lacksmith who has a fire in his heart greater than any fire that could ever be contained in his forge. "He was a mild, good-natured, sweet-tempered, easy-going, foolish, dear fellow--a sort of a Hercules in strength and also in weakness" (13). Joe is uneducated and unmannered, yet his high morality and goodness shines bright. Dickens characterization of Magwitch and Joe clearly shows his sympathy towards the socially oppressed. Dickens not only criticizes the poor, but also the rich and powerful of society. In the characterization of both Estella and Miss Havisham, Dickens criticizes the rich in society. Dickens portrays the rich as snobby, cold- hearted, and cruel. Estella embodies to the fullest extent as to what Dickens viewed the high-class to be. This is seen in Estella's harsh comment regarding love directed towards Pip. "When you say you love me, I know what you mean, as a form of words; but nothing more. You address nothing within my breast, you touch nothing there. I don't care for what you say at all" (287). Estella recognizes that she is incapable of love. This can be seen in the statement made towards Miss Havisham. "I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me" (245). Miss Havisham is likewise cold and heartless. This can be readily seen in her plan for Pip and in her definition of love. Miss Havisham defines love as a "blind devotion, unquestioning, self-humiliating, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to smitter as I did" (224). Pip also makes the comment that Miss Havisham's usage of the word love could also be replaced with "despair, revenge, dire, death, it could not have sounded from her lips more like a curse" (224). Clearly Estella and Miss Havisham are prime examples of the social evils that dwell within high society in which Dickens criticizes. D...
