Expectations of Pip in the novel Great Expectations

In the novel ‘Great Expectations’, the central character Pip has many expectations thrust upon him by others, as well as himself, from a very early age. What do we discover about these expectations and the characters who ‘demand’ great things of Pip and does he live up to the expectations of himself and others?

In the novel ‘Great Expectations’, many characters have expectations in Pip. When Pip was young, his expectation for himself was to grow up to be Joe’s apprentice and to make Joe and his wife happy. When Pip becomes a bit older and after he meets Estella, his expectation is to become a gentleman and to prove to her that he is not just a “common working boy”. Most of the characters that have expectations in Pip, expect him to become a gentleman, but there are other expectations as well.

Mrs. Joe Gargery is Pip’s sister who brought him up ‘by hand’. She expects a lot from Pip. When he is young, she expects him to be grateful to her and the people around her, such as Mr. Wemmick and Mr. Pocket. When Pip is told to go play at Miss Havisham’s house, she expects him to be good and show to Miss Havisham that he is worth a lot. ‘my sister will be very angry with me if you complain…’ said Pip to Miss Havisham.

She expects this from Pip for a selfish reason. She wants him to bring money to the family. She also wants Pip to have a better education and for him to be of higher class also for a selfish reason. If Pip becomes a man of higher class, he will earn a lot of money, which he will bring to her.

Joe is Pip’s sister’s husband and a close friend to Pip. They have always been close because Joe would protect Pip from his sister’s scolding and warn him whenever he could. “So when I ram breathless ...

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They became close because they were both in the same position of being controlled and intimidated by Mrs. Joe.

Joe has great expectations of Pip becoming his apprentice, following in his footsteps and taking over his job of a blacksmith. He expects Pip to have a better job than he does, even if it is in the same type of job.

Joe also expects Pip to get a better education and a scholarship and to move up to a higher class in order for him to become wealthy and to bring money to the family. When Joe first finds out that Pip will have the chance to accomplish this, he is unhappy because Pip will have to leave him and his sister. “I can see you now, with your strong blacksmith’s arm in front of your eyes, and your shoulders shaking, and tears on your cheeks.” Said Pip about Joe. He soon realizes that this is for the best.

Miss Havisham expects Pip to be a source of entertainment for Estella. This is why she invites him into her house and asks him to play cards with Estella. She also expects him to fall in love with Estella, so that she can later break his heart. She expects Pip to be a tool for her revenge on the man that broke her hopes and dreams when she was in love. Miss Havisham also expects him to become a gentleman in order for Estella to be amused by him, but also for his own good!

Estella is the beautiful but cold girl that Pip falls in love with. She does not have many expectations of Pip. She wants him to be a source of entertainment to her and for him to fall in love with her. I think she wants this because that way she can make Miss Havisham happy by breaking Pip’s heart. When Pip is older, she probably also expects him to become a gentleman because she was never fond of him when he was a young, 'common boy’.

Magwitch is a convict that Pip meets in the cemetery at the beginning of the novel. When he runs into Pip, he tells him, “You bring me a file. And you bring me some food.” Magwitch expects Pip to stay loyal to him and for him to do as he said because he threatened the boy, but he later realized the boy is a good fellow, and he takes the blame for stealing the pie and file from Joe’s house to show his sensitivity.

Toward the end of the novel, Magwitch expects Pip to become what he had not: a gentleman. This is why Magwitch gave Pip the money for education in London, and the money for Pip to use to become whatever he wants. Magwitch expects Pip to see how loving he is and what a good man he really is inside and for Pip to be like a son to him.

Out of all the main characters that expect Pip to become a gentleman (Joe, Mrs. Joe, Miss Havisham, Magwitch, etc.), Estella is the only person in the story that makes Pip realize that he must become a gentleman. This is because Pip falls in love with Estella and when she says he is just a common working boy he gets upset and thinks that he is not good enough to be of Estella’s love. After he returns from Miss Havisham’s house for the first time, he is down about the fact that he is just a simple boy and through out his childhood and adolescence he is determined to do his best to become an educated gentleman. When he becomes Joe’s apprentice, he does that to make Joe happy, but it is not what will make Pip happy.

Towards the end of the novel, Pip meets some of the expectations of himself and others.

He becomes a gentleman like he wanted, like Joe, Mrs. Joe, Miss Havisham, Magwitch and many others wanted. Although one of the expectations that he did not meet was being with the love of his life, Estella. She marries another man and Pip was not the man in her life. This is not a problem for Pip though, because towards the end of the novel, Pip and Estella become friends and Pip realizes he does not have to prove himself to her.

Pip becomes an educated gentleman and earns enough money to support the people he loves.