Pip's Attitude And Feeling Toward Joe example essay topic

In Great Expectations, Dickens presents the story of a character's growth in a hypocritical society. Great Expectations shows that the opinions of Pip and that his impressions of the world around him change as Pip becomes more independent. Pip becomes increasingly more of a social critic in each of the three stages. "Great Expectations, is very much about the search for identity, about the consequences of choice, about the complex ways in which our experiences and our environment combine to makes us who we are". (Murray 171). In the initial chapters of Great Expectations, one begins to notice that Pip is critical about those around him and throughout each stage in the novel his criticisms become more apparent.

Pip had a problematic childhood because not only did both of his parents die but also his five brothers did as well which made Pip lonesome. The only living person from his immediate family is his sister, Mrs. Joe, who raised Pip in a strict household. Because of the strict rules and upbringing, Pip is always frightened to do something wrong; because of this, Pip becomes too cowardly to do what is right: "In a word, I became too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong" (Dickens 40). Throughout each chapter, Pip describes how he sees people and as the novel progresses these views change. In the first stage, although Pip has a basic sense of right and wrong, he lacks knowledge as to why he must act upon his instincts. Also, the insecurity Pip feels gradually fades as his pride becomes more dominant.

In the second stage, Pip becomes a gentleman through which he gains wealth and happiness. He abandons his code of morals although his snobbery and conviction of accuracy of his illusions are despicable. Finally, during the third stage, since Pip realizes what a gentleman is. "The whole existence as a gentleman is represented in the text as a falsification and a counterfeiting of self". (Morris 109). He returns to his original morals and fears, only this time he bears greater knowledge, experience and understanding.

"Great Expectations is structured in a way that allows Pip to look back with some wisdom and regret at his more obtuse and callous self". (Murray 172). In the introductory chapter's of Great Expectations the reader learns that by far the most important influence on Pip is Joe Garg ery, his sister's husband. Pip was an isolated child with the expectations of becoming an apprentice along the side of his best friend, Joe.

Throughout Pip's childhood and early teens, Joe was there to teach him about life and the morals by which he should live". As the novel shows, Pip has learned much from Joe, who is in some ways his surrogate father". (Murray 171). Although Pip describes Joe as "a mild, good natured, sweet tempered, easy going foolish dear old fellow", (Dickens 6) Pip's greatest concern was when he committed an action that went against his moral standards: "Yet I did not and for the reason that I mistrusted that if I did, he would think me worse than I was" (Dickens 40). The reason being that Pip was afraid that if he did something that Joe did not like, Joe would think less of him or may lose his friendship. Whenever Pip told a lie to Mrs. Joe, or with Joe in the next room, he felt guilty and would go right away to tell Joe what he had done.

To Pip "the fear of losing Joe's confidence, and of thenceforth sitting in the chimney-corner at night staring drearily at his forever lost companion and friend tied up his tongue" (Dickens 71). Whenever Pip needed someone to talk or to trust, Joe was always there for him, which helped Pip through the awkward times in his life. At home Pip had never felt loved or happy because of the temperament of his sister but having Joe there made Pip feel better: "Home had never been a very pleasant place to me because of my sister's temper, but Joe had sanctified it and I believed in it". (Dickens 106).

As Pip is leaving for London, he thanks Joe for all of his help and says: "You may be sure dear Joe, that I shall never forget you" which suggests that no matter what happens to Pip throughout his life he will never forget Joe and what he has meant to him. In the second stage of Great Expectations, Pip's attitude and feeling toward Joe drastically changes. When Joe visits Pip in London, he stays with him at Mr. Jaggers' house. Pip says that "he had little objection to his being seen by Herbert or his father, but he had the sharpest sensitiveness to his being seen by Drummle" (Dickens 218). This shows that after time had past without Joe, Pip has become self conscious of him and does not want his friends to meet him, afraid that they might think less of him, which shows, "Pip's life as a gentleman turns out to have combined the worst possible aspects of both sides of the human condition, its unjustifiable freedom, and its imprisonment in a given situation". (Miller 272) Since Pip has made such good friends with everyone in his quest to becoming a gentleman, he is afraid of what they might think of him after meeting Joe.

Pip gives Joe lessons on good manners and how to act properly around gentlemen so Joe would not embarrass him so much. When Joe left, he mentioned to Pip that he was going to change and that he will never be seen in the clothes that he is wearing: "It isn't that I am proud but I want to be right as you will never see me no more in these clothes" (Dickens 223). Because of Joe's sudden change in attitude, Pip perceives Joe's solid honesty and moral depth so he regrets his attitude toward him. After Pip realizes that he was wrong about Joe, he goes back to his original views of Joe which stay right through to the end of the novel.

Mrs. Joe has a distinctly different impact on Pip which mostly led to Pip's shyness and cowardliness throughout his childhood. Since, Pip's parents and five brothers died, Mrs. Joe felt the need to raise Pip in a strict household. Because of these strict rules inferred by his sister, Pip was always afraid when he was late or did something wrong since his sister would yell at him or punish him when he got home: "Consequently, I said as little as I could and I had my face shoved against the wall" (Dickens 64). Besides getting yelled at for being late, Pip also got in trouble from Mrs. Joe by asking questions about the world around him: " People are put in the Hulks because they murder, and because they rob and forge and do all sorts of bad: and they always begin by asking questions" (Dickens 12). Since Pip was not allowed to do many things, he became a secluded person for most of his childhood and early teens. The first time that Pip actually got to have any a social life was when he went to London to become a gentleman.

Though Mrs. Joe did not like the idea, Pip still went to follow his dreams. Besides getting in trouble for activities that his sister did not approve of, Pip was also forced into going to Miss Havisham's to play whether he wanted to or not: "She wants the boy to go and play there. And of course he is going. And he had better play there or I'll work him" (Dickens 50). In the end Mrs. Joe's temper proves her own undoing. Since she treated Or lick so mean, he one day attacks her, paralyzing her limbs and affecting her speech.

Thereafter "her temper was greatly improved, and she was patient" (Dickens 122) until the time of her death. In the second stage of the novel, Pip develops a close relationship with Herbert Pocket, Pip's partner at his new job in London. Pip and Herbert first meet at Miss Havisham's house, where Herbert launches into a fist fight with the unwilling but stronger Pip. When Pip arrives in London, he is surprised to discover that the person with whom he is staying is actually Herbert.

Herbert is someone that Pip patronizes and becomes good friends with throughout his time in London. Since Pip feels that Herbert will never be rich or successful Pip decides, to help him financially. After Pip helps him, he begins to realize that by making others happy he was bringing joy into his own life. This change in Pip is a step toward discovering that one is supposed to help others instead of always worrying about oneself.

Pip's relationship with Herbert remains strong throughout the third stage, when Pip becomes partners with him. This partnership allows Pip to become a self-reliant and honest individual who does well enough to achieve happiness. Pip, over time, becomes attracted to Estella, Miss Havisham's adopted daughter, romantically and throughout the second and third stages of the novel, Pip sets out to become a gentleman for her. From the time when Pip meets her when both are children she has both disturbed and fascinated him.

Neither of them seems to like each other and Estella is always rude to Pip: "Sometimes, she would coldly tolerate me; sometimes, she would condescend me; sometimes, she would be quite familiar with me; sometimes, she would tell me energetically that she hated me" (Dickens 94). Although she makes him feel awful, Pip simply feels that he cannot live without her. After Pip discovers his love for her he feels that "she is someone more beautiful that anybody ever was and he admires her dreadfully and wants to become a gentleman on her account" (Dickens 129). The only problem that Pip sees is that she does not seem interested in him. Miss Havisham deliberately "throws Estella in Pip's way" and expresses her intention that he should escort her through London, although she knows that Estella does not want to go. Throughout the second stage of the novel, Pip's curiosity and affection for Estella grow, even though he is eventually heartbroken.

Miss Havisham requested to see Pip, so he went to see her. Pip was really excited that she said that Estella was ready to go to London, and that if Pip fell in love with her, he would not be out of place. The only problem that arose was the fact that although Pip saw her frequently and she treated him with friendship, she did not return his love. Pip later confesses his love to her but discovers that Estella was to marry Bentley Drummle, a person that Pip disliked: "I am glad you like him sir, but I don't" (Dickens 216). After Pip found this out, he was heartbroken and depressed, because after all, Estella was his first and only love. Although Pip is at this time depressed, he is happy for her and only wants to see her be happy.

Eleven years later, Pip's love for Estella was resurfaced when he met her on the site of Miss Havisham's mansion. He found out at this time that Estella's husband, Drummle, had died in a horse-riding accident and this had allowed Estella to see the good in Pip and the wrongness of her treatment of in the past. Finally, the two lovers, Pip and Estella, make plans to marry. Magwitch is a person whom in the early chapters have intimidated Pip even though he eventually becomes friends with him. Although at first Pip is afraid of his grotesque appearance, he later decides to bring him food and a file out of sympathy. Magwitch is rude to Pip and threatens him to bring him food: "You fail or go from my words in any particular, no matter how small it is, and your heart and liver shall be ripped out and ate" (Dickens 4).

He also intimidates him into doing things for him: "A boy may lock his door, may be warm in bed, and may think himself comfortable and safe, but that young man will softly creep up and creep his way into to him and tear him open" (Dickens 4). Although Pip is already afraid and lonely at this point because his family just died, Magwitch frightens him even more just to get Pip to bring him things. At this time, Magwitch does not realize that Pip only brought these things out of fear. Since Magwitch thinks that Pip is an exceptionally good person, he thought that Pip brought these things to him out of generosity.

Pip could have turned Mag into the authorities, but instead he gave him food and a little company even though he was terrified of him. When Pip encounters Magwitch again in the third stage, Pip considers him "uncouth and horrible yet feels chained to him". Mag comes to visit Pip in London even though he knows that if he is caught he will go directly to jail. Pip encourages Mag to leave with him to acquire safety outside of London.

By now, Pip has matured from his morals, for he is no longer worried only for himself but for others as well. Pip's concern and love for Mag were of more importance to him than his own image, which was not the case in the second stage with the other characters. Pip learns that helping others; such as Magwitch, he not only brought happiness to their lives but brought happiness into his own life as well. Throughout the novel, the reader begins to notice that Pip's hypocritical opinions and attitudes are not the only ones changing.

There is also an ever-changing attitude from society toward Pip himself. In the beginning of the novel, Pip comes across as an afraid, troubled young boy but as time goes on, the reader sees that Pip slowly grows out of these qualities into a young gentleman. Throughout all of his childhood, Pip is intimidated by just about anything and tries to avoid trouble whenever possible: "I was very much afraid of him [Magwitch] again, now that he had worked himself into this fierce hurry, and I was likewise very much afraid of keeping away from home any longer" (Dickens 19). The worst of his fears would have to be of himself. Although Pip is afraid of numerous things, he also has a fear of himself and what he is capable of: "I was in mortal terror of the young man who wanted my heart and liver; I was in mortal terror of my interlocutor with the iron leg; I was afraid of myself from whom an awful promise had been extracted" (Dickens 13). Although this made Pip's childhood miserable, in time, Pip learned to face his fears.

Besides being afraid of himself, Pip found that he lost his self esteem because people would say things to make him feel bad. Contributing to his loss of an entity were remarks such as: "I have pretty large experience of boys and you are a bad set of fellows" (Dickens 81) or "He's a young " un too but he look bad don't he" (Dickens 103). The worst part about the comments that Pip received is the fact that most of them come from people who did not know Pip personally. They are in a sense "judging a book by its cover" by making fun of Pip's appearance.

"Pip's own sense of identity is not as well formed as Joe's" (Murray 172). As a result of these remarks, Pip becomes a self-conscious person who is always worried about what other people think instead of being whoever he wants to be. He hated being looked at because he felt insecure and afraid that there was something wrong with him: "Whenever I caught one of them looking at me though never so pleasantly, I felt offended: as if they were expressing some mistrust of me" (Dickens 144). Although Pip has these problems to deal with, in the first stage of the novel, these do not matter once he arrives in London. When Pip becomes a gentleman, the opinions and outlooks change.

Once in London, Pip is given the chance to forget his past and start over again. During his first day in London, Pip becomes friends with Herbert, his roommate, rather quickly. Through this friendship Pip is introduced to many new people who all think that Pip is wonderful. They are always flattering him and commenting on his job: "Mr. Pocket knew more of my intended career than I knew myself" (Dickens 196). Pip quickly becomes popular so he is always wanted for a number of things; such as dinners or sleep overs.

All the attention that Pip gets from his new found friends helps to boost his self esteem to a level that he has never experienced before. From the time he arrives in London to the time the novel is finished, Pip is a changed person and his family and peers are proud of him. Throughout Great Expectations, the growth of Pip in a hypocritical society becomes more significant in each of the three stages. As Pip matures into a gentleman he learns many things about himself as well as how strong he is as a person. Instead of his critics leading the wrong direction, they helped Pip to discover his morals and led him to a successful future. "First: We see the boy in natural condition in the country responding virtuously.

Second: Involves a negation of child like simplicity. Pip receive his "expectations", renounces his origins, and moves to the city. Third: His [Pip's] more values deteriorate because he acts through calculation". (Stange 113). Stange didn't include the fourth stage, and that is Pip's realization of his wrong doing. Pip gained the maturity to look back, and understand his mistakes.

There are many recurrent themes throughout Great Expectations, "The recurrent themes of the genre are all there: city is posed against country, experience against innocence, there is the exposure to crime and the acceptance of guilt and expiation". (Cot sell 64).