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Thomas Cramer Mrs. Gardner English 10, 0 Period 6 March 2014 Deceiving Darkness Darkness is a feeling of uncertainty as a blanket of black closes around the body, but light is the knight in armor who will come to save the feelings within. Light in life is associated with joy and positive outcomes; however, in the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, these two contrasting elements are substituted. The continuous fear that comes with darkness proceeds to become an opportunity of greatness for those who will accept it. Those who can accept the darkness and find a light to guide them through the perils in their life find themselves with their dreams in hand. In this novel, the protagonist, Pip wants to become a gentleman to be respected in the world, but also because he wants to win the heart of Estella. His Estella, meaning star in Latin, will guide him to all of his dreams as a gentleman. Through Estellas paradox of darkness, an influential light is presented to Pip to guide him through his dimly lit future. Pips reaction to this beautiful star is not only amazement, but curiosity as his future comes into shape. This scornful young lady [is] neither visible nor responsive (61) in the schooling of Pip to become a polished gentleman. His rise to power is only guided by Estellas dark personality, but her uninterested tones toward Pip make him only long for approval. This star pushes Pip past the struggles that appear in his rise of social class, but this is only the prelude to Estellas paradox of darkness. Estella is a light [that] came along the dark passage like a

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star (61) into Pips future; Estella represents the guidance that all humanity longs for and needs to become accepted in society. As we follow Pip in his path to become a gentleman, Estella will appear with guidance, but with a sense of mystery to keep Pip intrigued. If the reader is to truly understand the intelligence behind Estella and her incandescent light, they must first look at the language Charles Dickens used with her voice. His use of disappointment and class separation allows for Pip to be isolated from his guiding light. This solitude makes Pip even more passionate however when he is in the presence of Estella. This girl knows that there was such thing as daylight, but that it was made to be her enemy and destroyer (326) as it would extinguish her beautiful starlight. The guidance, the possibilities, the hope for Pips life would be trampled until nothing remained, leaving the light of Estella snuffed out and a life as a blacksmith for Pip. Dickens included continuous reminders of Estellas intelligence to entice Pip to love her even more. Pip wanted her to take naturally to take the daylight (326) and become his wife, but without the darkness of night Estella was only a child with a dark soul. Charles Dickens reminds the readers that without the home life that Estella experienced, the integrity of her dark paradox would be destroyed and the gentleman known as Pip would be left with Mrs. Joe and Tickler to guide him. When we realize the importance of Estella in the life of Pip, we must embrace the outcome which turned out so well. The paradox of Estellas darkness finally comes to its climax as the light of guidance fades into love. Pip never saw [a] shadow of another parting from her (516) as the rayless star had found its gentleman to love forever. Pip had finally accepted the darkness of Estella and presumed his chase of his own star. With the darkness in Estellas personality, attitude, past, and future crushing the dream of Pip, only one power could fight against this obscurity; star light.

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When the thought of Estella is presented however, we must think of yet another possibility with Estella dark paradox. Could the cloudy attitude and personality have pushed Pip to prove to Estella that she was only a pawn in the hand of Mrs. Havisham? Pip wanted to prove to Estella that he wasnt just a boy from a poor home, but a boy who would become a gentleman, become a man who would be free unlike her. This statement may question our very basis of this hidden love story; however, when we look deep into their connection-no matter how dark and murky- we see true love. Pip wanted the love of Estella to be his, for the history of Mrs. Havisham and her evil plans to be a part of his life. Pips love for Estella was too passionate for a sense of anger to appear. With the ambiguity of Estellas darkness, Pip found guidance to become a gentleman and achieve love from an unloved adolescent. The anomaly of Estellas darkness pushed pip to find a better life and gave him something to work for. His precious star was given a purpose, to guide a boy to become a gentleman, to change a boy into a love bound adult. Darkness changed Estella from a lost orphan to a wall of impenetrable hatred of feelings. The solitary light that had lead Pip to manhood was truly Estellas hope for someone to save her from a life of solitude. The darkness from within Estella was finally released as her love for Pip was embraced; the clinching of her new found tranquil light (516) allowed the warmth within her dark paradox to be released. The darkness within the stars soul was distinguished by the warmth within her, waiting for a soul to guide to its greatest glory.

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