What's Up With Pip

Pip, an orphaned child, is at the cemetary wondering about who his parents were in the opening scene of the book. Once he is ready to conclude his visit, a dingy and mysterious man confronts him and grabs his attention by flipping him upside down. He openly says that he should be feared but has no interest in harming Pip. However, there is a man in the forest close by that is dying to get a piece of Pip. The first convict said that he is only holding the second back as long as he does a favor for them. Pip was to go into town and fetch a file to remove their shackels and some food. If he did not, he was threatened of having his heart and liver removed. To complete this task, Pip had to choose the lesser of two moral evils. He was forced to either let the convicts starve or steal from his sister whom is not fond of him in the first place.

His sister never finds any good within Pip and claims he is ungradeful for her beating him and bringing him "up by hand" whenever he questions her. She basically thinks Pip is just a burdon and a curse that was put upon her. Obviously, they do not have a loving relationship.

Joe is Pip's brother-in-law but acts as his father figure. He understands Pip and seems to be the only person in Pip's life that he trusts. Whenever he is in a situation, Joe somewhat absorbes the blow by comforting him. Without Joe, Pip would be lost. His life would have no bright spots.

Eventually, Pip decides to steal a pork pie and a bottle of alcohol and give it to the convicts. The decision constantly haunts him becuase he knows that he has done wrong. As the days passed, no one noticed that anything was missing. On Christmas Eve, the family invites members of the church over for dinner. Nobody noticed that the pie and wine were stolen but Pip knew that they soon would. All throughout dinner he worried about everyone finding out about what he did. As the day went on, the guilt built more and more. Eventually, it became too much for him to handle and he ran for the door. He was stopped by soldiers on his doorstep asking for Joe. They needed his help to build shackels for when they found the convicts that Pip helped survive. The prisoners were found and Pip was basically left off of the hook.

Times of Prosperity and Despair

_____Born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth Hampshire, Charles was the second of eight children. His family, not rich still brought in a descent income. He attended private school and loved to read as a kid. When he was 12, his father was arrested and Dickens had to fend for himself to a certain extent. In 1834 he was given a job as a political journalist for the Morning Chronicle, a paper in Britian. His first book, "Pickwick Papers", published in 1836 showed the world his sense of social satire and knowledge of the people.

Great Expectations and the Industrial Revolution

_____In 1861, he wrote the book "Great Expectations". The book showed the unjust treatments of the lower class from the social heirarchy. In the industrial revolution, industry boomed and companies mass-produced what they sold by creating machines that did the job just as well as people. In additionto having machines, more middle class citizens were hired to really make the economy jump. The increase in jobs allowed the income of the middle class to soar. Unfortunately, business owners became so greedy that they forced child labor and basically paid them nothing. Along with children, the individuals who worked in small based businesses and focused on a specific trade(blacksmiths) also got the short end of the stick. They had nowhere to turn. Their customers were taken by the larger companies which means their profit went out the window as well. The middle to upper class thrived while the lower class fell and was stomped upon just like Dickens portrays in the book.