Tuesday, March 30, 2010

7- "Pip, Dear Old Chap..."


After an awkward period of no communication between Pip and the people back at his home, he receives notice that Joe is coming to visit him in London. This puts Pip in a serious predicament, because he does not want Joe to get taken aback and discouraged by his opulent lifestyle. Pip also does not want anybody to think that he keeps company with people of a lower class, specifically Drummle. All this tension, causes Pip to have a very awkward meeting with Joe. Pip treated Joe very formally, and to Herbert who was watching their exchange, it must have seemed as if they were meeting each other for the first time. Although Pip felt the same amount of love for Joe as he always did, his ability to express it was impaired. Since Pip was fighting with two different identities, he knew that he would have to adopt his past self to relate with Joe, but for the sake of his gentleman status, he talked and treated Joe with formality.

Pip's meeting with Joe was a reminder to Pip of how far he had come, and how much he had changed since his days at Joe's forge. The meeting also rekindled a feeling that Pip had experienced earlier, a feeling which made Pip feel ashamed and fully responsible for the awkwardness associated with meeting Joe.

No comments:

Post a Comment