Great Expectations

In a well-written essay, analyze why Pip is vulnerable to Miss
Havisham and how she works to achieve her objective on him.

In the novel Great Expectations, Pip is the main character in the
story. He is a young boy who lives with his sister and her husband.
They all work very hard to live in suitable conditions. Therefore,
when Miss Havisham, a queer old woman, asks for Pip to come to her
house and play, Pip is sent immediately. Mrs. Joe, Pip^s sister and
mr. Pumblechook see this as a perfect opportunity for Pip to earn more
money for the family.

Miss Havisham is very wealthy and with her lives a young girl, named
Estella. Estella is very pretty and intentionally rude to Pip. Pip^s
purpose of being sent to Miss Havisham is not exactly to play but
rather to see how much stronger Estella is in comparison to Pip and
also to hurt Pip the way she was hurt by her loved one many years ago.
Estella behaves this way because she learned it from her mother figure
Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham used Estella to avenge wrongs done to
her. At this point in the novel, Pip is the target of avenge. He is
hurt by Estella^s brutality towards him. She makes nasty comments
about his life style, his clothes, and his future. For example she
calls him a common laboring-boy with coarse hands and thick boots. She
thrives on these remarks and Pip^s reactions to them. But with each
hurtful remark she throws at him, he begins to learn to bury the pain
inside so she would not be able to see it.

Pip is a loyal boy to his sister and to Joe. He demeans himself and
takes the insults thrown at him. He becomes vulnerable to Miss
Havisham because he has no other choice. He becomes vulnerable to Miss
Havisham because she is rich, uncommon, well-learned, and because Pip
is hoping that she will pay for his education. Although he submits
himself to discomfort, he gets nothing in return. He is still harassed
by his sister and is scarred from the insults.

The novel portrays Pip as an abused child. He is very faithful to the
people that surround him. Especially to his sister and Miss Havisham.
Through his experience with the uncommon people, he becomes selfish and
mad for the way he was raised up and no longer wants to learn Joe^s
trade. This change of attitude makes life for Pip harder and somehow
unbearable.