Great Expectations and Hamlet

A detailed Summary of Great Expectations and Hamlet

Comparison Between Hamlet and Great Expectations

Hamlet and Great Expectations are two books in which the topic of alienation is apparent. Both Hamlet and Pip are alienated for different reasons. Hamlet, a prince of noble birth, only sees the negative side of life. He feels the world is a place full of corruption with distorted people living in it. Because his moral standards are so high, he avoids all human contact and isolates himself from people. Pip on the other hand, was born in a low social class, and was ambitious to become a "gentleman". This ambition drives him to alienation from lower class people. His selfish and greedy behaviour caused him to abandon the forge, which symbolizes the human warmth he once had. In this essay, I will compare and contrast some points where alienation is present in both Pip and Hamlet due to their flaws, sufferance, circumstances and influence of corruption around them.

Both Pip and Hamlet have human flaws and weaknesses. Pip's weakness, however, is more self-directed. He has a desire to become a "gentleman". He felt that this would be a road to his happiness, to escape his lowly birth. Great Expectations was set in early Victorian times in England, where the

f, Hamlet, as a prince, has a universal responsibility. He must change the corrupt order of Denmark and clean it up by killing Claudius. However Hamlet has a tragic flaw, which is his failure to carry out his responsibilities. He feels he must wait for the call of destiny, which causes him to delay. This flaw is a more tragic one because the nature of his task is not personal. The well being of his nation is at stake. His delay in avenging his father's death is also preventing his father's soul from resting in peace. Hamlet must kill Claudius but his tragic flaw of procrastination is keeping him from doing so sooner. His delay also results in the death of many innocent people, that wouldn't have died had he acted sooner.

also reveals Hamlet's gifts and letters to Polonius. Ophelia is not loyal to Hamlet and her virtue was sold to improve Polonius' relation with the king. Hamlet was upset and depressed that she would let herself be sold to her father that way. He'd hoped that Ophelia was different, and he wanted to trust her, but she let him down. He alienates himself from her as well. Now, to him, she is just part of the "unweeded garden" like everyone else. Both Estella and Ophelia have been corrupted by outside forces. This is unfortunate as it prevents them both from loving and hurt both Hamlet and Pip.

Alienation is a common theme in both Hamlet and Great Expectations. However, the difference between these two books is that Hamlet is a tragedy and Great Expectations is conventional. When Pip is alienating himself and excludes human contact with people, this is self-directed. This book is not a tragedy because Pip has no responsibility to anyone but himself. Once he becomes aware of his weakness he can turn back into the warm person he once was. When he gets over his alienation and learns from his mistakes, he can emerge into a new person. Hamlet, who is a tragic hero, must have a tragic flaw, which will foreshadow his tragic death. The fact that he isolates himself from the world and procrastinates in restoring justice has greater consequences. The nature of his task is far from p

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Approximate Word count = 1429
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels