“Running at every thing, everything seemed to run at me, this was very disagreeable to a guilty mind.”
Social class, status and snobbery are a main theme in the novel.
“One black ox, with a white cravat on – who even had to my awaken conscience something of a clerical air – fixed me so obstinately with his eyes, and moved his blunt head round in such an accusatory manor as I moved my head round, that I blubbered out to him “I couldn’t help it sir! It wasn’t for my self I took it!”
Pip is still a young boy at this time and is frightened of authority and those of a higher social standing of himself, he looks to his social superiors for a moral code. This brings in the theme of social class and snobbery. Pip giving the pie to Magwitch results in the convict becoming his benefactor. The theme being shown here is morality.
“Pitying his desolation, and watching him as he gradually settled down upon his pie, I made bold to say, “I’m glad you enjoy it.”
This establishes Pips’ essential good nature but this soon is submerged when he is to receive his expectations from Miss Havisham and when he goes to London. While pip was watching Magwitch eat he refers to his as a dog which is not fair as magwitch hadn’t eaten in a long time. This shows Pip developing snobbery in his young years.
“I had often watched a large dog of ours eating his food and I now noticed a decided similarity between the dogs way of eating and the mans”
Even at this young age Pip is judgmental of others and has a snobbish outlook on people when he judges them.
Pip also comes across Compeyson, the second convict on the Kent marshes the scene which represents crime and punishment so well. Compeyson is Magwitch’s enemy as it is his fault Magwitch is being sent to prison. Compeyson was partners with Magwitch and Arthur in illegal dealings.
“Where is he?” He crammed what little food was left, into the left breast of his jacket. “Show me where he went. I’ll pull him down like a bloodhound. Curse this iron on my sore leg!”
Later in the novel it is also found that Compeyson was the one who jilted Miss Havisham on her wedding day.
Overall this scene sets the bases of the future plots of the novel, it tells us why Pip gets a benefactor and gives reason for the characters he comes across in the future plots of the novel.
In chapter 7 Mr Pumblechook Pip’s uncle arranges for Pip to go to Miss Havisham’s house to play. The reason Pumblechook takes Pip to Miss Havisham’s home is because he thinks he will get some money from it which is the same reason why Mrs Joe Gargery encouraged Pip to go. Pumbelchook also takes credit for Pips future fortunes as the identity of the real benefactor is kept secret so it was assumed that Miss Havisham is Pips benefactor when he was sent to London. In chapter 8 Pip visits Miss havisham’s home for the first time. There he meets and falls in love with Estella, Pip returns to Miss Havisham’s house to walk her around the decayed banquet table every other day for nearly 10 months.
At the end of chapter 7 Pip is shown to be scared of what his expectations are going to be when he goes to Miss Havisham’s house.
“But they twinkled out one by one, without throwing any light on the questions why on earth I was going to play at Miss Havisham's, and what on earth I was expected to play at.”
Pip is still young and has never properly associated some one with Miss Havishams’ social status as she is the upper class and Pip came from an upper working class background. This brings us back to that point that Pip is afraid of people with higher social standings than himself.
When Pip reached Miss Havisham’s house he was still nervous about the way he should conduct himself at her home.
“Though I was not at all at my ease regarding the manner in which I should acquit myself under that lady's roof.”
Estella was the first to meet Pip at the Havisham home she opened the gate for him and showed him the way to meet Miss Havisham. Pips first impression of Estella was that she is quite stern and cold as she refers to him as “boy” and stops Mr Pumbelchook entering the Havisham home. Pip calls her a “conductress”, which means he feels she is in charge of what Pip is doing and where he is going as to be “conducting” him. When Estella spoke to Pip she talked down to him and had a highly snobbish attitude towards him. She thought she was better that him and frequently referred to him as boy.
"One of its names, boy."
Miss Havisham’s home was dark and musty and Pip followed Estella who held the candle to the door of Miss Havisham. The name Estella means light so this is also one of the emblems used in the novel, Pip sees Estella as the light he follows around Miss Havisham’s dark home. Even though Estella is malicious to Pip but he can’t help but be mesmerised by her beauty and over time falls in love with her. When Pip first saw Miss Havisham, the eccentric woman who lived in seclusion after being jilted on her wedding day he was surprised to see her in an old once white wedding dress which hung from her elderly frail body. Miss Havisham is shown to be quite cold as when she has Pip call her to play with him she tell Estella she can break his heart. When Estella is playing cards with Pip she is very rude and makes Pip feel more and more low class.
"And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!"
I had never thought of being ashamed of my hands before; but I began to consider them a very indifferent pair. Her contempt for me was so strong, that it became infectious, and I caught it.”
Estella is being very offensive and snobbish to Pip.
Through out Pip’s stay at Miss Havisham’s house for the first time he had began to feel of low class and from here his desire grew to be a gentleman. With this new aspiration to be a gentleman Pip began to think less of the things he had grown up with like Joe being a Simple Blacksmith. This chapter main theme is social class and snobbery, a great deal of snobbery is shown from Estella even thou she is adopted and if she had not been she would have most probably started at the bottom of the social ladder, Miss Havisham had manipulated her thoughts over the years and turned her into her pupil. Pip’s story has one main point which is that people can’t change themselves. Pip does not realise this at first however, from the time he met Estella and Miss Havisham Pip tried to change him self to fit a mould that he thought they desired. He began to learn how to read and write. As time went on, and his circumstances changed, Pip pulled farther and farther away from where he came from and in doing that his future had less and less signs of joy. After Pip stopped going to Miss Havisham’s she paid for his apprenticeship to become a blacksmith with Joe.
The early chapters of Great Expectations has been written from a Child’s point of view so during the 10 months of going to Miss Havisham’s he has been easily influenced into thinking he is low class and had developed the desire to become something better than a blacksmith. Pip is unhappy with his position as Joe’s apprenticeship and longs to become a gentleman in order that he may eventually win Estella’s affection. One day a lawyer, Mr Jaggers, comes to tell Pip that a beneficiary (Magwitch) has left him great fortunes. Pip leaves Joe to go to London to become a gentleman. Pip believes that the benefactor is Miss Havisham.
The second stage of Pip’s life takes place in London where he is a young adult. He is told the background of Miss Havisham and her ill-fated wedding day. He also is embarrassed by a visit from Joe, Pip is now a “gentleman” and the snobbishness he once experienced as a child he inflicts on Joe. He also ha an unexpected visit from his is his benefactor Magwitch. This knowledge begins the change in Pip from ungrateful snobbery to the humility associated with Joe and home. So morality is brought back into the theme.
The early chapters of the book are the basis of the books characters, plot and theme; these are very influential in Great Expectations and have great impact on the overall plot of the novel. They introduce all the characters who will play a big part in Pip’s future life to come. The characters influence Pip’s outlook on life and his desires in life. The chapters 1-5 also have a dark and uncanny aspect as Pip being in the Kent marshes and being sent by a convict to steal him a file for his chains. The crime and punishment theme was very well represented on the marshes. There is a great deal of social class and snobbery from the upper class that look down on the lower class like when Estella treated Pip badly when they were children. The early chapters are very important as these are where the main themes of the play are first developed. Without these crucial chapters being so revealing of Pip’s past the story would be difficult to understand and Dickens would not have been able to expose his concerns of England effectively in the weekly publication. Overall I conclude chapters 1-9 have immense contribution on the novels story.
