How Does Pip Change In Great Expectations

After gaining his wealth, Pip becomes snobby and lets everything go to his head. Now, after losing his wealth, we, as readers see a new change in Pip's personality. As for himself, Pip appears to feel ashamed of himself and his new class. In ​Great Expectations​, explaining Pip's feelings, Pip thinks, "Next day, I had the meanness to feign that I was under a binding promise to go down to Joe; but I was capable of almost any meanness towards Joe or his name." (Dickens, 391) Pips thoughts here, represent how he starts to realize how he has changed since moving to London. In his childhood, Pip was practically best friends with Joe, then becoming a gentleman, he has this sense that he is above Joe and essentially wanted nothing to do with

Great Expectations tells the ultimate rags to riches story of the Orphan Pip. Dickens takes his readers through life changing events that ultimately mold the identity of the main character. Dividing these events into sections will provide the basis for interpreting which events had the most profound effect on Pip’s identity towards the end of the novel. These life-changing events provide the catalyst for the development of Pip’s character from childhood, his adolescence, maturing into a social gentleman, and finally becoming a self-aware man of society.

Throughout Great Expectations, the main character, Pip, undergoes immense changes in character as he matures and time passes. At the beginning of the story, Pip is just a simple boy who cares little for personal advancement and status, and is perfectly content with his simple life. However, a new trait of Pip arises when he meets Estella and Miss Havisham. They look down on him as common and criticize his low social class and lack of manners. This leads to Pip entirely rethinking what he finds important, and his desire for personal advancement quickly overshadows his kindness and generosity. He begins to look down on his closest friend, Joe, for being so common, and he abandons all of his older dreams for

Pip then goes on to address the reader directly and explains that “[t]hat was a memorable day to [him], for it made great changes in [him],” (Dickens 70). After meeting with Estella several times and becoming extremely fond of her, despite her bipolar attitudes towards him, Ms. Havisham suddenly decides to recompense Pip for his time and then tells him that he no longer has to come back to the Satis House. Everyday after this, Pip continuously thinks of Estella and of how he must become a gentleman in order to be at the same level as Estella and eventually marry her. Another character Biddy (whose relationship to Pip is somewhat complicated) begins acting as Pip’s teacher and Pip says “[w]hatever [he] acquired, [he] tried to impart to Joe,” because “[he] wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common.” Pip’s plans to become a well-mannered gentleman to be worthy of high-society and to be worthy of Estella’s affection are two goals or “great expectations” that Pip sets for himself that ultimately carry the plot of the novel along.

Throughout the novel, Pip wants to be a gentleman. It is easy to see, however, that Pip does not understand what a true gentleman is. Pip thinks a gentleman is a man of fine breeding with a good education, wearing fancy clothes, and showing good manners. If anything, Joe (a man of humble breeding with no education, wearing blacksmith's clothes, showing poor manners) is the best example of a gentleman in the whole book! He is a gentleman on the inside - at the heart. He is able to forgive and loves Pip unconditionally. Joe's great love for Pip can be compared to our Heavenly Father's love for us. Both loves are unconditional. No matter how many times we turn away from God, He is there every time to take us back, forgiving us completely.

Charles Dickens uses his own opinions to develop the larger-than-life characters in Great Expectations. The novel is written from the point of view of the protagonist, Pip. Pip guides the reader through his life, describing the different stages from childhood to manhood. Many judgments are made regarding the other characters, and Pip's views of them are constantly changing according to his place in the social hierarchy. For instance, Pip feels total admiration that, later, turns to total shame for the man who raised him, Joe Gargery. The primary theme in this novel questions whether being in a higher social and economic class helps a person to achieve true happiness. This idea is shown through Pip's innocence at the forge, visits

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens that thoroughly captures the adventures of growing up. The book details the life of a boy through his many stages of life, until he is finally a grown man, wizened by his previous encounters. Dickens’ emotions in this book are very sincere, because he had a similar experience when his family went to debtor’s prison. Pip starts as a young boy, unaware of social class, who then becomes a snob, overcome by the power of money, and finally grows into a mature, hardworking man, knowing that there is much more to life than money.

From this point, Pip now sees himself as a gentleman. With that said, Pip now sees himself superior or above Joe and the “common” lifestyle he once lived. Pip’s benefactor that provided him this fortune wishes to remain anonymous. Pip instantly thinks his benefactor is Miss Havisham. Now, not only does Pip see himself superior to past common life, but he thinks that this is Miss Havisham’s way of giving Estella’s hand in marriage.

This is selfish of Pip, which he soon realizes when he arrives at the forge to find that Biddy has married Joe. Pip accepts this and is overcome with happiness for the couple as he realizes that he is no longer at a higher ranking than the people around him. Pip’s treatment towards others is constantly changing throughout the novel based on Pip’s social

Throughout Great Expectations, Pip undergoes many changes in his values and goals. Early in the story, Pip visits Miss Havisham and Estella. After this, he starts to think about how he is just “‘a common laboring-boy’” (65), and he becomes ashamed of his social status. This day sparks his aspiration to marry Estella and “‘be a gentleman on her account’” (129). In the end of the novel, Pip realizes that he doesn’t need to be wealthy to enjoy life and that he had everything he needed to be happy, but he threw it away for money.

The two love connections that Pip encounters prove to cause many problems within Pip and cause him to question his

The great expectations placed upon Pip lead towards much more tragedy than good, as to become a gentleman, Pip life becomes surrounded by business and money instead of love and positivity, like the way Hamlet’s became surrounded by revenge.

The novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a piece of classic British literature that depicts the story of a boy named Pip coming out of poverty and becoming a gentleman only to realize what is truly important in life. Pip is strongly influenced by his relationships with Joe Gargery, Abel Magwitch, and Herbert Pocket as the story unfolds. Each relationship varies from one another, but all impact Pip’s decisions throughout life. These relationships evolve over time, though. Pip is involved in many dynamic relationships in Great Expectations, but some that are altering and ultimately define and affect the person he becomes are the nature of the friendships he develops with Joe, Herbert, and Magwitch.

He used to love Joe, and Joe has done a lot for him but because he is of a lower social class Pip is embarrassed to be seen with him. This shows a change in character because of the wealth. Because Pip has gained social status as well as wealth, he feels that he is now better than Joe. After all Joe has done for Pip, he acts the way he does showing how much of a change of character has taken place because of

Pip’s mindset regarding classes and success in life is drastically altered after his initial visit to the aristocratic Miss Havisham. “She said I was common” (69) spurs the realization in Pip that he is indeed innocent but unfortunately much oppressed. Pip is very distraught with his birth place into society, to the point that he “was discontented” (130) -- he increasingly desires to be a gentleman. He primarily desires this as a means of impressing Estella and winning her over. At this point in the novel, Pip is willing to give away what he loves (Joe – family setting) to obtain a superficial and insulting girl. One day Pip receives word that he now has the ability to grow up to be his ultimate dream, to be a gentleman. Pip awakens to a new world and those he once loved are no longer good enough for Pip. Moving to London, he becomes far more sophisticated, but at the same time loses his natural goodness. (Chesterton 142). Pip is leaving happiness and his real family to attain a life he thinks will make him more content. Before departing, he dreams of “Fantastic failures of journeys occupied me until the day dawned and the birds were singing” (148). This relates the dream that Pip has just before he sets out to London for the first time, with all of his "great expectations" before him. Pip’s dream is permeated with the sadness and guilt caused by his imminent departure from Joe and Biddy and his aspirations for a new social station.