Open Prompt October 28 Revised

1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

Love is a strong emotion most people face and struggle with throughout their life times. It is so strong, it can often cause one to lose their path, and move away from making moral decisions. In the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the main character, Pip, must struggle and decide between attempting to please the one he loves, and making a moral decision. Decision-making and internal moral conflict are important themes shown through examples and details in the novel. 

Pip lives in a small, poor community with his older sister and her sisters husband Joe, whom he works with and loves dearly. Once he meets a wealthy girl named Estella in a mansion he is asked to work in, all Pip wants to do is become a gentlemen and win her heart. He receives money from a secret benefactor and moves to London to learn to be a gentlemen. The diction used by Estella towards Pip shows that Estella is rude to Pip, yet he still loves her and wants to please her. Joe tries to keep in touch with Pip while he is in London, and through Pip's diction, you can see he is is disrespectful and feels he is superior to Joe because of his recently increased status. Pip must face the conflict of trying to please a girl who doesn't love him, or doing the moral thing and keeping in touch with his old friend Joe, which is supported by the diction uses. 

This conflict has a large effect on Pip throughout the novel. He sees how cold and rude Estella is towards him, and this continuously upsets him. But when she shows an ounce of kindness towards him, he notices it and becomes hopeful again. Pip also notices his new behavior towards Joe. Deep inside, he feels bad for being so disrespectful to Joe, but it is difficult for him to face the idea of being good friends with someone of that low social status. Pip is constantly thinking about this internal conflict: please Estella, or move back home and have a close relationship with his old friend Joe. 

This moral conflict Pip faces makes up a majority of the novel. It adds to the reoccurring theme of social class. Would he rather be unhappy with Estella and a have a high social status, or be happy with Joe and have a lower status? This conflict greatly adds to the theme of social status. In the novel, Dickens makes it very clear through diction that Pip must struggle between attempting to please the one he loves, or making a moral decision to stay close with Joe.