The Representation of Social Class in Charles Dickens' 'Great Expectation

Abstract

This study aims to analyze and represent social class in Charles Dickens' novel "Great Expectations" by studying the impact of social class on the main characters and their development within the context of Victorian society. The study focused on how Charles Dickens portrayed social classes of different types, such as the bourgeoisie and the poor classes, and the extent to which these classes affect the characters' identity, orientations, and ambitions. The study also sheds light on the relationship between social class and morality, and how the personal development of each of the characters, such as Pip, Estella, and Joe, reflects their social situations and challenges. The study also aims to demonstrate and explore how Charles Dickens presented class inequality as one of the causes of suffering and social injustice, and to focus on the idea of human values and individual integrity that can have an impact in overcoming class barriers. The study also discusses how the characters deal with social class, whether through their ambitions or aspirations for social advancement, and how this reflects the criticisms that Dickens directed at the class system in his time. The researcher recommended conducting future studies that would play a role in investigating how contemporary societies deal with class mobility and the factors that can affect the ability of individuals to overcome and transcend class barriers, and working on conducting a comparative analysis of how social class is portrayed in classical and contemporary literature, and providing insights into the nature and representation of class and its impact on contemporary social issues.