Allen 1! Justin Allen! Ms. Gardner! English 10 Period 0! 5 March 2014! Wealth and Status! !

In the novel, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, how does wealth dictate how

Pip is viewed in society as he rises from poverty to being a gentleman and back to poverty again? The few who dont befriend Pip longterm and are generally lower ranking members of society. The way people treated Pip before his expectations versus after is simply incomparable. People venerate Pip on different levels depending on his current societal status, implying that they only want to be around him as long as he is wealthy.!

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! With no future, no expectations, and no clear direction for his life, Pip starts his adventure into the world around him. Pip is confused by the world around him, and it confused by him. This is never more present than when Pip talks about his dead siblings as being born on their backs with their hands in their trousers pockets, and never taken them out in this state of existence (1). This scene features Pips naive and foolish nature and appeals to the child side of him giving the reader an initial sense of his education and about how old he is. Dickenss use of diction in this statement is also a key element in identifying the clothes that Pip wears and their relation to the time period. Studying the quote we can deduce that Pip is located in the lower class of Britain and that he wears clothes such as trousers.!

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Allen 2! ! Pip is viewed by Mrs. Joes family and friends as an ignorant child and Pip states

that among this good company I should have felt myself even if I hadnt robbed the pantry, in a false position (23). People crawling up the ladder of society such as Pumblechook cant be bothered with people like Pip until Mrs. Joe informs him that Miss Havisham has said She wants this boy to go and play there (50). This is an insight into Pumblechooks character as he leeches off of people he sees climbing the societal ladder faster than him; he tries with Pip, but fails to succeed. However, Pumblechook still doesnt care about Pip in any regard whatsoever and thinks of him as a mere child that doesnt truly t in with the people around him as a gentleman.!

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! Towards the end of Chapter 17 Pip claims to be content with his life as an apprentice to Joe, but then he suddenly exclaims when all in a moment some confounding remembrance of the Havisham days would fall upon me, like a destructive missile, and scatter my wits again (133) Pip is deeply distraught by the time he spent with Miss Havisham and Estella. They psychologically scarred him by calling his hands course and his boots thick (63) and taunting him for being--psychologically--still a mere child. This is also a statement about not only where Pip is ranked in society, but where Estella, Pips equal in age, is ranked. Her condescending tones, much the opposite of Pumblechook, arent meant to elevate her in society, but are used to keep her where she already is. Estella is a very course (63) person in her own respect, but on the inside rather than the outside. !

Allen 3! She has many qualities that make her cold hearted such as her condescending tone, her way of looking down upon others, and her secluded lifestyle.!

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! Once Pip has stepped into party of his fortune, Pumblechook, and people like him, begin taking a notice in Pip; however, not in a good way. Pumblechook evens goes as far as to say I give you joy of your good fortune, Well deserved, well deserved (153). He of course still congratulates himself by saying To think[...]that I should have been the humble instrument of leading up to this is a proud reward (153). These quotes showcase the major theme of deceit that appears time and time again as Pips wealth rises and falls. Dickenss sly and clever use of diction by repeating the words well deserved gives them emphasis in that they are insincere and are merely to get on Pips good side. Pumblechooks selfveneration and loathing comes into play here as well when he claims to have been the one and only reason Pip received any of the wealth he did. In addition, he even goes as far as to call himself the humble instrument, with which Dickens mocks the upper class, making them out to be dreadfully ironic individuals.!

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! While people of Pumblechooks nature and Pumblechook himself are after Pip for his money, people like Joe simply dont care about money and stick by Pip till the end. Joe however, doesnt know how to talk to Pip after he becomes a gentleman, and Joe states that he is Pips servant (220). The way Joe addresses Pip is the polar opposite in which Pumblechook does; Joe gets small and shy, while Pumblechook gets open and inviting. !

Allen 4! This quote also provides an insight to whether Joe considers himself Pips friend at all anymore because of their class divide.!

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! Later in the novel Pip nds that many fellow gentlemen that once congratulated him are now giving him blank stares and blinking eyes. Characters like Pumblechook, besides that, also insult him again as if he were a child by making statements like put a mufn on the table. And has it come to this! Has it come to this (479) This again demonstrates Dickenss repetition of key phrases emphasize them and make the characters that use them seem like broken clocks, repeating the same things over and over again. Pumblechook continues to mock Pip by saying put the salt on. In happier times[...]I think you took sugar (pg 479)? Pumblechook says this in such a condescending manner the it makes the reader think Pip doesnt even have enough money for simple things like tea. This comment also puts Pip into a societal box preventing him from even talking to the people that he was once acquainted with and effectively ending his time as a gentleman.!

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! Pip had many people around him that only wanted to be around him as long as he had money in his pockets and there was enough of it to go around. These people never go to appreciate Pip for a person whereas the people that sticked around for the long run got to really get to know Pip for himself and not for just the change in his pocket. Pips character as well as his outlook on life were benetted by his rise and fall in wealth proving that while society may look at your wallet for answers, its the changes that wallet has on a person that creates the gentleman.