He explains his rejection of Joe, as well as Biddy, in these terms:. He also rejects Magwitch's money, a decision which Herbert agrees with. Magwitch earned his money with hard work and determined effort; it has no criminal taint. Neither Pip nor Herbert has any objections to his living on the unearned money of vengeful, crazy Miss Havisham. Why is living off Miss Havisham acceptable and living off Magwitch unacceptable?
Is snobbery the answer? If Miss Havisham's being a lady and Magwitch's being an ex-convict make the difference, then both Herbert and Pip share the same social values, i. When he learns that Magwitch is risking hanging, he complains, "Nothing was needed but this; the wretched man, after loading me with his wretched gold and silver chains for years, had risked his life to come to me" page Didn't Pip eagerly accept those chains when told of his great expectations and unhesitatingly agree to ask no questions?
Pip, speaking as the adult narrator looking back, seems reluctant to accept full responsibility for some of his behavior. In reflecting on how his experiences at Satis House affected him, he asks,. The definitive rejection of all responsibility is the Eastern tale of the slab of marble, in which he is a victim of an inevitable train of events or fate see pages Pip acknowledges that he fulfilled his obligations as an apprentice blacksmith because of Joe's integrity and commitment, just as later he takes his studies seriously because of Matthew Pocket's integrity and commitment as a teacher.
Why, when his dream of being transformed into a gentleman is about to come true, does Pip pass the loneliest night of his life? When Pip leaves for London, he cries as he looks at the signpost, which is an obvious symbol for Pip's future and which is used repeatedly. It is easy to dismiss the passage which follows as only sentimental, but is it? For Dickens and his age, tears had a moral value; crying could arouse feelings of love and the sense of connection to and responsibility for others.
How do you think this passage should be read? Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.
I was better after I had cried than before—more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle. If I had cried before, I should have had Joe with me then page After the London breakfast, Pip reflects that his tears at his treatment of Joe "had soon dried—God forgive me!
Pip says of his attempts to rationalize not seeing Joe, "All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself" page This statement implies that his behavior is worse than that of Pumblechook, whom he earlier identified as a swindler, and that Pip's own behavior is criminal. Why does he say this? In what way s is his behavior worse than Pumblechook's and so criminal?
Herbert Pocket describes Compeyson, the pseudo-gentleman, by quoting his father: "no man who was not a true gentleman at heart ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner. He says, no varnish can hide the grain of the wood, and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself" page He is critical of the mistakes he made earlier and this helps the reader to sympathise with the central character. Like Pip, Dickens himself had a hard upbringing.
His father was imprisoned for debt and at one stage Dickens had to work in a factory — something of which he was ashamed for the rest of his life.
Dickens raised his social position through hard work and self-education; this is also something which Pip eventually does in the novel. Why are these thoughts key to Pip's future character and actions?
How to analyse the quote:. How to use this in an essay:. Up until meeting Miss Havisham and, especially, Estella, Pip is mostly content with his position in life. However, he now wants to impress the young girl and so thinks about what he considers to be his faults. During his 'four mile walk' home he has plenty of time to think about the issues as he travels between the world of Satis House and the world of the forge.
These cover his personal appearance, his clothes, his background, his lack of education and his poor use of language. The fact that he is 'deeply revolving' these points indicates how intensely and continuously Pip is thinking about his future and how things keep going round in his head.
From this moment on, Pip is going to try to improve and raise himself up the social ladder. When he comes into his money, this only strengthens his desire to improve but the balance tips too far.
He becomes a snob who spends money recklessly in an effort to impress others and who neglects his true family. It is a long while before Pip realises what he has done and asks for forgiveness. Pip in Great Expectations. Because Pip is narrating his story many years after the events of the novel take place, there are really two Pips in Great Expectations : Pip the narrator and Pip the character—the voice telling the story and the person acting it out.
Dickens takes great care to distinguish the two Pips, imbuing the voice of Pip the narrator with perspective and maturity while also imparting how Pip the character feels about what is happening to him as it actually happens.
This skillfully executed distinction is perhaps best observed early in the book, when Pip the character is a child; here, Pip the narrator gently pokes fun at his younger self, but also enables us to see and feel the story through his eyes.
On the one hand, Pip has a deep desire to improve himself and attain any possible advancement, whether educational, moral, or social.
His longing to marry Estella and join the upper classes stems from the same idealistic desire as his longing to learn to read and his fear of being punished for bad behavior: once he understands ideas like poverty, ignorance, and immorality, Pip does not want to be poor, ignorant, or immoral. Pip the narrator judges his own past actions extremely harshly, rarely giving himself credit for good deeds but angrily castigating himself for bad ones.
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