Great Expectations
...y changed his mind to think that the only way he can gain Estella’s love was to obtain money and become more of a gentleman. This changed Pip’s life completely from a simple life in a small home to a life in London. Not only does money and material possessions lure one towards it but money also creates havoc in their lives. Money can cause several problems in life, including financial and emotional. For example, after Pip comes to London, he is given money by the Pockets and spends an exceedingly amount of it that he comes into debt. Pip says to his friend after checking both of their accounts, “My dear Herbert, we are getting on badly” (276). Moreover, when Pip is given more money, he still comes into debt, “for we always ran into new debt immediately” (278). Pip had to find a way to pay off all his debt; however he did not have any profession yet. Emotionally, after climbing a bit of the social ladder, Pip was not able to associate with his former lower class companions. For instance, when Joe came to London to visit him, Pip almost wished for Joe to leave. Pip says, “Not with pleasure, though I was bound to him by so many ties; no; with considerable disturbance, some mortification, and a keen sense of incongruity. If I could have kept him away by paying him money, I certainly would have paid money” (217). Money had made Pip completely forget his close friendship with Joe, and all the favors Joe has done for him; even the fact that Joe was his brother-in-law and supported Mrs. Joe in bringing up Pip. It made Pip completely cold-hearted towards the lower class, even though Pip originated from there. Money completely changed Pip’s attitude and his morals. Likewise, where money was not considered important to Pip, goodness prevailed within him. Pip was a young innocent boy, before he met Miss Havisham. He was thankful for his sister bringing him up by hand; however, he had a greater bond with Joe, who was basically his best friend. Pip says, “Joe…always aided and comforted me when he could, in some way of his own, and he always did so at dinner-time by giving me gravy, if there were any” (24). He looked up to Joe at all times and was even afraid to lose his confidence. Pip had been entangled with a convict that asked him to steal some money and food from Joe; he explains his anxiety afterwards, “The fear of losing Joe’s confidence and of thenceforth sitting in the chimney-corner at night staring drearily at my for ever lost companion and friend, tied up my tongue” (40). Pip did not want Joe to dislike him in any way. This bond between Pip and Joe was the goodness that prevailed in Pip’s life. He was always content with his life due to his relationship with Joe, as if it was almost making his life complete. Also towards the end of the novel, Pip found out that the convict, Magwitch, whom he met when he was young, was his benefactor. Pip was almost crushed to find out that his benefactor was a convict, instead of Miss Havisham, or someone of high society. He completely felt he had made a mistake in thinking that gaining money and being part of the high society life to be his only goal in life. Pip says, “…it was not until I began to think that I began fully to know how wrecked I was, how the ship in which I had sailed was gone to pieces” (324). Pip was thought that Miss Havisham was his benefactor and that she wanted Pip to get married to Estella, therefore she made him a gentleman. However, now Pip knows that this money that he was given was not going to fulfill his dream in marrying Estella, and at the same time he could not go back to Joe for Pip was ashamed of leaving him alone. Therefore Pip decided not to accept any of the money that Magwitch was giving him; “Handel,’ said Herbert, stopping, ‘you feel convinced that you can take no further be...