Great Expectations Group

Question:

scooter5
scooter5
Student
High School - 9th Grade

Why did Dickens make Joe such a "big" man in Great Expectations; is his size symbolic?

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Posted by scooter5 on Monday September 21, 2009 at 2:28 PM and tagged with great expectations, literature.

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  1. scarletpimpernel Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Joe's size serves at least two different literary functions.  First, his large physique demonstrates his big heart.  Joe, more than any other character in the novel, has the emotional capacity to overlook the flaws in others and love them unconditionally.  When Joe describes to Pip why he married Mrs. Joe, he talks about her best characterstics and graciously excuses her many faults.  Likewise, he loves Pip through all of Pip's snobbishness and wavering emotions toward him.

    Secondly, Joe's size might also be Dickens playing into a size-related archetype in literature.  Oftentimes, classic works of literature portray large characters as men and women who excel physically but who struggle mentally. Consider the many times that readers or audiences witness a larger person being defeated or belittled by a smarter (mentally quicker) small person.  While this characterization is obviously a stereotype, it is often repeated in more modern literature (Of Mice and Men, The Green Mile, etc.).  It is simply the "gentle giant" archetype.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/great-expectations/characters

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    Posted by scarletpimpernel on Monday September 21, 2009 at 3:22 PM