Pip's Relationships in Great Expectations

In Great Expectations Charles Dickens writes:

You and me is not two figures to be together in London; nor yet anywheres

else but what is private, and beknown, and understood among friends. (223)

At the beginning of the novel, Pip was a slightly fearful boy, afraid of many things, as all young children are. But, ironically, he meets a rather significant man. He meets this man, an escaped convict, in the local marshes near the military barracks. This unusual man, Magwitch provides Pip with his mysterious financial status. After Pip helps Magwitch, he goes home to his sister, Mrs. Joe, also his mother figure, and Joe, his sisters husband, and his father figure. Mrs. Joe has a quite coarse personality, while Joe cares deeply for Pip. This creates a strong bond between the two, almost like a true father-son bond. It creates a bond that is hard for Pip to break when he is called to his “great expectations”, which Joe, in the end, makes it easier for Pip to go his separate and rightful path in life.

Pips’ relationships with others show he is a compassionate person. Magwitch, Pip’s funder, acts almost as a guardian angel to Pip. Pip, almost certain that Miss Havisham is the reason for his new and wonderful life, discovers that indeed Magwitch, the convict he helped so long ago, is the reason for his sudden and mysterious fortunes. Whenever Pip fell into debt, Magwitch had knowledge and bailed him out and put him back on his feet. Nobody had ever suspected that a convict would be the reason for Pips’ success in life, which makes it hard for Pip and Magwitch to begin a strong relationship because they have only known each other a few days. Magwitch’s reason for making Pips’ life so much easier might have been tha...

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... onto Pip, because once Pips’ “great expectations” arrive, he is reluctant to leave Joe, possibly forever. Joe, although he cares and will miss Pip greatly, gives him an extra push that allows him to let go and take on his “great expectations”. Fortunately enough, Pip reunites with Joe and lives a happy life.

The relationships Pip has taken part in have made him stronger mentally and emotionally. He has learned one main lesson, however: whatever happens, life goes on. Whatever suspense he has gone through wondering who his funder had all along been, he lived through it. Whatever torture Estella had put him through at Satis’ House, life still went on. And even when he prepared for his “great expectations”, leaving Joe in the process, he got through it. The key in having a good relationship is to have trust in the other person, and everything, will turn out fine.