In Chapter Three of ‘Great Expectations’ Pip is going to meet the convict on the marshes. He has stolen three different things; a file, for the convict to file off the iron on his leg, a pork pie and a bottle of rich brandy. Pip is feeling very guilty about stealing from his sister on Christmas morning. Therefore, on his way to meet the convict Pip’s imagination begins to play tricks on him, “One black ox, with a white cravat on,” Pip imagines that the ox is a priest coming to reprimand him for stealing. Dickens uses personification to reveal Pip’s imagination and guilt. Pip felt petrified before his journey to the graveyard. Dickens uses a metaphor; “as if some goblin has been crying there all night,” to illustrate Pip’s fear, this suggests to us that Pip felt like crying, as he was so frightened. Dickens Pathetic Fallacy when describing Pip on Christmas morning, as the misty fog represents Pip’s confusion. Pip is confused, as he had to steal from his sister, which he knew was wrong.
In Chapter Eight of ‘Great Expectations’ Pip visits Miss Havisham and Estella because Uncle Pumblechook arranged for Pip to go and play there. Estella is Miss Havisham’s adopted daughter. Class difference is revealed in this chapter when Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s house and sees the house name. “Satis House.” This can also be interpreted as “Status House” a reflection of Miss Havisham’s high status. In Victorian Society class was evident from a person’s appearance. Estella pointed out Pip’s class to him. The language used revels to Estella’s opinion of Pip, who is working class. ”And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!” this is one of many examples where Estella describes Pip in a negative way. On the other hand, Miss Havisham is described like a queen, “Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands,” this suggests how rich Miss Havisham was. We also learn she is rich because, “she was dressed in rich materials-satins, and lace, and silks-all of white.” Miss Havisham’s opinion of men is not good, she wants Estella to be rude and cruel to men and boys, for example when Mr Pumblechook came to drop Pip, Estella was so rude to him, saying, “Miss Havisham doesn’t want to talk to you.” Pip had never realised to ashamed he was of his hands. “I had never thought of being ashamed of my hands before…” Estella makes him look differently at his hands and boots and Pip becomes ashamed of himself. Finally, Dickens allows the reader to feel sympathy for the young Pip though first person narration, “ as I cried I kicked the wall and took a hard twist at my hair, so bitter were my feelings.” As this is a personal narration, it allows the reader to understand how ashamed Pip feels about himself Pip feels. We feel more sympathy for Pip, as we know that it is an old Pip talking about his sad young life. Overnight Pip’s opinion on himself had changed, he now recognises that he is working class.
In Chapter Ten and Fourteen of ‘Great Expectations’ after Pip has met Miss Havisham, Dickens shows us that Pip changes his attitude towards Joe, “I thought… how common Estella would consider Joe, a mere blacksmith: how thick his boots, and how coarse his hands.” Pip is critical, and also ashamed of Joe, Pip is now looking at Joe through Estella’s critical eyes. Pip blames Joe that he has been brought up in a working class way, “I wished Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I should had been so too.” Pip used to confide in Joe about anything that was going on his life, but now, “I am glad to know that I never breathed a murmur to Joe while my indentures lasted…” Pip becomes ashamed of being a blacksmith’s apprentice. Pip is ashamed of home, “No it was all coarse and common, and I would not have Miss Havisham and Estella see it on any account,” Pip doesn’t want Miss Havisham and Estella to see his house as he is ashamed of home. Estella has made Pip believe that he is common, “I knew I was common, and… I wished I was not common…” Pip does not want to be working class, he desires to better himself, “I was truly wretched, and had a strong conviction on me that I should never like Joe’s trade. I like it once, but once was not now.” Pip was not happy being apprentice to Joe he desired to be better than a blacksmith. Education for the working class was not a priority in Victorian society, “…the best step I could take towards making myself uncommon was to get out of Biddy everything she knew,” as Pip desires to become a gentleman he asks Biddy for her to help to become educated as in Victorian society the only way to become a gentleman was though education.
In Chapter Seven and Ten of ‘Great Expectations’ we learn about the Victorian education provided for the working class. Pip attended a night school, because for working class people education wasn’t important, they had to learn a trade by day and go to night school. The evening school Pip attended was run by Mr Wopsle’s great-aunt who always fell asleep during the lesson, and she had a limited education herself. When she went to sleep Biddy would teach the lesson. The classroom that Pip is taught in is not really a classroom. It is Mr Wopsle’s great-aunt’s shop, bedroom and living room from this we can learn that the education provided for the working class was poor. We can see evidence of Pip’s poor education when Pip writes a letter to Joe, “HI DEER JO i OPE U R KRWITE WELL i SHALL B HABELL 4 2,” from this we can tell, how limited Pip’s education is. Joe’s reaction to the letter “What a scholar you are! This is evidence that Joe’s education is also very poor. Dickens’ attitude towards education is revealed by his description of the night school, by this we know that Dickens’ disapproves of the education provided for the working class.
In Chapter Fourteen of ‘Great Expectations’ the older Pip is narrating his life, “home had never been very pleasant place to me, because of my sister’s temper. But, Joe had sanctified it,” From this we understand how Pip feels as he explains that home wasn’t a fastidious place with his sister’s temper, but Joe had made it better for Pip. The older Pip is narrating how he regrets his dissatisfaction with life as a young boy as he is now more mature, and he regrets how he treated Joe. Pip’s maturity links to the Bildiengsroman genre. The older Pip feels that his younger self was ungrateful, “and I would feel more ashamed of home than ever, in my own ungracious breast.” Pip explains how he is looking back at his past and is now regretting his life, as he was so spiteful to Joe. This section of the novel is connected to the Bildungroman genre, as Pip’s desire is to get out of the working class and become a gentleman, links to the tradition of education. Pip matures and develops. Pip’s maturity and self-development shows us he has changed into an older Pip.
In the novel of ‘Great Expectations’ there are significant differences in Pip between the beginning and end of volume one of ‘Great Expectations.’ For example at the beginning of the novel Pip doesn’t really know much about working class but because of Estella he begins to desire to become a gentlemen and wants to become of the higher class. The relationship between Joe and Pip changes dramatically after Pip goes and visits Miss Havisham and Estella. The first person narration allows us to feel very sympatric for the Pip because he explains to us how he feels. Education in Victorian England was very poor for the working class. ‘Great Expectations’ is linked to the Bildungsroman genre as it is about Pip’s self-development.