“Great Expectations”

 I am currently reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The story revolves around Pip, an apprentice in a village who is suddenly catapulted into high society by a mysterious benefactor. He tries his best to adjust to his new society through the process of self-development. So far, he has been meeting with many people from around London to better understand the social situation and how he can adapt to it.  Pip is ambitious to improve himself so that he can be his best-self and starts to explore the influence & importance of social class. He also often reflects on high-class’s economic privilege and whether is an integral aspect of human character. 

Pip’s personality mirrors Santiago’s personality from The Alchemist. Both characters are idealistic and try to achieve their “personal legend”. Both characters have naivety that hinders them from seeing the true world. Pip is very much attracted to the idea of improvement and whenever he perceives something as better than what he has, he strives to improve. In the Harkness class discussion, we talked about what effects idealistic behavior can have on characters and concluded that a healthy balance was the key. 

These sentiments relate to our everyday lives as we are always trying to improve and develop ourselves to reach our “personal legend”. When both characters are on their quest to find the height of themselves, they uncover more possibilities and unexpected truths of life. For example, Santiago realizes that not everything is destined for him and that he has free will when navigating through life. Pip realizes that moral and personal characters are more important than social class and tries to live up to his “great expectation” to be the best person he can be. 

These novels made me realize that sometimes things can be different than what we expected or initially perceived to be. From these experiences that at times seem chaotic, we are able to discover more about ourself, society and unravel unexpected truths.