With Great Expectations come Great Downfalls

Pip just now acquired Great Expectations in our reading.  This means that he is expected to have a large amount of money or land in his future.  This seems amazing to Pip at first, but he has some expectations of his own.

Sure Pip is extremely glad he has come into this sudden wealth, but he is not satisfied at that.  Pip feels that he needs the best, and when he gets the best, it is not good enough for him.  While being “transformed” into a gentleman, Pip is extremely excited for his new clothes.  However, when he tries them on, all he feels is, “meh.”  Unfortunately, this is a common theme in our society today.  There are tons of greedy people who need the newest smartphone or the coolest new style of clothing.  Many people today are never content with what they have.  They may have the iPhone 4S, but the slightly slimmer, slightly taller, slightly better iPhone 5 was released so they MUST have it.  But do they really?  No.  All the slight changes are not worth it, but a good amount of people in our society is never content, just like Pip.

Another side-effect of Pip’s recently obtained money is his actions towards others.  He has slipped into the awful mindset that because he is wealthier than others, he is therefore better.  Pip even calls his good friend Biddy jealous of his fortune, while she is simply sad that her long-time friend is leaving.  He is just being too egotistical to realize this.  Although, this is not all Pip’s fault.  The majority of the blame goes to Miss Havisham and Estella.  They did the same to him at the Satis House, putting him down for his common social class.  Once again, this same exact thing happens in the 21^st century.  People are looked down upon for not being able to afford fancy gadgets or clothes, similar to how Pip looks down on Biddy and Joe for being common folk who cannot afford the many luxuries of life.

In the chapters we recently read, Pip showed us some of the common downfalls of the human race.