Great Expectations: Rejection Wrecks A Life

Rejection Wrecks a Life

In the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens the main character, Pip, is called feckless, and told that “the young are never grateful” for the entirety of his childhood. When Mr. Pumblechook takes him to Miss Havisham’s house, Pip begins to hope that maybe she will adopt him, but she does not. From this point on, Pip’s life spirals into an out of control mess, from finding out who his benefactor is, to his relationship with Joe. All of this happens due to the fact that Pip has become obsessed with status and others’ opinions of him.

Though she is of a higher class, Miss Havisham and Pip become close friends and Pip begins to hope that maybe she will raise his standing in life, by giving him a good job, or money, or possibly adopting him. Pip, however, is let down when Miss Havisham informs Pip and Joe that Pip will be Joe’s apprentice as a blacksmith and gives them 25 pounds to pay for apprentice school. Pip thought that Miss Havisham was going to adopt him and instead she sends him on his way. Pip feels betrayed and upset by this unexpected turn of events. He is so embarrassed by this, that he becomes entranced with money and success, and focuses

Thinking only about wealth, Pip turns his back on everyone who he deems is unimportant socially. The fact that Miss Havisham does not want to adopt him completely warps his view of the world into a contest with everyone around him. Maybe if Pip had not been denied by Miss Havisham, he would not have become so absorbed in status, and he might have enjoyed his life a little bit more. He was seven after all, that’s a very impressionable age, so after being called feckless for so many years and thought unimportant, he wanted this to be his chance to be someone. When Miss Havisham sends him away it damages his self-esteem, especially since he had such great