When Pip was a child, he was a contented young boy. He wanted to grow up to be apprenticed to Joe and “had believed the forge as the glowing road to manhood.” He was a very sensitive child and afraid of doing something wrong this was shown when his guilty conscience along with his imagination haunted him with images of him being caught after he stole food for a convict. His fear of doing wrong was made clear when he referred to the time they took to discover the stolen items as “prolonging my misery.” The way his conscience had to wrestle with the idea that he had done a good deed showed insecurity as well as being afraid of doing wrong. He was an insecure child and would do anything but lose Joe’s love such as when he would not tell Joe about the stolen file.
“The fear of losing Joe’s confidence, and thenceforth sitting in the chimney-corner at night, staring drearily at my forever lost companion and friend, tied up my tongue.”
After visiting Miss Havisham’s and meeting Estella, Pip began to think about things he would not before, he starts to think about how common he and Joe is, etiquette, education etc. Pip lets Estella insult him about his thick boots and how he speaks, his coarse hands, before he would not have even thought that he had thick boots let alone the fact that it was a bad thing.
Pip became upset by the fact that he was ignorant and inadequate. He was ashamed of being a common labouring boy and he now thought everything to be coarse and common. As Estella looked down upon him, he did to, however Estella was attractive, and he confessed “She’s more beautiful than anybody ever was, and I admire her dreadfully, and I want to be a gentleman on her account.” This was his new expectation and began to look down on things. He finds a gentleman to be someone with wealth, ‘breeding’, education, and social status, however this is only a materialistic view. Also Pip started to feel “disaffection to Joe and the forge.” He begins to despise the things that kept him at the forge and believed that he “should never like Joe’s trade.” This also showed ingratitude, as he was not thankful for anything he had. Pip was inconsiderate and since he believed Biddy to below him he talked carelessly and made comments such as “If I could only get my self to fall in love with you-“. These refer to him being unfeeling as he could not see that these comments were unkindly.
Estella brings about changes in him; he is no longer contented at being at the forge. He does not consider Joe’s companionship as anything very important and most of all he is completely dissatisfied with his place in life and his future.
When Pip receives the news that he is to come into money, he becomes patronizing towards Biddy, accuses her of being “envious and grudging,” and talks in a “Virtuous and superior tone.” When he asks Biddy to improve Joe and she does not think that that is necessary. He began to regain a little warmth when he cried and was sorry for the way he had behaved but obviously not enough to make him go home and rectify what he had done. All the guilt he felt was soon forgotten when he reached London. He became frivolous using his money carelessly not realizing the consequences.
Pip began to feel increasingly superior towards Joe, and became easily influenced by others around him. He did not go and visit Joe on returning to Satis House because he felt that to be below him and because he thought that Miss Havisham “would be contemptuous of him.” While Pip was in debt a friend advised him to spend even more money to join a club called the Finches, which would swallow up even more money, and he would gain nothing for it. This shows once again a person who has a weak mind.
His friendship with Herbert was solid and they showed this by each being able to tell each other things they were unable to tell anyone else. Such as when Estella was plaguing Pip’s mind he told Herbert about it and he tried to help. The same thing applied when Herbert was able to tell Pip about Clara. Pip showed that he was still compassionate when he realised what he was doing to Herbert and tried to resolve it. He saw that he was the cause of Herbert’s debt and so he tried to help him, he wanted for his “own good fortune to reflect some rays upon him.” This showed that Pip still realised friendship was important and that doing a good deed was important no matter how much other people believed it to be a bad idea. At the end of the second stage Pip had slightly redeemed himself and looked like he was becoming a better person by wanting to do something good with his money and not caring about other people views. Pip then finds out that Magwitch and Molly was Estella’s real parents, and that Miss Havisham adopted Estella because Miss Havisham was lonely!
At the beginning of the third part of Pip’s expectations, he has discovered who his benefactor is. The idea completely disgusted him, “involuntary shudder” referring to the way he reacts when thinking about Magwitch. He felt that Magwitch was below him in society and would never be a gentleman. This showed that he was selfish and conceited as he did not welcome in his benefactor but showed contempt for him.
As Pip realised that Magwitch was a good person after he was told the story of Compeyson. Pip’s attitudes towards Magwitch change and he seems to realise that what is on the inside counts and the exterior is not important. He sees that the law had wronged Magwitch and that this poor man had “worked hard, that” Pip “should be above work”. Pip became more concerned about Magwitch, which showed that Pip was becoming a more caring person.
After Magwitch had been captured, Pip became increasing attentive and all his contempt had gone. He became a man who shamelessly loved a convict when he says “Please God, I will be as true to you, as you have been to me!” Pip does everything in his power to change the sentence. However knowing Magwitch did not have long to live he makes his last hours happy by telling him of his successful daughter and concealing from him that after he was dead he will not receive any of his money. Pip was able to see the good in someone who was openly supposed to be bad; this showed that he was not blinded by prejudice.
When Pip became ill and Joe nursed him back to health Pip realised the importance of friendship “We have had a time together, Joe, that I can never forget. There were days once, I know, that I did for awhile forget; but I shall never forget these.”
This showed that he knew what he had done was wrong and wanted to change. He was ready to repent for everything he had done. He wanted forgiveness from the people he had treated the worst. He showed his willingness to become humble by saying, Biddy would ask what she will of him
“It shall rest with you to say whether I work at the forge with Joe, or whether I shall try for any different occupation down in this country, or whether we shall go away to a distant place, where an opportunity awaits me, which I set aside when it was offered until I knew your answer.”
Pip had developed into a sensitive young man regaining his lost values and realising what a real gentleman was. Pip went through the whole book wanting to be a gentleman but to be one he needed to know what one was. At the beginning, Pip thought that a gentleman was someone with lots of money and was frivolous. He also thought that they had to be a scholar and to have an extensive general knowledge. However, he was taught that even if you were rich and had a good education you still might not be a gentleman such as Bentley Drummle. Someone like Joe who is just a common man is a true “gentle-man.” He helped Pip even after he had been so rude to him and he wanted no thanks in return. To be a gentleman, you have to be charitable.
One day Pip left his house only to stumble over someone lying at the bottom of the stairs. The mysterious person runs away before Pip can ask him his business, when Pip reaches the watchmen he asks him if any strange persons had been lurking about, He finds it is his convict ‘Abel Magwitch’. Pip is in disbelief that Magwitch (now goes by the name ‘Provis’) has returned and frightened for his safety.
Pip then finds out that Miss Havisham was not his benefactor but it was the convict ‘Magwitch’. Pip was told that Magwitch worked on a farm in Australia, every cent that he earned, he sent it off to Pip. He did this to give Pip a chance to make him a gentleman, Pip sees this hard work done by Magwitch. He realizes that Magwitch could have been a rich man himself but is not and gives all his money to Pip.
This is one of Pip’s expectations which are disappointed: finding that Magwitch is his real benefactor NOT Miss Havisham. As Pip’s benefactor is not Miss Havisham, he is not preordained for Estella. Pip then to his shock finds out that Bentley Drummle has married the beautiful Estella. This was his second expectation disappointed.
After most of his expectations are disappointed Pip’s learns new moral awareness:
- Through nursing his new surrogate ‘father’ in Newgate prison, Pip comes to realise that Magwitch has behaved better to him than Pip did to Joe. Guilt and the death of Magwitch leads to Pip’s breakdown and illness.
- Joe re-emerges as Pip’s saviour (Pip as a ‘prodigal son’) and as a true model of the Christian ‘gentleman’ as Pip finds out.
- Pip’s better actions are partially rewarded through his rescue by Joe, ‘friendship’ with Estella and employment, as a ‘confirmed bachelor’ with Herbert And Clara.
- The end of the story is hollow. Pip is not to find romantic consolation with Estella, and ends the novel alone, as at the beginning.
In Conclusion Pip’s expectations are disappointed by:
- Magwitch is Pip’s real benefactor, not Miss Havisham as Pip thought it was for the first third through the novel.
- He finds out that being a gentleman is not what he thinks it is at the beginning of the novel (wealth, ‘breeding’, education, and social status) but finds out that it is not the clothes the money or etiquette, its the man’s heart and how he uses it.
- Finally the one thing that made his own life change in so many ways. Estella, for all Pip’s life he wanted to be a husband to Estella and have a good life together, although that doesn’t work out. Although they do become close they do not get married!
