What Happened To Pip's Childhood

Philip Pirrup, or Pip, is seven-years-old when he encounters an escaped convict in a graveyard, whom he his forced into providing food and tools for. His 'mother' (actually older sister) punishes Pip severely for all his transgressions, excluding this because it is kept a secret. When Pip comes of age, he is apprenticed to his father Joe, a blacksmith, until his presence is requested by Miss Havisham, an elderly woman. At the house, he is met by Estella, Miss Havisham's foster child, and the two play cards together to amuse Miss Havisham. This is repeated weekly, although occasionally Pip will support Miss Havisham as she walks around her old house. This all changes the day that a mysterious benefactor gives Pip a wealth- and great expectations. Pip moves to London, leaving everything he knows and loves behind. As the year's progress, Pip slowly falls into debt, until his benefactor reveals his identity. The benefactor is the same convict Pip helped many years ago in the graveyard! To return the favor of money, Pip helps his convict escape from England. However, as they try to escape, the convict is caught and sentenced to death for his many crimes. He dies not by the hangman's noose, but through injuries sustained during his capture. Pip, having thought he had great expectations, finds his time in London over, …show more content…
(the Bible)." This is also a simile, comparing the shape of a prison ship to the shape of Noah's ark. "...and nearly beheaded myself, for the lines had rotted away, and it came down like a guillotine... (page 165)." This compares a window to the guillotine using the words, "like" or "as;" the comparison is a simile. From the last paragraph on page 385 to the first paragraph on page 386, Dickens uses imagery (sight) to describe the building's/ ground's desolate