great expectations

Vulgar common slang, awkward conversations with each other's worries, or subtle revelations of characters' petty hearts are interspersed in Pip's ups and downs, which makes people laugh again and again. Especially in Chapter 31, Dickens rendered this playful humor to the extreme through a funny tragic performance: Mr. Wu Fusai's "depressed and frustrated" lines attracted constant ridicule from the audience, and the audience enjoyed the grotesque, leaving only the actors themselves pretentious for the established roles. Looking back at the whole life picture conceived in Great Expectations, isn't it such a "joking tragedy"? Speaking of persistent love, since Pip met Estella for the first time, all the prayers and vows of love about the future are moving towards the trap of Miss Havisham. Since sweet words and grandiloquence are plots premeditated by others, it is absurd to look forward to the future and pursue love persistently. Once love is linked to conspiracy, the lofty meaning of piety and loyalty may have disappeared. Speaking of great prospects, dreams that could not be realized through hard work in the early years were once realized through the support of mysterious people; However, in the end, the high-class society is nothing more than a flashy and whitewashed wasteland, full of emptiness and hypocrisy; As for the coveted "gentleman" status, it not only failed to win Estella's favor, but also opened up the gap with Joe, pastoral songs and past life. The gap between ideal and reality undoubtedly makes Pip's struggle suspicious: is persistent pursuit and self-improvement really meaningful? It can be seen that Dickens devoted his subtle and deep thoughts to the title of Great Expectations, in which the lofty and grand tragic meaning and the sense of ridicule that eventually returned to falsehood, of course, are far from being replaced by the desolation and bitterness rendered by "the blood and tears of a lonely star". Tragic sorrow is never superficial sadness. The significance of tragedy often lies in revealing a dilemma in life. The image of "a superior person" that Pip tried to play turned out to be just a flag used by Magwitch to demonstrate like an enemy; Estella's immersed image of "Leng Yan Lady" is just a pawn for Havisham to retaliate against men. However, they can't get rid of their fate easily, because this arrangement and the reasons behind it are "love": Havisham's care for an unrelated orphan girl and Magwitch's gratitude to a boy who once helped her, which made Pip and Estella not only lose their confidence to resist, but also take on a moral responsibility to repay the kindness of raising or knowing each other. The more you value your hero's identity, the more you devote yourself to playing the role given by others, the more pious, persistent and pure you are, the more you look small, contemptible and pathetic. However, I don't know whether it is out of kindness to the characters in the novel or concern for readers' sensitive emotions, Dickens finally gave Pip and Estella an open ending, and the mocking and playful style of the novel faded into a calm narrative at the end. No matter how passive, contradictory and struggling, Pip finally moved towards introspection and independence with the exit of Magwitch and Havisham, and realized the emptiness of "great expectations" and the true meaning of a happy life. As for how to face the dilemma of life tragedy, Pip once risked his life to help Magwitch escape and put out the fire on Havisham. This flash of human nature is probably the answer given by Dickens.