Great Expectations

Great Expectations is a novel written by Charles Dickens that tells about a young boy who strives to be greater in many ways, but ends up realizing a lot of what wished for wasn’t really what he wanted. Many themes are illustrated in this book, such determination, self-improvement, and friendship. During the book Pip experiences these, along with the other characters. But one theme in particular that Pip finds is that affection and loyalty are more important than social advancement and wealth.

“Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together, as I may say, and one man’s a blacksmith, and one’s a whitesmith, and one’s a goldsmith, and one’s a coppersmith. Diwisions among such must come, and must be met as they come.”

- Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. With Connections. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990. Page 237-238

This passage is said by Joe to Pip as a farewell after their awkward meeting in London. Pip, now a gentleman, has been uncomfortably embarrassed by both Joe’s commonness and his own lifestyle. Becoming a gentleman changed Pip’s life and brought length to his relationship toward Joe. While at the same time, Joe feels like a fish out of water in Pip’s luxurious apartment. They have just become so different now because of Pip’s expectations that being in each others presence has become awkward.

In the passage Joe is telling Pip that he does not blame him for the awkwardness of their meeting, but he does blame the natural divisions of life. He creates a metaphor of metalsmithing to describe these natural divisions: some men are blacksmiths, such as himself, and some men are goldsmiths, such as Pip. In these terms, Joe arrives at a wise and resigned attitude toward the changes in Pip’s social class that have driven them apart, and he shows his inner goodness and loyalty by blaming the division not on Pip, but on the unchangeable nature of humanity.

When Joe tells this passage to Pip, he tells it in a way that most people wouldn’t. Although Pip acts annoyed and uncaring towards Pip, Joe doesn’t change his voice and actions to match the situation. In other words, Joe doesn’t react in ways that some of us might, when talking to someone who doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t change his values and act annoyed back, or become stubborn towards Pip. He takes it in and tells pip part of reality. Joe explains that even though he might not notice, Pip’s new way of life, or great expectations, have changed him, and others as well. He doesn’t see people the same as he should. He sees where people stand, or what their worth according to the world instead of who or what they really are.

By the time Pip realized what Joe had really said, he was gone. He didn’t have time to adjust his behavior and prove to him right then that he understood and wanted to change. He realized that one’s social status is in no way connected to one’s real character, and that wealth and class are less important than affection, loyalty, and inner worth. Although Joe said to have forgiven him for his choices of becoming a gentleman, Pip felt guilty for leaving behind the most important things for things that didn’t gain him much at all. He had lost part of a close relationship because of his wants to be higher and greater.

There are many examples of this theme illustrated in Great Expectations. All throughout the book there are many little things that happened that should have stuck out to Pip in helping him to realize what he was leaving behind. But a lot of the time Pip was too focused on what he wanted to become. Not realizing until later that what he had of loyal friends and affection towards others was far greater than what his desperately wanted expectations turned out to be.