Chapter Twenty Seven – In chapter 27 Pip meets Joe for the first time since he went to London to become a gentleman.
A very interesting quote of Pip’s is “If I could have kept him away by paying money, I certainly would have paid money.” Pip and Joe are oldest and dearest friends, evidence in this is in my analysis of chapter seven. We know what a gathering between old friends should be like but we can see that Pip’s attitude to this meeting is not an attitude that you would expect between old friends such as Pip and Joe. Pip says “I knew it was Joe by his clumsy manner of coming upstairs”
The word “clumsy” suggests to me that Pip is criticising Joe before he has even arrived.
Joe obviously feels out of place being there because the way he acts is very nervous and unsure. For example Joe does not know what to do with his hat and he keeps putting it on the mantelpiece and replacing it when it falls off. This shows just how nervous and out of place Joe feels and is over thinking little things suck as where to place his hat. Joe obviously does not want to be there and I think he knows Pip does not want him there either.
Joe’s mistakes are all criticised by Pip but Pip made all of the same mistakes when he first arrived at Herbert’s house. For example Pip did not know what to do with his hat either.
Another interesting point about Pip and Joe’s relationship in this chapter is the way he refers to Pip and Herbert as “sir.” You do not call a good friend as Sir; this seems to me further evidence of the way Pip and Joe have drawn apart.
A possible reason for Joe addressing Pip in this way is that Pip has become and gentleman and perhaps Joe, being a blacksmith has never before had a talk with a gentleman and does not know how to address him, this shows the rift that has formed between Joe and Pip
Another interesting thing to note is the way that Joe conducts this meeting as if it were a legal court or a business deal. He speaks of Estella’s return in a very formal fashion “Which I say, Sir," replied Joe, with an air of legal formality, as if he were making his will”
In this chapter Pip does not seem to have any recognition that he and Joe used to be the best of friends, the actions taken by Pip are not actions that I would expect a friend to do. Pip is ashamed of Joe and his “simple dignity”.
Pip realises that he is doing all this and runs after Joe to try stop him and apologise. “As soon as I could recover myself sufficiently, I hurried out after him and looked for him in the neighbouring streets; but he was gone”
Pip realises what he has done but the guild that he feels is obviously not sufficient to make him stay at Joe’s house when he goes to visit Ms Havisham the next day. He tells himself reasons why he should not stay at Joe’s. I think this is because he does not want Estella to know that he is staying with Joe, a common blacksmith as this might ruin his believed chances with her
Chapter 27 is in my opinion an important chapter. It shows how Pip and Joe’s friendship has changed and just how Pip’s social status has affected his character. Pip and Joe have drifted apart from each other and their friendship is no longer as strong as it was before at the start of the book
Chapter Fifty Seven – In this chapter Pip falls into a fever; he becomes delirious and dreams of Joe standing in front of him. This could mean that subconsciously Pip is thinking about Joe and all of the harsh things he said about him when he was a gentleman.
Pip wakes up to find that Joe was standing over him, tending to him. Pip is angry ad himself because of all of the things he said to Joe. “Look angry at me, Joe. Tell me of my ingratitude” But Joe dismisses this and says to Pip “You and me was ever friends Pip” In his heart Joe knows that Pip really loves him and he can easily forgive Pip of his earlier mistakes. A thing to note is Pip’s usage of short sentences, this emphasises that Pip’s feelings are genuine.
Pip later finds a note from Joe, “P.S. – Ever the best of friends” this shows that Joe forgives Pip of his mistakes but also shows that Joe has learnt to write. Ever since chapter seven when Pip wrote the letter to Joe, Joe said that he would one day learn to write. Joe had also paid off all of Pip’s debts out of his own savings, this again is an act of kindness in spite of all the things that Pip said to Joe in chapter twenty seven when he came to visit Pip in London.
I included this chapter in my essay because it shows that the bond between Joe and Pip is still strong and that Joe still cares for him. In this chapter Joe ignores what Pip said to him in chapter twenty seven because he knows that Pip still cares for him.
The chapter also shows us a larger insight into Dickens’ thoughts about social class and one of the main themes in the book. Pip is wrong about his thoughts of being a gentleman; he believes it is about having money, fine clothes and a good living. However it is Joe who is the true gentleman in the novel Joe is totally selfless and is devoted to helping others. He is honest, open and has an extremely kind heart; all these good personality traits make him the novel's true gentleman. Joe never digresses from his good qualities and remains constant throughout Pip's narrative; however, Pip is blinded by his obsessions and illusions until the end of the novel. Dickens portrays social class very well in the novel and in Dickens’ time many people only believed that to be successful in life you had to climb the social ladder. Dickens showed the ambition in Pip. But he was the one that ended up having the worst experiences of the novel. Joe did not believe this idea and ended up being the happiest character in the novel while remaining in the same social class.
Chapter Fifty Eight – This is the penultimate chapter of the book, Pip returns to the forge to confess his love to Biddy, but instead finds Joe and Biddy are getting married on that same day. Pip asks Joe that if a “little fellow will sit in this chimney corner of a winter night, who may remind you of another little fellow gone” then he will not tell them that he was thankless or ungenerous and unjust “only tell him that I honoured you both, because you were so good and true.” In this paragraph Pip resents himself for being cruel to Joe but Joe does not care about the past because he knows truly in his heart that Pip loves him. All of Pips plans change, he then leaves to Cairo to join Herbert. Pip vowed he would pay Joe back the money that he used to get Pip out of debt.
Conclusion – Through out the book Pip and Joe have their ups and downs together. At the start of the book Pip sees Joe as an equal. “We were equals afterwards, as we had been before” When Pip goes to London and becomes a gentleman he becomes condescending and looks down at Joe for common mistakes which Pip himself had made earlier in the book. During the course of the book Pip realises how badly he treated Joe in chapter 27. He thinks that Joe won’t forgive him but that is wrong. When Pip falls ill it is Joe that is there for him and pays Pip’s debt. In conclusion Pip and Joe’s relationship with each other is very strong despite any wrong doings in the past they are “ever the best of friends”
