A Case Study of Relationship Between the Changes of Pips Character and the Social Background in Great Expectations 《远大前程》中皮普的性格转变与社会环境的关系文献综述
2020-04-18 20:44:50
文献综述 1. Introduction 1.1#160; Background of the research Nowadays Chinese people especially working people are under great pressure for having a higher position in their career due to the more and more expensive houses, children education, also including China#8217;s explosively-growing economy status, people are trying their best to be materially rich to meet their consuming needs, which will highly cause the social problems and mental troubles of people who are under great pressure, therefore, some people#8217;s personalities and characters will gradually be changed because of the changes of social background. Catherine Peters (2002) and Sun Huaxiang (2010) conducted a research on how great the influences of social background are to people#8217;s mental changes. In this study, we will focus on Pip, the male character of Great Expectations, and lots of examples and analysis will be used to demonstrate the relationship between Pip#8217;s Character and the Social Background. Bressler, Charles F. (2004) believed that classics always make good use of social conflicts to criticize the problems and seek for understandings and making a difference. 1.2#160; Purposes of the research The purposes of this research will include three parts, accroding to Du Yu (2011). Firstly, the most simple and direct one is to understand the power of social background and the very obvious changes of Pip after he had seen a totally different world, we can discuss the most reasons that caused this and focus on social background factor, accroding to Guo Rong (2015). Secondly, the solid evidence will be showed that why social background changes can cause great changes of people, even it#8217;s not genetic. Thirdly, solutions will be provided that what people can do to adjust healthily to this changeable world without getting themselves mentally-status worsen or emotionally hurt. 2. Literature Review Today the study on Great Expectatons mainly has two aspects: the relationship with women and the relationship between society and people#8217;s personalities. Many scholars focus on the latter one due to its reflection about the people and social development. Bressler, Charles F.(2004) made an analysis that the more we know about how society influent people, the more we can provide wiser stratigies for people to deal with the mutual relationship with society. According to Zuo Jinmei (2011), the depth and the importance of Great Expectations in English history is uncountable and far reachable, a great amount details can be found as the very accurate description of that Victorian age and the spiritual development of British people: admiration of fortune, lack of dignity of the poor, people#8217;s dark sides facing the interest, celebrity influence and so on. All of them recorded British people#8217;s life and mostly importantly, it exposed the truth about how the outside enviroment, or typically society, influence people. 2.1 The Original Pip and Victorian society Pip#8217;s original nature is simple and kind. Accroding to Yu Linjin (2007), this can be shown from the fact that even was born from a poor and simple family, he still helped the convict-Magwitch. His good nature also existed with his sister#8217;s abuse and his respect in his brother-in-lawJoe,they helped each other during the unhappy family time and that was a simple and innocent time with his bother-in-law, they were just simple laboring people who were kind, helpful and had the eager of getting education under the living difficulties. At that time, the whole society was under huge industrial changes, many people made a great amount of fortune by doing business and trade, social changes and political departments also encouraged British people to make a difference by owning more fortune, people were fascinated by the illusion of fortune and preferred to be upper-status people, most people showed crazy admiration to people who had fortune and considered being liked by rich people was an honor, accroding to Qian Yan (2009). That#8217;s one of the reasons that young boy Pip was sent to Miss Havisham#8217;s house and started to see the whole different world: the food, the fine clothes, the elegant dance and manners of the rich people. Before knowing all of these differences between rich or poor, accroding to Qin Yan (2009), Pip wasn#8217;t aware of this so-called social status differences between the classes, his nature was full of kindness and purity. 2.2 The Pip after meeting Estella and social factor After being sent to Miss Havisham#8217;s house, Pip met Estella and learned a lot rules of the upper and rich people, and his behaviors were gradually influenced and changed by the environment he was living in: well dressed peer, fancy rules, use of words, and Estella, his first crush as a boy, her elegance and coldness and proud to him, all of different environments showed him differences between his original home to this glamorous one, and all these changes were just like a trigger that stimulated his another side, which is opposite of kindness and innocence and purity, accroding to Zheng Li (2015), all the desires that full of capitalism were corrosion to the pure soul of a kid. It#8217;s not difficult to imagine that when every person in your life believed things, you would gradually assume it#8217;s right or common to you, especially to a kid who was from a labor family. Accroding to Guo Rong (2015), especially with his crush on his girl, he would do anything to please her, and to make it happen the first problem would be the class difference and that#8217;s became young Pip#8217; shame. People gave praise and complements to the rich people and no matter what they did considered righteous and reasonable, which provides a significant terrible model to Pip. His behaviors were moving closer to what rich people did and that#8217;s probably a wrong way ahead of a young man#8217;s future. He wanted to be gentleman and his brightness and good heart were hidden by the illusion of prosperity. 2.3 The Gentleman Pip with his fortune After getting an unexpected good fortune, Pip finally got an access for going to a higher class and go to London. First thing he did was to check Estella, which was a strong evidence of his love for her and in his deep mind he had arrived a higher level for chasing his dream girl. Accroding to Zhang Zuotang and Zhang Yining, after getting the answer that she went abroad for higher education and to be a fine lady, Pip was disappointed and then he started to be a gentleman with a false information that Miss Havisham was the one who financially supported him. Accroding to Panxiaodong (2009), during his transformation time of being a gentlemen, Pip came to know the meaning of money and life that was to be a true gentleman, one must have money. Money seems to be the immediate ladder for him to climb upward along the social scale, and unconsciously he was dyed in accepting the living art of the bourgeoisie, drinking, spending money extravagantly and dreaming of marrying Estella. Accroding to Li Liang and Sun Xuchun (2015), this Pip was even far away from his original nature,he forgot sincerity and simplicity he was after the levity and luxuryand becamemore materialistic and egoistic. He was strongly influenced by the London life and rich people who are around him: bragging, eager for being richer and never be content with what they have. 2.4 The Pip after knowing truth of his fortune If Mr. Magwitch didn#8217;t come to visit Pip, Pip would very probably be proud of his rich life still and grateful to Miss Havisham, however, after knowing the truth, he was ashamed of getting to know this convict and his financial support, accroding to Qin Yan (2009), we could tell at this time, Pip had changed a lot, including his behaviors and response to his brother-in-law Joe#8217;s visit, he was embarrassing to have a meal with his old relations, people and manners were pressure to him and he was very sensitive about it. But in another way, people and society did influence him a lot, while his good heart still existed, in his deep mind, he was still a good and kind young fellow: his help to Mr. Magwitch and his friend Herbert, especially when Mr. Magwitch was in extreme danger, he made the same choice like what he did when he was a little boy. We can tell that society and people can influence people, it#8217;s tests for human beings#8217; morality, but sometimes your choices can also define you truly who you are. After intense inner conflicts he finally decided to stay with the convict and helped him immigrate to other countries, from now on we found a strong Pip, after so long time of illusions he finally realized the nature of the bourgeoisie. He was deeply convinced that the profit-hungry money exclusively-concerned and cunning bourgeoisie could not give him great expectations. 2.5 Influences from people who around him There were several people who influenced Pip a lot, especially Estella, her coldness, elegance, selfishness made Pip go down, accroding to Liu Bingshan. (2007), it appears a world that as long as he was in a higher and higher social status he would get his girl, which made him going more and more paranoid and sensitive to his original family and fortune. Next would be Mr. Magwitch, who was the most major reason that Pip went to London and had the financial resource to become a gentleman, besides that, he was also a person who showed Pip that there are still some good in his deep mind and his kindness and purity were still showing preciousness of being a real kind person, even after what this society influenced him, accroding to Li Liang and Sun Xuchun (2015). 3. Organization of the research This thesis could be divided into five parts. The first chapter will serve as the general introduction, in which background of research, purposes of research, and the organization of the research will be stated. Chapter two will be an overview of the literature, including the major plots of Great Expectations and Pip, the male leading role#8217;s trail of development and changes during the time. In chapter three, methodology will be adopted in this topic, including research questions, case study, synthesis, induction and deduction. Chapter four will report the major findings based on the analysis of the evidence and case, also including a detailed discussion of the major findings. This thesis will be ended with the summary of the major findings, the theoretical analysis, limitations for the future research, and suggestions for people on this subject in Chapter Five. References Bressler, F. (2004). Literary Criticism. Beijing: Higher Education Press. 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