Though Pip was born in a working-class environment, he is still used to some measure of comfort. He is not hungry or cold, but he does not have as much as he learns to want. With his introduction to the higher social class of Miss Havisham and Estella, he sees a lifestyle that he greatly desires. Once Estella shames him for his clothes and manners, he wants more than he’s got. With the revelation of his “great expectations,” Pip sees the chance to become a gentleman, which was very important in the Victorian social world. While his lifestyle improves greatly, it is not enough. He falls heavily into debt as he tries to live up to the materialistic world of his new companions. Interestingly, his desire for the treasured goods of society are not brought on by his closest companions (Henry Pocket, the Pocket family, Mr. Wemmick and his Aged Parent). It is through his connection to them that he eventually walks away from the materialistic life into one that is more in keeping with the friendship that has saved him from tragedy.
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