Pip's Second Stage

At the start of the second stage of Great Expectations, Pip arrives in London disappointed in what he sees. Pip was excited that he is growing to be a gentleman when he arrived there. Since he already feels superior over his family and friends It seemed that he started a new perspective of his life after the first stage, it is expressed in the ways he talked to his old friends like Joe and Biddy. Pip was getting But for the readers sake, you get more of an understanding of events that happened earlier. The reader knows now the story behind Miss Havishams so this shows that the motif of mystery is there for a reason.


In the first stage Pip was trying to prove to everyone that he desperately wants to be a gentleman. Everyone made him feel unwanted and doesn't deserve the things he gets from his sister and Joe. The motif of doubles occurs through characters a lot. They are pairs for every character to show how Pip reacts to each character of the pair. It also confuses his opinion on things like who to trust. The two convicts on the marsh Pip met that he does favors for and then soon felt guilty. Mrs. Joe and Miss Havisham are the two "invalids", according to Pip. Also the two girls that Pip likes are Ella and Biddy. Pip's convict asks for food and the file; but the other convict gave him money this lead Pip having people wanting him but not the "right people". I found that Mrs. Joe and Miss Havisham are oddly similar, but they haven't had an altercation or made contact yet. Estella and Biddy are two different girls with very different aspects that Pip likes. Estella was told to break Pip's heart right in front of him, she just wants to play with Pip's feelings. He wants Estella because she is uncommon, he wants what seems to be unpractical for his social class. Biddy actually understands Pip's situations and makes him feel better, this makes Pip's decisions hard to make because there will always be two choices and only one decision to make.