The Relationship Between Social Circumstances And The Development Of Pip's Character In Great Expectations

Charles Dickens is one of the greatest British realistic novelists. Through his numerous works, he presented to the readers different aspects of the times he lived in and explored the unfairness and hypocrisy of the capitalist society. Meanwhile, he strongly expressed his humanity, especially, his deep concern and sympathy towards the poor.This thesis carefully analyzes the relationship between social circumstances and the development of Pip's character in Dickens's Great Expectations to achieve a better understanding of this novel as well as Charles Dickens's great power in the criticism of society.This thesis includes four chapters. Chapter One is a brief introduction to this thesis, the life and career of Charles Dickens as well as the Victorian Age, which the author lived in. Chapter Two discusses the seven factors of social circumstances on the development of Pip's character. Chapter Three focuses on the relationship between social circumstances and the development of Pip's character. On the one hand, they are closely connected and cannot be separated. On the other hand, the development of Pip's character was not totally determined by the social circumstances, but also by Pip himself. The last chapter concludes that the development of a person's character was greatly influenced by social circumstances. Facing the challenges in life, one should keep calm and get rid of illusions.