A famous quote once said. “We must sacrifice who we are for what we will become.” Sacrifice is an action that shows our conscious desire for what we want. Pip, the main character in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens gives up in summary his own self to accomplish what he desires. Through extreme backlash and dire disappointment Pip gives up his identity to gain a forbidden acceptance. During this time period social class was set in place. Pip, who lived with his older sister and her husband were part of the lower class. They had hard times making it through and they never wasted food. Pip being the adventurer he was , got caught in a situation where he would have to go hungry for a day.
This is the first action that foreshadowed the future situation in the book. Knowing that it was forbidden to hide or waste food pip went through with it anyway. Even though he knew he could get caught and whipped for it, he made a promise to the weird man he met in the cemetery; just like he made a silent promise to himself that he would become a gentlemen later on. In both cases he changes who he is in expectancy to fulfill his duty he put on himself. Although he was hated and cast aside pip always came back. His tenacity revealed what he valued: The acceptance of the upper class and become one of their own.
After finding out the man he helped was an escaped convict he is overcome with a sense of extreme guilt and continues to put himself down for a long time. When Mr. Pumblelock asks for the brandy, when Pip replaced it with tar water and When the cops come in with handcuffs thinking he has been found out and that he is gonna get arrested Pip anxiety is felt through the book. He took the chance of getting caught to fulfill his word. This is the very first instance in the book that shows Pips tenacity to achieve a goal of his. As the book goes along Pip continues to live with the guilt and kills himself everyday for it, but because he endured it, it has allowed him the opportunity to maybe use some of his skills to earn the respect from higher above his economic status.
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Mr. Pumblechook, Pips cousin, had arranged for Pip to play at the house of Miss Havisham, an old lady who made a living as a spinster. Although he does not take advantage he meets a girl around his age named Estella who turns out to be the adopted daughter of Miss Havisham. This encounter is what will drive Pip through his adversity and continue to persevere. At first meeting she is cold and denaturing to Pip. She is harsh on the way he acts and also the fact of his social status. She looked at him as if he were a “dog in disgrace” ( Dickens 60). Pip describes not being able to identify the feeling inside himself, after listing a slew of words, as a result of her glare but stating only “God knows what name it was” (Dickens 60).
The dehumanizing nature of this girl towards Pip drove him to tears, but the fact that she seemed please when they fell, he held them back. Pips true desire was beginning to show as he stared right back at her after wiping the tears away. This scene foreshadows many obstacles and challenges to come, that will force their weight on Pip and make him decided whether to keep going or just quit and stay the same person. This is also where his mindset begins to change. On returning home Pip tells lies of the grandeur of the house to Mr. and Mrs. Joe. Describing it in more excellence than worth. Knowing that he never lies, he is again torn apart by guilt so he eventually tells Mr. Joe. In response Joe suggest that he stay with family a while and focus on them. This influences Pip then thinks about how Joe in his “thick work boots and how coarse his hands are” (Dickens 70) would seem so common to Estella. Thinking about what he “used to do” at Miss Havisham’s as if he has been for months, Pip describes his day as “it made great change” (Dickens 70) in his life.
We see a shift in the compass here, as this is the start of the Great Expectations put forth in the book by Charles Dickens. Being instantly motivated Pip begins finding ways to become educated and start his journey to becoming a gentlemen. Using any tactics he could, he asked a friend of his whose name was Biddy, to impart all her knowledge into him. This is part of his identity that begins to be stripped away. He is using other people for his personal gain, unlike in the beginning of the story when he helped the escaped convict for no benefit at all, except guilt. This exposure to the upper class has made a new person out of Pip, who is more focused on what he wants to be instead of who he already is, and how he is willing to take and do anything to achieve it.
As time went on Pip continued to think about such things and his next visit to the Havisham residence. Although his next visit would be more degrading than his last it would be more motivating for him. As the day came, to his surprise there were more visitors this time. These guest were the same way Estella was and still is snobby and stuck up. Upon first sight of Pip they began making comments such as “Poor dear soul” and “he is so very strange” (Dickens 79). They began putting his self esteem in a deep hole, but also forcing himself to build a ladder to dig himself out. He had to give up his weak former self to become someone stronger than he originally was to succeed.
This new self was portrayed when he was in a conversation with Estella who wanted Pip to see her as sort of his master. She asks him if she is insulting and he responds with a straight “no”. She slaps him and asks him why won’t he cry. His response is the a result of his suffering placed on him, but also a portrayal of his new self. Although he was crying on the inside, in the upper class it’s the outside that counts, and Pip states “Because i’ll never cry for you again” (Dickens 81) in response to Estella.
Pip begins to stand up for himself and realize that this is the only way to go to achieve the next level. As Pip begins to be a regular at the Havisham residence, him and Miss Havisham grow more closer.Talking about random things Pip tells her that he is going to become an apprentice for Joe. Being the upper class jerk she was, Miss Havisham dismissed it nonchalantly, but later on surprisingly told Pip that she could take care of the paper. Pip at the sound of this was depressed because it showed that Miss havisham had no intention of helping Pip turn into a gentle man. He wanted nothing more to do with that lower class. Pip in a way was ashamed of the man whom he was once best friends with.
To accompany Pip to Miss Havisham’s, Joe dressed in his sunday attire that made him uncomfortable. Pip felt uncomfortable that Joe would do all of this for him, and was also attacked by the thought about how common Joe would seem to Miss Havisham and especially Estella. Upon entering the residence his hunch was correct, as Estella laughs at both Pip and Joe. This hunch was only created because of the change in mindset and evergrowing change of values and ideals associated with the upper class in Pip. When they reached Miss Havisham and begin their conversation Joe never directly communicates to her but instead responds to Pip as if he is the one in the position of Miss Havisham. Pip becomes aggravated with Joe and even yells at Joe stating “ Joe…why don’t you answer” (Dickens 100).
In this scene it is clearly shown that Pip values Miss Havisham’s acceptance more than Joe’s. The question that is then presented is how can someone push aside someone who has always been by their side for someone they spent a few weeks with. He is ashamed of family which no one should be. Dickens creates this sense of agitation in both Pip and the reader to contrast their views and make them question what they would do in this situation. This connection allows the reader to come to a conclusion that Pip cannot ever go back to his former self and that he has accepted this path and role for himself even if that means disassociating with family.
After returning home, that sense of guilt he felt for helping the escaped convict, came back after he realized how he treated his family. He described it as a “most miserable thing to feel”(Dickens 106). Even though he feels this way he still wants to go back to Miss Havisham’s residence. He did not like being Joe apprentice; he describes as feeling “dusty with the dust of the small coal” (Dickens 106). The fact that he associates himself with something as small as the dust, signifies that he believes what he is doing is pointless. He only continues to do his job out of respect for HIm and Mrs. Joe. He still continues to try and acquire knowledge that will help him one day gain the acceptance of Estella and the upper class.
Determined to again be in the grace of Miss Havisham and Estella, Pip goes to visit them. While on his way preparing Joe tells him that he should stay with family a little more, and Pip gets confused. Not knowing what to do he decides to go anyway making up his mind that he will chase his desires. The guilt he once held was overpowered by the will to get what he wants. Pip after visiting finds out that Estella has been sent away and becomes sad. He still continued to visit even though but finds out how bland it has become.
Without her he somewhat feels disconnected. He confides in Biddy realizing that he feels attracted to her somewhat, tells her about the residence. Her response is the same as Joe’s: he should stay away and spend time with family. She then questions Pip saying “Do you want to be a gentlemen to spite her or gain her over?” (Dickens 129) referring to Miss Havisham. This is another spot in the book in which Pip is questioned about his life and what he is gonna do, but this time it’s more of a why. Why is he giving up his way of life to gain another? What is so special about it that he desires? He responds with “I admire her dreadfully” (Dickens 129) and answers the previous questions.
Miss Havisham is the representation of the life Pip wishes for. She is the reason he is so rude to his family, why he’s is never around, why he puts up with the cruelty of estella, and the over cruelty of the upper class.How he can put up with it is a mystery in its own, but a psychological theory called self-fulfilling prophecy could have something to do with it. Basically it’s the belief someone can achieve something if they keep saying it or producing actions that correlate with it. Pip did just that by going through all the agony of guilt and pain, but in the end Pip states “I am greatly changed” (Dickens 490). Understanding that he achieved what he wanted, and in a simple sentence he looked back and remembered it all.
In seeing how Estella has changed he compares his past suffering to her now wide comprehension of things by stating “for in her face and in her voice, and in her touch she gave me the assurance that suffering had been stronger than Miss Havisham’s teaching, and had given her a heart to understand what my heart used to be” (Dickens 490). This last piece is Pips victory scream, and his nostalgia at his sacrifice. Through this storm of adversity Pip gave himself up to the hate to fuel his desire. In order to achieve the acknowledgment of the upper class he exposed himself and stripped down his identity. Although he lost some parts of him, he ultimately gained and replaced those filled spots that he so longed for.
