THE BOOK ANALYSIS

01

Call To Action

• The call to action is the point where Pip first meets the convict in the graveyard, and the convict commands him to bring him “a file” and some “wittles” 

   

• “You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles. You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen a person as me” (Dickens 12)

 

02

Allies

• His Various Allies include Joe, Herbert and Jaggers

• Joe- He is always there for pip, even when Pip isn’t good to him and he is very forgiving and compassionate.

   

• “[Joe] was a mild-natured, sweet-tempered, easy-going, foolish, dear fellow -- a sort of Hercules in strength and also in weakness”(Dickens 19)

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• Herbert- He is there for him all throughout london, and he sticks with him through the rest of the book.

• “Pray come in,’ said Mr. Pocket, Junior ‘Allow me to lead the way. I am rather bare here, but I hope you’ll be able to make out tolerably will till Monday."

• Jaggers- He is Pip’s “mentor” and pip goes to him when in need of official assistance/ advice.

   

• “Lord forbidding that I should want anything for not standing in Pip’s way,’ said Joe, staring. ‘Lord forbidding is pious, but not for the purpose,’ returned Mr Jaggers” (Dickens 444)  

03

The Preparation

• Pip prepares for the “upper class” life by getting his first taste of it at Mrs. Havisham’s house, and he also learns english lessons from Biddy so that he could try not to be so “common” 

   

• “ [Pip] took the opportunity of being alone in the courtyard to look at my coarse hands and my common boots. My opinion of those accessories was not favorable. They had never troubled me before, but they troubled me now, as vulgar appendages” (Dickens 196)

 

04

Guardians Of The Threshold 

• Estella guards the threshold because she determines for Pip weather or not he is prepared to “cross the threshold” into the upper class, as she is the one that had to allow him into the Satis House. 

   

• “This,’ said Mr. Pumblechook, ‘is Pip.’ ‘This is Pip, is it?’ returned the young lady, who was very pretty and seemed very proud; ‘come in, Pip” (Dickens 174)

 

05

Crossing The Threshold

• Pip crosses the threshold when he enters Mrs. Havisham’s house, because there are many new things, and wild new experiences from a Higher class set of individuals that he had never encountered before.

   

• “ You are to go and stand there boy, till you are wanted.’ “There” ,being the window, I crossed to it, and stood “there,” in a very uncomfortable state of mind, looking out” (Dickens 255) 

 

06

Road Of Trials

• Estella’s Views Of Pip

• The way that Estella thinks of Pip, and the fact she points out his boots and hands makes him think about wanting to be “higher class” 

  “He calls the knaves Jacks, this boy!’ said Estella with disdain, before our first game was out. ‘And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!”(Dickens 191)

• Estella’s Marriage

• When Pip learns of Estella’s proposed marriage to Drummle he is crushed. 

  “Why not tell you the truth? I am going to be married to [Drummle].’ I dropped my face into my hands, but was able to control myself better than I could have expected, considering what agony it gave me to hear her say those words” (Dickens 1173)

• Magwitch’s Return

• When Magwitch reveals himself as the benefactor, Pip finds out that everything he had been thinking was flase, and it turns his world upside down.

  “I swore that time, sure as I ever earned a guinea, that guinea should go to you. I swore arterwards, sure as ever I spec’lated and got rich, you should get rich” (Dickens 1036)

• Mrs. Joe’s Death 

• After Mrs. Joe dies, pip is devastated, even though she wasnt the nicest, he still feels bad for her, and he feels the need to avenge her death by killing Orlick.

  “It was the first time that a grave had opened in my road of life, and the gap it made in the smooth ground was wonderful. The figure of my sister in her chair by the kitchen fire, haunted me night and day” (Dickens 900)

• Thinking Havisham is the Benefactor

• Pip thinking that Havisham is the benefactor is extremely detrimental to his progress, because he interprets it as a sign that he was destined to marry Estella.

  “My dream was out; my wild fancy was surpassed by sober reality; Miss Havisham was going to make my fortune on a grand scale” (Dickens 446)

 

07

The Saving Experience

• This is when Pip is being attacked by Orlick and then Herbert, Startop and Trabb’s boy save him, because this is what allows him to help Magwitch later in the story. Also if they werent there Pip would have died.

   

• “In the same instant I heard responsive shouts, saw figures and a gleam of light dash in the door, heard voices and tumult, and saw Orlick emerge from a struggle of men, as if it were tumbling water, clear the table at a leap, and fly out into the night” (Dickens 1392)

 

08

The Transformation

• Starts when Pip goes to the marshes to find out about Magwitch, and then furthers when he goes into the abyss alone against Orlick. The last piece of the transformation is when Joe pays his debts and he realizes he doesnt want to be a gentleman because he doesnt need the title to be a good person. 

   

• “And now, though I know you have already done it in your own kind hearts, pray tell me, both, that you forgive me!”(Dickens 1559)

 

09

The Return 

• When Pip comes to the forge and wishes to marry Biddy, but shes married Joe so he leaves with Herbert and Clara

  “Many a year went round before I was a partner in the house; but I lived happily with Herbert and his wife, and lived frugally, and payed my debts, and maintained a constant correspondence with Biddy and Joe”(Dickens 1561)

 

10

Sharing The Gift 

• The gift he shares is his newer, enlightened mindset, which he shares with Estella when they meet in the garden.

  “We are friends,’ said I, rising and bending over her, as she rose from the bench” (Dickens 1575)