How Does Pip Become Successful

In the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the author describes a young poor boy as innocent, fragile, and ignorant. But throughout the novel that little boy, Pip, grows to become knowledgeable, ashamed, and ungrateful. The theme for this novel is even though one becomes successful in life one should never feel embarrassed and ashamed towards the people who helped one succeed and most important one should never forget where one came from. Becoming successful in life is something to be proud of. Recognizing the people who helped you get there is worth acknowledging. In the middle of the novel, Pip, realizes the truth about himself, “as I had grown accustomed to my expectations, I had insensibly begun to notice their effect upon myself and those around me [which]… was not good at all” (141). Pip is realizing that his attitude and perspective have changed, and he is growing afraid of what he might become. Pip knows he is not the same person he was years ago when he was young, innocent, and fragile; now he is a
gentleman full of shame with confused emotions. One should never feel different towards one because of their class no matter how successful one becomes.
In chapter 38 of the novel, Pip realizes that Miss Havisham isn’t his benefactor and finds out a convict is, he then feels embarrassed to know that a lower class convict guilty of who knows what crimes is his real benefactor. Pip then regrets being ashamed of Joe for all those years, “Miss Havisham’s intentions towards me, all a mere dream; … I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience…but, [the] sharpest and deepest pain of all – it was for the convict… that I had deserted Joe” (166). Pip is living in confusion and cannot accept the fact that a convict is his benefactor, in the other hand; this makes Pip open his eyes and see the truth about his relationship with Joe. Pip finally realized that he deserting Joe wasn’t worth it and that believing a high class woman was his benefactor was a total lie this made him change his
perspective. Succeeding in life doesn’t always mean you have to change in life. In chapter 27 of the novel, after all Joe had done for Pip he began to act ungrateful, ashamed, and embarrassed, “Let me confess exactly with what feelings I looked forward to Joe’s coming…not with pleasure, … but with… disturbance, and some modification. If I could have kept him away by paying money, I certainly would have paid money” (117). Pip expresses himself shamefully about Joe, making him sounds ungrateful. Unfortunately, Pip doesn’t appreciate the one person who supported him since the beginning when he was young instead he was embarrassed of his only loving family—Joe. As you can see, success changes some people’s perspectives like in Pip’s case, but just because one becomes successful doesn’t mean one has to, in fact one has to be more grateful than ever because without their family’s help and support one wouldn’t had succeeded. This novel serves as an example of lack of appreciation, love, and gratefulness. No one should feel embarrassed or ashamed towards the people who helped one succeed and no one should feel the same way towards where one came from no matter how successful one becomes.

Work Cited
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2000.