself to a certain period of time spanning from childhood through adolescence into early manhood. (Xu Dejin, 2008: 8-11)

“The child is father of the man”---indeed, the formative years of a child evolving from innocence into maturity are of vital importance in the formation of character and constitute a long hard pilgrimage every experience before he comes to grip with the great universe. Through this unavoidable passage of growing up, one has to undergo many trials and tribulations.

3.2 Bildungsroman and Great Expectations

In this sense, Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations can be classified into bildungsroman. The hero of the Great Expectations, Pip, before coming to be mature, undergoes three stages of evolution—the innocence, the corruption in the society, and lastly, the disillusionment ending up in his loss of material wealth while regaining the spiritual integrity.

Here are some major themes of Great Expectations from critics. The first one is crime, guilt and innocence, the second growth of human nature and the third expectation dream.(Zhang, 2006:354) The second and the third fit the subject of the development of the protagonist’s mind and character in a bildungsroman. Great Expectations is a critically realistic study of human nature’s growth from the social critical point of view. By narrating the development of Pip, he had changed from a kind, innocent and honest boy to a selfish, and snobbish young man and finally to an introspective man. Plot is one of the elements of a novel to support a story. In bildungsronman, the character of the story usually has his or her simple but boring childhood. Generally speaking, their lives can be divided into several stages. The “three-part structure” of bildungsroman in Alexandra Palm’s research goes with the three stages of innocence- experience- maturity. (Chen, 2009:1)

Great Expectations is also narrated around the three processes of growth of Pip. From the chapter 1 to 19, Pip was innocent, simple and kind- hearted. When meeting Magwitch, he showed his sympathy on him and stolen food and file for him, which indicates that Pip was full of sympathy. From chapter 20 to 39, Dickens depicted Pip’s life in London. Pip excepted good education, worn decent clothes and learnt good manners. He enjoyed his identity as a gentleman. But his superior feeling was created by losing his happiness. He suffered a lot from Estella’s indifference. He thought that Estella would love him as long as he became a gentleman. But at last, he realized that was impossible.

As all bildungsroman stories, the hero became mature in the end of the story. In Great Expectations, chapter 40 to 59, Pip reached the stage of maturation. After experiencing some sufferings, Pip begun to miss something beautiful of his childhood at hometown. He understood that the great expectations are not realistic and worthy.

4. The Process of Pip’s Growth

4.1 Pip’s Life in Country

Pip was an orphan, his parents and five brothers had passed away early. Pip lived with his sister and brother-in-law. But his sister was very rude to him, and only Joe, his brother-in-law helped him as soon as possible. By this time, Pip’s character was good and pure; his only friend was his brother-in-law, Joe. In the eyes of Pip, Joe was a mild and warmhearted man. Pip"s childhood life was dull and boring. He had often been beat and scolded by his sister. The only comforting thing was that there is such a good man to take care of him and regard him as a friend. There were no words between each other. At this stage, what could reflect the Pip’s character was that he encountered a fugitive Magwitch. Pip was very sympathetic to Magwitch’s situation. All in all, Pip’s life in country is simple and boring; the only happy time is staying with his brother-in-law Joe.

Great Expectations was narrated by Pip"s voice. Through Pip"s inner monologue, it could be seen that he was a kind and grateful boy. Magwitch was one of the main line, and his appearance was the beginning of his book.

“Now, looked here,” he said, “the question being whether you’re to be let to live. You know what a file is.”

“Yes, sir. ”

“And you know what wattles are.”

“Yes, sir. ”

After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger.

“You get me a file.” He tilted me again. “And you get me wattles.” He tilted me again. “You bring them both to me.” He tilted me again. “Or I’ll have your heart and liver out.” He tilted me again.

I was dreadfully frightened, and so giddy that I clung to him with both hands, and said. “If you would kindly please to let me keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn’t be sick, and perhaps I could attend more.” (Dickens, 1992: 3)

“I said I would get him the file, and I would get him what broken bits of food I could, and I would come to him at the Battery, early in the morning."

“Say Lord strike you dead if you don’t.” said the man.

I said so, and he took me down. (Dickens, 1992: 4)

"Joe, I hope that they can’t find that two people."(Dickens, 1992:33)

From here we can see, in the face of Magwitch’s threat, Pip didn"t be intimidated, but he promised to help Magwitch and he also promised he never leaked out the secret. And he secretly took these things without discovering by his sister, which can be said as a great risk. When the police looked for Magwitch, Pip hoped the police couldn’t find him. It also could be seen that Pip was a faithful man. Pip was a man of faith, and he was brave and compassionate. These qualities were so precious. Pip’s fate changed by meeting Magwitch.

The second main line is the relationship of development between Pip and his sister and his brother-in-law Joe. Pip was often beat and scolded by his sister. His unhappy life of his childhood almost was because of his sister’s scold. Fortunately, Pip had a true friend, Joe. Pip’s happy life in country, in a great sense, was created by Joe. Joe really cared about Pip, and tried his best to help him. They were true friend and no secrets between them. Sometimes, Joe was like Pip’s father, for Joe loved and took care of him like a father.

“(I’m sorry there weren’t a flag, Pip.) Whether that might be or mightn’t n be, is a thing as can’t be looked into now, without putting your sister on the Rampage; and that’s a thing not to be thought of, as being done intentional. Looked here, Pip, at what is said to you by a true friend. Which this to you the true friend says. If you can’t get to be uncommon through going straight, you’ll never get to do it through going crooked. So don’t tell no more them, Pip, and live well and die happy.”

“You are not angry with me, Joe?”

“No, old chap. But bearing in mind that them were which I meantersay of a stunning and audacious sort ----alluding to them which bordered on weal-cutlets and dog-fighting-a sincere well- wisher would advise, Pip, their being dropped into your meditations, when you go upstairs to bed. That’s all, old chap, and don’t never do it no more. (Dickens, 1992: 62)

"Joe and I are the best friend that we there is no secret between us."(Dickens, 1992: 7)

"But as long as he had a way, he always helps me in his own way, comforts me; moreover, when eating, as long as he has the gravy, he always scoop a little for me."(Dickens, 1992: 25)

These thoughts were always in the Pip’s mind. So you can see from these thoughts, he was very grateful to Joe because of his care and help, Pip was grateful, actually, and he only gratitude people who really were good to him. In a sense, Joe was a renewable parent to Pip, not only taking care of Pip in life, but also giving great mental encouragement and guidance.

The main line of Great expectations should be the relationship development between Estella and Pip.

After he met Estella, Pip’s character has changed gradually. At this stage, Pip’s personality changed slowly, and it happened after he went to Sardis Manor to accompany Miss Harvey’s daughter, Estella. Then his psychology changed gradually, and he began to look down upon his own family, to feel shame by his humble home. Actually, Estella was a very arrogant and cold girl, but Pip liked her. Pip began to change because of her personality. Maybe at that time, people were sensitive to the money and status. Class notion deeply existed in people’s mind, and upper-class people looked down on the poor farmers, and the poor, tried to squeeze into high society. Pip’s life after meeting Estella was full of sadness and abasement. (Zhuwan, 2004:1).

Pip came to Miss Havisham’s home for the first time.

“Although she always called me a little child with indifferent attitude, actually, she was as old as me, but she looked down upon me, as if she was twenty-first or two years old, like a queen."

“Play with the child! Hey, he"s just a poor and rude boy."

"Look at this child, he should call "Neff" "Jack’, the first game was not over yet, Estella said, contemptuously," look! How rough he hands were! And his shoes were so heavy! (Dickens, 1992:57)

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