Great Expectations
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Throughout the novel “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, Pips character and personality goes through some transformations. He is somewhat similar at the beginning and end, but very different while growing up. He is influenced by many characters, but two in particular. One of them is Estella, the hard-hearted girl from the Manor House and the other is Magwitch, the convict from the marshes. Some things that cause strength or growth in a person are responsibility, discipline, and surrounding oneself around people who are challenging and inspiring.
At the start of the novel, Pip is uneducated and unaware of his social class, or even that he belongs to a social class. Since he does not know of any “better” lifestyle, Pip is content with what he has and who he knows. As life goes on, he meets new people from both higher and lower social classes and his content turns to greed and shame, as he immediately longs to be better educated. He is suddenly ashamed of his family and origins. Pip learns as he grows older that having money and power and being of a higher social class in not necessarily better than having rue friends that care about him even if they are of a lower social class.
The first character Pip runs into that makes a large influence in him is a girl named Estella. Estella lives in the Manor House near Pips home in the marshes. Although she insults Pip constantly, he falls in love with her. Because Pip loves Estella, he cares about what she says. So, when she says, “He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy. And what course hands he has! And what thick boots,” he takes it to heart. He begins to feel ashamed of his uneducated family, and longs to be a gentleman. Estella is a poor influence on Pip because she is insulting and not supportive at all. Pip should instead surround himself with people who will not just put him down, but instead with people who will encourage and support him. This is what causes growth in a person.
When Pip is young and living in the marshes, he comes across a convict who forces Pip to steal food from his sister. When Pip is older and living in London, it is revealed that the convicts name is Magewitch and that he s been secretly supplying money for Pip for a number of years. However, giving Pip enough money to live