Great Expectations

4 Pages 996 Words

Explaining Pip's Redemptive Process in Great Expectaiongs The way that Pip falls, and redeems himself is important in great expectations.
Dickens uses Pip's deterioration from an innocent boy into an arrogant gentleman and his redemption as a good-natured person to show the idea that unrealistic hopes and expectations can lead to bad traits.

In the beginning of the novel, Pip is a harmless, caring boy. His parents are "dead and buried", and as an orphan he has never seen "any likeness of either of them" (p. 1). Sympathy for Pip increases, when he robs his own home. For example, when Mrs. Joe leaves the Sunday dinner to retrieve the "savoury pork pie," which Magwitch had enjoyed heartily, Pip is tortured by the thought of his actions, while his mind screams, "Must they! Let them not hope to taste it!" (p. 27). He is tortured by his conscience. As Pip develops unrealistic hopes and expectations for his life, undesirable characteristics replace these positive ones.


The expectations that cause Pip's character to become less likable are those that he develops after being introduced to Miss Havisham and Estella. After just one afternoon at the Satis House, Pip develops a desire to become more acceptable to Estella, in hopes that her callous attitude toward him would change. As a result, Pip begins to feel ashamed of his life. He realizes that his personality and outlook on his life are changing as he states, "That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me" (p.70).
He hopes, "that perhaps Miss Havisham was going to make my fortune when my time was out" (p. 133). Then, when Mr. Jaggers informs Pip of the "great expectations" that have been given to him, Pip thinks, without a doubt, "Miss Havisham was going to make my fortune on a grand scale" (p.139). Also, he begins to believe that Miss Havisham has destined him to marry Estella. Immediately, Pip's ego grows tremendously, and he be...