Great Expectations - Chapter 8

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In what ways can Chapter 8 of Dicken's 'Great Expectations' be considered the pivotal point of the novel?

Chapter 8 can be seen as a pivotal chapter in "Great Expectations" because it is a chapter in which a lot of important changes happen and Pip has his eyes opened to what he might become. Until that point he has lived a simple life, being looked after by his sister and her husband who is a blacksmith.

In Chapters 1-7 the grown-up Pip remembers the experiences of his life as a young boy in the marshes. Dickens uses the adult Pip to emphasise how simple the young Pip was. He uses language to make the memories funny, such as when Pip is talking about how he misunderstood the meaning of 'Wife of the Above' on his parents' gravestone or when he exaggerates the terror that he and Joe lived under with the violent tyrant Mrs Joe. He gives a great importance to the 'Tickler' and goes into great detail as to how both Joe and Pip are afraid of it. The use of the word 'Tickler' is an example of Dickens' use of irony, particularly in his choice of