Great Expectations - The Growth of Pip in Society

Great Expectations - The Growth of Pip in Society

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" (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.

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. After Herbert leaves for the city, 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" (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 implied 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...

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...ip is introduced to many new people

who all think that Pip is wonderful. They are always flattering him

and commenting on his job. 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 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.