leafstar's+essay


 * Personality Contest**

** Throughout the novel //Great Expectations// many people remain true to themselves, even if Pip sees it differently through his eyes. To Pip, each step up depends on class. He first sees Pumblechook as a jerk, but as Pip climbs up, Pumblechook is seen as a well respected man. So who did Pip tag right and who did he tag wrong? Let’s start with his childhood. ** ** The first few characters Pip speaks or interacts with are Magwhich, Joe, Mrs. Joe, Mr. Wopsle, and Pumblechook. Easy characters first. Mrs. Joe is basically the same throughout her time in the book. She’s cruel, stuck-up, and always appealing to higher class. Yet, after her attack, she lightens up. But hey, the lady can’t move! How can she be cruel and stuck-up if she can’t move or talk? ** ** Moving on, Magwhich and Mr. Wopsle are an uneven scale, the winning side tipping to Magwhich. Mr. Wopsle was tagged just right by Pip as a child. He’s way into acting and because he’s very well educated, he thinks he’s better than everyone. Magwhich, though, is a series cogs and screws. In order to move one cog, you need to twist the screw. At first, Pip sees Magwhich as scary, deadly, and even feels a bit sorry for him. Perhaps he had the right idea, for Magwhich was a crafty and vengeful soul. He tricked Pip into getting him food, nearly murdered his old boss, and is bent on turning Pip into a gentlemen. There’s a lot of background information that confirms my theory: Magwhich may be rough, but he’s clay under the rocky surface. He lied about stealing the pie himself so Pip wouldn’t get in trouble, cared deeply for his lost child, and worried about the tortured Arthur. ** ** Last but not least, Joe, Pumblechook, and even Biddy! ** ** Joe and Pumblechook. ** ** Same blood. ** ** Different hearts. ** ** Joe is the kind and laid back character, making Pip’s life a little easier. No matter what happens in the book, Joe stays true. When Magwhich tells him he stole their pie, Joe agrees that he’d rather feed the hungry than feed bellies already full. When Joe deals with the attack to Mrs. Joe, he handles it fairly. When Pip rises to great expectations, Joe says no bad word of Pip to anyone. Joe is much to honest and fair to get caught up in the sections of class. ** ** This varies much differently with Pumblechook. A jerk, stuck-up, and big shot, Pumblechook uses his high ranking and sails with it. I use //sails// instead of //run// because water is much harder to get through and your ship can hit some rocks. It was the same for Pumblechook. He may have been //big boy// to all the villagers, but in Ms. Havisham’s world, he’s a commoner! That nags and bites him throughout the book. You can tell his personality doesn’t change, because as Pip rises to great expectations, Pumblechook is first to take credit for Pip’s success. No matter what it takes, Pumblechook will go there to get into higher class. ** ** Our last character, Biddy, is as leveled as Joe. She wants a better education, but ignores the snobs that come with it. Unlike Pip, Biddy makes her own great expectations. She’s a stubborn, well-planned girl. Not to mention she cares about Joe and Pip throughout the book. Every time Pip visits Biddy and Joe, before he knows his true patron, Biddy tries to set him straight. Then she proves she loves Joe when they get married! ** ** So Pip tagged some characters right, some others wrong. In //Great Expectations//, personalities are different as night and day, but some stay a cold bitter winter all year, while other are a fresh spring year ‘round. **