Pip's life

By grahamette

  • Pip Meets the Convict

    This is the beginning of where Pip's life starts to change. Pip becomes forever scarred by this memory, and bases all later opinions of the convict on the memory. It is also the first "vivid and broad" memory of Pip's, serving to not only open the book but also to connect two people (Pip and Magwitch) over seas and time (1).

  • Havisham and Estella

    Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter introduce Pip to a whole new world filled with ruined riches, an abundant amount of money, shrewd and poor relatives, and a one sided love that Pip falls into immediately. Havisham is the person Pip assumes as his benefactress, and Estella shapes Pip's dreams to become a gentleman. Pip meeting Estella and Havisham is also important because it drives him to agree to Mr. Jagger's propositions to become a sucessful gentleman.

  • Biddy

    Biddy comes into the story as a down-to-earth girl who is humble, smart, modest, and even a little pretty. Pip seems to like her so much, but loves her as a kind of sister, since he takes it upon himself to distance Orlick from Biddy. Biddy seems to act as a pillar of practicality, and Pip falls back on her several times, even aspiring to marry her at the end of the book (Ch 10, 17)

  • Coming into Property

    Mr. Jaggers informs Pip of his coming into property, given by an unknown benefactor (139). This is a turning point in the book, for Pip's whole life changes as he uses the benefactor's money to start a new life in London to become a gentleman. In recieving the money, Pip becomes more emotionally and physically distanced from Joe and Biddy, which Pip later regrets and tries to fix.

  • Friends with Herbert Pocket

    Pip goes to London and stays with Herbert Pocket, the son of Miss Havisham's cousin, Matthew Pocket (174). In meeting and befriending Herbert, Pip gains a valuable new friend who unconciously teaches Pip about the values of trust, love, and compassion. Pip also decides to change Herbert's life for the better, and in doing so Pip's life is changed also (he experiences Herbert's and Clara's love, and lives and works with them).

  • Magwitch's Death

    Magwitch dies while Pip is watching over him (465). This event is significant because one of Pip's great emotional ties is severed. His abundant supply of money is taken away, and Pip is left to fend for himself. Pip realizes, at the last moment, that he has loved Magwitch as a father, and seeks to ease his last moments by telling Magwitch about Estella. This event also forces Pip to contemplate his other ruined emotional relationships with Joe and Biddy.

  • Estella's Parents

    Pip finds out the identities of Estella's parents, Magwitch and Molly (465). He holds this knowledge close to his heart, and it is important to his life because it changes his views toward the people the secret is involved with. He even tells Magwitch of his information before Magwitch's death, and I think in part that information served to help Pip act more compassionate toward Estella and Magwitch