2018-02-11

【Aiden in English】

        Stories are full of good characters. They can be liked, savored, enjoyed by the reader. Authors tend to use these positive characters as protagonists. However, not all characters are made perfect. In fact, most characters have and should have some sort of conflicting trait within. Sometimes, the trait even sways the reader’s position on how he or she feels. Pip, an orphan from Great Expectations, is an example of such. Therefore, unlike many other protagonists, Pip is not as likable due to many flaws within him.

        Great Expectations takes place during a time when society is in such distinct classes that moving up the social ladder is nearly impossible. When Pip is suddenly transported from a life as a peasant up to a gentleman, things are thrown into chaos. Attempting to adapt to city life, Pip becomes gradually more self-centered and spoiled, which by no means is his fault. However, Pip is unable to balance his life, forgetting his past all too quickly. The first major sign of this negative change in Pip occurs when his elder brother-in-law Joe comes to visit him in London.  By then, Pip had already settled into a normal routine around the city, as well as accepted his new life. Pip wishes to demonstrate his new social class by welcoming Joe not personally but with his servant. “[The] Avenger, pursuant to orders, was in the hall… and announced” (210) Joe’s arrival, which immediately tenses relations between father figure and son. The continued repetition of “sir” in Joe’s dialogues show the effect on his perception of social difference, which reverts back to Pip’s cold welcome to a family member. This moment in the plot brands Pip as a cold, boastful child who receives lavish opportunity without much work at all. Characteristics that mark Pip as unlikeable.

        Adolescence is commonly said to be the most difficult time of any person’s life. The story of Pip and his adventures come at quite an inopportune time, mostly revolving around a transition from a young child through his teenage years, in which many events occur that probably would have given Pip stress. Perhaps a good excuse for Pip’s major imperfections would be his age, but that cannot exclude all the things his parents taught him or common sense. Pip’s judgment is another reason why he is not likable. A prime example presents itself every time Pip converses with Estella. A beautiful girl with an ugly heart, Estella is a cold-blooded demon raised by a creepy foster mother, Miss Havisham who lives in an empty haunted house. Common sense would be to stay away from Estella, but Pip is continuously dragged into her traps. Pip is a shallow man that doesn’t see past what Estella is on the inside. Some may say he is persistent, but it is not as if Estella is attempting to like Pip. In fact, when talking about love, she describes herself as having “no heart” (228) and “no softness there” (229). In addition, Pip continues to pursue this girl who calls him “a stupid, clumsy laboring-boy” (58) and verbally beats him for his social differences. Granted, during a time were marrying for money is a very popular and cultural passage, Pip has good friends like Biddy to hang around with. As Pip is forced to move away, it is amazing to see how fast he forgets Biddy, furthermore proving his lack of judgment and even trustworthiness. Regardless of how much pain Estella inflicts, or the number of connections to his past he has to snap, Pip’s judgment is a horrendous trait that makes readers wince.

        People say that your environment shapes who you are, which is true. However, each person still holds onto his or her own deepest values, regardless of his or her environment. It is the very morals that the world is filled with billions of unique personalities. Therefore the most unlikeable trait of Pip is how quickly he changes his values. Near the beginning of the story, Pip is an innocent adopted son of a blacksmith, scared as to even steal from parents. Meeting Estella, Pip is touched by the upper class and immediately undergoes of series of horrible emotions. During a game of cards with Estella, she states that his hands are coarse, possibly implying that he is of a lower social level. Pip, who “had never thought of being ashamed of his hands before” (58), is torn apart. Instead of retaining his original virtues taught to him by his parents, Pip is influenced by Estella’s presence, so much that “it became infectious, and [Pip] caught it” (58). Tainting Pip, he goes on to transform into a character like Estella, cold to even his own loving father. Pip is an unconfident, easily-influenced protagonist that cannot hold on to even the most basic values he has established. 

        From poor and innocent to rich and snobby, Pip becomes an annoying, unlikeable character that presents many undesirable traits. The issues that lie beneath in his character unveil themselves through the test of time, money, and Estella. Dickens created a boy who would transfix the world in an all-time classic, only to make him full of horrible flaws that taint even the readers’ hearts.

【紅霞譯文】

        故事少不了好的人物，他們不僅能夠贏得讀者好感，激發讀者興趣，而且還會打動讀者心扉，作家們慣於把主人公塑造成正派角色，然而“黃金無足色白璧有微瑕”，事實上，大多數人內心深處都有也該帶點矛盾情結，有時正是這種特質促使讀者百感交集，《遠大前程》刻畫的孤兒皮普便是典型一例，與許多別的主角不同，他毛病多得簡直不可理喻。

        《遠大前程》所處的時代社會等級分明，貧民屌絲幾乎不可能進入上流階層，當皮普從鄉巴佬搖身變成貴族紳士，一切陷於混亂之中。為了適應城裡生活，皮普逐漸變得自私蠻橫，顯然這並非都是他的錯，但他根本無法平衡自己的生活，想要儘快忘卻過去。當姐夫喬伊到倫敦拜訪他時，這種負面變化馬上暴露出來，皮普改頭換面早已過上城裡人安逸生活，為了顯示社會地位，他沒有親自出馬迎候喬伊光臨，而是吩咐僕人去接待他，“那個討債鬼，無奈按照規定，正守在大廳里……通報”（第210頁）喬伊的到來，曾經親如父子的關係很快冷淡下來。喬伊在寒暄中不住地稱呼“先生”，反映出社會地位差異對人情世態的影響，與皮普愛搭不理的德行形成了鮮明對照。作者把皮普描寫為冷漠自負的愣頭青，他坐享其成，過着衣食無憂的生活，性格招人討厭。

        青春期通常被視為人生中問題最多的一個階段，皮普跌宕起伏的生活經歷偏偏發生在不該發生的時候。從童年過渡到青少年時期，中間很多事情都可能給他帶來壓力，也許皮普可以拿年齡開脫，但畢竟有長輩教誨，況且自己也該明理；判斷力則是皮普另一個軟肋，他與艾絲黛拉之間的對話足以表明問題所在。艾絲黛拉外表漂亮但內心冷漠，從小跟着秉性怪異的養母郝薇香小姐生活在陰森恐怖的宅子裡，照理講皮普當該遠離艾絲黛拉，可偏偏一步一步陷入她的陷阱。皮普思維膚淺，看不透艾絲黛拉內心世界，有人可能會說匹普死心眼，但艾絲黛拉未必喜歡他。實際上，一談到愛情，艾絲黛拉坦言自己“冷漠”（第228頁）“無情”（第229頁），即便如此，皮普仍然繼續追求這位把他貶成“愚蠢、笨拙、賣苦力臭小子”的女孩（第58頁），艾絲黛拉瞧不起皮普身世卑微。誠然，那時為金錢結婚非常盛行而且由來已久，儘管皮普身邊不乏像畢蒂這樣青梅竹馬的好友相伴，但當有早一日被迫離鄉背井，他忘記畢蒂的速度令人跌破眼鏡，進而證明皮普缺乏主見不值得信任。無論艾絲黛拉給皮普帶來多大痛苦，不管皮普本人想要留存多少往日記憶，主人公是非觀着實讓讀者捏一把汗。

        都說環境改變人，這句話千真萬確。然而不管環境如何，人人都有根深蒂固的價值觀，由於道德品質各異，個性才會迥然不同，照此說來，最不可思議的地方莫過於皮普價值觀變化神速。故事開頭介紹皮普是一位鐵匠收養的天真男孩，甚至害怕背着父母動用任何東西；遇到艾絲黛拉後，皮普備受上流社會影響，情感方面頓時發生一系列劇變。跟艾絲黛拉打牌的時候，她挖苦皮普手糙，言外之意暗諷他出身貧寒， 這讓“以前從沒為手感到羞愧”（第58頁）的皮普難過透頂，在艾絲黛拉影響下，皮普不是保持父母教導的樸實美德，而是“跟着學壞，變得勢利起來”（第58頁）。染上惡習的皮普在性格上越變越像艾絲黛拉，以致疏遠自己慈愛的父親；他自卑易變，連本人信奉的道德底線都堅守不住。

        從貧窮正直到富貴勢利，皮普身上滋生了很多陋習，面對時間、金錢以及艾絲黛拉等考驗，問題逐個暴露出來，狄更斯通過勾勒這位愛慕虛榮讓讀者虐心的小伙子而完成一部曠世傑作。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2015: Argumentative─Homework(議論文─論家庭作業)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

5th Grade Descriptive—The Most Admired Person(五年級記敘文—最佩服的人)

5th Grade Descriptive—Eragon @ School Day(五年級記小說人物一天學校生活)