Essay about Great Expectations

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Revenge on Others Victims caught in the chain of vengeance, due to their own volition, descend into a feeling of hopelessness. In Great Expectations, Dickens writes of a character Miss Havisham, an elderly lady, who yearns for revenge on men after being jilted in her youth. The revenge she wants creates a cycle of hatred that only ends with her passing. In this novel, Dickens uses the character of Miss Havisham to proclaim that revenge is a deleterious act which causes a chain of suffering amongst the objective and those around them until the one seeking retribution dies. Malicious intents plotted by one’s need for revenge causes another to experience unexpected grief. Miss Havisham, who was jilted by Compeyson and continues to live in that moment of despair, feels the need for revenge on others because of what she believes all men will do. Miss Havisham needs to hurt others, through Estella she rejects and break the hearts of other men. Since she cannot forgive herself for the past, she focuses her mind completely on making other men suffer like she did. When Miss Havisham speaks to Estella, a heartless tool she created in her own pursuit of pleasure, she questions, “Who am I, for God’s sake, that I should be kind?”(386) because she is still obsessed with her own heartache. Miss Havisham’s lack of self-control causes those around her to suffer greatly in her plan for revenge on Pip. Revenge is an intangible weapon that causes distress on those who come in contact with it whether it’s directly or indirectly. Miss Havisham adopted Estella so that she could cause great pain and suffering to men. Miss Havisham does not notice that she is causing harm to the people

around her target. Her most favorable victim is a young boy named Pip who has fallen for Estella. She rejects Pip, making him jealous of other suitors that associate with her. To end his jealousy and win Estella, Pip tries to become a gentleman and in that process he rejects Biddy and disrespects Joe. Miss Havisham’s pursuit of revenge, fueled by her past, starts a consecutive chain of pain to others from their determination and failure to obtain Estella. At the end of a cycle of revenge, Miss Havisham leads these men on a fruitless chase which writes their inevitable fate of despair and loneliness. As Miss Havisham begins to realize the harm she has done, she starts to feel pity and sympathy towards Pip and says,” "Until you spoke to her the other day, and until I saw in you a looking-glass that showed me what I once felt myself, I did
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