Morality In Lloyd Jones Great Expectations

Morality is a necessary aspect of personality. Beliefs about the difference between right and wrong often define one’s daily behaviour.Characters, especially in novels, tend to display their ideas of morality, and often develop a sense of ethical responsibility that ultimately defines their personality. Lloyd Jones’ novel, Mister Pip, follows the lives of the people of Bougainville Island through difficult times. A raging war on the island has resulted in a blockade, leaving the villagers completely isolated. While the villagers are alienated from the outside world, they become a close knit community supported by the intense morality of its members. Despite their isolation, the Bougainvilleans maintain life on the island throughout difficult circumstances because of their

In the beginning of the novel, the school is closed as a result of the war, leaving the children to do as they please. A man from the island, Pop Eye, or Mr. Watts, volunteers to “teach [the] kids” (Jones 14) Although Mr. Watts is not a qualified teacher, nor a highly regarded man on the island due to his racial differences, he steps up and teaches the children when nobody else will. Mr. Watts’ willingness to teach the children learn provides an example of compassion, resulting in the perpetuation of the children’s education. The Bougainvillean men who have joined together to fight against the redskins are called rambos. They are not well viewed in the village as they have a tendency to become insane after living in the jungle for long periods of time. When a rambo named Sam stumbles into the village with multiple bullet wounds, Mr. Watts and another island man, Mr. Masoi, immediately help him. Matilda, the narrator and protagonist, states that “once [Mr. Watts] saw Sam he handed the rest of his banana to me, and he knelt down by him… [H]e rested