Montoya 1 Marie Montoya Gardner English 10- 2 period February 11, 2014 The Reality of High Status: Is It Worth

the Cost and Implications? Gabriela Barnard once said that, Nothing in this world is free... Just remember everything comes with a price which is a moral that Pip-- the main character in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens-- experienced first hand. In this coming of age novel, Charles Dickens introduces a young Philip Pip who has let himself be influenced by the double crossing society around him. Pip is a young orphan who lives with his abusing sister and Joe, her sisters husband, in England. They are an uneducated but somewhat happy bunch, but at the first sight of a better life, Pips expectations for his future change. When Pip was young he had expectations of true love, friendship, and a family: as he matures, his self proclaimed expectations of becoming a gentleman hide his initial values which are slowly igniting back in his mind and heart.

After meeting Mrs. Havisham, Pips self worth is low, but his expectations on life are extremely high. Even though Mrs. Havisham distates Pip and disapproves of him dating Estella and is more interested in breaking his innocent heart, Pip fights his emotions for love. Since the first sight of Estella, Pip saw her as very pretty and seemed very proud ( Dickens 42) which is something Pip relates to high class. Since everybody for miles round, had heard of Miss Havisham up town (39) , Pip connected their attitudes of being proud and good looking with almost royalty. By referring to Estella as a queen and self possessed, it is evident that he thinks of her as above him in more ways than just beauty. This is a key component when Estella

Montoya 2 insultes Pip because of [the] coarse hands he has! And [his] thick boots! (46) because he has just been attacked in the one of the two main components for high class: beauty. The worse thing is that right after attacking him like that, she also insults him on how uneducated he is because the way he calls the knaves Jacks(46) which completely destroys Pip because now he knows that he has nothing that can be remotely related to high class. This, instead of discouraging the young and kind hearted Pip, this allows him to reveal his motivation to Biddy that now, more than ever, he strives to be a gentleman (99).

As Pip balances his new titles and expectations, his child like kindness and respect are fading away. As Pip gets closer and closer to his new goal of being a gentleman, he starts to see all the flaws from his childhood that he has never question before, such as Joe. Pip wishes he could be as well brought up as Estella was because then he should have been [high class] too (47) and that Joe had [never] taught [him] to call those pictures-cards, Jacks (47). Instead of being thankful for Joes friendship and for having him as an outlet from all the abuse from Mrs. Joe, he dismisses that and instead prays that Joe [was] less ignorant and common, that he might be worthier of my [his] society (84) because he is Pips producer of embarrassment in front of the high class. This hurtful statement shows Pips destructive transformation into high class. Pip is becoming Estella by, just like her, destroying their relations with the people that truly love him. Estella also blamed her mom for the way she was brought up: to not be able to feel any emotion, except hate, towards men. She does not think she has her own identity because The success is not [hers], the failure is not [hers], but the two together make [her] (240). Just as Estella eventually rebelled against her mother and blamed her for all her bad characteristics, Pip was doing the exact same but just earlier. He was transitioning values to find his identity, or at least the identity that would get him closer to Estella and high class. Pip tries to falsely give rise

Montoya 3 to his expectations of becoming a gentlemen now that he has blamed all his failures on the uneducated and unsuspecting Joe. He does not realize that Joe, in fact, does not have any education and is doing his best to teach him what he can barely grasp from day to day.

At a very low moment in his life is when Pip finally understands what his expectations should have been all along. After Magwitchs death, Pip was in debt, and had scarcely any money(361) he was also falling very ill. Pip has finally hit rock bottom socially and has nobody to help him recover, that is, until Joe comes along. Pip has avoided the people of his past to a point that he cannot believe his eyes when Joe comes to take care of him, but after he realizes it, he addresses Joe as a gentle Christian man(363). Pip changes modes in a second from a high class power machine, to a little child that has just found his parents after being lost at the store. Pip has been in an unhappy and dark place throughout his journey to becoming a gentleman, and this is the point where he realizes that leaving behind the people he loved and loved him back was not an intelligent move. Joe explains that as soon as he heard of Pips illness, he immediately came running so Pip would not be amongst strangers (364). Not only was Joe worried about Pip, but also his childhood best pal, Biddy, who told Joe to Go to him [Pip], without loss of time. Joe and Biddy show to Pip that even when his expectations did not include them in his life, that did not mean that they were going to forget that they had been ever friends with him. They both brought a friend up when he was at the lowest and that is when Pip realized his mistake. Pip finally knew that neglecting his real family to become a gentleman for the wrong reasons was awful and not fair to his friends, this is why he wants Joe to break [his] heart! Look angry at me, Joe! Strike me, Joe. Tell me of my ingratitude. Dont be so good to me! (363). Pip feels ashamed of how ungrateful he has been to the only people that supported his journey and he now recognizes Joe as the actual gentleman. After this, he admires Joe just as

Montoya 4 much as he did when little, and this leads to Pip acquiring his old expectations back because he knows that they are the ones that will make him the most happy with the people he loves.

At the end of the novel, Pip grows not only in age, but also in wisdom. During his journey, he gains a valuable lesson: nothing is free. To gain something, something else has to be lost. Pip, at first, gave up his modest life to achieve greatness, and he blindly gave up his friends and family. Later on, he learned that the key to succeeding is not leaving behind his embarrassing past but to learn and grow with his loved ones, just as Joe and Biddy did with each other. Pips expectations originated in his childhood, they molded throughout his journey, and, at the end, fit perfectly in with his CHOSEN place in society.