All That Glitters is NOT Gold
There were several themes associated with the novel Great Expectations. One of the most fascinating themes dealt with "infatuation and how it compares to and relates to love" ("Infatuation"). Infatuation is basically an obsession, or extravagant affection towards a person (Webster, 667). There is really no definite reason behind their passion, therefore this feeling is often short in duration and indicative of faulty judgement (Webster, 667). The person doesn't know what these feelings mean, this is normally why they mistake it for love. Love, on the other hand, is an intense affectionate concern for another person (Webster, 772). It is a more selfless and settled feeling. You can compare the difference between love and infatuation with the cliche "All that glitters is not gold", the glitter illusion being infatuation and the gold being love, the real thing. As a person grows and experiences their feelings with many other people, the distinction between love and infatuation becomes more clear. This is because the person can compare feelings they have experienced in the past, with their present feelings. In Great Expectations we see how Pip's infatuation for Estella is "short in duration" (Webster, 667), as most infatua
tions are. Despite the fact that Estella is arrogant and rude, Pip is not only infatuated with her beauty and wealth, but also almost envies it. In fact the humiliation Estella puts Pip through, causes Pip to feel very lowly of himself and the way he has been brought up. This causes Pip's expectations to change from expecting to be Joe's blacksmith apprentice, to studying to become a gentlemen noticed and admired by Estella. As years pass, Estella Suffering all those years was a stronger effect than Miss Havisham's teachings. These experiences have given her the heart to understand what Pip's heart used to be. Though it is not really clear whether the two characters do eventually fall in love, in the end they both have found a state of happiness.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Infatuation Infatuation, Estella Pip, Pip Joe, Biddy Joe, House Estella, Biddy Pip, Throughout Expectations, Miss Havisham's, Feeling Estella, Estella Estella, love infatuation, webster 667, short duration, pip continues, definite reason, glitters gold, infatuation infatuation, pip's heart, biddy joe, miss havisham,
Approximate Word count = 1107
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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